neologism
Other forms: neologisms
A neologism is a made-up or new word. Neologisms can be fun-ti-ful, but the problem is making sure others understand what you mean.
The word neologism was once a neologism itself. It was created by gluing the prefix neo-, "new," onto the Greek root logos or "word." People coin neologisms all the time, linguists track which ones stick, and eventually, we all feel they're old friends. Or maybe not: random samples from words coined in 2003 include: adultolescence, pastability, pre-zactly, and neomaxizoomdweebie.
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a newly invented word or phrasetypes:blend, portmanteau, portmanteau worda new word formed by joining two others and combining their meaningstype of:worda unit of language that native speakers can identify
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the act of inventing a word or phrase
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Vocabulary lists containing neologism
Looking for some new words? Learn this list of terms based on neo-, a Greek prefix meaning "new," and novare, Latin for "to make new."
If you want to understand the tools and techniques that great writers use, learn these literary devices and figures of speech.
If you want to understand the tools and techniques that great writers use, learn these literary devices and figures of speech. Review this vocabulary list and you'll be a master of metaphor, an expert on euphemism, and a pro at puns.