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Saturday, October 28, 2006

unregenerate: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for October 28 is:

unregenerate \un-rih-JEN-uh-rut\ adjective
1 : not spiritually reborn or converted
2 a : not reformed : unreconstructed *b : obstinate, stubborn

Example sentence:
Despite pleadings from his friends, Shane remained unregenerate about his decision.

Did you know?
There was a time when the adjective "regenerate" had more to do with being spiritually reborn than with being physically re-created; in the 16th century, "regenerate" was used of someone spiritually reborn. By the late 1500s, English speakers had added "un-" to "regenerate" to describe someone who refused to accept spiritual reformation. Since then, "unregenerate" has taken on a life of its own, gaining the extended specific meanings of "unconverted to a particular doctrinaire viewpoint," "persisting in a reactionary stand," or just plain "stubborn." Both "regenerate" and "unregenerate" trace back to the Latin "genus," meaning "birth" or "descent."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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