exacerbate: to render more severe, violent, or bitter; to irritate; to aggravate; to make worse
Example: To reduce the stress that exacerbates my stuttering, I have meditated, done deep-breathing exercises, and floated under a condition of sensory deprivation in a dark, enclosed isolation tank. [Reference: Marty Jezer, Stuttering: A Life Bound Up in Words]
Sunday, October 31, 2010
VERDANT
verdant:
- green with vegetation; covered with green growth
- green
- lacking experience or sophistication; naive
Happy Halloween!
Source: Improve Your General Knowledge in Leisure Time!
Improve Your General Knowledge in Leisure Time! [Amzaon Kindle]
- green with vegetation; covered with green growth
- green
- lacking experience or sophistication; naive
Happy Halloween!
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Source: Improve Your General Knowledge in Leisure Time!
Improve Your General Knowledge in Leisure Time! [Amzaon Kindle]
KOBOLD
kobold (or kobolt):
[in German folklore:]
a haunting spirit; a gnome; a goblin
Example: The kobolds were a species of gnomes, who haunted the dark and solitary places, and were often seen in the mines. [Reference: Sir Walter Scott, Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft]
[in German folklore:]
a haunting spirit; a gnome; a goblin
Example: The kobolds were a species of gnomes, who haunted the dark and solitary places, and were often seen in the mines. [Reference: Sir Walter Scott, Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft]
Thursday, October 28, 2010
DEPRECATE
deprecate:
- to disapprove of strongly
- to belittle; to depreciate
- [archaic:] to pray against, as an evil; to seek to avert by prayer
Example: Copland humorously deprecated his looks, finding in his gaunt physique, narrow face, prominent nose, and buckteeth a comic resemblance to a giraffe. [Reference: Howard Pollack, Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man]
- to disapprove of strongly
- to belittle; to depreciate
- [archaic:] to pray against, as an evil; to seek to avert by prayer
Example: Copland humorously deprecated his looks, finding in his gaunt physique, narrow face, prominent nose, and buckteeth a comic resemblance to a giraffe. [Reference: Howard Pollack, Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man]
Friday, October 22, 2010
INCARNADINE
incarnadine:
adjective:
- blood-red; crimson
- having a fleshy pink color; flesh-colored; pale pink
noun:
- an incarnadine color
verb:
- to make incarnadine; to make red; to make crimson
adjective:
- blood-red; crimson
- having a fleshy pink color; flesh-colored; pale pink
noun:
- an incarnadine color
verb:
- to make incarnadine; to make red; to make crimson
Saturday, October 16, 2010
TRUCULENT
truculent:
- fierce; savage
- cruel; ruthless
Example: The danger comes if there becomes this sense that they are being truculent for the sake of being truculent. [Reference: NYTIMES.COM, THE NATION: CALCULUS; Perks and Perils of a Heavy Gavel, ADAM NAGOURNEY Published: March 25, 2007]
- fierce; savage
- cruel; ruthless
Example: The danger comes if there becomes this sense that they are being truculent for the sake of being truculent. [Reference: NYTIMES.COM, THE NATION: CALCULUS; Perks and Perils of a Heavy Gavel, ADAM NAGOURNEY Published: March 25, 2007]
TEMPORIZE
temporize:
- to be indecisive or evasive in order to gain time or delay action
- to comply with the time or occasion; to yield to prevailing opinion or circumstances
- to engage in discussions or negotiations so as to gain time
- to come to terms
- to be indecisive or evasive in order to gain time or delay action
- to comply with the time or occasion; to yield to prevailing opinion or circumstances
- to engage in discussions or negotiations so as to gain time
- to come to terms
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
SLAKE
slake:
- to satisfy; to quench; to extinguish; (e.g. to slake thirst)
- to cause to lessen; to make less active or intense; to moderate; (e.g. slaking her anger)
- to become slaked (intransitive verb)
FYI: Coming Soon on Amazon Kindle (will be available by the end of this week!):
- to satisfy; to quench; to extinguish; (e.g. to slake thirst)
- to cause to lessen; to make less active or intense; to moderate; (e.g. slaking her anger)
- to become slaked (intransitive verb)
FYI: Coming Soon on Amazon Kindle (will be available by the end of this week!):
EVANESCENCE
evanescence:
- a gradual disappearance
- the state of becoming imperceptible
Example: But this was an evanescence, and quickly repented of, as it were, by an immitigable look, pinching and shriveling the visage into the momentary semblance of a wrinkled walnut. [Reference: Herman Melville, Billy Budd, sailor]
- a gradual disappearance
- the state of becoming imperceptible
Example: But this was an evanescence, and quickly repented of, as it were, by an immitigable look, pinching and shriveling the visage into the momentary semblance of a wrinkled walnut. [Reference: Herman Melville, Billy Budd, sailor]
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
BILOCATION
bilocation: the state of being or the ability to be in two places at the same time
Example: He experienced a sudden, startling sense of bilocation . He seemed to become a passive observer watching a second Finn. [Reference: Morgan Llywelyn, Finn Mac Cool]
Example: He experienced a sudden, startling sense of bilocation . He seemed to become a passive observer watching a second Finn. [Reference: Morgan Llywelyn, Finn Mac Cool]
MUSSITATE
mussitate: to silently move the lips in simulation of audible speech
Example: "Oh, Anu, I never thought to see you again," he mussitates . [Reference: Dan Wick, The Devil's Tale]
Example: "Oh, Anu, I never thought to see you again," he mussitates . [Reference: Dan Wick, The Devil's Tale]
Sunday, October 10, 2010
SUBTERFUGE
subterfuge: a deceptive device or stratagem
Example: He is adept at subterfuge , at gaining entry to factories by masquerading as a laborer, a wholesaler, an exporter. [Reference: Jonathan Silvers, "Child Labor in Pakistan", The Atlantic , February 1996]
FYI: Obama's Wars by Bob Woodward is published on Amazon.
Example: He is adept at subterfuge , at gaining entry to factories by masquerading as a laborer, a wholesaler, an exporter. [Reference: Jonathan Silvers, "Child Labor in Pakistan", The Atlantic , February 1996]
FYI: Obama's Wars by Bob Woodward is published on Amazon.
FAINEANT
faineant:
adjective:
- doing nothing or given to doing nothing; idle; lazy
noun:
- a do-nothing; an idle fellow; a sluggard
adjective:
- doing nothing or given to doing nothing; idle; lazy
noun:
- a do-nothing; an idle fellow; a sluggard
Sunday, October 3, 2010
TERMAGANT
termagant:
noun:
- a shrew; an ill-tempered scolding woman
adjective:
- overbearing; scolding
Termagant (capitalized): a deity erroneously ascribed to Islam by medieval European Christians
noun:
- a shrew; an ill-tempered scolding woman
adjective:
- overbearing; scolding
Termagant (capitalized): a deity erroneously ascribed to Islam by medieval European Christians
CONFLAGRATION
conflagration:
- a large and destructive fire; a large disastrous fire; a general burning
- something like a conflagration; conflict; war
Example: Every winter the city seemed to go up in a conflagration of house fires: faulty furnaces, kerosene lamps knocked over, exploding water heaters, damp wiring, bored kids playing with matches, burglars turned arsonists this year, to cover their tracks, always something. [Reference: Alvin Greenberg, How the Dead Live]
- a large and destructive fire; a large disastrous fire; a general burning
- something like a conflagration; conflict; war
Example: Every winter the city seemed to go up in a conflagration of house fires: faulty furnaces, kerosene lamps knocked over, exploding water heaters, damp wiring, bored kids playing with matches, burglars turned arsonists this year, to cover their tracks, always something. [Reference: Alvin Greenberg, How the Dead Live]
EXEGESIS
exegesis: an explanation or critical interpretation of a text
Example: These are tightly argued, crisp exercises in literary and cultural exegesis which make perfectly clear the brilliant patterns of language and oftentimes strained analogic thinking of the poets. [Reference: Review of Made in America , by Lisa M. Steinman, in the Journal of Modern Literature]
Example: These are tightly argued, crisp exercises in literary and cultural exegesis which make perfectly clear the brilliant patterns of language and oftentimes strained analogic thinking of the poets. [Reference: Review of Made in America , by Lisa M. Steinman, in the Journal of Modern Literature]
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