verbicide
Americannoun
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the willful distortion or depreciation of the original meaning of a word.
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a person who willfully distorts the meaning of a word.
Etymology
Origin of verbicide
First recorded in 1855–60; from Latin verb(um) “word” + -i- + -cide
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lewis’s term “verbicide,” the willful distortion or deprecation of a word’s original meaning.
From Time
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
