Category: Today’s Word

noun: An abnormal sensitivity to light.

Definition: (noun) An object worn, especially around the neck, as a charm against evil or injury. Synonyms: talisman. Usage: It was sorcery, magic of the …

adjective: Having a well-developed sense of smell.

noun: The awareness of location of parts of one’s body.

Definition: (noun) A deserted or abandoned child of unknown parentage. Synonyms: abandoned infant. Usage: No one knew why an envelope containing images of a mountainous …

Definition: (adjective) Causing harm or injury. Synonyms: damaging, detrimental, prejudicial. Usage: The reporter's coverage resulted in prejudicious publicity for the defendant. Discuss

Definition: (noun) A person given to clowning and joking. Synonyms: merry andrew, clown, goof, goofball. Usage: At a country fair there was a buffoon who …

adjective: Of unknown origin or cause.

Definition: (noun) A wooden pin used in the game of ninepins. Synonyms: skittle. Usage: He threw the ball so hard that it knocked the ninepin …

noun: 1. The worship of animals. 2. Extreme devotion to animals, for example, to one’s pets.

Definition: (noun) A woman hired to do cleaning or similar work, usually in a large building. Synonyms: cleaning lady. Usage: The charwoman cleaned every bathroom …

noun: An obsessive preoccupation with numbers, calculations, and counting.

Definition: (noun) A small molded or sculptured figure; a statuette. Synonyms: statuette. Usage: She had all the delicate grace of that Tanagra figurine that you …

noun: An extreme fear of fire.

Definition: (noun) A cabinet containing an automatic record player; records are played by inserting a coin. Synonyms: jukebox. Usage: When they arrived at the dance …

noun: The love of what’s new or novel.

Definition: (noun) An indication of something important or calamitous about to occur. Synonyms: omen, prognostication, presage, prodigy. Usage: The soldier looked to the sky for …

Definition: (noun) A fishing boat that uses a trawl net or dragnet to catch fish. Synonyms: dragger. Usage: The fisherman boarded the trawler at four …

Definition: (noun) A primitive wind instrument consisting of several parallel pipes bound together. Synonyms: syrinx, pandean pipe. Usage: When his parents refused to buy him …

verb tr.: 1. To divert basic or instinctual impulses to something more socially acceptable. 2. To refine or purify. verb tr., intr.: To directly transform …

Definition: (noun) A chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved. Synonyms: wetting agent, surface-active agent, wetter. …

1. Fluctuating widely and unpredictably. 2. Evaporating easily. 3. Explosive. 4. Capable of flying.

Definition: (noun) A trite or banal remark or statement, especially one expressed as if it were original or significant. Synonyms: banality, cliche, commonplace, bromide. Usage: …

1. A vessel used for heating substances to a high temperature. 2. A trying experience. 3. A situation or place where forces interact to bring …

Definition: (noun) A ritual recitation of words or sounds believed to have a magical effect. Synonyms: conjuration. Usage: Hagar, the witch, chanted an awful incantation …

1. To carefully adjust something in measured increments to achieve a desired balance or effect. 2. To determine the concentration of a solution by gradually …

Definition: (noun) A flat triangular bone located at the front of the knee joint. Synonyms: kneecap, kneepan. Usage: Having learned his lesson, the rollerblader wore …

verb tr.: 1. To make something, especially something undesirable, happen prematurely or suddenly. 2. To throw suddenly. 3. To cause (water vapor in the atmosphere) …

Definition: (noun) A bell tower, especially one near but not attached to a church or other public building. Synonyms: belfry. Usage: The architect intended the …

Definition: (noun) A flowing together. Synonyms: merging, confluence. Usage: There was a conflux of emotions and thoughts in him. Discuss

Definition: (verb) Keep from happening or arising; make impossible. Synonyms: foreclose, forestall, prevent, forbid. Usage: Modesty precludes me from accepting the honor. Discuss

noun: 1. The condition or quality of being complete or whole. 2. An aggregate amount or sum. 3. The phase of an eclipse when an …

Definition: (adjective) Resembling a marsh; soggy. Synonyms: boggy, marshy, miry, mucky, muddy, sloughy, swampy. Usage: The ground near the lake was wet and quaggy underfoot. …

adjective: 1. Inclined to take offense easily. 2. Cast in shadow; shaded. 3. Providing shade.

Definition: (noun) A small French bagpipe operated with a bellows and having a soft sound. Synonyms: shepherd's pipe. Usage: The young man was adept at …

noun: 1. A surrounding area or fringe, a zone of influence or activity that is less distinct or certain. 2. A partly shaded region between …

Definition: (noun) A difficulty that causes anxiety. Synonyms: troublesomeness, inconvenience. Usage: To him, everything was a worriment, and his anxiety increased every day. Discuss

noun: 1. The state of being hidden or blocked. 2. The passage of a celestial object in front of another, hiding it from view.

Definition: (noun) The study of the metrical structure of verse. Synonyms: metrics. Usage: He was a master of meter, and contributed certain modifications to the …

noun: 1. Shade; shadow. 2. The darkest inner part of a shadow, as during an eclipse.