Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton squared off during Monday’s night first presidential debate, but their back-and-forth turned into a vocabulary lesson for some viewers who turned to the dictionary.
Throughout the night, dictionary Merriam-Webster saw a spike in searches for some of the uncommon words coming out of the presidential hopefuls’ lips that confused everyday Americans.
READ MORE: Promises, blunders from the first presidential debate
Here’s a list of words that had voters scratching their heads:
Braggadocious
What Trump meant to say was “braggadocio,” Merriam-Webster clarified to confused viewers.
“It’s the annoying or exaggerated talk of someone who is trying to sound very proud or brave,” the dictionary explained.
“The word is not common enough to merit an entry in our dictionary,” Merriam-Webster said on its website.
“I have great company. I have a tremendous income. And the reason I say that is not in a braggadocios way. It’s because it’s about time that this country had somebody running it that has an idea about money,” Trump said.
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Stamina
Stamina: great physical or mental strength that allows you to continue doing something for a long time.
Trump alleged that Clinton “doesn’t have the stamina” to lead the United States. He said this word five times during the debate after being asked to clarify remarks he made earlier in the month about Clinton not having the right “look” to be president.
“She doesn’t have the stamina. I said she doesn’t have the stamina. And I don’t believe she does have the stamina. To be president of this country, you need tremendous stamina,” Trump said.
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Clinton listed her lengthy resume in response:
“As soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a cease fire, a release of dissidents, an opening of new opportunities in nations around the world, or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee he can talk to me about stamina,” she quipped.
Temperament
Temperament: The usual attitude, mood or behaviour of a person or animal.
Merriam-Webster said searches for this word jumped 78 times more than its hourly average as this word kept reappearing during the debate.
“I think my strongest asset by far is my temperament. I have a winning temperament,” Trump said.
READ MORE: Trump’s sniffing and use of “big league” distracts viewers
“Trumped-up trickle-down”
Clinton’s tongue twister and play on words confused viewers.
“I call it trumped-up trickle-down, because that’s exactly what it would be. That is not how we grow the economy,” Clinton said.
READ MORE: Moderator Lester Holt works to keep control of debate
Trumped-up means deliberately done or created to make someone appear to be guilty of a crime. Trickle-down is an effect caused gradually by remote or indirect influences, the dictionary said.
Searches for the word spiked during the debate.
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