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shibboleth

noun/ˈʃɪbəlɛθ/

C2CEFR level
80/100Rarity: very rare
FormalRegister

A word, custom, or belief that identifies a person as belonging to a particular group, often an outworn slogan.

For that faction, opposition to the tax had become a shibboleth no candidate dared question.

Similar: watchword

Topic: Thought & rhetoric in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: Thought & rhetoric