- Today's Word
Dopplesnap
[DOP-ul-snap]
Definition
- (noun) The uncanny moment when you encounter someone who looks strikingly similar to a person you know, causing a brief moment of confusion and a double-take. It’s that split-second of disorientation followed by the realization that you’re looking at a doppelganger, not the person you initially thought.
Example
Walking down the street, Maria experienced a major dopplesnap when she saw someone who looked exactly like her boss, only to realize it was a complete stranger.
Fun Fact
The word “dopplesnap” combines “dopple-” from “doppelganger” (a look-alike or double of a person) with “snap,” suggesting a quick, sudden realization. This phenomenon has roots in how our brains process facial recognition. A study published in the journal “Nature Neuroscience” found that this area can sometimes be overly sensitive, leading to false positives where we think we recognize someone familiar in a stranger’s face. This explains why dopplesnaps can feel so vivid and convincing, even if only for a moment. Interestingly, the study also found that these misidentifications are more likely to occur with faces of the same ethnicity as the observer, a phenomenon known as the “other-race effect” in facial recognition.
(adjective) Silly, foolish, or pointless — especially in a complacent or smug way.
His fatuous remarks during the meeting only made the situation more awkward.
From Latin fatuus, meaning “foolish” or “simple-minded.”