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Word of the Day

Word of the day

repudiate

[ ri-pyoo-dee-eyt ]

verb (used with object)

to reject with disapproval or condemnation: to repudiate a new doctrine.

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More about repudiate

Repudiate comes straight from Latin repudiāt-, the past participle stem of repudiāre “to reject formally (as a prospective husband or wife), divorce, reject,” a derivative of the noun repudium. Repudium is derived from the prefix re-, completely naturalized in English, indicating repetition or withdrawal, and the verb pudēre “to fill with shame, make ashamed.” From pudēre Latin derives the adjectives impudēns (inflectional stem impudent-) “shameless,” English impudent, and pudendus “of what one ought to be ashamed, disgraceful.” Repudiate entered English in the 16th century.

how is repudiate used?

In college, Gadsby studied art history, and in “Douglas” she aims to repudiate what she learned about institutionalized beauty, which, in her view, has no relationship to joy or inspiration.

Hilton Als, "Hannah Gadsby's Song of the Self," The New Yorker, July 22, 2019

States as well as individuals must repudiate racial, religious, or other discrimination in violation of those rights.

Declaration on World Peace, issued as pamphlet, October 7, 1943

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Word of the day

staycation

[ stey-key-shuhn ]

noun

a vacation spent at home or near home, doing enjoyable activities or visiting local attractions.

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More about staycation

Staycation, a portmanteau word, as Lewis Carroll would call it, formed from stay and vacation, is associated with the Great Recession of 2007–09. Actually, staycation is considerably older: It was originally an Americanism, and it first appeared in print in 1944, in the middle of World War II, when gasoline and automobile tires (among much else) were strictly rationed.

how is staycation used?

Washington’s hospitality and tourism industry … will be ready to accommodate Seattleites and Washingtonians, because everyone expects this will be the summer of the staycation.

Gregory Scruggs, "Summer isn't canceled: Embrace the staycation as coronavirus travel restrictions ease in Washington," Seattle Times, May 22, 2020

As relatively new residents of Philadelphia, we’re planning a staycation in our new hometown. We’ll finally plow through our lengthy backlist of streaming movies and shows.

Anne Marie Gold, quoted in "With Travel Plans in Flux, Readers Share Their 'Staycation' Ideas," New York Times, March 18, 2020

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Word of the day

bolide

[ boh-lahyd, -lid ]

noun

Astronomy.

a large, brilliant meteor, especially one that explodes; fireball.

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More about bolide

A bolide is a large, brilliant meteor that explodes before hitting the earth. The term comes from French, from Latin bolis (inflectional stem bolid-) “meteor,” from Greek bolís (stem bolíd-) “missile, javelin, flash of lightning, throw of a pair of dice.” The Latin sense “meteor” is first recorded by the Roman naturalist and encyclopedist Pliny the Elder in the first century a.d., perhaps from a resemblance between a fireball in the sky and a flash of lightning. Bolide entered English in the mid-19th century.

how is bolide used?

At exactly fourteen minutes after eight … the bolide passed overhead. It was an amazing spectacle. It left a trail of flame behind, across thirty degrees of sky.

Murray Leinster, Creatures of the Abyss, 1961

A meteor that explodes in mid-air before it hits the ground is known as a bolide. It’s thought that the high-pressure air in front of the falling meteor seeps into cracks in the rock, increasing internal pressure and causing the rock to break apart.

Michelle Starr, "Yet Another Large, Fiery Meteor Just Spectacularly Exploded Over Siberia," ScienceAlert, April 8, 2019

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