Category: Today’s Word

Today’s Word

titivate

Definition: (verb) Make neat, smart, or trim. Synonyms: slick up, spiff up, spruce. Usage: I hope that my plan to titivate the restaurant will help …

psychogenic

adjective: Originating in the mind (having a psychological rather than a physiological cause).

endorse

Definition: (verb) Give support or one's approval to. Synonyms: second, back. Usage: Before I can move forward with a project of this magnitude, my boss …

amnesia

noun: Loss of memory or a gap in one’s memory.

hostler

Definition: (noun) Someone employed in a stable to take care of the horses. Synonyms: stableboy, groom. Usage: The coachman said not a word, except to …

irrefutable

adjective: Impossible to deny or disprove; indisputable.

dulcet

Definition: (adjective) Pleasing to the ear. Synonyms: mellifluous, honeyed, sweet. Usage: I turned on the record, closed my eyes, and allowed the dulcet tones of …

dog-tired

Definition: (adjective) Drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted. Synonyms: fagged, fatigued, played out, washed-out, worn out, spent. Usage: I can see myself …

frowsty

Definition: (adjective) Stale and unclean smelling. Synonyms: fusty, musty. Usage: As a college student, all I could afford was a frowsty basement apartment, but it …

natter

Definition: (verb) Talk socially without exchanging too much information. Synonyms: chew the fat, chitchat, claver, confab, chat, jaw, shoot the breeze, confabulate, gossip, chaffer, chatter, …

tinpot

adjective: Unimportant; of little worth.

greensward

Definition: (noun) Surface layer of ground containing a mat of grass and grass roots. Synonyms: sod, turf. Usage: There were lovely patches of greensward all …

inexpugnable

Definition: (adjective) Incapable of being overcome, challenged, or refuted. Synonyms: impregnable. Usage: I felt the inexpugnable strength of common sense being insidiously menaced by this …

gewgaw

Definition: (noun) Cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing. Synonyms: fallal, gaud, trinket, bangle, bauble, novelty. Usage: "Trim off these gewgaws," said his father, plucking …

brazen

adjective: 1. Shamelessly bold. 2. Made of or relating to brass. verb tr.: To face an embarrassing or difficult situation in a shamelessly bold manner.

drivel

Definition: (noun) Foolish or senseless talk. Synonyms: nonsense, rubbish, garbage. Usage: I was hoping my teacher would not actually listen to my presentation, because I …

oeuvre

Definition: (noun) The total output of a writer or artist (or a substantial part of it). Synonyms: body of work. Usage: The musicologist studied the …

loup-garou

Definition: (noun) A monster able to change appearance from human to wolf and back again. Synonyms: lycanthrope, werewolf, wolfman. Usage: The loup-garou killed without mercy …

ringer

Definition: (noun) A person who is almost identical to another. Synonyms: clone. Usage: I have been told I am a ringer for Bono, but the …

zaftig

adjective: Full-figured; pleasingly plump; buxom.

hideaway

Definition: (noun) An area where you can be alone. Synonyms: retreat. Usage: During the summers, we leave the city behind and get some much-needed rest …

defile

Definition: (verb) To damage or sully (someone's good name, reputation, etc.). Synonyms: sully, taint, corrupt, cloud. Usage: My father was an honest man, and I …

ursiform

adjective: Having the form or appearance of a bear.

tumult

Definition: (noun) Violent and noisy commotion or disturbance of a crowd or mob. Synonyms: garboil, uproar. Usage: He could hear a great tumult in the …

yeanling

noun: The young of an animal, especially of a sheep or a goat. adjective: New-born; infant.

empennage

Definition: (noun) The rear part of an aircraft. Synonyms: tail. Usage: The pop superstar is so vain that she had her likeness plastered across her …

malefactor

Definition: (noun) Someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime. Synonyms: criminal, crook, felon, outlaw. Usage: A judge having …

rakish

Definition: (adjective) Marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness. Synonyms: devil-may-care, raffish. Usage: A black patch over one eye gave him a fearfully rakish look. …

vinaceous

adjective: 1. Relating to wine. 2. Of the color of red wine: reddish.

hard-bitten

Definition: (adjective) Tough and callous by virtue of experience. Synonyms: hard-boiled, pugnacious. Usage: He graduated from college a naïve idealist, but just a few years …

autotelic

adjective: Having a purpose, motivation, or meaning in itself; not driven by external factors.

uncouth

Definition: (adjective) Lacking refinement or cultivation or taste. Synonyms: rough-cut, vulgar, coarse, common. Usage: He was an uncouth fellow, ragged and dirty and unshaven. Discuss

urticaceous

adjective: 1. Relating to a nettle. 2. Stinging.

guttersnipe

Definition: (noun) A child who spends most of his time in the streets especially in slum areas. Synonyms: street urchin. Usage: In Shaw's <i>Pygmalion</i>, an …

euphoria

noun: A feeling or state of elation or well-being.