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Buzzwords are frequently used in news media. These are words that do not typically occur in everyday speech, but are common among newscasters, talking heads, and pundits on cable news.

These ‘news words’ are accepted by audiences for their implied meaning. But often loaded words are misused or used out of context. The actual definitions can be different than what is implied.

Newswordy is a growing collection of these words, updated every weekday. Along with each word is a definition, a quote with its use (or misuse) in the media, and a news and Twitter feed on the subject.

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Newswordy

Atrophy.

1. (of body tissue or an organ) Waste away, typically due to the degeneration of cells, or become vestigial during evolution; 2. Gradually decline in effectiveness or vigor due to underuse or neglect.

In one effort to move beyond the economic argument, Mr. Romney accused Mr. Obama of major foreign policy failures in an opinion article published on Monday in The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Romney said the president had allowed the nation’s influence to atrophy by ‘stepping away’ from its allies.

Michael D. Shear & Ashley Parker, The New York Times