counter word

count·er word

C c

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [koun-ter wurd]
- /ˈkaʊn tər wɜrd/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [koun-ter wurd]
- /ˈkaʊn tər wɜrd/

Definitions of counter word words

noun counter word any word freely used as a general term of approval or disapproval without reference to its more exact meaning, as nice, terrible, lousy, terrific 3
noun counter word a word, often of short-lived popularity, widely used as an almost meaningless, automatic response. 1
noun counter word a word that has come to be used with a meaning much less specific than that which it had originally, as swell, awful, or terrific. 1

See all 3 definitions of counter word

Information block about the term

Origin of counter word

First appearance:

before 1670

One of the 47% oldest English words

First recorded in 1670-80; counter1 + word

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Counter word

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Counter word

counter word popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 43% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 52% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

counter word usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for counter word

noun counter word

adage — An adage is something which people often say and which expresses a general truth about some aspect of life.
banality — the condition or quality of being banal, or devoid of freshness or originality: the banality of everyday life.
bromide — Bromide is a drug which used to be given to people to calm their nerves when they were worried or upset.
buzzword — A buzzword is a word or expression that has become fashionable in a particular field and is being used a lot by the media.
commonplace — If something is commonplace, it happens often or is often found, and is therefore not surprising.

All 24 Synonyms of counter word