centerboard
Definition: (noun) A movable keel in a sailboat that can be pivoted upward to reduce the boat's draft in shallow water. Synonyms: drop keel, sliding …
Category: Today’s Word
Today’s Word
numero uno
noun: 1. Oneself; one’s own interests. 2. The highest in rank, quality, importance, etc.
prudery
Definition: (noun) Excessive or affected modesty. Synonyms: Grundyism, primness, prudishness. Usage: Casting prudery to the wind, I lifted my head, looked him in the eyes, …
fulminate
Definition: (verb) To issue a thunderous verbal attack or denunciation. Synonyms: rail. Usage: He fulminated against corruption in governmental institutions. Discuss
sagacity
Definition: (noun) The quality of being discerning, sound in judgment, and farsighted; wisdom Synonyms: discernment, sagaciousness, judgment. Usage: Spies cannot be usefully employed without a …
cruciform
adjective: In the shape of a cross. noun: Something in the shape of a cross.
remunerate
Definition: (verb) To pay (a person) a suitable equivalent in return for goods provided, services rendered, or losses incurred. Synonyms: recompense, compensate. Usage: John carefully …
swanky
adjective: 1. Stylish; fashionable; luxurious. 2. Pretentious; ostentatious.
zoophagous
Definition: (adjective) Feeding on animal matter; carnivorous. Synonyms: meat-eating. Usage: Zoophagous insects include predators and parasites. Discuss
juxtapositive
adjective: Relating to placing side by side.
perspicuous
Definition: (adjective) Clearly expressed or presented; easy to understand. Synonyms: lucid, luculent, pellucid, crystal clear, limpid. Usage: The lawyer presented a perspicuous closing argument, clarifying …
aquaphobia
noun: A fear of water, especially of drowning.
foramen
Definition: (noun) An opening or orifice, as in a bone or in the covering of the ovule of a plant. Synonyms: hiatus. Usage: The tribe …
grandezza
noun: Grandeur, greatness, magnificence, etc.
obtuse
Definition: (adjective) Slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity. Synonyms: dumb, slow, dense, dim, dull. Usage: Though he was generally regarded as obtuse by …
pourboire
Definition: (noun) A relatively small amount of money given for services rendered. Synonyms: baksheesh, gratuity, tip. Usage: The bellboy waited expectantly, but no pourboire was …
criterion
Definition: (noun) A basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated. Synonyms: standard, touchstone, measure. Usage: Their criterion of a …
barnacle
noun: 1. Any marine crustacean of the subclass Cirripedia that attaches itself to rocks, hulls, docks, whales, etc. 2. Someone or something that clings. verb …
microbe
Definition: (noun) A minute life form; a microorganism, especially a bacterium that causes disease. Synonyms: germ, bug. Usage: By the time their teacher completed the …
troth
noun: 1. One’s pledged word, loyalty, or fidelity. 2. Truth. 3. Betrothal. verb tr.: To pledge or betroth.
bollard
Definition: (noun) A thick post on a ship or wharf, used for securing ropes and hawsers. Synonyms: bitt. Usage: He swung at the bollard and …
neophyte
Definition: (noun) A beginner or novice. Synonyms: fledgling, newbie, newcomer, freshman, entrant, starter. Usage: You have no right to preach to me, you neophyte, that …
spitchcock
noun: An eel split, cut into pieces, and cooked. verb tr.: To treat severely.
sundog
Definition: (noun) A small halo or rainbow near the horizon just off the parhelic circle. Synonyms: mock sun, parhelion. Usage: The scientists concluded that the …
blazon
noun: 1. A coat of arms. 2. A description of a coat of arms in heraldic terminology. 3. An ostentatious display. verb tr.: 1. To …
whitlow
Definition: (noun) A purulent infection at the end of a finger or toe in the area surrounding the nail. Synonyms: felon. Usage: What began as …
offprint
Definition: (noun) A reproduction of or an excerpt from an article that was originally contained in a larger publication. Synonyms: separate, reprint. Usage: The researcher …
ambage
Definition: (noun) A style that involves indirect ways of expressing things. Synonyms: circumlocution, periphrasis. Usage: His head was swimming when the lecture finally ended, and …
lexiphanic
adjective: Using pretentious words and language.
avarice
Definition: (noun) Immoderate desire for wealth. Synonyms: cupidity, covetousness, avariciousness. Usage: Dazzled by the greed of avarice, I thought that if one eye could show …
grangousier
noun: 1. A big eater. 2. A gullible person, one who will swallow anything.
acrimony
Definition: (noun) Bitter, sharp animosity, especially as exhibited in speech or behavior. Synonyms: acerbity, bitterness, jaundice. Usage: Their divorce was marked by bitter acrimony, even …
chimerize
verb tr.: To form something from parts that are very different.
mince
Definition: (verb) To moderate or restrain (words) for the sake of politeness and decorum; euphemize. Synonyms: moderate, soften. Usage: She begged him not to mince …
Bechdel test
noun: A test of inclusion and representation of women in a work of fiction.
ruralism
Definition: (noun) A rural idiom or expression. Synonyms: rusticism. Usage: He was a country poet whose verses were filled with ruralisms. Discuss
Gavroche
noun: A street urchin.
inveterate
Definition: (adjective) Persisting in an ingrained habit. Synonyms: chronic, confirmed, habitual. Usage: He was an inveterate gambler, though a poor loser. Discuss
rapier
Definition: (noun) A straight sword with a narrow blade and two edges. Synonyms: tuck. Usage: Strickland employed not the rapier of sarcasm but the bludgeon …
ramify
Definition: (verb) To have complicating consequences or outgrowths. Synonyms: complexify. Usage: The problem merely ramified after the unsuccessful meeting. Discuss