Category: Today’s Word

Definition: (noun) One who has the power and position to rule over others. Synonyms: dictator. Usage: She was a potentate in her home, all her …

verb tr.: 1. To cover a wall, embankment, etc., with masonry or other supporting material. 2. To recheck or reexamine.

Definition: (adjective) Being an imitation or a substitute, usually an inferior one; artificial. Synonyms: imitation. Usage: He was fairly sure that no coffee beans had …

noun: 1. Injustice (a shortened usage of “travesty of justice”). 2. Mockery; a debased or grotesque imitation. verb tr.: 1. To represent in a false …

Definition: (noun) An unbroken view of an entire surrounding area. Synonyms: vista. Usage: The panorama from the summit, with glistening lakes and green forests in …

verb tr.: 1. To remove, give up, or sell off. 2. To take away or deprive. 3. To strip of clothing, ornament, etc.

Definition: (noun) Mental responsiveness; discernment; awareness. Synonyms: aesthesia. Usage: After nine months in a coma, the patient began to exhibit sensibility. Discuss

verb tr.: To remove from a position of authority, privilege, etc.

Definition: (noun) A small thin piece of metal, plastic, bone, or similar material, used to pluck the strings of certain instruments, such as the guitar …

Definition: (adjective) Mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous degree. Synonyms: dreary, woeful, morose, funereal, doleful. Usage: He was so lugubrious that …

Definition: (noun) One that serves as a pattern or model. Synonyms: epitome, prototype. Usage: Their company is a paradigm of the small high-tech firms that …

verb intr.: To laugh in a derisive manner. noun: A mocking look.

Definition: (adjective) Noisily and stubbornly defiant. Synonyms: unruly. Usage: Although the teacher ordered them to sit down, the obstreperous boys continued their antics. Discuss

verb intr.: To quibble. noun: A subtlety or quibble.

Definition: (verb) To use evasions or ambiguities; to change sides. Synonyms: equivocate, prevaricate, palter. Usage: She refused to tergiversate on the subject, stating her opinion …

Definition: (noun) The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others. Synonyms: domination. Usage: Many great works of art were …

Definition: (adjective) Tapering from a rounded base toward an apex. Synonyms: lancelike. Usage: The bush had lanceolate leaves with sharp tips that could sting unwary …

verb intr.: 1. To go to or live in the country. 2. To live or spend time in seclusion. verb tr.: 1. To send to …

Definition: (noun) A hawker of quack medicines who attracts customers with stories, jokes, or tricks. Synonyms: charlatan. Usage: Walking down the street, they saw a …

Definition: (noun) A person wearing ragged or tattered clothing. Synonyms: ragamuffin. Usage: It was a crew of tatterdemalions that limped and straggled and wandered back …

Definition: (noun) A large leather suitcase that opens into two hinged compartments. Synonyms: Gladstone. Usage: With both sides stuffed to capacity, he needed to sit …

noun: An expression of praise, joy, or triumph, typically in the form of a song. verb tr.: To make such an expression.

noun: 1. A mole (the animal). 2. A cyst.

Definition: (noun) A person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion. Synonyms: abstainer. Usage: …

noun: A short wooden match.

Definition: (verb) To make (something burdensome or painful) less intense or severe. Synonyms: alleviate, relieve, palliate. Usage: Food, however, became scarce, and I often spent …

verb tr.: To pass (a rope or the like) through. noun: A local official.

Definition: (noun) An event that is experienced as indicating important things to come. Synonyms: augury, preindication, sign. Usage: He refused to think that the rain …

noun: A cave, cavern, cavity, etc.

Definition: (noun) Crudely or irregularly fashioned verse, often of a humorous or burlesque nature. Synonyms: jingle. Usage: I want the man I love and honor …

Definition: (noun) Grandiloquent, pompous speech or writing. Synonyms: claptrap, fustian. Usage: He found that he could look back upon the brass and bombast of his …

Definition: (verb) To buoy up or hearten. Synonyms: boost. Usage: Visitors bolstered the patient's morale. Discuss

adjective: Terrible; repulsive. noun: Any of various corals having a hard, treelike skeleton.

Definition: (noun) Defiant or swaggering behavior. Synonyms: bluster. Usage: In a moment it was hand-to-hand fighting, and Trent was cursing already the bravado which had …

adjective: 1. Relating to volcanoes. 2. Fiery; explosive; full of anger, energy, etc.

Definition: (adjective) Attracting attention in a vulgar manner. Synonyms: flashy, garish, gaudy, tawdry, trashy, tacky. Usage: The town's tasteful welcome sign was replaced with a …

noun: 1. A sudden violent gust of wind, typically accompanied by rain, snow, or sleet. Also known as a squall. 2. A bad spell; something …

Definition: (adjective) Of, relating to, or expressive of love, especially sexual love. Synonyms: amorous, romantic. Usage: She showed her friends the stack of old love …

adjective: 1. Of great power, strength, size, etc. 2. Relating to or made of the element titanium.

Definition: (adjective) Of a healthy reddish color. Synonyms: rubicund, ruddy. Usage: He had a sanguine complexion that was matched by his cheerful outlook. Discuss