Invent a Word Contest

We invite you to invent a word. Not just any word. A word you think will greatly enhance the English language.

Interestingly, there are words that mean “invented words”; the fancy word is neologism (invented by Thomas Jefferson) and the informal word is sniglet (invented by Rich Hall).

The word you invent might be…

Adopted for the times. Such as COVID-19 or doomscrolling.

Sprung from politics. Such as muckraker or Obamacare.

Related to the worlds of science fiction or fantasy. Cyberspace was invented by William Gibson for the novel Neuromancer. 

Just a good sound. Such as chortle or persnickety.

Or a word that we need. Such as zonked or neologism.

Nobody invented more words than Shakespeare. To name a few: articulate, bedazzled, clangor, ensnare, eyeball, frugal, incarnadine, lackluster, mimic, moonbeam, obscene, rant, suspicious, swagger, uncomfortable, vulnerable, zany.

Though it’s an honorable practice, we discourage simple morphing (itself a fairly new word). For example, turning a noun into a verb, as in googling, or a noun into an adjective, as in flowery. Those probably won’t wow us enough to win.

So, here’s the deal. Give us your invented word, a one-sentence definition, and use the word in a sentence. The person who concocts the best word gets a free Gotham class of their choosing. 

To get your gears turning, here are some of our past winners: 

Doddlenodding

A physical action of agreement for when you’ve asked a question multiple times, but still not understood the answer. Often characterized by smiling politely or gentle nodding to cover up embarrassment or confusion.

After asking how to make a sourdough starter three times, and still not understanding the baker’s answer through her mask, Dan stood there doddlenodding.

Carina Gaspar

Homefooling

To pretend to do schoolwork remotely while in reality playing Fortnite or watching TikTok.

Jack I see you got an F on your English test, have you been homefooling again.

Jack Wheeler