Word of the Year: Refudiate
This year, Sarah Palin created a very memorable neologism, and now that word has become famous like its politician-turned-reality-star creator! Yes, the word voted in by the good people at the New Oxford American Dictionary is refudiate.
This year, Sarah Palin created a very memorable neologism, and now that word has become famous like its politician-turned-reality-star creator! Yes, the word voted in by the good people at the New Oxford American Dictionary is refudiate. But does this mean it’s now legit? Take it away, New York Post. –KA
Rock Solid JournalismNew York Post:
“Refudiate” became an instant classic back in July when national media and Palin watchers ridiculed her for using a non-existent word that seemed to be a cross between “refute” and “repudiate.”
“From a strictly lexical interpretation of the different contexts in which Palin has used ‘refudiate,’ we have concluded that neither ‘refute’ nor ‘repudiate’ seems consistently precise, and that ‘refudiate’ more or less stands on its own, suggesting a general sense of ‘reject,’ Oxford University Press said in a press release accompanying the announcement.
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