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

See all 2 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.

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