Articles from 2013

Is SAT Prep Your Priority in the New Year? Check out these lists of words grouped by every letter of the alphabet and get learning! Continue reading...

An elusive fairy is one you can't catch, but an illusive one was never really there at all. It was just an illusion! Continue reading...

To disillusion someone is to rid her of an illusion, like lifting up the curtain to show that the wizard is just a man. Dissolution, on the other hand, is when everything falls apart. Both are disappointing. Continue reading...

As the year comes to a close, it's time once again to survey the new words and phrases that made their presence felt in the popular consciousness. For the Wall Street Journal, I surveyed the "words that popped in 2013," from cronut to Sharknado, but there were too many good choices to include in one article. Here I present my more comprehensive list of notable words of the year. Continue reading...

For a word so many of us shrug off as "meaningless," resolution is actually chock-full of meaning. In fact, it's so rich, it makes a great place to start for anyone resolving to learn more words in 2014. Continue reading...

A word can spark a conversation, remind us of a shared happiness, console a grieving heart, entice us with thoughts of future pleasure. Why not offer one to friends and family as a gift? We've got a list of gift-worthy ones to inspire you and our word-store, otherwise known as our Dictionary, is open 24 hours a day. Continue reading...

It's that time of year when everyone is making their case for the Word of the Year. For Dennis Baron, English professor at the University of Illinois and author of the blog The Web of Language, the word of 2013 is none other than marriage. Continue reading...