counterword

[koun-ter-wurd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR counterword ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Origin of counterword

First recorded in 1670–80; counter¹ + word

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for counterword

blend, compound, portmanteau, counterword, adage, banality, bromide, buzzword, commonplace, motto, platitude, proverb, saying, shibboleth, slogan, stereotype, truism, triviality, chestnut, corn

Examples from the Web for counterword

Historical Examples of 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

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012