The overview definition of "yeah" in Merriam-Webster's free online dictionary is obviously wrong ("—used in speech to show that you are surprised by or disagree with what someone has said"). However, this wrong definition was certainly not consciously entered for this word. Instead, presumably an editor misplaced the overview definition of some other entry there. So, the question is, can someone guess, correctly, what entry the spurious overview definition came from?
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You want the source of the definition???– Gary's StudentMay 1, 2014 at 20:27
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Here is the link:merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yeah– user66974May 1, 2014 at 20:33
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Yeah, I agree with you. I wouldn't have thought that would've been the overview or main meaning of it. But oh well, yeah, that's that. Yeah, man. What can ya do? It's the man's fault, yeah, it's the Man's fault. It's Big Brother, ya know what I mean? The MAN, yeah, that's the ticket.– F.E.May 1, 2014 at 21:29
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2 Answers
There's nothing wrong with the entry.
Disagree:
"You're ugly!"
"Yeah? Wanna fight about it?"
Surprise:
"Chris and Dana just had their baby!"
"Oh yeah? That's awesome!"
The entry the spurious overview definition came from definitely is Yeah.
yeah: 2 -- used in speech to show that you are surprised by or disagree with what someone has said.
"I'm from Maine." "Oh Yeah? [=really?] I didn't know that."
"I'm a better runner than you." "Oh, Yeah? You think you can beat me?"
"You're a lousy golfer." "Oh Yeah? I'd like to see you do better."
