51吃瓜 of the Day
insouciant
[ in-soo-see-uhnt ]
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adjective
free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant.
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Why Dictionary.com chose insouciant
More about insouciant
- First recorded in 1820鈥�30.
- Comes from French, combining the negative prefix in– with souciant, a form of soucier 鈥渢o worry.鈥�
- Soucier comes from Latin 蝉辞濒濒颈肠颈迟腻谤别 鈥渢o disturb,鈥� from which we also get solicitous, “anxious; concerned; eager.”
EXAMPLES OF INSOUCIANT
- As the waves crashed against the shore, he strolled along the beach with an insouciant gait.
- Even in the face of adversity, she maintained an insouciant demeanor, refusing to let life’s challenges dampen her spirit.
SYNONYM OF THE DAY
Double your word knowledge with the Synonym of the Day!
heteronym
[ het-er-uh-nim ]
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noun
a word spelled the same as another but having a different sound and meaning.
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Why Dictionary.com chose heteronym
More about heteronym
- From the Late Greek word 丑别迟别谤峁搉测尘辞蝉, dating back to 1880鈥�85.
- The prefix hetero– means “different.”
- The suffix –onym means “name.”
EXAMPLES OF HETERONYM
- The word wind is a fascinating heteronym, with one pronunciation representing moving air and the other representing the act of winding a clock.
- Lead is a classic heteronym, with one pronunciation meaning to guide or direct, while the other refers to a heavy metal.
pareidolia
[ pair-ahy-doh-lee-uh ]
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noun
the illusory perception of meaningful patterns or images of familiar things in random or amorphous data, as a face seen on the moon.
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Why Dictionary.com chose pareidolia
More about pareidolia
- First recorded in 1960鈥�65.
- Comes from German Pareidolien, plural of Pareidolie.
- Pareidolie is formed from par(a)– “at the side of; beside; beyond,” and eidol(on) “phantom; apparition.”
EXAMPLES OF PAREIDOLIA
- The excitement grew as the researchers discovered what appeared to be pareidolia in the data collected from deep space.
- As I stared at the clouds, I experienced pareidolia and saw a bunny shape formed by their fluffy contours.
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