Julia is a corporate communications professional and creative writer who always keeps a dictionary nearby. This website is updated weekly with new definitions in the “Definition of the Day” series. There are over 1 million words in the American English language. Each word has its own set of denotations and connotations or semantics and pragmatics. And new words are being created every day. To count the total number of meanings would be like measuring the distance to the next galaxy. We can start with the words we use every day and explore new usages to communicate more clearly, effectively, and honestly with each other. The perfect word to describe your current mood or feeling may not even exist yet, but it well. For a list of words further defined and explored here, view Julia’s Dictionary below. Julia is open to new business. Please see Contact page for contact details.
: method of writing large or small numbers in a shorter form, often used in fields such as engineering, chemistry, microbiology, physics, and astronomy.
2.
: mathematical lesson often taught to students in the 7th and 8th grade. : a great way for a student who struggles with math to become more comfortable learning the subject. Learning the basic concepts of scientific notation is taught visually by counting the zeros like how you would count the stars when you look at the night sky.
Photo of the night sky in my hometown shot with iPhone 15 Pro on the 4th of July.
: type of communication that is written to detail directions or instructions ; can include mixed media such as texts, illustrations, videos, or even DIY How-To zines.
: process of conveying complex technical information to a specific audience in a clear, concise, and accurate manner and in a way that is accessible, digestible, easy-to-understand, and without judgment.
1b
: the instructions for setting up a new appliance or furniture that appears difficult to read either because of the font size or a key step is missing that could put you at a safety risk.
2a
: a career field that provides information to users who need assistance to accomplish a defined goal or task.
: a type of writing that requires technical knowledge or a deep interest in synthesizing multiple streams of information.
: a type of writing where you feel motivated to write clearer documentation or instructions for your audiences and without missing any key steps, guaranteeing the trust and safety of your customers.
A Simple, Technical Communication on How to Write Technical Communications:
First, set down the pen. Learn the product and, if possible, test it.
Read all your guides and keep reviewing them while you are on assignment. Guides include the dictionary, company in-house style guides, standardized style guides (i.e. AP Style, Chicago Manual of Style), accessibility best practices, and Federal Plain Text Guidelines. Don’t forget to ask your local marketer what dictionary he/she/they prefer!
Read the latest news and continue to keep updated on the cultural discourse (as often and as you can). Words are constantly evolving, and with that, new semantics.
Promoted: Writing technical communication also means mastering the language of grammar. Fortunately, with Grammarly AI, you can work with an AI writing partner that helps you find the words you need—to write that tricky email, to get your point across, to keep your work moving.
Scattered stacks of textbooks found on a sidewalk, with the titles The Chicago Manual of Style, The Best Punctuation Book, and, humorously, a chapbook called Why Editors Drink placed on top of the piles.
What do you think of Definition of the Day? Do you have any feedback or a new word to submit? Contact me at juliaisreading at aol dot com! I’m looking for new, creative definitions of “vacations” and “crash out” for future blog posts.
: the “song” of one or more birds. : the melodious sound and language that we hear birds make.
In an essay for BBC Earth, Angela Saini interviews academic researchers on the sentence structure of birdsong and how oddly similar it can be to human speak.
“Syntax was considered to have uniquely evolved in humans, but our study demonstrates that it has evolved in a wild bird, too. I think many basic features of language capacity are shared between humans and non-human animals, including birds,” says Toshitaka Suzuki, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan, in an interview with Saini.
2.
Ornithological term
: the musical vocalizations of birds, typically uttered by a male songbird in characteristic bursts or phrases for territorial purposes. : a form of animal communication by birds that is often more complex and used for decision-making purposes, such as courtship or territorial defense.
Connotations
1. : a 1993 war novel by English author, Sebastian Faulks, part of a trilogy. : a 2012 tv mini-series based on the Faulks novel.
2. : a brewing company opened in 2010 and located at 1016 North Davidson Street in Charlotte, NC.
3. : a Michelin-starred restaurant located at 1085 Mission St in San Francisco, CA and with a rich menu of seafood fare curated by Chef Christopher Bleidorn. It was opened in 2018.
4. : name of 2018 album and an acoustic title track by Regina Spektor.
5. : the sounds of nature that you will hear when you go outside and you shut out all other noises.
verb : to (deliberately?) hurt, annoy, or offend (a person). : to (intentionally?) annoy, upset, or hurt (a person):
2.
noun : a strong desire to hurt, annoy, or offend (a person). : a feeling of anger toward another person that makes someone want to annoy, upset, or hurt them, however small. : the act of petty ill will or hatred with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart.
Example: In spite of our differences, we find a way to move on and collaborate.
Etymology
The noun version of spite dates back to circa 1300 as a shortened form of “despite.” Variations appeared in early Dutch, German, and Swedish languages. “Despite” came from Old French, meaning “scorn” or “contempt.”1
Antonym: altruism | al·tru·ism |ˈalˌtro͞oˌizəm
noun
: the practice of selfless concern for the wellbeing of others. : the act of taking care of others without expecting anything in return. : a form of enlightenment when you give to others and don’t need anything in return, though perhaps this is unattainable to humans.
Discourse
In a recent Freakonomics Radio show episode, “What Do Medieval Nuns and Bo Jackson Have in Commmon,” host Steven Dubner edits an episode from 2013 to further examine “whether spite pays—and if it even exists.” Through opening polemic space for the question, “How do you know if someone is intentionally hurting you?” Dubner interviews his co-author, Steven Levitt, and finds the answer in the antonym.
Levitt: “What I would say about spite, to try, I would say this, to know that an act is spite, you have to be inside the head of the perpetrator. Because the idea of spite is that it’s being done without benefit. But it’s interesting because one of the first premises of economics is you can never really know what other people are thinking and why they’re doing what they’re doing. Instead, we focus on what they do. And so consequently, my view is forget about what’s going on inside of other people’s heads. You’ll probably never know what it is and focus on what they’re actually doing.”
Dubner: Do you see altruism as sort of the flip side of the coin to spite and therefore not quite real?
Levitt: Altruism is exactly the flip side of spite in the sense that there are acts which very well could be altruistic but equally could be done in a perfectly self-interested way.
Listen to the full show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
In this word poem, we will look at the word, suffrage. Below you will find two common definitions, the etymology of the word, and an explanation of why it matters today.
: a prayer on behalf of others. : a short prayer that may be part of a series. : a petition, especially as a request by a large number of people demanding action from an authority.1
Etymology
The term suffrage derives from the Latin word, suffragium, meaning the privilege to vote. In the United States, it is commonly associated with both the 15th Amendment2 and the 19th Amendment3 of the Constitution.
Definitions sourced from Cambridge Dictionary, Dictionary.com, and Merriam-Webster. ↩︎
“Did You Know? Suffragist vs Suffragette.” National Park Service. 1 Sept 2020. https://www.nps.gov/articles/suffragistvssuffragette.htm (Website) ↩︎
Kratz, Jessie. “What is Suffrage?” National Archives: A Piece of History. 2019 May 14. https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2019/05/14/what-is-suffrage/ (Blog) ↩︎
There is a lot to unpack from the weekend! Reading your news sources’ bibliographies and crafting a bibliography of your own is necessary for verifying information and preventing cyberattacks.
Overview
Does it feel like there is too much noise online? Across any digital platforms you may use, you will find an endless barrage of user-generated information circulating far too quickly on various websites, blog posts, LinkedIn posts, YouTube videos, Meta posts, X posts, TikTok reels, Instagram stories and reels, Threads comments, Snapchat stories, WhatsApp messages and stories, your group chats, and more. How can we make sense of the noise?
The problem isn’t only trying to keep up with it all. It’s impossible to review, read, or watch everything you review online. A new problem emerges: how do you verify what you find online and confirm what is true?
In this blog post, you will find a brief news report, tips on preventing cyber attacks, a new definition of the featured word “bibliography,” and a bibliography for further reading. In truth, we won’t be able to find all of the answers to a developing story. We must do our due diligence to prevent the flow of inaccuracies, whether by accident or design.
Brief News Report
Over the weekend, the US launched attacks on Iran targeting nuclear facilities outside of Tehran. President Trump addressed the nation in a State of the Union on Saturday. (Recording of the live broadcast by CBS is available on YouTube). That same day, the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin summarizing the threat to the United States. In addition to fears of nuclear warfare, the bulletin includes a warning of potential threats of cyber weapons of mass destruction targeting people through the digital world:
Low-level cyber attacks against US networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against US networks.
Cited text as it appears in the National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin issued by Department of Homeland Security on June 22, 2025
Please note that this is a developing story. I will note that I cannot verify what is meant by “pro-Iranian hacktivists” in the above passage. Upon further research, it is unclear whether Iran will retaliate and what form that will take (See: Hernandez, NPR). This is a developing story. You will find the latest on CNN.
Tips on Preventing Cyber Attacks
Regardless of the origin and intent of hackers, I am including the bulletin as a reminder to stay vigilant both at work and at home. In the right sidebar of the bulletin, you will find “Resources to Stay Safe” which includes a short list of ways to report potential threats and tools and to learn more about cybersecurity best practices.
My cat lying down on my desk, looking at the plants on my windowsill. Maintaining a clean desk is an ongoing commitment!
A cybersecurity attack, whether targeted at a company or an individual, can have devastating costs and consequences. One year ago, IBM released its annual Cost of a Data Breach Report. Through analyzing reports on data breaches experienced by 604 organizations globally between March 2023 and February 2024, the report found that the global average cost of a data breach reached $4.88 million in 2024, an increase of 10% over the prior year.
Cyber attacks can also cause irrefutable damage to a company’s brand by destroying the trust and loyalty of clients, customers, employees, and vendors. As an experienced content marketing specialist, I continually assess new risks to a company’s brand and respond quickly with crisis communications in alignment with business priorities.
My cybersecurity tips?
Use multi-factor authentication methods.
Don’t lock a key within a key.
Be careful who you share your tips with.
Maintain an ongoing list of news sources – a bibliography – to verify information.
Maintain a clean desk.
Definition
Looking for a communications and content marketing specialist? Let’s connect on LinkedIn!
: a list of all of the sources you have used in the process of researching your work.
: a more expansive reference list than a “Works Cited,” which typically contains only the sources cited in a body of work.
: a list of all of your sources that readers can use both to verify your credibility and to review for further reading and exploration on the topic.
2.
As referenced by a reader
: a carefully formatted list of sources that is edited according to relevant style guidelines (AP Style, Chicago Manual of Style, etc).
: a formatted list at the end of a book or research project where the reader can find the media and references that the author used.
3.
: a running list of all of the sources you use when researching a topic with key details such as author, username, title, publisher, date of broadcast or publication, and link saved. You must do the work to collect all of these details. Use the “save” feature on social media platforms to archive a post and reference it later.
For an example of a bibliography, see my bibliography for this blog post below.
The Associated Press Style Book 56th Edition. The Associated Press. New York: Basic Books. 2022. (Book)
Perlroth, Nicole. This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race. 9 February 2021. Dublin, Ireland: Bloomsbury Publishing. (Book)
Legal Disclaimer: Julia Lipscomb is not affiliated with any of the sources included in this post, nor is this an endorsement for any person, brand, or agency mentioned. The purpose of this post is for educational, informational, and research purposes.
This weekend is a weekend of celebrations. We started the long weekend by honoring the US federal holiday of Juneteenth. Then we all must go outside in some capacity to celebrate the longest day of the year, Summer Solstice. There are multiple holidays celebrated worldwide for the Solstice, such as Swedish Midsummer. 🐻
Whether you have a little or a lot of work to do today, remember to take time to:
recharge | recharge rē- chärj Verb
To regain energy and strength.
To refill with electric charge (as in an electronic device or battery)
To rest and relax for a period of time so that you feel whole again.
To take a break from a trigger until you feel like yourself again.
To recognize when you need to pause in order to regain your energy and strength alone through self-care before you give your best self to your loved ones.
Summer Solstice Media Recommendations
Music: “Everyone Falls In Love” by Tantro Metro & Devonte
Book: The Hustle Cure by A New Approach to Burnout and Productivity for Women by Sofie Cliff (Blue Star Press, 2025)
In this week’s Word Poem, we’re going to look at the word, cruel. Lately I’ve been having a series of nightmares about something that I found to be, well, cruel. It’s also hard not to read the news and find a story that is not about cruelty. I will save you any descriptions. I think we can use a break from the current news cycle.
In this post, we’re going to explore the definitions, variations, etymology and linguistic derivatives, one popular culture usage, synonyms, and antonyms of the word, cruel, and a call to action. Somehow, this word has roots in the English language dating as far back as the 13th Century AD. I don’t understand how anyone can be cruel, and to be so cruel that we needed a word to describe such an action, and this word is practically the same in a dozen languages. I hope that this inspires you, dear reader, to be the antonym.
1 : description (of a person) that means to cause pain or suffering, willfully or without feeling any concern : description (of a person) disposed to inflict pain or suffering : devoid of humane feelings : (of a person) morally rude or unfeeling : a stronger way of saying mean in reference to a person’s actions or behaviors
Example: a cruel tyrant (where object of the sentence could be a person)
2 : (of a person, thing, or action) causing or conducive to injury, grief, or pain : extremely unkind and unpleasant : (of a person or action) causing pain to humans or animals intentionally.
Example: a cruel joke, a cruel twist of fate (where object of the sentence could be a physical or metaphorical object or an action)
3 : unrelieved by leniency : (of an action or event) causing suffering : being extremely or unnecessarily unfair (as in to a person) : being interrogated in an unfair manner : of a punishment that is rejected by society and completely disproportionate to the crime in question.
Example: cruel punishment (where object of the sentence is an action or event)
Cruel: Variations
Adjective: crueler or crueller; cruelest or cruellest
Adverb: cruelly | ˈkrü-(ə-)lē
Noun: cruelness
Etymology of the Word, Cruel
The origins of the word cruel come from Middle English and Anglo-French. It is derived from the Latin word crudelis, which was further descended from crudus. The first known use of cruel dates back to the Middle Ages and was used in a similar way as Merriam Webster’s first definition: “disposed to inflict pain or suffering” or “devoid of humane feelings.”
In the screenshot on the left, the definition of “crudelis” appears in Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, a Latin-French dictionary by Felis Gaffiot and published by Hachette in 1934.
The word “cruel” is written the same in multiple languages that also originate from Latin, including Asturian, Catalan, English, French, Galician, Portuguese, and Spanish. There are various forms of the word that appear in different Italian dialects, from Venetian’s crudel to Sicilian’s crudili.
Oxford English Dictionary traces the earliest evidence of the word “cruel” to the text, Ancrene Riwle. Ancrene Riwle, or “The Rule for Anchoresses,” is a series of seven manuscripts that were composed in Middle English between 1225 and 1240 by an unknown, religious man in the old West Saxon kingdom. For context, Anchorites (male) and Anchoresses (female) were people in the Middle Ages who withdrew from secular society to lead a pious and prayer-oriented life and often lived in cells close to churches. Acrene Riwle was later retitled to Ancrene Riwle.
In a blog post from 2020, the web author, Thomas Hillman, finds the word in Ancrene Riwle in a passage that describes a father and a mother, which could be interpreted as figuratively or literally. He looks at a translation of Ancrene Riwle by Lord of the Rings author, JRR Tolkien, in the following passage:
‘He put himself between us and his Father who was threatening to smite us, just as a mother who is merciful puts herself between her child and the wrath of a stern father when he wishes to beat him’. . . Justice’, he says, ‘must necessarily be stern’, and thus he dyes cruelty with the hue of righteousness. But one may be all too righteous. ‘Be not excessively just.’ [It says] in Ecclesiastes.
In this passage, we see “cruelty” referenced in direct contrast to righteousness (the quality of being morally right or justifiable). There are religious overtones in this text, and both extremes appear eerily recognizable.
There are numerous titles of movies, songs, and other art forms in the popular culture discourses that reference and describe the word, cruel. My personal favorite? The 1983 New Wave pop hit, “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama. (This will come as no surprise to my closest friends). I figured I’d mention it, considering the current weather forecast for this upcoming holiday weekend is 90 degrees in New York City. Do you want to know what that looks like? Watch the official video and feel the hot asphalt as the group dances through the city:
Top Image: Screenshot from the Bananarama music video
Image on right: “Cruel Summer” poster for a private event at Alligator Lounge.
Side note: I finished Season 2 of the Rehearsal, and the show made me nostalgic for Kings of Karaoke nights at the bar.
For a summary, read “Ancrene Riwle” (https://www.bsswebsite.me.uk/History/AncreneRiwle/AncreneRiwle.html)
J.R.R. Tolkien’s edition of the medieval manuscript is open source and available to read at the Internet Archive. The book is published by the Oxford University Press in 1962, commissioned by the Early English Text Society. Link: https://archive.org/details/ancrene-wisse/page/100/mode/1up
The criticism that is referenced under Etymology is sourced from here: Hillman, Thomas. “Again, sternly, ‘with other vision’ (RK 6.iii.945).” Alas, Not Me (Blogspot). 9 May 2020. https://alasnotme.blogspot.com/2020/05/again-sternly-with-other-vision-rk.html
: concept in physics that refers to the change in direction of a wave passing from one medium (i.e. air, glass, water) to another following a change in speed or velocity. (Britannica) : concept in astronomy that refers to change in the apparent position of a celestial body due to bending of the light rays emanating from it as they pass through the atmosphere (Merriam-Webster). Astronomical refraction causes objects in space to appear higher above the horizon than they might be. See: MIRAGE.
Query: What is a mirage? Is it a false image, an illusion, a hallucination, an optical effect, or vision? How would you define it?
2
: a concept that you learn when you begin studying the theories behind scuba diving.
: When you are swimming underwater with a mask attached to your face, light passes from the water, and it bends through the mask lens and the air space between your eyes and the frame. This is refraction. The process of refraction creates a magnifying effect. (SDI Open Water Scuba Diver course)
Query: Did you know that underwater objects appear 25% closer and one-third larger than they do on land?
Self-Reflection
It’s been my goal for over a year to try scuba diving. When I signed up for it, I wasn’t in the best health. My body itself felt like its own retraction, a vessel disconnected that had diverted away from the mind. A year ago, I looked healthy, but I wasn’t. I wasn’t ready to go diving. I knew I could. I had health problems and I needed time to get better. I tried to read the open water scuba diving course booklet. Even with its 14 pt size font, my eyes kept darting across the room and to my phone to the next project or visual that interested me. I became preoccupied with an endless number of work tasks, and I was too exhausted to study.
Maybe it wasn’t the right time either. And maybe I only had to try it.
I finally booked a scuba diving experience and went on an adventure. It’s vital to take care of yourself and schedule moments of rest. The benefits to taking time to rest include going on an extraordinary trip underwater (well, shallow water) that I will never forget.
I was experimenting and made this little motivational video below. I hope you enjoy it.
Video
The sea urchins looked larger underwater.
Short clip with a medley of videos and photos taken on a GoPro from a recent scuba diving adventure to the tune of “You Gotta Be” by Des’ree. This video was created on and uploaded to Meta (Sorry, I know it’s only a vertical view).
Photo Collage
Here are some images from the video above,plus a film still from the 1987 classic film, The Chipmunk Adventure, that I couldn’t help but think of when I fell backwards into the water with the equipment on. Sidenote: that film was foundational to learning more about financial crimes and money laundering. Now here we are.
Poem
After the dive, when I looked back at the photos from the Go Pro, I couldn’t believe how tiny the sea urchins appeared within the frame. The sea urchins looked much larger and spikier underwater. Was that a refraction?
Next time an obstacle looks too big for you to face head-on, tell yourself it’s a mirage.
1 : natural chamber or series of chambers in the earth, usually found on the side of a hill or cliff, or underground, and that is large enough for human exploration. 2 : a chamber for storage that is usually underground. 3 : a place providing privacy or seclusion from others.
Cave | ˈkāv verb
1 : to form a cave in or under (transitive) : to explore caves especially as a sport or hobby (intransitive) 2 : to agree to something that you would not agree to before, after someone has persuaded you or threatened you : “to give in” (intransitive) 3 : to cease to resist : SUBMIT (intransitive) : to cause to fall or collapse (transitive)
Caving | Cav·ing | ˈkāviNG noun
1: recreational activity of exploring wild cave systems : SPELUNKING (United States and Canada) : POTHOLING (United Kingdom and Ireland)
Definitions were compiled from the following sources: Britannica, Cambridge, Merriam-Webster, Wikipedia
