pertain
Definition: (verb) Be relevant to. Synonyms: concern, bear on, come to, touch on, refer, relate. Usage: All the evidence that pertains to the accident was …
Category: Today’s Word
Today’s Word
toboggan
noun: 1. A flat-bottomed sled curled up at the front. 2. A sharp decline. verb intr.: 1. To ride a toboggan. 2. To decline rapidly.
dishearten
Definition: (verb) To shake or destroy the courage or resolution of; dispirit. Synonyms: put off. Usage: These difficult economic conditions dishearten people and undermine their …
flyspeck
noun: 1. A small dot made by the excrement of an insect, such as a fly. 2. Something tiny or insignificant. adjective: Tiny or insignificant. …
typify
Definition: (verb) Embody the essential characteristics of or be a typical example of. Synonyms: epitomize. Usage: The fugue typifies Bach's style of composition. Discuss
foin
verb intr.: To thrust with a weapon; lunge. noun: A thrust with a weapon.
shirtfront
noun: 1. The front of a shirt. 2. A high, front-on collision or bump on an opponent. 3. An aggressive direct confrontation. verb tr.: 1. …
recrudesce
Definition: (verb) To break out anew or come into renewed activity, as after a period of quiescence. Synonyms: develop, break. Usage: These political movements recrudesce …
cavil
verb tr., intr.: To raise a trivial or frivolous objection. noun: A trivial or frivolous objection.
mottle
Definition: (verb) Mark with spots or blotches of different color or shades of color as if stained. Synonyms: blotch, streak. Usage: Her first words had …
nipper
Definition: (noun) A small child. Synonyms: kid, minor, child, tiddler, youngster, nestling, shaver, small fry, tyke. Usage: I could not have been much more than …
trackless
Definition: (adjective) Lacking pathways. Synonyms: pathless, roadless, untrodden. Usage: They had to traverse the most dreary and desolate mountains, and barren and trackless wastes, uninhabited …
Plimsoll line
noun: 1. Any of various horizontal lines on the side of a ship indicating the depth to which it may be immersed under various conditions. …
skepticism
Definition: (noun) Doubt about the truth of something. Synonyms: disbelief, incredulity, mental rejection. Usage: Ghek made no reply, nor did his expressionless face denote either …
Dantean
adjective: 1. Relating to Dante or his writings. 2. Having a hellish quality.
perturb
Definition: (verb) Disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed. Synonyms: cark, disorder, disquiet, unhinge, distract, trouble. Usage: She was …
chauvinist
noun: One who believes in the superiority of one’s country, group, gender, etc. adjective: Believing in or relating to such beliefs.
preceptor
Definition: (noun) Teacher at a university or college (especially at Cambridge or Oxford). Synonyms: don. Usage: Dessalles, the tutor he had brought from Switzerland, was …
Babbittry
noun: Complacent materialism and smug conformity.
effervesce
Definition: (verb) Become bubbly or frothy or foaming. Synonyms: fizz, foam, froth, sparkle. Usage: The champagne effervesced in the glasses. Discuss
Gallio
noun: One who is indifferent or uncaring.
chapiter
Definition: (noun) The upper part of a column that supports the entablature. Synonyms: capital, cap. Usage: Scattered throughout the ruins were ornately carved chapiters that …
disassociate
Definition: (verb) Part; cease or break association with. Synonyms: disjoint, disunite, divorce. Usage: She disassociated herself from the organization when she found out that the …
do-gooder
Definition: (noun) Someone devoted to the promotion of human welfare and to social reforms. Synonyms: humanitarian, improver. Usage: A do-gooder to the core, she spends …
bounden
adjective: Obligatory; binding.
dropsy
Definition: (noun) Swelling from excessive accumulation of watery fluid in cells, tissues, or serous cavities. Synonyms: edema, hydrops. Usage: I must tell you that this …
screed
noun: 1. A long piece of writing or speech, especially one that’s tedious or denunciatory. 2. A long strip of material such as wood, plaster, …
constellate
Definition: (verb) To form or cause to form a group or cluster. Synonyms: cluster, flock, clump. Usage: The poets constellate in this town every summer. …
tidings
noun: News.
periwig
Definition: (noun) A wig for men that was fashionable in the 17th and 18th centuries. Synonyms: peruke. Usage: He wears an immense periwig, flowing down …
shrive
verb tr.: 1. To hear a confession. 2. To impose penance. 3. To free from guilt. verb intr.: 1. To make a confession. 2. To …
wellspring
Definition: (noun) An abundant source. Synonyms: fountainhead. Usage: The new recruit was a wellspring of ideas and reinvigorated the department with her out-of-the-box thinking. Discuss
writhen
adjective: Twisted; coiled; contorted.
off-key
Definition: (adjective) Inaccurate in pitch. Synonyms: sour, false. Usage: Her wailing, off-key vocals made me cringe. Discuss
malinger
Definition: (verb) To feign illness or other incapacity in order to avoid duty or work. Synonyms: skulk. Usage: To make sure that employees do not …
precept
Definition: (noun) Rule of personal conduct. Synonyms: principle. Usage: I forget who it was that recommended men for their soul's good to do each day …
anywhen
adverb: At any time.
mastermind
Definition: (verb) Plan and direct (a complex undertaking). Synonyms: engineer, orchestrate, organize, direct. Usage: The finance minister will continue to mastermind economic reform. Discuss
ad nauseam
adverb: To an excessive degree.
bumpkin
Definition: (noun) A person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture. Synonyms: chawbacon, hayseed, hick, rube, yahoo, yokel. Usage: Many people take one …