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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 word

  • 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

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

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 51% 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.

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.

See also

Matching words

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