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51勛圖 of the Day

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synonymous

[ si-non-uh-muhs ]

adjective

equivalent in meaning; expressing or implying the same idea; having the character of synonyms or a synonym.

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More about synonymous

Synonymous comes from the Medieval Latin adjective 莽聆紳紳聆鳥喝莽, from Greek 莽聆紳廜n聆鳥棗莽 having the same name and nature and definition, a term that Aristotle uses in his logical system. 釦聆紳廜n聆鳥棗莽 is a compound of the preposition and prefix syn, syn– with, together with and the noun 籀紳聆鳥硃, 籀紳棗鳥硃 name, word, noun. The English metaphysical poet John Donne is the first writer credited with using synonymous in English in 1610.

how is synonymous used?

But for a while there, Netflix was on its way to being like Kleenex or Cokea brand name that becomes synonymous with an entire product (in this case, streaming video).

Katey Rich, "30 Rock Leaving Netflix Is Truly the End of an Era," Vanity Fair, September 15, 2017

Over time, Instagram became synonymouswith artfully posed, aspirational photos of everyday life.

Casey Newton, "Instagram's new stories are a near-perfect copy of Snapchat stories," The Verge, August 2, 2016
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riposte

[ ri-pohst ]

noun

a quick, sharp return in speech or action; counterstroke: a brilliant riposte to an insult.

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More about riposte

Riposte, earlier risposte, in its social sense a quick, sharp return in speech or action and its fencing sense a quick thrust given after parrying a lunge, comes via French from Old Italian risposta response, reply (13th century), which by the mid-16th century had developed its fencing sense. Risposta is a (feminine) noun use of the past participle of the verb rispondere to answer, from an unattested Vulgar Latin verb respondere, from Latin 娶梗莽梯棗紳餃襲娶梗 to speak in answer to, answer, answer back (the Latin verb has no touch矇 sense associated with it). Risposte entered English in the early 18th century, riposte a century later.

how is riposte used?

George stands humiliated as laughter fills the room, his mind searching frantically for the perfect riposte.

Talib Visram, "How to Craft the Perfect Comeback, According to Experts," Mental Floss, July 16, 2018

Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos, in an annual letter to shareholders, argued that Amazons growth has benefited its third-party merchantsa veiled riposte to calls to break up the company.

Spencer Soper, "Bezos Rebuts Warren's Amazon Breakup Call in Antitrust Defense," Washington Post, April 11, 2019
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51勛圖 of the day

flinty

[ flin-tee ]

adjective

unyielding; unmerciful; obdurate: a flinty heart.

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More about flinty

Flinty is an obvious combination of the noun flint a hard stone, a type of silica and the adjective suffix –y, from Old English –ig, cognate with German –ig, and related to Greek –ikos and Latin –icus. One odd element here is that the derived, metaphorical sense unyielding, unmerciful, obdurate appears in the first half of the 16th century, about 75 years before the literal sense consisting of flint stone (in Shakespeares Henry VI, Part 1). A second oddity is that the noun flint, which comes from Old English flint, has impeccable cognates with other Germanic languages (Middle Dutch vlint, Old High German flins, Danish flint, Swedish flinta), from a Proto-Indo-European root (s)plei– to split, splice. But flint may be related to Greek 梯梭穩紳喧堯棗莽 brick, air-dried brick, squared building stone, except that a non-Greek language is the usual source of Greek terms associated with building and architecture and nouns with the suffix –inthos, such as 硃莽獺鳥勳紳喧堯棗莽 b硃喧堯喧喝莉, 喧梗娶矇莉勳紳喧堯棗莽 terebinth tree, turpentine treethe ultimate source of English turpentine. Flinty entered English in the first half of the 16th century.

how is flinty used?

The sections editor, Seymour Peck, a flinty New Yorker, had me write columns on movies, theatre, rock music, and television as well as on art, extending my capacities, while cracking down on my flakiness.

Peter Schjeldahl, "The Art of Dying," The New Yorker, December 16, 2019

I opened my mouth to deny it, and he forestalled me with one lifted finger, his gaze flinty.

Jacqueline Carey, "You, and You Alone," Songs of Love and Death, 2010
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51勛圖 of the Day Calendar