Word.ws English Dictionary

counterword

counterword noun: a word (for example so) that is frequently used in a reflex-like manner in an answer and that has thereby quickly taken on a new, much less specific or much looser meaning or is even almost meaningless and performs a completely new function.

Noun

counterword (plural counterwords)

  1. A word (for example so) that is frequently used in a reflex-like manner in an answer and that has thereby quickly taken on a new, much less specific or much looser meaning or is even almost meaningless and performs a completely new function.
  2. Such a word (or a word that has gone through a similar change) when not used as a reflex-like answer.

Forms of counterword

pluralcounterwords

Origin of counterword

From counter- + word.

Questions about counterword

What does counterword mean?
Counterword means a word (for example so) that is frequently used in a reflex-like manner in an answer and that has thereby quickly taken on a new, much less specific or much looser meaning or is even almost meaningless and performs a completely new function.
What part of speech is counterword?
Counterword is a noun.
What is the plural of counterword?
The plural of counterword is counterwords.

Words near counterword in the dictionary

  1. counterwitnessed
  2. counterwitnesses
  3. counterwitnessing
  4. counterwoman
  5. counterwomen
  6. counterword
  7. counterwords
  8. counterwork
  9. counterworked
  10. counterworker
  11. counterworkers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: counterword (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “counterword.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/counterword. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.