plaintive
Definition: (adjective) Expressing sorrow; melancholy. Synonyms: mournful. Usage: She uttered a plaintive sob, closed her fine eyes, and fled, trying in vain to still the …
Category: Today’s Word
Today’s Word
hardfisted
adjective: 1. Stingy. 2. Tough, aggressive, or ruthless. 3. Having hands made rough by labor: hardhanded.
contiguous
Definition: (adjective) Having a common boundary or edge; abutting; touching. Synonyms: neighboring, adjacent, conterminous. Usage: The windows of the back rooms overlooked an enormous court, …
gobsmacked
adjective: Utterly surprised; flabbergasted.
vilify
Definition: (verb) To make vicious and defamatory statements about. Synonyms: revile, vituperate, rail. Usage: The Nazi propaganda vilified the Jews. Discuss
sticky-fingered
adjective: Given to stealing.
innocuous
Definition: (adjective) Having no adverse effect. Synonyms: harmless. Usage: That mushroom may look innocuous, but it is in fact deadly. Discuss
snoutfair
noun: A good-looking person. adjective: Good-looking.
imbroglio
Definition: (noun) A difficult or intricate situation; an entanglement. Synonyms: embroilment. Usage: And then there's a general imbroglio, everyone standing up and the kid hollering …
handmaiden
noun: 1. Someone or something that is subservient to another. 2. A personal maid.
clandestine
Definition: (adjective) Kept or done in secret, often in order to conceal an illicit or improper purpose. Synonyms: hush-hush, cloak-and-dagger, undercover, underground, hole-and-corner, hugger-mugger, secret, …
indelible
Definition: (adjective) Impossible to remove, erase, or wash away; permanent. Synonyms: permanent, lasting, enduring, ineradicable, ineffaceable, inexpungible, inextirpable. Usage: Before I left for camp, my …
spendthrift
Definition: (noun) One who spends money recklessly or wastefully. Synonyms: scattergood, spend-all, spender. Usage: You talk as if a miser on Monday were always a …
locavore
noun: One who eats locally grown food.
beneficent
Definition: (adjective) Characterized by or performing acts of kindness or charity. Synonyms: benevolent. Usage: In 1909, nuns were running more than 1,000 beneficent institutions. Discuss
rheology
noun: The study of the deformation and flow of matter.
languorous
Definition: (adjective) Lacking spirit or liveliness. Synonyms: lackadaisical, languid, dreamy. Usage: The sun was low in the west, and the breeze soft and languorous that …
psychobabble
noun: Language laden with jargon from psychotherapy or psychiatry, used without concern for accuracy.
quench
Definition: (verb) To satisfy (one's thirst, desires, etc.). Synonyms: slake, allay, assuage. Usage: He stopped to quench his thirst at a stream. Discuss
consilience
noun: The linking or agreement of different disciplines when forming a theory or coming to a conclusion.
calumniate
Definition: (verb) To make maliciously or knowingly false statements about. Synonyms: asperse, besmirch, defame, slander, smirch, denigrate, sully, smear. Usage: Martha knew it was wrong …
vorpal
adjective: 1. Sharp. 2. Deadly.
uproarious
Definition: (adjective) Marked by or causing boisterous merriment or convulsive laughter. Synonyms: hilarious, screaming. Usage: My brother spent the evening regaling us with uproarious tales …
ineluctable
Definition: (adjective) Not to be avoided or escaped; inevitable. Synonyms: inescapable, unavoidable. Usage: Those war plans rested on a belief in the ineluctable superiority of …
splenetic
Definition: (adjective) Affected or marked by ill humor or irritability. Synonyms: bristly, prickly, waspish. Usage: The splenetic tone of the complaint letter made James dread …
spuddle
verb intr.: To work feebly. noun: A feeble action or movement.
exonerate
Definition: (verb) Pronounce not guilty of criminal charges. Synonyms: acquit, exculpate, discharge, clear. Usage: After the long trial, the suspect was exonerated of the murder …
sympatric
adjective: Occurring in the same geographical area.
obdurate
Definition: (adjective) Hardened against feeling; hardhearted. Synonyms: granitic, stony, flinty. Usage: The child's misery would move even the most obdurate heart. Discuss
sinisterity
noun: 1. Left-handedness. 2. Skillfulness in the use of the left hand. 3. Awkwardness or clumsiness. 4. Evilness, unluckiness, etc.
scrawl
Definition: (verb) Write carelessly. Synonyms: scribble. Usage: The note that my brother scrawled before his quick exit was unreadable. Discuss
glossolalia
noun: Unintelligible utterances occurring during religious excitation, schizophrenia, etc. Also known as speaking in tongues.
asperity
Definition: (noun) Harshness of manner; ill temper or irritability. Synonyms: sharpness. Usage: Mr. Nickleby looked very indignant at the handmaid on being thus corrected, and …
felix culpa
noun: An error or disaster that has fortunate consequences.
truant
Definition: (noun) Someone who shirks duty. Synonyms: nonattender, no-show. Usage: As the two truants rolled up the avenue … the sense of duties neglected added …
lassitude
Definition: (noun) A state or feeling of weariness, diminished energy, or listlessness. Synonyms: lethargy, sluggishness. Usage: Her rapid footsteps shook her own floors, and she …
ritz
noun: Luxury, glamor, opulence, etc. verb tr.: 1. To make a show of luxury or opulence. 2. To behave haughtily toward someone; to snub.
saturnine
Definition: (adjective) Showing a brooding ill humor. Synonyms: glowering, moody, morose, sullen, glum, dour, sour, dark. Usage: Since he had heard of Lilla's death, the …
janus-faced
adjective: 1. Looking in two different directions. 2. Having two contrasting aspects. 3. Hypocritical or deceitful.
convivial
Definition: (adjective) Fond of feasting, drinking, and good company; sociable. Synonyms: jolly, merry, festive, jovial. Usage: Weston was chatty and convivial, and no friend to …