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Word of the Day

Word of the day

subterfuge

[ suhb-ter-fyooj ] [ ˈsʌb tərˌfyudʒ ] Show IPA Phonetic Respelling

noun

an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule, escape a consequence, hide something, etc.

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Why Dictionary.com chose subterfuge

More about subterfuge

  • First recorded in English around 1565–75.
  • Comes from the Late Latin word subterfugium, which is similar to the Latin word subterfug(ere), meaning “to evade.”
  • Subter means “below,” and fugere, “to flee.”
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EXAMPLES OF SUBTERFUGE

  • His elaborate subterfuge involved creating a fake identity to gain access to the exclusive event.
  • Their subterfuge of leaving a decoy package fooled the thieves and protected the valuable merchandise.
20240103
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Word of the day

totality

[ toh-tal-i-tee ] [ toʊˈtæl ɪ ti ] Show IPA Phonetic Respelling

noun

Astronomy. total obscuration or darkening in an eclipse.

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Why Dictionary.com chose totality

More about totality

  • First recorded in 1590–1600 in the sense of “a whole.”
  • The astronomical sense highlighted here was first recorded in the 1840s.
  • Comes from the noun total, which came from the Latin word tōtālis, meaning “entire.”
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EXAMPLES OF TOTALITY

  • During the solar eclipse, we were lucky enough to witness the breathtaking totality as the moon completely blocked out the sun.
  • People traveled far and wide to experience the rare event of totality during the total solar eclipse, hoping to capture it through photography and memory.
20240103
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Word of the day

fard

[ fahrd ] [ fɑrd ] Show IPA Phonetic Respelling

verb

to apply cosmetics to (the face).

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Why Dictionary.com chose fard

More about fard

  • First recorded around 1400–50.
  • Comes from an Old French noun that derived from the verb farder, meaning “to apply makeup.”
  • Farder probably came from the Old Low Franconian verb *farwiđon, “to dye, color.”
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EXAMPLES OF FARD

  • Before the photo shoot, the makeup artist worked diligently to fard the model’s face with precision.
  • The beauty vlogger demonstrated how to fard effectively for a flawless makeup look in her latest tutorial.
20240103
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