as in halfpenny
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Recent Examples of kenning
Jonah Walters, Longreads, 24 Oct. 2024 Most of the writers attempting to imitate Tolkien weren’t steeped in the rhythm of Old English kennings, or the spiritual yearning of chivalric romance. —Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 2 June 2023 Weinersmith has successfully captured the spirit of this timeless story, weaving in generous amounts of alliteration and his version of Old English kennings, a compound figure of speech that replaces a common noun with two or more words that make for a more figurative than literal description. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 14 Apr. 2023
Noun
The kenning’s true meaning lies beyond the edges of my comprehension. —Jonah Walters, Longreads, 24 Oct. 2024 Most of the writers attempting to imitate Tolkien weren’t steeped in the rhythm of Old English kennings, or the spiritual yearning of chivalric romance. —Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 2 June 2023 Weinersmith has successfully captured the spirit of this timeless story, weaving in generous amounts of alliteration and his version of Old English kennings, a compound figure of speech that replaces a common noun with two or more words that make for a more figurative than literal description. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 14 Apr. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kenning
Noun
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Indeed, in 2023, his music earned him just shy of $200,000, about one halfpenny at a time.— Brett Martin, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2024
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In nineteenth-century England, tailors would place old halfpennies in the pockets of a man’s new suit for good luck.— Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2023
Verb
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For starters, even though federal law requires hospitals to list their prices publicly, fathoming these files is almost impossible.— Rufina Chow, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026
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However, Chiefs veteran center Creed Humphrey says his team won't be listening to those, or even fathoming the thought of panicking.— Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 18 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Hamilton described his version as landing somewhere between Senegalese and Ghanaian, cooked in a slurry of roasted red peppers, tomatoes and onions, delicately spiced and with a whisper of smoke.— Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
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The pre- and postnatal massages at Red Moon Wellness in Park Slope are a staple in the Brooklyn-mom whisper network.— The Editors, Curbed, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Kepler devoted much of his career to figuring out optics, and was arguably the first scientific thinker to articulate the difference between seeing and perceiving.— Rebecca Boyle, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2026
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The newly-sighted get better at perceiving differences in color, shape, and size — even if they were treated for their congenital cataracts after years of blindness—but not so much at spotting differences in shading or contours.— Sachin Rawat, Big Think, 2 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Sunbeams through the windows illuminate floating dust motes—and, imperceptibly, microdroplets of mucus carrying the measles virus, expelled from an infected but asymptomatic child who is hopping and laughing among the others.— Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026
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Easily swept up by wind and carried long distances by water, these tiny motes are also exceedingly difficult to detect and almost impossible to remove from the environment.— K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Nuclear power takes advantage of the energy released when the nucleus of an atom, such as uranium, splits in a process called fission.— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
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To ensure the tick rate stays constant and the clock remains accurate, scientists closely match the laser’s energy to the energy needed to excite an electron in an atom.— Andrei Derevianko, The Conversation, 14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Just before the 2026 season, former Glory defensive tackle and eight-time All-Pro Syreeta Gapelu brought even more attention to the team by tackling and apprehending a man attempting to steal her car.— PJ Green April 16, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2026
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Los Angeles ran from 2009 to 2023, centered around the high-stakes world of a division of NCIS that is charged with apprehending dangerous and elusive criminals, who pose a threat to the nation’s security.— Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Moreover, Trump cares not a whit about bringing drug traffickers to justice.— Peter Kornbluh, Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
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Miss Keaton…is not a whit like the flustered ingénue she was cast to play.— Chris Morris, Variety, 11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kenning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/kenning. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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