Category: Today’s Word

Today’s Word

ubiquitous

Definition: (adjective) Being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time. Synonyms: omnipresent. Usage: She is the most ubiquitous media personality around. Discuss

echoism

noun: The formation of words by imitating sounds; also a word created in this manner.

numismatist

Definition: (noun) A collector and student of money (and coins in particular). Synonyms: coin collector. Usage: I'm not sure that I would go so far …

gibe

Definition: (noun) A derisive or provoking remark. Synonyms: barb, dig, shot. Usage: The referee heard the gibes from the crowd, but, ever the professional, ignored …

polyhistor

noun: A person of great or wide learning. Also polyhistorian.

jibe

Definition: (verb) To be in accord; agree. Synonyms: correspond, match. Usage: I expected to find some discrepancies in the books, but your figures jibe with …

iota

Definition: (noun) A very small amount; a bit. Synonyms: scintilla, shred, smidgeon, whit. Usage: There was not an iota of truth to that tale. Discuss

orphic

Definition: (adjective) Having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding. Synonyms: occult, mysterious, mystical, secret. Usage: The …

Aldermaston

noun: Relating to a protest, disapproval, dissent, etc.

sere

Definition: (adjective) Dried up or withered. Synonyms: shriveled. Usage: The desert was edged with sere vegetation. Discuss

waft

Definition: (verb) To carry or be carried gently on or as if on the air or water. Synonyms: drift, float, blow. Usage: The scent of …

kersey

adjective: Plain; simple.

whet

Definition: (verb) To make more keen; stimulate. Synonyms: quicken, pique. Usage: The aroma of frying bacon whetted my appetite. Discuss

Devonshire

verb tr.: To clear land by burning turf, stubble, etc.

freewheeling

Definition: (adjective) Not concerned with or constrained by rules, conventions, or responsibilities. Synonyms: devil-may-care, happy-go-lucky, harum-scarum, slaphappy, carefree. Usage: Enjoy your fun while you can …

argot

Definition: (noun) A specialized vocabulary or set of idioms used by a particular group. Synonyms: jargon, lingo, patois, vernacular, slang, cant. Usage: He was a …

banal

Definition: (adjective) Drearily commonplace and often predictable; trite. Synonyms: stock, threadbare, hackneyed, old-hat, well-worn, tired. Usage: By his twelfth book, his plots had become downright …

nonce

Definition: (noun) The present or particular occasion. Synonyms: time being. Usage: Her tendency to discover a touch of sadness had for the nonce disappeared. Discuss

presently

adverb: 1. In a short while: soon. 2. At the present time: now.

lucid

Definition: (adjective) Mentally sound; sane or rational. Synonyms: coherent, logical. Usage: Most of the time, he just muttered incomprehensibly to himself, but in his occasional …

endsville

noun: 1. Something that is most excellent or the ultimate. 2. Something that is most undesirable; the end. adjective: 1. Most excellent. 2. Most undesirable.

quaff

Definition: (verb) To swallow hurriedly or greedily or in one draught. Synonyms: gulp, swig. Usage: Recently returned to port, the sailors quaffed their ale with …

shifty

adjective: 1. Evasive; untrustworthy. 2. Changing directions frequently. 3. Resourceful: able to accomplish what needs done.

parry

Definition: (verb) To deflect, evade, or avoid. Synonyms: hedge, sidestep, skirt, circumvent, dodge, elude, duck. Usage: He parried every inquiry so successfully that soon he …

dinky

adjective: 1. (In the US) Small; insignificant; undesirable. 2. (In the UK) Attractively tiny; cute.

cabal

Definition: (noun) A secret scheme or plot. Synonyms: conspiracy. Usage: She pretended that a wicked plot was being hatched against her, a cabal which would …

farouche

adjective: 1. Wild; fierce. 2. Shy; unsociable.

cache

Definition: (noun) A secret store of valuables or money. Synonyms: hoard, stash. Usage: In case of an emergency, I have a small cache of money …

churl

Definition: (noun) A rude, boorish person. Synonyms: boor, barbarian, peasant. Usage: He is a drunken, brawling, perilous churl, as you may find to your cost. …

feign

Definition: (verb) To give a false appearance of. Synonyms: sham, simulate, assume. Usage: When confronted about the crime, the suspect feigned ignorance of even the …

spear side

noun: 1. The male line of descent. 2. The male part of a family, group, etc.

hovel

Definition: (noun) A small, miserable dwelling. Synonyms: shack, shanty, hut, hutch. Usage: Compared to the manor house, their own modest home seemed like a hovel. …

exoteric

adjective: 1. Not limited to an inner circle of select people. 2. Suitable for the general public. 3. Relating to the outside; external.

gaffe

Definition: (noun) A clumsy social error; a faux pas. Synonyms: slip, solecism, gaucherie. Usage: He knew by the silence that greeted his speech that he …

autonym

noun: 1. A person’s own name, as distinguished from a pseudonym. 2. A work published under the real name of the author.

slake

Definition: (verb) To satisfy (a craving); quench. Synonyms: allay, assuage. Usage: My first act on coming to this water was, of course, to slake my …

attrite

adjective: Regretting one’s wrongdoing only because of the fear of punishment. verb tr., intr.: 1. To wear down, erode, or weaken through sustained attacks, friction, …

tacit

Definition: (adjective) Implied by or inferred from actions or statements. Synonyms: understood, silent. Usage: Management has given its tacit approval to the plan. Discuss