Word of the Day
phub
verb
Slang. to ignore (a person or one's surroundings) when in a social situation by busying oneself with a phone or other mobile device: Hey, are you phubbing me?
More about phub
Phub was first recorded in 2010–14. It blends the words phone and snub.
how is phub used?
I found myself glancing at my phone in the middle of conversations … conveniently forgetting how annoyed I felt when other people phubbed me.
What we discovered was that when someone perceived that their partner phubbed them, this created conflict and led to lower levels of reported relationship satisfaction.
aberration
noun
the act of departing from the right, normal, or usual course.
More about aberration
The English noun aberration has wandered far from its Latin original. Cicero (106-43 b.c.) is the first (and only) Latin author to use the noun aberrātiō “distraction, diversion, relief (from pain or sorrow).” Aberrātiō is a derivative of the verb aberrāre “to divert, forget for a time; to wander off, go astray, deviate.” Aberration entered English in the 16th century.
how is aberration used?
They don’t want to believe that the United States is opposed to action on global warming. They’d rather see the Trump administration as an aberration.
I had never fought or thrown a punch at anyone. It was an aberration to my father, and he had instilled in me this idea of physical violence as an aberration.
ufology
noun
the study of unidentified flying objects.
More about ufology
Ufology was first recorded in 1955-60.
how is ufology used?
The First International Congress on the U.F.O. Phenomenon, which ended here yesterday, brought the two groups uncomfortably together, and, after a week of heated debate, a single theory of ufology seemed further away tha[n] ever.
The history of ufology shows the complex psychology of fringe beliefs.