Tag: daily word

The Daily

The Daily: American Slang “Extra”

Part of the beauty in any language is the slang used by native speakers. Slang typically arises from younger generations who come up with coded language to discuss sensitive matters without older generations understanding them. Today, I’d like to define the word extra, which is used by younger generations with an alternative connotation: extra (adj.) Pronunciation: /ˈekstrə/ Meaning: over the top or acting in a … Continue reading The Daily: American Slang “Extra”

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The Daily

Daily Tidbit: albatross (metaphor)

Definitions for albatross al·ba·tross ˈalbəˌtrôs/ a seemingly inescapable moral or emotional burden, as of guilt or responsibility. something burdensome that impedes action or progress. The word albatross is sometimes used as a metaphor to mean a psychological burden that feels like a curse. It is also an allusion to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, written in 1798. In the poem, an albatross starts to follow a ship — being followed by … Continue reading Daily Tidbit: albatross (metaphor)

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The Daily

Daily Tidbit: Definition of Reductive

reductive (adj.) Pronunciation: [re-duhk-tiv] Meaning: presented in an overly simple or crude way Synonyms: crude, coarse, declining, simplified Examples: The way she presented the quantum entanglement theory was a bit reductive; it was way too simplified and lacking detail. “Umm… It feels reductive. Look it up.” – Madonna re: Lady Gaga’s song “Born This Way” Continue reading Daily Tidbit: Definition of Reductive

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Daily Tidbit: Longest Word

Want to know what the longest English language word is? Hint: it’s not supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Currently, the longest word in our dictionary is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis, created by Everett M. Smith in 1935, is a lung disease caused by inhalation of very fine sand and ash dust. Continue reading Daily Tidbit: Longest Word

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The Daily

Daily Word: abject

abject (adj.) Pronounciation: AB-jekt Meaning: 1. In a low state or condition. 2. Showing hopelessness or resignation. Cast down in spirit. 3. Offered in an ingratiating spirit. Without pride or dignity. Synonyms: spiritless, servile, wretched, degrading, pitiful, base, miserable Example: The orphaned puppy gave an abject whimper as he struggled to find some remnant of warmth on the cold cement ground. Tears and snot streamed down his mother’s face as … Continue reading Daily Word: abject

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The Daily

Daily Word: litotes

litotes (n.) Pronounciation: lie-toe-tees Meaning: A figure of speech in which an affirmative understatement is expressed by negating its opposite. A litotes emphasizes or draws attention to an idea or situation through ironical understatement. Do you have an example? Kira’s lunch with her ex was not the most cordial affair. It is not uncommon for the average college student to sleep less than five hours on a … Continue reading Daily Word: litotes

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The Daily

Daily Word: bamboozle

  bamboozle (v.) Pronounciation: bam-boo-zul Meaning: to deceive or confuse by underhanded or unexpected methods. Synonyms: dupe, hoodwink, cheat, perplex, trick, fool Can you use it in a sentence? “In Catch Me If You Can (2002), Leonardo DiCaprio plays a hugely successful scammer who had bamboozled people of billions of dollars before he was even 19 years old.”   Continue reading Daily Word: bamboozle

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Daily Word: mimesis

mimesis (n.) Pronounciation: my-mee-sis Meaning: imitation and representation, especially in regards to works of art and literature representing reality or the physical world. In biology, this refers to an organism mimicking another organism. Synonyms: Mimicry, copying, impersonation Can you use it in a sentence? “French artist Gustave Courbet rejected the Classical Western illusionistic tradition of mimesis, which sought to capture the reality in visual representation, and instead paved … Continue reading Daily Word: mimesis

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The Daily

Daily Word

perigee (n.) pronounciation: pear-ih-jee According to Merriam-Webster, perigee is “the point in the orbit of an object (as a satellite) orbiting the earth that is nearest to the center of the earth.” When the moon is at perigee, it appears 14% larger than normal and is colloquially known as a supermoon. sample sentence: Recently, a full moon and a lunar eclipse occurred at the same time … Continue reading Daily Word

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