In the age of LOL, WTF, and OMG, abbreviations are often looked at as a sign of the coming apocalypse. (Spoiler: LOL, WTF, and OMG are not the oldest abbreviations in English—you’re shocked, we know.) So-called textspeak is viewed as a lesser form of English, and many people worry that pretty soon we’ll all be communicating solely in emoji. But, abbreviations aren’t exactly a new invention. …
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) to the culture and history of America. For those who are not AAPI, this observance month also comes with the serious responsibility to acknowledge some of the complexities of these terms and consider better ways to use them. Recently in the US, there …
by Rory Gory | updated by John Kelly, senior research editor at Dictionary.com There are many stigmas and misconceptions surrounding mental illness, but it’s quite common to experience it. Nearly one in five US adults live with a mental illness, translating to about 46.6 million people as of 2017. Whether or not you live with a mental illness, mental health is something that all of …
Cheap, expensive, lavish, meager, a steal, or a rip-off. These are just some ways to talk about an item that costs money. But there are two other words used to talk about money as well: economic and economical. These words have two different meanings, despite them both being adjectives. Plus they’re also only two letters off, adding to the confusion. It’s pretty likely you’re mixing …
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, …
On August 11, 1973, Clive Campbell—aka DJ Kool Herc—and his sister Cindy organized a back-to-school party for mostly high-schoolers in the Bronx, bringing together the elements that would form the foundation of an art form, a culture, and a phenomenon: hip-hop. On the occasion of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, we set out to capture its trajectory from cultural mashup to source of global influence by highlighting …
Nauseous and nauseated originally had different definitions. In current common usage, though, the words have evolved to become practically interchangeable. Let’s explore the differences between the two a bit closer. What does nauseous mean? The word nauseous describes “something that causes a feeling of nausea or disgust.” Here’s an example: “The nauseous odor made the boy feel sick.” In this sentence, the word nauseous …
Self-coup, latine, rage farming, petfluencer, nearlywed, hellscape, talmbout, cakeage. Explore the explosive variety of new terms and meanings just added to Dictionary.com. by Nick Norlen, Senior Editor Historically significant moments. Stunningly advanced AI. Very expensive eggs. There is a lot happening out there, seeming as if it’s everything, everywhere, all at once. The events are relentless, but so is the pace with which language adapts …
If you have to ask what it means to be cool, well, you probably aren’t cool. What is cool, though, is just how many slang words we’ve used over the years to talk about people and things that we think are fab, funky, fresh, groovy, fly, phat, lit, gnarly, rad, and the cat’s meow. And that is just a taste of the coolness we managed …
Language is a living thing, and so is Dictionary.com. Our dictionary will always be a work in progress—there’s no day in the future when we’ll mark it “complete” after adding the last word. This never-ending work is the job of our lexicographers, the (amazingly talented) people who write and edit the dictionary. They do more than just add and define words. They also add new …
Help your students learn scientific vocabulary with these learning games! Science and English meet in these activities for elementary students that will help them understand the language of scientists and researchers. 💡 Learning animal vocabulary Activity 1: Complete this word search. Find the words they learned about in the video. Click the image to get the printable word search PDF. Activity 2: Read and draw …
The difference between infer and imply can be confusing enough, so we’re going to skip the subtle hints and just come right out and explain it. In this article, we’ll explain the distinction between infer and imply, note how their meanings can sometimes overlap, provide examples of how they’re used, and even cover the adjective forms inferred and implied. The verb imply means “to indicate …
