Vocabulary.com Blog
Articles from September, 2013
Behind the DictionaryLexicographers Talk About Language
Core Values: The Evolution of "Hardcore" Usage
The word hardcore has been getting more powerful in English for the past 80 years or so. What started as a way of describing the persistently unemployed has expanded into the domains of politics, music, and video games, not to mention general usage.
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Tips & Tricks
The Common Core Wants Context? We've Got That.
Adding sentence examples to Vocabulary Lists is easy
In word learning, context is king. The Common Core rightfully puts it at the center of its vocabulary-learning emphasis, and we here at Vocabulary.com weave opportunities to see words as they really appear in the world into our game, Dictionary, and Lists every chance we can.
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Vocabulary Shout-Out
Can You Guess Dictionary-Lover Drew Barrymore's Favorite Word?
Turns out, she's as into words as we are.
We were thrilled to read an interview in which Drew Barrymore talks about how she "fell in love with the dictionary." Turns out, she's as into words as we are, and her favorite is the little-known "empyrean."
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Dept. of Word Lists
On "Militants" and "Mayhem": Ten Words in the News That You Need to Know
Get confident talking about headline news!
Is "taper" really what the Fed's threatening? Why, exactly, would you call the Kenyan mall siege an "asymmetric attack"? And how can Republicans avoid "immolation," and President Obama duck the label "irresolute"?
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Word CountWriters Talk About Writing
Stormy Weather: A Tempest of Meteorological Terms
From tornado to cyclone and even haboob.
Given how much our day-to-day lives are influenced by weather — and especially by storms — perhaps it's not surprising that we have a rich vocabulary for these natural phenomena.
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Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon
"Septaper" and "Octaper": Fed-Watchers Remake the Calendar
Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke foiled the predictions of many analysts that September would usher in tapering, or the gradual slowdown of the bond-buying policy that the Fed instituted to keep long-term interest rates low. Those analysts even had renamed the month Septaper, but now they're looking ahead to a possible Octaper. After that, it gets a bit harder to come up with clever month-blends.
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Dept. of Word Lists
Want to Ace AP English Lit? Get a Handle on Similes Now
See what happens when writers bend and stretch the meaning of words
Learn "Similes from Top AP English Exam Novels" to get a handle on how authors bend and stretch the meanings of words.
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