Search Results for: face with tears of joy

1. 

   A Musical Fantasy With Steven Mackey, “Shivaree,” & Other Words Of The Day

   At Dictionary.com, we know well that learning new words is about so much more than just definitions. Learning new words is about discovering new ideas and feelings, about unlocking experiences and opportunities. It’s about empowering our communication, enriching our relationships, and inspiring our creativity and self-expression. Composer and Princeton University professor Steven Mackey knows this well, too. And if you give Mackey a word? He …

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   Examples Of Every Letter Being Silent, With 1 Exception

   You probably already know that English features many, many words with silent letters—letters that appear in the word but aren’t pronounced and often make us wonder what they are even doing there. For example, the letter B in the words debt and thumb. Or whatever the heck is going on in the words colonel, queue, and bourgeoisie. Even though you’re probably already familiar with silent letters, …

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   What Are The Differences Between These Emoji Faces?

   Emoji help us convey our feelings over text or on social media. It's still not always clear what these emoji emoters are meant to show. That's why we've rounded up some of them. You'll laugh, you'll cry … or, at least, the emoji will.

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   “Contagious” vs. “Infectious”: The Difference Can Be Important

   by John Kelly, Senior Research Editor at Dictionary.com Whether it’s flu season, chickenpox at your kid’s school, concerns about measles in your town, or the coronavirus pandemic, the words contagious and infectious often come around in news and social media, in casual conversations and government communications. While these two terms get used interchangeably, knowing the difference between them can, in some cases, be life-saving. To …

5. 

   How To Refer To Little People: The Terms To Know

   Most people are familiar with the use of the term little people in reference to people who have dwarfism—people whose short stature is the result of a medical or genetic condition. But it’s not the only term. In this article, we’ll note the range of terms and preferences and explain some of the notable reasons behind these preferences. Content warning: The end of this article …

6. 

   Activities To Help Your Kid Decode Words

   One of the foundational reading skills that most children learn in early elementary or primary school is how to decode words. While decode sounds like something spies do, decoding is actually the ability to see a written word and read it aloud. This process is often known familiarly as being able to sound out words when reading. Sound complicated? It’s not, we swear! Plus we’re …

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   New Words Drop! Get The First Look At Our Fall 2023 Collection Of Dictionary Additions

   Information pollution, jawn, decision fatigue, jolabokaflod, grandfamily, NIL, algo, amalgagender. Unbox the new terms and meanings just added to Dictionary.com. by Nick Norlen, Senior Editor, and Grant Barrett, Head of Lexicography Our fall new words drop is here!  The words don’t stop coming, so we’re updating the dictionary more frequently than ever. And not just with any words: this update includes an incredibly useful concentration …

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   From The Discourse To The Dictionary: Fall 2022 New Words

   Antiwork, bachelorx party, 45, Ohtani rule, pawternity leave, Zelenskyy. As ever, there is great variety in the new terms and meanings just added to Dictionary.com. by Nick Norlen, Senior Editor, and Heather Bonikowski, Lexicographer Let’s set things straight: a word doesn’t become a “real word” when we add it to the dictionary. It’s actually the other way around: we add a word to the dictionary …

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   40 Genericized Trademarks You Probably Say (And Use) Every Day

   Legally, to trademark something means to make it so that only one company can make money off of something with that name. You might not realize it, but many of the seemingly generic words we use all of the time are or were registered trademarks. This is often a problem for companies who want to avoid their lucrative trademarks being killed by “genericide,” meaning they …

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    Dictionary.com’s 2021 Word Of The Year Is …

    2021 was a year defined by the many ongoing impacts of the pandemic and the polarization of 2020—and the various ways we continue to grapple with them. The vastness of such a year could never be fully summarized with a single word. But there is one word that’s intertwined with so many of the things we’ve experienced in 2021: allyship, our 2021 Word of the …

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    Decode SCOTUS Cases With This Plain Language Legal Glossary

    As the nation’s highest court, the US Supreme Court takes on some of the most complex—and often the most controversial—cases. Often adding to the complexity and confusion around the cases and rulings themselves are the formal legal terms used in the justices’ written decisions—and in the analysis of them. writ of certiorari A writ of certiorari, often shortened to just certiorari, is a demand from …

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    Emotional Support Animal vs. Therapy Animal vs. Service Animal

    This September, we released our biggest update to the dictionary ever. Our dictionary editors touched over 15,000 entries in a sweeping effort to reflect the many ways language is evolving. From capitalizing Black to adding a separate entry for Pride to revising references to suicide, our update addresses topics that touch us on some of our most personal levels: race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, …