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And the 2011 "word of the year" is ...

Update your vocabulary !


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As the civilization evolves, the language evolves along with it. In 2010, unfamiliar words like stop kill, top kill, static kill and bottom kill became popular. You can read our "2010 word of the year" coverage here. This year the common verb 'occupy' took a new avtar of its own with "Occupy Wall Street" movement. There was at least one Occupy "town name" movement organized across various US towns last year.

Now, check your awareness with 2011 words. Have fun!


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Which of the following acronymns found a place in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011?

a. OMG - Oh My Goodness
b. WTH - What The Heck
c. LOL - Laughing Out Loud
d. FYI - For Your Information

Answer: [all : a,b,c,d]
These acronymns which became popular with Instant Messaging softwares and Mobile Texting were added to the Oxford English Dictionary this year. The language enthusiasts had mixed reactions about this.

Image credit: blog.discoveryeducation.com

The following word was picked as the word of the year by Dictionary.com. Do you recognize?

a. tergiversate
b. zugzwang
c. insidious
d. occupy

Answer: [a]
Tergiversate, pronounced as ter-ji-ver-sate, was picked as the word of the year by Dictionary.com. Tergiversate means to change one's attitude or opinions repeatedly with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; Unlike 'flip flop', 'tergiversate' suggests a lack of intentionality - it's a change in state more out of necessity, as new events happen at great speed, whether in the economy, politics or attitudes.

Meaning for other words:
b. zugzwang - pronounced sung swang - means, a situation in which a player is limited to moves that cost pieces or have a damaging positional effect.
c. insidious - means a slow and harmful effect
d. occupy - means to take up a place


Image credit: blog.discoveryeducation.com

Which of the following word won the American Dialect Society's "Most useful word" of 2011.

a. humblebrag
b. FOMO
c. bi-winning
d. twinkling

Answer: [a]
A nice word to describe twitter generations. This word is used to describe celebrities who express false humility on the social sites.

Meaning for other words:
b. FOMO - “Fear of Missing Out,” describing anxiety over being inundated by information on social media.
c. bi-winning - term used by Charlie Sheen to describe himself pridefully, dismissing accusations of being bipolar.
d. twinkling - system of wiggly hand gestures to register approval or disapproval.


Image credit: blog.discoveryeducation.com

Few of the overused words/phrases in 2011 based on Lake Superior State University poll. Did you use them too?

a. amazing
b. occupy
c. shared sacrifice
d. winning the future

Answer: [a]
"Amazing" has become one of the most overused words by the reality TV show hosts. That is the first comment judges and hosts are using to describe a contestant's performance.

Meaning for other words:
b. occupy - means to take up a place.
c. shared sacrifice - the term used by politicians world wide to support the austerity measures.
d. winning the future - Obama started this and now Newt Gingrich is following the same.


Image credit:: blog.discoveryeducation.com

Do you know these new words which are floating around? Time to add to your vocabulary.

a. tiger mom, tiger mother
b. the 99 percenters, job creators
c. blow back
d. kardash
e. the new normal
f. ginormous

Answer: [a]
a. tiger mom, tiger mother - an exceedingly strict parent
b. the 99 percenters - those held to be at a financial or political disadvantage to the top moneymakers, the one-percenters. n-percenters, n-percent.
--- job creators - a member of the top one-percent of moneymakers.
c. blow back - response with a pushback.
d. kardash - unit of measurement consisting of 72 days, after the short-lived marriage of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries.
e. the new normal - The phrase is often used to justify bad trends in society and to convince people that they are powerless to slow or to reverse those trends.
f. ginormous - bigger than enormous, lesser than gigantic.


Geared to win the future?