based

What it means

Used to praise someone for being authentic and unapologetically themselves, especially when expressing an opinion regardless of what others think. It signals approval — the opposite of 'cringe' — though online it sometimes carries political undertones.

Words like “based” are exactly the kind of vocabulary our English vocabulary size test measures — find out how many English words you know.

Examples

• He told his boss exactly what he thought — based.
• Based take, I've been saying this for years.
• She quit the job she hated on day one. Based.
• Refusing to follow the trend just because? Kinda based.

Where it comes from

Reclaimed and popularized by rapper Lil B around 2010, who redefined 'based' to mean being yourself and not caring about others' judgment. It later spread through gaming and meme communities as a term of approval.

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