Word of the Day
discombobulate
[ dis-kuhm-bob-yuh-leyt ]
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verb
to confuse or disconcert; confound; bewilder.
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Why Dictionary.com chose discombobulate
More about discombobulate
- An Americanism first recorded in 1825鈥�35.
- An earlier form, discomboberate, was recorded in the early 1800s.
- Apparently originated as a humorous imitation of fancy Latin words and is an聽alteration of discompose or discomfort.
EXAMPLES OF DISCOMBOBULATE
- The sudden change in schedule discombobulated the students, throwing off their rhythm for the day.
- The loud noise and flashing lights discombobulated the performers, causing them to stumble through their routine.
SYNONYM OF THE DAY
Double your word knowledge with the Synonym of the Day!
carte blanche
[ kahrt-blanch, blahnch ]
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noun
unconditional authority; full discretionary power.
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Why Dictionary.com chose carte blanche
More about carte blanche
- First recorded in 1655鈥�65 as blank, blanck, or blanche (without carte) in the card game sense.
- First recorded in 1700鈥�10 in the sense 鈥渂lank, signed document,鈥� and in 1760鈥�70 in the more general sense highlighted here, 鈥渄iscretionary power.鈥�
- Comes from French and translates literally as 鈥渂lank document.鈥�
EXAMPLES OF CARTE BLANCHE
- The director gave the lead actor carte blanche to improvise during certain key scenes.
- As the team captain, she had carte blanche to choose the starting lineup for each game.
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Why Dictionary.com chose quotidian
More about quotidian
- First recorded around 1300鈥�50.
- Comes from Latin 辩耻辞迟墨诲颈腻苍耻蝉, “daily,” which is similar to 肠辞迟迟墨诲颈(脓) “every day.”
- 蚕耻辞迟墨诲颈腻苍耻蝉 is formed from quot, “however many occur, every” and di脓, a form of di脓s, “day.”
EXAMPLES OF QUOTIDIAN
- The journalist’s task is to uncover the hidden stories within the fabric of quotidian life and shed light on important societal issues.
- As an astronomer, I study the celestial bodies that shine in the sky each night, but it’s the quotidian beauty of a fading sunset that always captivates me.
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