neologism

noun ne·ol·o·gism \ nē-ˈä-lə-ˌji-zəm \

Updated on: 24 Feb 2018

Definition of neologism

1 : a new word, usage, or expression

technological neologisms

2 psychology : a new word that is coined especially by a person affected with schizophrenia and is meaningless except to the coiner, and is typically a combination of two existing words or a shortening or distortion of an existing word

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neologistic

play \nē-ˌä-lə-ˈji-stik\ adjective

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Recent Examples of neologism from the Web

To Walker's amusement, his book sometimes appeared in the art instruction section of bookstores, and his neologisms would pop up in discussions about the art of cartooning.

— ali bahrampour, chicagotribune.com, "Mort Walker, whose 'Beetle Bailey' was a comic-page staple for decades, dies at 94," 27 Jan. 2018
Coining neologisms was and still is one of Coupland’s things.

— laura miller, Slate Magazine, "It’s hard to be the voice of a generation when your generation doesn’t need you anymore.," 15 May 2017
The millennial neologism for an age-old conundrum, ‘‘

— maya binyam, New York Times, "Letter of Recommendation: Ghosting," 3 Aug. 2017
Fake news — a neologism to describe stories that are just not true, like Pizzagate, and a term now co-opted to characterize unfavorable news — has given new urgency to the teaching of media literacy.

— interview by sydney ember, New York Times, "This Is Not Fake News (but Don’t Go by the Headline)," 3 Apr. 2017
Unaware of any word that could describe her situation, Webster saw an opportunity for neologism.

— michelle nijhuis, The New Yorker, "What Do You Call the Last of a Species?," 2 Mar. 2017
Instead, these books feature a new kind of mutant—wonky business writers endowed with bulging brainpans and killer neologisms.

— jennifer alsever, WIRED, "The Rise of the Corporate Superhero," 29 Mar. 2011

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'neologism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The English language is constantly picking up neologisms. Recently, for example, computer technology has added a number of new terms to the language. "Webinar," "malware," "netroots," and "blogosphere" are just a few examples of modern-day neologisms that have been integrated into American English. The word neologism was itself a brand-new coinage at the beginning of the 19th century, when English speakers first borrowed it from the French nèologisme. Its roots, however, are quite old. Ultimately, "neologism" comes from Greek neos (meaning "new") and "logos" (meaning "word").

Origin and Etymology of neologism

borrowed from French néologisme "the habit of forming new words, a newly formed word," from néologie "coining of new words" (from néo- neo- + -logie -logy) + -isme -ism

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1772

See Words from the same year

NEOLOGISM Defined for English Language Learners

neologism

noun

Definition of neologism for English Language Learners

: a new word or expression or a new meaning of a word

Medical Dictionary

neologism

noun ne·ol·o·gism \ nē-ˈäl-ə-ˌjiz-əm \

medical Definition of neologism

: a new word that is coined especially by a person affected with schizophrenia, is meaningless except to the coiner, and is typically a combination of two existing words or a shortening or distortion of an existing word