Category: Today’s Word

Today’s Word

thwack

Definition: (verb) Deliver a hard blow to. Synonyms: smack. Usage: Frustrated at being unable to fix it, Dad thwacked the engine, and it started right …

tawdry

adjective: Cheap, showy, and gaudy.

intemperate

Definition: (adjective) Given to excessive indulgence of bodily appetites, especially for intoxicating liquors. Synonyms: hard, heavy. Usage: As he was prone to intemperate behavior at …

Houdini

noun: An escape artist. verb intr.: To escape.

alleviative

Definition: (adjective) Moderating pain or sorrow by making it easier to bear. Synonyms: lenitive, mitigative, palliative. Usage: After the blacksmith burned his hand, he applied …

Hoyle

noun: 1. A rule book. 2. Rules.

endeavor

Definition: (verb) Attempt by employing effort. Synonyms: strive. Usage: The candidate promised to endeavor to improve the quality of life in the inner city, but …

egoist

Definition: (noun) A conceited and self-centered person. Synonyms: swellhead. Usage: There is nothing in this world that the egoist loves more than himself. Discuss

malodor

Definition: (noun) A distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant. Synonyms: fetor, reek, stench, stink, mephitis. Usage: The malodor from the skunk filled the night air …

shirttail

noun: 1. The part of a shirt reaching below the waist, especially in the back. 2. A brief item added at the end of a …

impale

Definition: (verb) Pierce with a sharp stake or point. Synonyms: spike, transfix. Usage: My mother always warned me not to run with scissors, lest I …

sleeveless

adjective: 1. Unprofitable; futile; unreasonable; irrelevant. 2. Without sleeves.

flyaway

Definition: (adjective) Guided by whim and fancy. Synonyms: flighty, head-in-the-clouds, scatterbrained. Usage: The flyaway young girl came to the formal dinner covered in dirt, as …

button-down

adjective: 1. Conservative, unimaginative, conventional, staid, repressed, etc. 2. Relating to a collar that can be fastened to the garment. 3. Relating to a garment …

crabbed

Definition: (adjective) Irritable and perverse in disposition; ill-tempered. Synonyms: fussy, grouchy, grumpy, cross. Usage: I first put out my tacky lawn ornaments as a practical …

arrow-collar

adjective: Conventionally attractive and suave.

addendum

Definition: (noun) Textual matter that is added onto a publication, usually at the end. Synonyms: supplement, postscript. Usage: In his pocket was a bottle, carefully …

unshirted

adjective: 1. Serious; unmitigated. 2. Plain; undisguised.

somatic

Definition: (adjective) Affecting or characteristic of the body as opposed to the mind or spirit. Synonyms: corporeal, bodily. Usage: Though anxiety attacks are psychological in …

rascality

Definition: (noun) The trait of indulging in disreputable pranks. Synonyms: prankishness, roguishness. Usage: I had underestimated the rascality of my roommate, who had replaced my …

inanity

Definition: (noun) Total lack of meaning or ideas. Synonyms: mindlessness, pointlessness, senselessness, vacuity. Usage: My classmates' inanity forced me to seek intelligent conversation elsewhere. Discuss

alterity

noun: Otherness: the state or quality of being other or different.

straggly

Definition: (adjective) Spreading out in different directions. Synonyms: rambling, sprawling. Usage: The gardener's job was to tame the yard's few straggly bushes and make them …

panache

noun: 1. A confident, stylish manner; swagger. 2. A tuft of feathers on a headdress, such as a helmet, hat, etc.

dubitable

Definition: (adjective) Open to doubt or suspicion. Synonyms: doubtful, in question, dubious. Usage: Tom insists that his business is doing well, but from the looks …

canary

noun: 1. A small finch, native to the Canary Islands, having greenish to yellow color, and known for its melodious song. 2. A bright yellow …

butterfingered

adjective: Clumsy or careless, especially frequently dropping things.

conflate

Definition: (verb) Mix together different elements. Synonyms: coalesce, fuse, mix, merge, commingle, flux, blend, meld, combine. Usage: My kids think that I spend all day …

zen

noun: An activity, approach, state of mind, etc., emphasizing intuition and insights, instead of fixation on goals. adjective: Calm, peaceful, unruffled.

inequity

Definition: (noun) Injustice by virtue of not conforming with rules or standards. Synonyms: unfairness. Usage: Even though I am older, my brother gets more allowance …

sententious

Definition: (adjective) Concise and full of meaning. Synonyms: pithy. Usage: He was a man of few words, but when he did speak, his sententious statements …

peccadillo

Definition: (noun) A petty misdeed. Synonyms: indiscretion. Usage: I have stayed with my husband for the sake of our children, but I can tolerate his …

hightail

adjective: Archaic. Named or called.

sleight

Definition: (noun) Adroitness in using the hands. Synonyms: dexterity. Usage: Only through his unequaled sleight can the juggler manage to keep eight chainsaws safely aloft. …

pinnacle

noun: 1. The highest point. 2. An architectural ornament capping a tower, buttress, etc. verb tr.: 1. To reach the peak of achievement, development, etc. …

misanthropic

Definition: (adjective) Characterized by a hatred or mistrustful scorn for humankind. Synonyms: cynical. Usage: Perhaps rendered more misanthropic by the infirmities that come with years …

hackle

noun: 1. Hairs or feathers on the neck or back of some animals that stand up when the animal is agitated. 2. Temper; anger. 3. …

transmogrify

Definition: (verb) Change completely the nature or appearance of. Synonyms: metamorphose, transfigure. Usage: In Franz Kafka's story "The Metamorphosis," a human being transmogrifies into a …

carapace

noun: 1. A hard shell on the back of animals such as turtles, crabs, etc. 2. An attitude developed as a protective measure against something.

artificer

Definition: (noun) A skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft. Synonyms: artisan, journeyman, craftsman. Usage: There are native tanners, shoemakers, weavers, blacksmiths, stonecutters, and …