Word of the Day, July 31, 2023

July 31, 2023 [The Free Dictionary]( Word of the Day [spelldown]( [Discuss]( Definition: (noun) A contest in which you are eliminated if you fail to spell a word correctly. Synonyms: [spelling bee]( Usage: Our school hosts a spelldown every year, but since Tom always wins, it's not very exciting. Missing Idiom Contest The Free Dictionary has the largest collection of English idioms in the world. But we are always looking for more to add, and we want your help! Every so often we hear from users who have looked up an idiom on The Free Dictionary that it was not found in the database. Maybe it was some expression they heard at work, or some phrase they grew up hearing their grandmother say. If you know an idiom that isn't already defined on The Free Dictionary, [send it to us]( and you might win $150 USD. Complete English Spelling & Pronunciation Rules [Complete English Spelling & Pronunciation Rules] The latest volume in our best-selling Grammar Book series! Learn the rules and patterns that tell you exactly how any word should be spelled and pronounced. ✔ Go beyond "I before E except after C" and get all the rules and exceptions, all in one place, all explained in plain English. ✔ Simple tips and tricks to avoid the most common mistakes. [Buy now]( Idiom of the Day [the gray dollar]( — The economic purchasing power of elderly people as a group. Primarily heard in US. ["More...]( [Idiom video]( Article of the Day The Edo Period [Discuss]( Edo, now named Tokyo, was the seat of power during the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867). This period brought much needed stability to Japan. The shogun's national authority, combined with the daimyo's regional authority, permitted the administration of both centralized and decentralized authorities. Literacy spread, farming techniques improved, and interregional trade expanded during this period; nevertheless, the last Tokugawa shogun resigned in 1867 because of what pressures? [More...]( Daily Grammar Lesson Defining Attributive Adjectives [Discuss]( Attributive adjectives are adjectives that describe a characteristic (or attribute) of the noun or pronoun that they modify. They form part of a noun phrase, appearing immediately before (or sometimes after) the noun in a sentence. Why are attributive adjectives usually considered in opposition to predicative adjectives? [More...]( This Day in History Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty Signed by the US and USSR (1991) [Discuss]( Signed five months before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was a result of negotiations aimed at reducing the nuclear arsenals of the US and the USSR. In 1991, at the conclusion of two sets of talks, US President George H.W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to a reduction of the Soviet Union stockpile from 11,000 to 8,000 nuclear weapons and of the US arsenal from 12,000 to 10,000. How many warheads is each country estimated to have today? [More...]( Today's Birthday Primo Levi (1919) [Discuss]( Two years after earning a degree in chemistry, Levi, an Italian Jew, was captured by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz. He later recounted the atrocities he witnessed in autobiographical novels including If This Is a Man, which has been described as one of the most important works of the 20th century. His best known work, The Periodic Table, is a collection of 21 meditations, each named for a chemical element. What entertainer has Levi's concentration camp number tattooed on his arm? [More...]( Today's Holiday Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola [Discuss]( [St. Ignatius Loyola]( (1491-1556) founded the [Society of Jesus]( the Roman Catholic religious order whose members are known as Jesuits. The Feast of St. Ignatius is celebrated by Jesuits everywhere, but particularly in the [Basque region]( of Spain where he was born. The largest Basque community in North America, located in Boise, Idaho, holds its annual St. Ignatius Loyola Picnic on the last weekend in July—an event often referred to as the Basque Festival. [More...]( Quote of the Day [Discuss]( Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways. [Oscar Wilde]( (1854-1900) Mobile apps from TheFreeDictionary.com [The Free Dictionary Classic Free App] The classic free version, downloaded more than 6 million times! - Multiple dictionaries, encyclopedias, and thesauruses in one place. - 14 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, Norwegian, Greek, Arabic, Polish, Turkish, and Russian. - Online translations of English into more than 40 languages, plus dozens of other translation options. 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