Category: Today’s Word

Today’s Word

refulgent

Definition: (adjective) Shining radiantly; resplendent. Synonyms: effulgent, radiant, beaming. Usage: Standing by the edge of the sea, they witnessed a refulgent sunset. Discuss

mnemonic

Definition: (noun) A device, such as a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering. Synonyms: aide-memoire. Usage: The students came up with a …

stepney

noun: 1. A spare wheel or a spare tire. 2. Something or someone treated as a backup.

emollient

Definition: (adjective) Softening and soothing, especially to the skin. Synonyms: demulcent, salving, softening. Usage: In the winter, she applied emollient cream to her hands to …

mucilage

Definition: (noun) A sticky substance used as an adhesive. Synonyms: glue, gum. Usage: They wanted to make a model airplane, but lacked the mucilage needed …

empirical

Definition: (adjective) Relying on or derived from observation or experiment. Synonyms: objective. Usage: Scientists insist on empirical results, not mere speculation, to support their theories. …

ultramarine

Definition: (noun) A blue pigment made from powdered lapis lazuli; a vivid or strong blue to purplish blue. Synonyms: indigo, French blue. Usage: She found …

glamazon

noun: A tall, glamorous, self-assured woman.

pinguid

Definition: (adjective) Fat; oily. Synonyms: oily. Usage: His car was splattered with some sort of pinguid substance, and trying to wash it away only seemed …

fritinancy

Definition: (noun) A chirping or creaking, as of a cricket. Synonyms: chirping. Usage: As night fell, the fritinancy of insects outside their open window grew …

insinuendo

noun: An assertion or hint that’s disparaging and suggestive.

macerate

Definition: (verb) To make soft, usually by steeping in liquid, and cause to disintegrate as a result. Synonyms: soften. Usage: The stale bread was left …

glamp

verb intr.: To camp in comforts or luxuries not typically available in camping, such as electricity, plumbing, beds, etc.

conceit

Definition: (noun) A favorable and especially unduly high opinion of one's own abilities or worth. Synonyms: amour-propre, vanity. Usage: She was convinced that she was …

frenemy

noun: Someone with whom one is friendly, despite feeling hostility.

scruple

Definition: (noun) An uneasy feeling arising from conscience or principle that tends to hinder action. Synonyms: misgiving, qualm. Usage: Lady Macbeth is impatient with her …

balustrade

Definition: (noun) A rail and the row of balusters or posts that support it, as along the front of a gallery. Synonyms: banister, handrail. Usage: …

schism

Definition: (noun) A separation or division into factions. Synonyms: discord, split. Usage: Heretics were burned for attempting to create a schism in the Catholic Church. …

penetralia

noun: The innermost, secret, or hidden parts of something.

virid

Definition: (adjective) Bright green with or as if with vegetation. Synonyms: verdant. Usage: The lake was virid with bright algae on the surface. Discuss

cock of the walk

noun: A person who behaves in an arrogant and domineering manner in a group.

mercurial

Definition: (adjective) Quick and changeable in temperament. Synonyms: quicksilver, erratic, fickle, volatile. Usage: Her mercurial nature made it difficult to gauge how she would react. …

twattle

noun: Idle talk; nonsense. verb intr.: To talk idly.

moire

Definition: (adjective) Having a wavy or rippled surface pattern. Used of fabric. Synonyms: watered. Usage: As the lady sat down, the folds of her moire …

titubation

noun: 1. Unsteady movement, such as the staggering, lurching, or nodding of the head or the body. 2. Stuttering or stammering

chattel

Definition: (noun) An article of movable personal property. Synonyms: personalty. Usage: Slaves were treated as chattel by plantation owners, who bought, sold, and even bet …

nudum pactum

noun: An unenforceable contract, one that’s void because of lack of consideration (something of value promised in exchange).

opprobrious

Definition: (adjective) Expressing contemptuous reproach; bringing disgrace. Synonyms: abusive, scornful, shameful, ignominious. Usage: His opprobrious conduct during an assembly earned him a series of Saturday …

sentient

Definition: (adjective) Endowed with feeling and unstructured consciousness. Synonyms: animate. Usage: The living knew themselves just sentient puppets on God's stage. Discuss

smarmy

Definition: (adjective) Hypocritically, complacently, or effusively earnest. Synonyms: fulsome, oleaginous, unctuous. Usage: His smarmy speech left no doubt that he actually felt superior to those …

abligurition

noun: Extravagance, especially in matters of food and drink.

flummox

Definition: (verb) To confuse; perplex. Synonyms: baffle, bewilder, nonplus, puzzle. Usage: The game was designed to flummox its players, presenting them with a series of …

turgid

Definition: (adjective) Excessively ornate or complex in style or language. Synonyms: bombastic, declamatory, orotund, tumid, large. Usage: Growing impatient with the politician's turgid prose, she …

spurious

Definition: (adjective) Lacking authenticity or validity in essence or origin; not genuine. Synonyms: specious, unauthentic. Usage: The professor explained to the student that her essay …