pipsqueak
noun: Something or someone small or insignificant.
Category: Today’s Word
Today’s Word
intercede
Definition: (verb) Act between parties with a view to reconciling differences. Synonyms: arbitrate, liaise, mediate. Usage: When I saw my poor brother led away to …
frowze
verb tr., intr.: To be or to make untidy, tangled, or ruffled. noun: A wig of frizzed hair.
overextend
Definition: (verb) Strain excessively. Synonyms: overstrain. Usage: He overextended himself when he accepted the additional assignment and ultimately had to tell his boss that he …
cerement
Definition: (noun) Burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped. Synonyms: winding-clothes, pall, shroud. Usage: The ghost of Athelstane himself would burst his bloody cerements …
histrionic
Definition: (adjective) Characteristic of acting or a stage performance; often affected. Synonyms: melodramatic. Usage: Dorothea let out a histrionic groan and threw herself to the …
deserts
noun: Something that is deserved.
carryall
Definition: (noun) A capacious bag or basket. Synonyms: holdall, tote. Usage: She threw her cell phone, wallet, and gym shoes into her carryall and ran …
tenterhook
noun: One of various hooks used for stretching cloth on a frame.
supernumerary
Definition: (adjective) More than is needed, desired, or required. Synonyms: excess, extra, redundant, supererogatory, surplus, superfluous, spare. Usage: His appearance…is apt to occasion some little …
wreak
verb tr.: To cause or inflict.
deadpan
Definition: (adjective) Deliberately impassive in manner. Synonyms: expressionless, poker-faced, unexpressive, impassive. Usage: Although he was distraught when the guilty verdict was read, his deadpan expression …
kilter
noun: Proper or usual state or order.
readjust
Definition: (verb) Adjust anew. Synonyms: readapt. Usage: Some soldiers find it hard to readjust to civilian life when they leave the army. Discuss
fettle
noun: State or condition.
open-eyed
Definition: (adjective) Carefully observant or attentive; on the lookout for possible danger. Synonyms: vigilant, wakeful, argus-eyed. Usage: Natasha…got into bed, and long after her candle …
highfalutin
Definition: (adjective) Affectedly genteel. Synonyms: hoity-toity, la-di-da, grandiose. Usage: I'm glad you didn't load him down with some highfalutin, romantic name that he'd be ashamed …
constrict
Definition: (verb) Become tight or as if tight. Synonyms: constringe, narrow. Usage: Severe migraines can be treated with a drug which constricts the blood vessels. …
opsomaniac
noun: A person with a craving for a particular food.
incite
Definition: (verb) Provoke or stir up. Synonyms: instigate, stir up, set off. Usage: Those who incite riots should be held accountable for the damage they …
janiform
adjective: Having two faces, sides, or contrasting aspects.
niggle
Definition: (verb) Worry unnecessarily or excessively. Synonyms: fret, fuss. Usage: I realize now that the things which used to niggle me did not really matter. …
vaticinate
verb tr., intr.: To prophesy or predict.
clavicle
Definition: (noun) Bone linking the scapula and sternum. Synonyms: collarbone. Usage: He will be out for the rest of the season thanks to a broken …
adduce
Definition: (verb) Advance evidence for. Synonyms: abduce, cite. Usage: There is no evidence to adduce, and whether or not the man himself committed the murders …
zugunruhe
noun: Restlessness at the beginning of a migration period.
laundress
Definition: (noun) A working woman who takes in washing. Synonyms: washerwoman. Usage: I do believe the laundress hasn't sent the washing yet, and all the …
light-minded
Definition: (adjective) Showing inappropriate levity. Synonyms: flippant. Usage: The light-minded woman had been discovering good matches for her daughter almost from the year of her …
refutation
Definition: (noun) The speech act of answering an attack on your assertions. Synonyms: defense. Usage: His refutation of the charges was short and persuasive. Discuss
roturier
noun: A person of low rank; a commoner.
cleave
Definition: (verb) Separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument. Synonyms: rive, split. Usage: The axe had cleaved open the back of …
jobsworth
noun: A petty official who insists on following trivial rules at the expense of common sense.
middling
Definition: (adjective) Lacking exceptional quality or ability. Synonyms: mediocre, average, fair. Usage: The performance was middling at best, but for some reason the audience still …
galoot
noun: A clumsy, eccentric, or foolish person.
demonstrable
Definition: (adjective) Capable of being demonstrated or proved. Synonyms: provable. Usage: The mother showed a demonstrable lack of concern for the general welfare of her …
rudesby
noun: A rude, boorish person.
pertinacity
Definition: (noun) Persistent determination. Synonyms: doggedness, perseverance, persistency, tenacity. Usage: Again and again…with the inexorable pertinacity of a child…did he renew his efforts. Discuss
quidam
noun: 1. An unknown person. 2. An unimportant person.
tune-up
Definition: (noun) Exercising in preparation for strenuous activity. Synonyms: warm-up, prolusion. Usage: The scrimmage was a tune-up for the big game. Discuss
countrified
Definition: (adjective) Characteristic of rural life. Synonyms: rustic. Usage: The house was very handsome, with a lovely countrified garden. Discuss