Category: Today’s Word

Today’s Word

traipse

Definition: (verb) Walk or tramp about. Synonyms: shlep. Usage: I spent the holiday exploring the countryside, traipsing from town to town with just a knapsack …

philocynic

noun: A dog lover. adjective: Fond of dogs.

extemporaneous

Definition: (adjective) Carried out or performed with little or no preparation. Synonyms: impromptu, off-the-cuff, offhand, unrehearsed, ad-lib. Usage: Though she had not practiced for some …

ransack

Definition: (verb) To search carefully for plunder; pillage. Synonyms: foray, reave, rifle, loot, plunder, strip. Usage: My apartment looked like a tornado had torn through …

deplorable

Definition: (adjective) Worthy of severe condemnation or reproach. Synonyms: condemnable, criminal, reprehensible, vicious. Usage: He had committed a deplorable act of violence, and the judge …

abeyance

Definition: (noun) The condition of being temporarily set aside. Synonyms: suspension. Usage: Every other feeling as it rushed upon him was thrown into abeyance by …

Hawthorne effect

noun: An improvement in workers’ performance attributed to the special attention they received when singled out for a study.

flippant

Definition: (adjective) Marked by disrespectful levity or casualness. Synonyms: frivolous, irreverent, saucy, glib, pert, impertinent, impudent. Usage: When a sensible woman has a serious question …

languor

Definition: (noun) A dreamy, lazy mood or quality. Synonyms: dreaminess. Usage: His eyes gathered in and reflected the light and languor of the summer day. …

inundation

Definition: (noun) An overwhelming number or amount. Synonyms: deluge, flood, torrent. Usage: The restaurant owner was faced with an inundation of lawsuits from diners who …

Grand Guignol

noun: An event, entertainment, etc., of a sensational or horrific nature. adjective: Gruesome, grotesque, or horrifying.

pervade

Definition: (verb) Spread or diffuse through. Synonyms: imbue, permeate, riddle, penetrate. Usage: Yet amid all these varieties and incongruities, there is a common meaning or …

tammany

adjective: Relating to political corruption.

acumen

Definition: (noun) Shrewdness shown by keen insight. Synonyms: insightfulness. Usage: His sharp business acumen meant he quickly rose to the top. Discuss

funambulist

Definition: (noun) An acrobat who performs on a tightrope or slack rope. Synonyms: tightrope walker. Usage: My daughter was enchanted by the funambulist crossing the …

necromancer

Definition: (noun) One who practices magic or sorcery. Synonyms: sorcerer, wizard, magician. Usage: Hardly have I escaped from that magician, and must another necromancer again …

flagship

noun: 1. A ship that carries the fleet commander and flies the commander’s flag. 2. The best or the most important of a group of …

bauble

Definition: (noun) A small, showy ornament of little value. Synonyms: fallal, gaud, gewgaw, trinket, bangle, novelty. Usage: The tacky bauble she wore around her neck …

scabby

adjective: 1. Having scabs. 2. Mean or contemptible.

martinet

Definition: (noun) Someone who demands exact conformity to rules and forms. Synonyms: disciplinarian, moralist. Usage: Any deviation from the classroom rules was met with a …

automaton

Definition: (noun) A mechanical figure or contrivance constructed to act as if by its own motive power. Synonyms: robot. Usage: The automaton was considered a …

sough

verb intr.: To make a moaning, sighing, whistling, murmuring, or rustling sound. noun: 1. Such a sound. 2. A rumor.

abominable

Definition: (adjective) Unequivocally detestable; loathsome. Synonyms: odious, execrable. Usage: The abominable treatment of prisoners horrified the team of international observers. Discuss

papier-mache

noun: A mixture of pulped paper, glue, etc., used in making sculptures, boxes, ornaments, etc. adjective: 1. Made of papier-mache. 2. Fragile; temporary; false; illusory.

admonitory

Definition: (adjective) Serving to warn. Synonyms: cautionary, exemplary. Usage: Bella, entering with a raised admonitory finger, kissed Lizzie softly, but said not a word. Discuss

ignominious

Definition: (adjective) Marked by shame or disgrace. Synonyms: inglorious, shameful, opprobrious, disgraceful, black. Usage: It was an old fisherman who, with immense difficulty, at last …

disembarrass

Definition: (verb) Relieve from. Synonyms: rid, free. Usage: Lord Lundie strove to disembarrass himself of his accoutrements much as an ill-trained … dog tries to …

plight

noun: 1. An unfortunate situation. 2. A pledge. 3. A fold, wrinkle, braid, etc. Also called plait or pleat. verb tr.: 1. To become engaged …

laconic

Definition: (adjective) Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise. Synonyms: curt, crisp. Usage: Their father, though very laconic in his …

pillbox

noun: 1. A small container for pills. 2. A small fortified enclosure, used for firing weapons, observing, etc. 3. A small brimless hat with a …

opprobrium

Definition: (noun) Disgrace arising from exceedingly shameful conduct; ignominy. Synonyms: obloquy. Usage: The candidate's racist comments attracted public opprobrium. Discuss

cameo

noun: 1. A small sculpture carved in relief on a background of another color. 2. A short description, literary sketch, etc., that effectively presents the …

footling

Definition: (adjective) (Informal) Small and of little importance. Synonyms: fiddling, niggling, picayune, piddling, piffling, trivial, petty, lilliputian, little. Usage: His footling gestures were insufficient to …

bruit

noun: 1. Rumor. 2. Report. 3. Noise. 4. An abnormal sound heard in internal organs in the body during auscultation. verb tr.: 1. To report. …

amalgamate

Definition: (verb) To combine into a unified or integrated whole; unite. Synonyms: commix, mingle, unify, mix. Usage: The three zones mingle and amalgamate along the …

dobber

noun: 1. An informer. 2. In cricket, a bowler, especially a slow bowler. 3. A float for a fishing line. 4. A large marble.