All memos tagged #dictionary

authority is the power or right to give commands, enforce obedience, and make binding decisions — and, in a separate sense, a person or source whose standing makes their statements accepted as...

A sycophant is a servile, self-seeking flatterer — someone who praises and defers to a powerful person in order to extract advantage from proximity to them. The word is defined by motive rather than...

A paradigm is an outstandingly clear or typical example of something and, in its more consequential sense, the framework of assumptions and methods within which a discipline formulates its theories,...

To assert is to state something positively and often forcefully, or to compel recognition of a right, a claim, or an authority by exercising it rather than merely announcing it. The verbal sense...

A portmanteau, or portmanteau word, is a blend in which parts of two or more words — or of their sounds — are fused into a single new word that carries both meanings at once: smog from smoke and fog,...

lawyer is a person whose profession is to conduct lawsuits for clients or to advise them on their legal rights and obligations in other matters. The word names the profession as a whole rather than...

Forgiveness is the deliberate release of resentment, anger, or the claim to retribution against someone who has caused harm — and, in a second recorded sense, the standing readiness to grant that...

paradox is a statement or situation that appears self-contradictory or absurd yet expresses a truth — or, in the stricter logical sense, one that genuinely cannot be resolved at all. Those are two...

asynchronous describes activity that is not simultaneous or concurrent — participants act on their own schedules, and no exchange requires them to be present at the same moment. In communication the...

formless describes what has no regular shape or defined structure — lacking order and arrangement, or lacking physical existence altogether. The word does different work depending on which sense is...

truism is a statement so obviously true that asserting it adds nothing — an undoubted truth, especially one too self-evident to be worth mentioning. The word almost always carries a note of...

agnostic is one who holds that the existence of God is unknown and probably unknowable — and, in a weaker general sense, anyone unwilling to commit to a position on a question. Thomas Henry Huxley...

archetype is the original pattern or model from which copies are made, and by extension an instance so complete that it stands for its whole category. The word does two jobs, and they can pull...

candor is unreserved, honest, or sincere expression — the quality of saying what one actually thinks, particularly when saying less would be easier. The word carries an implication that plain honesty...

axiom is a statement taken to be true without proof, serving as the foundation from which the other claims in a system are derived. In formal use — logic, mathematics, and the sciences that borrow...

superlative is the degree of grammatical comparison that denotes an extreme or unsurpassed level or extent — the form of an adjective or adverb expressing the highest degree, as in nicest, worst, or...

eponym is one for whom or which something is or is believed to be named — and, in a second recorded sense, the derived name itself when it comes from that person or thing. The word runs in two...

Divorce is the legal termination of a marriage, dissolving the formal rights and obligations between spouses. Laws governing divorce determine how assets, custody, and support are handled, with...

Trust refers to reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person, organization, or system. It involves expecting that commitments will be honored and actions will align with stated...

Reflections "In my experience, the more I go after the powerful feeling of paying attention the happier I am. And, the more I go after the powerful feeling of getting attention the unhappier I am....