Category: Today’s Word

Today’s Word

lament

Definition: (noun) A song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person. Synonyms: coronach, dirge, requiem, threnody. Usage: And …

blamable

Definition: (adjective) Deserving blame or censure as being wrong or evil or injurious. Synonyms: blameworthy, censurable, culpable. Usage: You are aware that I am no …

psychrolute

noun: One who likes to bathe in cold water, especially outdoors in natural bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and oceans.

sacrilege

Definition: (noun) Desecration, profanation, misuse, or theft of something sacred. Synonyms: blasphemy, desecration, profanation. Usage: I entreat you, if you be a Christian gentleman, not …

hobgoblin

Definition: (noun) An object or a source of fear, dread, or harassment. Synonyms: bugbear. Usage: But this encompassment of her own characterization … was a …

stammer

Definition: (verb) To speak with involuntary pauses or repetitions. Synonyms: bumble, falter, stutter. Usage: "You–you must think me crazy," stammered Anne, trying to recover her …

cipher

Definition: (noun) A person of no influence. Synonyms: nobody, nonentity. Usage: He was a cipher in the estimation of the public, and nobody attached any …

prickmedainty

noun: One overly concerned with their personal appearance: dandy. adjective: Overly concerned about one’s appearance.

nuzzle

Definition: (verb) Move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position. Synonyms: cuddle, draw close, nest, nestle, snuggle. Usage: We nuzzled against each other …

sulfurous

Definition: (adjective) Harsh or corrosive in tone. Synonyms: acid, blistering, caustic, vitriolic, acrid, acerbic, bitter, virulent. Usage: Her sulfurous denunciation of the governor was aired …

minacious

adjective: Threatening or menacing.

portentous

Definition: (adjective) Marked by pompousness; pretentiously weighty. Synonyms: overblown, pompous, grandiloquent, pontifical. Usage: His hands, large and coarse, were plentifully bedecked with rings; and he …

nefandous

adjective: So wicked as to defy description: abominable, appalling.

cockeyed

Definition: (adjective) Turned or twisted toward one side. Synonyms: askew, awry, lopsided, skew-whiff, wonky. Usage: He noticed that his tie was cockeyed and made sure …

antsy

Definition: (adjective) Nervous and unable to relax. Synonyms: fidgety, fretful, itchy. Usage: The long wait made the children antsy. Discuss

extempore

Definition: (adjective) Spoken, carried out, or composed with little or no preparation or forethought. Synonyms: ad-lib, extemporaneous, impromptu, off-the-cuff, offhand, offhanded, unrehearsed. Usage: The class …

wonky

adjective: 1. Unreliable; unsteady; not working properly. 2. Concerned with minute details in a field; nerdy.

remiss

Definition: (adjective) Lax in attending to duty. Synonyms: delinquent, derelict, neglectful. Usage: I had been remiss in the fulfillment of my obligations and failed to …

secular

adjective: 1. Relating to worldly rather than religious matters. 2. Occurring once in an age or century. 3. Enduring over an extended period. noun: 1. …

veer

Definition: (verb) To turn aside from a course, direction, or purpose. Synonyms: curve, cut, sheer, slew, slue, swerve, trend. Usage: The car veered sharply to …

monophagy

noun: 1. The eating of only one kind of food. 2. The act of eating alone.

inanimate

Definition: (adjective) Not having the qualities associated with active, living organisms. Synonyms: pulseless, breathless. Usage: I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the …

airhead

noun: 1. An area in a hostile territory, secured for bringing in supplies and personnel by air. 2. A silly or unintelligent person. 3. A …

saltation

Definition: (noun) A light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards. Synonyms: leaping, bounce, bound, spring. Usage: The kangaroo's effortless saltation was balletic and graceful. Discuss

automania

noun: 1. An obsession with oneself; egomania. 2. An obsession with automobiles or fast driving.

tangential

Definition: (adjective) Only superficially relevant; divergent. Synonyms: digressive. Usage: His tangential anecdotes added much-needed humor to the talk, though some found the digressions tiresome. Discuss

monition

Definition: (noun) A warning or an intimation of something imminent, especially of impending danger. Synonyms: admonition, warning, word of advice. Usage: Verily, all too well …

atonement

Definition: (noun) Amends or reparation made for an injury or wrong. Synonyms: expiation, satisfaction. Usage: But Adam could receive no amends; his suffering could not …

reek

Definition: (verb) To be pervaded by something unpleasant. Synonyms: smack, smell. Usage: His speeches reek of sarcasm. Discuss

dilatation

Definition: (noun) The state of being stretched beyond normal dimensions. Synonyms: distention. Usage: He suffered from severe dilatation of the stomach, an abdominal swelling that …

passing

adverb: To a surpassing degree. adjective: Transitory or cursory. noun: The act, process, or instance of transition, movement, or transference from one state, place, time, …

ataractic

Definition: (adjective) Of or relating to a drug or other agent that has a tranquilizing effect. Synonyms: sedative, tranquilizing. Usage: Valium has an ataractic effect …

towardly

adverb: 1. In a compliant or docile manner. 2. In a pleasant manner. adjective: 1. Compliant. 2. Pleasant. 3. Favorable.

humdrum

Definition: (adjective) Lacking variety or excitement; dull. Synonyms: unglamorous, commonplace, prosaic. Usage: So here I shall end my days; and I must say, Dorothy, my …

cram

Definition: (verb) Study intensively, as before an exam. Synonyms: bone up, drum, get up, grind away, mug up, swot. Usage: I spent the week before …

careen

Definition: (verb) Move sideways or in an unsteady way. Synonyms: wobble, tilt, shift. Usage: The ship careened out of control in the storm. Discuss

gustation

Definition: (noun) The faculty of distinguishing sweet, sour, bitter, and salty properties in the mouth. Synonyms: taste. Usage: Her cold had muted all sense of …