Category: Today’s Word

Today’s Word

cognoscente

Definition: (noun) A person with superior, usually specialized knowledge or highly refined taste. Synonyms: connoisseur. Usage: I may not be a cognoscente of art, but …

combatant

Definition: (noun) A person or group engaged in or prepared for a fight, struggle, or dispute. Synonyms: battler, belligerent, fighter, scrapper. Usage: Here the two …

disaffect

Definition: (verb) Arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness. Synonyms: alienate, estrange. Usage: She loved him, but the …

belligerence

Definition: (noun) A hostile or warlike attitude, nature, or inclination. Synonyms: pugnacity, aggressiveness. Usage: The little lawyer glared at me a moment, and then the …

Trojan horse

noun: Something or someone placed in order to subvert from within.

cock-a-hoop

Definition: (adjective) Exhibiting self-importance. Synonyms: boastful, braggart, crowing, self-aggrandizing, big. Usage: I didn't mean to be cock-a-hoop about my promotion, but I couldn't help telling …

Canterbury tale

noun: A story that is long, tedious, or absurdly implausible.

coronal

Definition: (noun) Flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes. Synonyms: chaplet, lei, wreath, garland. Usage: Instead of a …

urbane

Definition: (adjective) Showing a high degree of refinement and the assurance that comes from wide social experience. Synonyms: svelte, polished, refined. Usage: In his mind, …

scattergood

Definition: (noun) Someone who spends money prodigally. Synonyms: spendthrift. Usage: I prefer to think of myself not as a scattergood but as a collector of …

ardor

Definition: (noun) Feelings of great warmth and intensity. Synonyms: fervency, fire. Usage: He spoke with great ardor at the rally, inspiring the crowd with his …

protract

Definition: (verb) Lengthen in time; cause to be or last longer. Synonyms: prolong, draw out, extend. Usage: What, even, if he got away … before …

enunciatory

adjective: Announcing; declaring; pronouncing.

luxuriant

Definition: (adjective) Produced or growing in extreme abundance. Synonyms: lush, profuse, riotous, exuberant. Usage: The rivulet was hidden by the luxuriant vegetation of the banks …

coequality

noun: The state of being equal with one another, as in rank, power, value, etc.

louche

Definition: (adjective) Of questionable taste or morality. Synonyms: shady. Usage: It did not surprise me that the owner of that louche nightclub downtown was arrested …

precipitancy

Definition: (noun) The quality of happening with headlong haste or without warning. Synonyms: suddenness, abruptness. Usage: "I hope there will be no women besides our …

rubicund

Definition: (adjective) Inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life. Synonyms: ruddy, sanguine, florid. Usage: "Please your honor," answered the drum-major, whose …

autokinesy

noun: Self-propelled or self-directed motion or energy.

underscore

Definition: (verb) Give extra weight to (a communication). Synonyms: emphasize. Usage: When I gave my son permission to attend the party, I made sure to …

coruscate

Definition: (verb) Be lively or brilliant or exhibit virtuosity. Synonyms: sparkle, scintillate. Usage: The flutist's music coruscated throughout the concert hall. Discuss

ailment

Definition: (noun) An often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining. Synonyms: complaint, ill. Usage: She pretended that she was always well now, …

Brobdingnag

noun: Something very large. adjective: Huge.

stolid

Definition: (adjective) Having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited. Synonyms: impassive. Usage: Her face showed nothing but stolid indifference. Discuss

yahoo

noun: A person who is boorish, loud, disruptive, etc. interjection: Expressing excitement, delight, or triumph.

lily-livered

Definition: (adjective) Weak or lacking in courage; cowardly. Synonyms: chickenhearted, yellow-bellied. Usage: I have never seen such a lily-livered bunch of wimps in my life! …

liniment

Definition: (noun) A medicinal liquid that is rubbed into the skin to relieve muscular stiffness and pain. Synonyms: embrocation. Usage: The veterinarian instructed me to …

Laputan

adjective: Absurdly fanciful or impractical.

avowal

Definition: (noun) An open statement of affirmation; frank acknowledgment or admission. Synonyms: avouchment. Usage: He had no right to extort a confession of attachment from …

lilliput

adjective: Tiny. noun: Someone or something very small.

situated

Definition: (adjective) Having a place or location. Synonyms: located, placed, set. Usage: This vast region is situated between the fifteenth and tenth degrees of north …

malleable

Definition: (adjective) Capable of being shaped or bent or drawn out. Synonyms: tractile, ductile, pliant, tensile. Usage: I am not very handy with a chisel, …

locomote

Definition: (verb) To move from one place to another. Synonyms: go, travel. Usage: Unlike most other fish, seahorses maintain an upright position when they locomote. …