My favorite word is the...  I use it a lot. In fact so much so that I've been consciously trying to omit and delete it. Which is not easy to do, but possible as you can see by this brief, near pristine paragraph. It's amazing how negotiable this term is... if I have a word count issue, it's my first bargaining chip, plus or minus... I also am amused by a memory of not being able to spell the... its phonetics off from its appearance... the is a strange little word... one that does not exist in many languages. For instance, in Polish, there's no such thing, you simply name the object.

The is going to be difficult to define without an inclination to use that word itself... but doable... It is an article denoting a directed point of singularity, though not particularity... it's not one at random, not this one, nor that one; Yet one, just so.

I note that my Oxford dictionary, in it's oppressively long definition, was not able to avoid using that word in its definition...!

I'm using my hardcover copy, mostly, but their website link, although differing in wording, is similar  https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/the

ps. italics where my impulse was to use the word the...

pss. my second favorite word is the (!) other article, a... *sigh! which is also hard to define... it is the (!) opposite of the, being anyone in general...

#FavoriteWord #Challenge

<font face="Helvetica" size="3" color="silver">01.29.2018</font>

Atrophy. Verb.

to gradually decline in effectiveness or vigor due to underuse or neglect.

it's a terrible word, I admit;

often times i say it again and again out loud,

feel each syllable roll out of my tongue,

become untangled,

fall to the floor

in one dark-red mass.

ˈatrəfē.

at- roph- y.

examples: you could say

Society's morals are atrophying

or

cancer can cause one's health to atrophy

or

somehow our friendship is atrophying even though I see you everyday.

my definition:

I am watching myself gradually decline

due to underuse or neglect:

Watching someone I once knew turn to a stranger,

Stranger. noun: a friend you haven't met

or else someone you ought to be scared of

or else someone you shouldn't talk to.

you shouldn't talk to me.

my favorite word is a terrible word

and I like to be sad.

I like to watch things go away slowly,

I like it when the light fades from the sky,

as if stolen,

atrophying into a dark, dark night.

pompous or extravagant in language, style, or manner, especially in a way that is intended to impress.

Or, y’know:

Oh, crap, there’s a cool friendly group of people here. This’ll totally be an impressive, not-at-all-pretentious-sounding word to use to make them like me. Please be impressed. I’m lonely.

dictionary meaning: 1) a strong feeling of affection. (noun)

2) a great interest and pleasure in something. (noun)

3) feel deep affection or sexual love for someone (verb)

Mine:

To love is to put them first, you dont want to be with them to make you happy, you want to make them happy. if they are happy without you then so be it. all you want is for them to be happy.

Disclaimer: Trigger Warning

Dear insecurity,

You are defined by the dictionary as uncertainty or anxiety about oneself; lack of confidence. He's wrong, because if that is what he defines you as I am certain that dictionary hasn't met you yet. I am confident he hasn't felt you yet. You're not just a word. You're not just an emotion. You're this inevitable evil, feeding off of our weaknesses.

I remember when we first met, you were so young, making me feel bad every once in a while, but that was it. Look at us now, 5 years later and we are no longer alone, and you are no longer young. Look at us now, as you slowly suffocate me, along with your unwanted nor invited friends, anxiety, depression, and even insomnia joined the party.

That dictionary hasn't heard my muffled sobs at the late hours of the night. That dictionary hasn't felt the tears slowly cascade down my cheeks. That dictionary hasn’t tasted the salty tears that fell upon my chapped lips. That dictionary hasn't seen the bloody tally marks marking my wrists counting down the days until you left, or maybe counting down the days until you drive me to my own death.

Insecurity, you ruined me. I stand in the mirror today as a teenager and yet I see nothing but a little girl cowering in fear, standing behind walls of steal in my mind attempting to keep you away. Unfortunately, you are not like everyone else who has failed to break down her walls, you are strong enough to turn her protection method into a jail cell.

I stand in the mirror feeling helpless as I watch the little girl cry in a corner, while you and your friends surround her, making sure to stay within the walls she built. She can tell no one. Her screams must fall on deaf ears going unheard, making sure her slow death goes unnoticed.

Dear Dictionary,

You want the real meaning of insecurity? Listen to the words that hide behind my laugh. Notice the dried tears behind my foundation and the dark circles under my concealer. See the pain in the spark of my happy eyes. Taste the blood coating my lip like lipstick from biting too hard as I try to maintain my composure in public.

Dear dictionary, meet insecurity, my favorite word to ever exist, because to everyone else it is uncertainty or anxiety about oneself; lack of confidence, while the real meaning, is something that can never be defined.

He is my Giant

My everything

My only reliance

That's my Daddy

He held my hand

He wiped my tears

He wrapped his arms

Around my little fears

Now he is ragged

And smaller than me

But still bigger than

The giant sequoia tree

BOURBON according to Merriam-Webster: a whiskey distilled from a mash made up of not less than 51 percent corn plus malt and rye

BOURBON according to IvyBee: the thing to drink now

NOW according to Merriam-Webster: at the present time or moment

NOW according to IvyBee: the moment she pours herself a double on the rocks

FRIDAY according to Merriam-Webster: the sixth day of the week

FRIDAY according to IvyBee: the day reminisced on Monday, earned by Tuesday, at the end of a long tunnel on Wednesday, wept for on Thursday, and celebrated when it comes.

Cheers!

su·per·flu·ous

/so͞oˈpərflo͞oəs/

adjective

unnecessary, especially through being more than enough.

"the purchaser should avoid asking for superfluous information"

synonyms: surplus (to requirements), nonessential, redundant

- Google

Also reads,

su·per·flu·ous

/so͞oˈpərflo͞oəs/

adjective

1. too much, especially where food and shopping are concerned.

"the purchaser should avoid consuming that superfluous quantity of french fries after having just spent well over the monthly budget on "European" M&Ms at that overpriced new candy store in the mall."

Dictionary Definition: unselfish love of one person for another without sexual implications;brotherly love.

The Greeks had many words for love. My favorite of these is “agape”. Agape is so much more than just love. It is love for someone as a brother, as a person. To me, Agape means that you have feelings for someone far beyond what the English language can express. It isn’t simply love, but trust, loyalty, an undying need for someone without any sexual feelings. Agape is almost like the ultimate level of friendship. I feel at a loss for exactly how to describe it to perfectly convey to you all it means to me. English doesn’t have words that can properly show any true emotion all by themselves. We should learn to be more like the Greeks. With one word, they could express precisely how they felt about another person. Until we all learn Greek and I fall in love with another one of their words, agape will have to do.