Word of the Day
Word of the day
Pavlovian
adjective
of, relating to, or characteristic of Pavlov or his work, especially of experiments in which he elicited predictable responses from laboratory animals.
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Why Dictionary.com chose Pavlovian
More about Pavlovian
- Pavlovian was first recorded in 1925–30.
- Pavlovian comes from the name of Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849–1936), a Russian physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1904.
- Pavlov conducted experiments that conditioned animals to associate an arbitrary signal with an event, such as the ringing of a bell and food being served, that brought about an instinctive response, such as salivating when hearing the bell in anticipation of the food.
EXAMPLES OF PAVLOVIAN
- The students’ Pavlovian response to the school bell ringing was to pack up their belongings and head to the next class.
- The Pavlovian nature of addiction was evident as the individual’s cravings were triggered by certain environmental cues.
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Why Dictionary.com chose modicum
More about modicum
- Modicum was first recorded in 1375–1425.
- Modicum comes via late Middle English from a noun form of the Latin word modicus, meaning “moderate.”
- The root of modicus is modus, which means “measured amount; limit,” from which mode, the most frequently repeated value in a set of values, comes as well.
EXAMPLES OF MODICUM
- The team was disappointed when their efforts resulted in only a modicum of progress towards their goal.
- Even on the busiest of days, he always made sure to maintain at least a modicum of calm.
garrulous
adjective
excessively talkative in a rambling, roundabout manner, especially about trivial matters.
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Why Dictionary.com chose garrulous
More about garrulous
- Garrulous was first recorded in 1605–15.
- Garrulous comes from the Latin word garrulus, meaning “talkative, garrulous,” which is similar to the Latin verb garr(īre), meaning “to chatter.”
- Garrulity is the quality of being garrulous, just like loquacity is the quality of being loquacious, a synonym of garrulous.
EXAMPLES OF GARRULOUS
- My neighbor’s garrulous nature proved to be quite challenging whenever I tried to have a quick conversation with him, as he would incessantly digress and meander through various unrelated anecdotes.
- Despite her advanced age, the garrulous woman never ran out of stories to tell, often rambling on for hours about mundane topics.
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