Vocabulary.com Blog
Articles from 2014
Word CountWriters Talk About Writing
Memorial Day: Is It "Celebrated" or "Observed"?
Sometimes celebration is not an appropriate word
On the last Monday in May, Memorial Day is celebrated in the United States. But wait: is celebrated the right word? Would it be more appropriate to say Memorial Day is observed? Wendalyn Nichols, an experienced editor and lexicographer, guides us through this usage quandary.
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Topics:
Usage
Behind the DictionaryLexicographers Talk About Language
History in the Toolbox: The Vocabulary of Electrical Units
I am guessing that the average electrician doesn't realize how much history is knocking about in his or her toolbox. Volt, amp, ohm, watt—these electrical units are all eponyms, derived from the names of pioneers in the field. Let's have a tour.
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Dept. of Word Lists
Words to Deepen Our Understanding of Memorial Day
A day focused on "commemoration," "honor," and "sacrifice"
Celebrate Memorial Day with words like commemoration, honor, and sacrifice that help us understand what the holiday means.
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Dept. of Word Lists
"Karma"? "Ambition"? What Word Would *You* Give a College Grad?
Inspire them for life
In a commencement address given at Stanford University in 2005, Steve Jobs used words like karma, entrepreneur, intuition, and idealism. What word would you want to give a college grad to equip them for life?
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Under the HoodThe science of vocabulary building
Data-Driven Learning: The Science of Vocabulary.com
A behind-the-scenes tour of one word among 12,000
Learning words on Vocabulary.com may seem simple. But in fact, as you play, our game is synthesizing large sets of data on how millions of users interact with the words you're working on. All of this behind-the-scenes number-crunching is intended to make your experience with the game as efficient and enjoyable as possible.
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On Twitter, the single word "blessed" has been pressed into service as a popular hashtag, often appended to self-serving portrayals of enviable lifestyles. The overuse of "#blessed" has led to a backlash against the hashtag, and now it frequently appears in tweets sarcastically. Has "#blessed" run its course? Our own Ben Zimmer joined in a discussion about the shelf-life of hashtags on Huffington Post Live.
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Vocabulary Shout-Out
For Word Watchers, a Rare "Eleemosynary" Sighting
When Reading Becomes Bird-Watching
When you come across a word like eleemosynary, it's time to whip out the binoculars and step into the waders. Reading has become word watching, where, as in bird watching, rarity is the thrill.
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Topics:
Vocabulary
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