The monsters have been summoned and winners have emerged. For Dictionary.com’s fourth annual spooky writing contest, we dared you to write an original opening to a terrifying monster story using 50 words or less. After nearly 900 bone-chilling submissions, our guest judges, Dan and Lynze Cummins from the Scared To Death podcast, have chosen the creepiest haunting hook of them all. She walked down the …
Monsters, mayhem, and madness—bring your best fright to Dictionary.com’s spooky writing contest, Haunting Hooks: Scary Monster edition! The Contest We’re challenging you to write an original opening to a scary monster story using 50 words or less. Whether it’s spooky, funny, or outright horrifying, your opening needs to hook the reader in just a few lines. The Prizes Judge’s Choice: The winning entry will be …
Monsters, mayhem, and madness—bring your best fright to Dictionary.com’s spooky writing contest, Haunting Hooks: Scary Monster edition! The Contest We’re challenging you to write an original opening to a scary monster story using 50 words or less. Whether it’s spooky, funny, or outright horrifying, your opening needs to hook the reader in just a few lines. The Prizes Judge’s Choice: The winning entry will be …
There are so many unique ways to show love to teachers, and this year they deserve it more than ever. As we approach Teachers’ Day, which you might also know as National Teachers’ Day or Teacher Appreciation Day, on May 7, you’re probably thinking about what special presents you can give to the educators in your life to celebrate their amazing contributions to education. Traditionally, …
Are you always caught with your nose in a good book? Do you feel close enough to fictional characters that you consider them your friends? Well, chances are you’re an eager reader. We don’t blame you. Books are often how we learn new words and understand how to apply them in everyday conversations. Sometimes, we read so many new words (and don’t hear them spoken) …
A new year means new opportunities. No, we don’t mean going to the gym with you for a week. It is a perfect time to learn cool new words! To that end, we provide great words every day through our Word of the Day. This daily offering is a fantastic way to learn some awesome new words. But how exactly do you learn new vocabulary? …
‘Tis the season for… seasons! We all know that the year is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn/fall, and winter. However, we also have a number of unofficial seasons to go along with these main four. For example, we have cozy season, spooky season, and everybody’s favorite, pumpkin spice season. Each of these “seasons” is anticipated or observed in different ways. These “seasons” have …
Few things are more stressful than studying for a big, important test. There is so much information to review for an exam, and unfortunately, study skills aren’t something they actually teach in many schools. For a lot of us, studying is an exhausting process of trial and error, and it can be all too tempting to just skip it entirely and try to cram the …
All brains are not the same. This is part of what the word neurodiversity is often used to express. But both the word and the concept are subject to varying use and interpretation. In this article, we’ll discuss the evolving conversations and preferences around words like neurodiversity, neurotypical, neurodivergent, and others. We’ll focus on some of the key terms you need to know to be …
Learning a new word every day is a great way to build vocabulary. And the best way to do it is with the Dictionary.com Word of the Day! Each day, we deliver a Word of the Day video with a fun explanation of the word, what it means, and examples of how it’s used. And now, you can use these five fun steps to help …
If you haven’t visited a classroom in years, you might be surprised to discover surprising new approaches to education. Do you know what microlearning is? Does you child’s school favor personalized or experiential learning? Is asynchronous learning the same as distance education? Learning has come a long way since the days of reciting times tables in the brick school house or getting chalky hands while …
The longer, warm days of summer are in full swing, and that probably means you’re spending plenty of time outside. Why not brush up on some new summer vocabulary to take with you on your next adventure? Summer is the perfect time to explore a hobby, like writing or art. It’s also when students of all ages might need some dedicated educational activities to prevent …
