counterword
[ koun-ter-wurd ]
/ ˈkaʊn tərˌwɜrd /
noun
a word, often of short-lived popularity, widely used as an almost meaningless, automatic response.
a word that has come to be used with a meaning much less specific than that which it had originally, as swell, awful, or terrific.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for counterword
Unhappily the black-artist has forgot the counterword, with which he might command this flood of sprites again to ebb.
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and Travels, Vol. I (of 2)|Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
British Dictionary definitions for counterword
counterword
/ (ˈkaʊntəˌwɜːd) /
noun
a word widely used in a sense much looser than its original meaning, such as tremendous or awful
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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