Grammar Tips & Articles »

epithet - vocabulary

This Grammar.com article is about epithet - vocabulary — enjoy your reading!


26 sec read
1,478 Views
  Ed Good  —  Grammar Tips
Font size:

noun

Any word or phrase applied to a person or thing and used to describe an actual or attributed quality, as in The Great Communicator used to describe Ronald Reagan or man’s best friend used to describe a dog.

Also, a term of abuse, as in racial epithets, though an epithet need not be derogatory.

Children, I grant, should be innocent; but when the epithet is applied to men, or women, it is but a civil term for weakness.

—Mary Wollstonecraft A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)

Rate this article:

Have a discussion about this article with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this article to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "epithet - vocabulary." Grammar.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.grammar.com/epithet-vocabulary>.

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

    Browse Grammar.com

    Free Writing Tool:

    Instant
    Grammar Checker

    Improve your grammar, vocabulary, and writing -- and it's FREE!


    Quiz

    Are you a grammar master?

    »
    Choose the sentence with correct use of the gerund as the subject:
    A They are good at playing the piano.
    B Running is good exercise.
    C She enjoys to swim in the ocean.
    D He is read a book.

    Improve your writing now:

    Download Grammar eBooks

    It’s now more important than ever to develop a powerful writing style. After all, most communication takes place in reports, emails, and instant messages.