bromide means A binary compound of bromine and some other element or radical. It carries an Arena rating of 1403, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, bromide ranks #472 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,486 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,625 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,492 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
bromide is pronounced /ˈbɹəʊ.maɪd/.
Why “bromide” is a great word
A bromide is a trite, unoriginal, or soothingly conventional remark or person. From brom- (the element bromine) + -ide (chemical suffix), its figurative sense of a dull person or platitude was coined by American humorist Gelett Burgess (1866–1951), extending from the sedative use of potassium bromide salts. Unlike a platitude, which is merely a flat and insipid remark, or a cliché, which is an overused phrase, a bromide carries the specific, drowsy weight of a sedative—a thought intended to soothe and placate through conventionality. It is the well-meaning relative who murmurs 'everything happens for a reason,' the corporate email that opens 'I hope this finds you well,' or the politician's promise to 'put people first'—language calibrated to administer, through grammar, the chemical calm of the unexamined life.
Etymology
From brom- + -ide. First used in the sense “dull person” by American artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist Gelett Burgess. Figurative sense ("platitude") by extending the medicating sense through the metaphor of pacifying or placating.
noun
- A binary compound of bromine and some other element or radical.
- A binary compound of bromine and some other element or radical.; Any salt of hydrobromic acid.
- The anionic form of a bromine atom.
- A dull person with conventional thoughts.e.g.“My adviser at college was a bromide who had not had an original thought in years.”
- A platitude.e.g.“We hoped the speech would include reassurances, but instead it was merely one bromide after another.”
- A dose of bromide taken as a sedative, or to reduce sexual appetite.
- A print made on bromide paper.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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