Newspeak - plus, test your vocabulary

[Merriam-Webster]( WORD OF THE DAY [March 10, 2019](#none) newspeak [Audio pronunciation]( noun, often capitalized | NOO-speek Definition : propagandistic language marked by [euphemism](, [circumlocution](, and the inversion of customary meanings Scroll down for more about newspeak TRENDING NOW: [trope]( [self-made]( [churlish]( [perdition]( [SEE ALL [>]]( PEOPLE ARE READING # [The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 3/8/19]( # ['Shard' — Video Word of the Day 3/8/2019]( # [How and When to Use 'Sometime' and 'Anytime']( # [A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia]( WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [Return of Name that Color!]( Additional colors! More obscure than before! [PLAY NOW]( Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]]( Did You Know? The term newspeak was coined by George Orwell in his 1949 anti-utopian novel 1984. In Orwell's fictional [totalitarian]( state, Newspeak was a language favored by the minions of Big Brother and, in Orwell's words, "designed to diminish the range of thought." Newspeak was characterized by the elimination or alteration of certain words, the substitution of one word for another, the interchangeability of parts of speech, and the creation of words for political purposes. The word has caught on in general use to refer to confusing or deceptive bureaucratic jargon. Examples of NEWSPEAK "Remember that in 1984, totalitarian newspeak is created not through elaborate sentences and jargon, but through cutting words out of the dictionary and simplifying grammar. Clear, transparent writing can be used for propaganda purposes as easily as can convoluted prose—and maybe even more easily." — Noah Berlatsky, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 16 July 2011 "He'd lost his birthplace after the Yalta agreement, when his native region was incorporated into the Soviet Union. Since his family was Polish, they decided to join thousands of other '[repatriates](' and re-settle in the area in Poland that the communists' newspeak labeled 'the Recovered Territories.'" — Ewa Hryniewicz-Yarbrough, American Scholar, Summer 2010 Test Your Vocabulary Fill in the blanks to complete a word for political propaganda that is spread through literature, drama, music, or art: a _ _ t _ r _ p. [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]]( WORD OF THE YEAR 2018 Justice + 10 more Read why justice is our Word of the Year, plus lodestar, epiphany, pansexual, and 7 more top words! [SEE THE FULL LIST [>]]( MORE WORD FUN: [WORD GAMES [>]]( [TRENDING NOW [>]]( [WORDS AT PLAY [>]]( FOLLOW US: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( SHARE: [Facebook][Facebook]( [Twitter][Twitter]( [View this email in a web browser]( You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day. [Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day]( [Manage your subscription settings]( Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102 [www.merriam-webster.com](