based means founded on; having a basis; often used in combining forms. It carries an Arena rating of 1248, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, based ranks #658 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,587 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,807 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #9,285 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
based is pronounced /beɪst/.
Why “based” is a great word
Admirable or praiseworthy for maintaining individuality and expressing oneself without concern for others' opinions. From the slang term 'basehead' (a person addicted to freebase cocaine), later reappropriated by American rapper Lil B in 2010 to describe his lifestyle. Unlike “trendy,” which implies a nervous chase for approval, or “conformist,” which denotes a surrender to established norms, “based” celebrates nonconformity and the quiet courage of being unswayed by consensus. It is the teenager wearing mismatched vintage clothes to prom, the colleague who voices an unpopular truth in a meeting, or the artist who releases work the critics hate—each a small, defiant assertion that the self need not be negotiated with the crowd.
Etymology
From base + -ed.
adj
- Founded on; having a basis; often used in combining forms.e.g.“That was a soundly based argument.”
- Not caring what others think about one's personality, style, or behavior; focused on maintaining individuality.e.g.“Based means being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being afraid to do what you wanna do. Being positive. […] Based is positive.” — 2010 June 10, Lil B, Complex.com:
- Admirable; praiseworthy, especially if simultaneously unpopular or controversial.e.g.“I hate l'Académie Française, but their spelling reforms are kind of based.” — 2023 August 9, human1011, Hot Takes on Languages! #linguistics:
- Admirable; praiseworthy, especially if simultaneously unpopular or controversial.; Admirable for rejecting political correctness or socially progressive values.e.g.“based and redpilled”
verb
- simple past and past participle of base; Being derived from (usually followed by on or upon).e.g.“It's a new film based on a best-selling novel.”
- simple past and past participle of base; Having a base.e.g.“The ladder is based on the even sidewalk for stability.”
- simple past and past participle of base; Having a base of operations.e.g.“The company is based in New York.”
intj
- Indicating emphatic approval of a statement or opinion, often a controversial or unpopular one.e.g.“—There is no ethics in communism—Based.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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