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A.Word.A.Day--incommunicado

incommunicado (in-kuh-myoo-ni-KA-do) adjective, adverb

Out of contact, either voluntarily or deprived of the right to communicate with anyone; in solitary confinement.

[From Spanish incomunicado, past participle of incomunicar (to deprive of communication), from in- (not) + comunicar (to communicate), from Latin communicare, from communis (common). Ultimately from Indo-European root mei- (to change or move) that has given us other words such as commute, mutual, migrate, common, mistake, and immune.]

"She's (actor Urmila Matondkar) chosen to be incommunicado in the last few months giving out her number to only a select few who matter."
Even the Prime Minister Doesn't Change His Mobile Number; Afternoon Despatch & Courier (Mumbai, India); Feb 11, 2005.

"Since confessing his activities and being placed under house arrest almost a year ago, Mr Khan has been incommunicado."
Ian Traynor; Special Forces 'On the Ground' in Iran; The Guardian (London, UK); Jan 17, 2005.

See more usage examples of incommunicado in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

This week's theme: words borrowed from Spanish.

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