slur
/slɜɹ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.18 in modern English
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An insult or slight, especially one that is muttered incoherently under one's breath.
noun
An insult or slight, especially one that is muttered incoherently under one's breath.
noun
Any instance of separate things gradually blending together, such as heartbeats in some medical disorders.
Example Sentences
- "It seems that according to their best guess, our mother's ^([sic]) drank too much coffee or alcohol, took drugs, or were under stress during the period of our conception. Underlying all this speculation is, of course, the big slur: we're some kind of unnatural or abnormal product, outside of humanity and their religions."
- "In interviews, current and former students of color described an environment rife with racial insensitivity, including casual uses of slurs."
- "Elon Musk's recent declaration that the term "cis" is a slur indicates just how much transphobia is now central to Twitter."
- "a slur on one's reputation"
- "The undeserved slur which he had cast on my management of the household did not, I am happy to say, prevent me from returning good for evil to the best of my ability, by complying with his request as readily and respectfully as ever."
- "This was a reproach to John, and a slur upon the dog; and both were alive to their misfortune."
Etymology
From Middle English sloor (“thin or fluid mud”). The ultimate origin is uncertain, but perhaps related to a group of words derived from Proto-Germanic *slūm- (“loose, slack, flabby”), such as slumber. Cognate with Middle Low German sluren (“to trail in mud”). Also related to dialectal Norwegian sløra (“to be careless, to scamp, dawdle”), Danish sløre (“to wobble, be loose”) (especially for wheels); compare Old Norse slóðra (“to drag oneself along”). * (an extremely offensive term): Influenced by various compounds of sense 1 such as racial slur, ethnic slur, etc.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: sloor, *slūm-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /slɜɹ/
- British English: /slɜː/