superable
Definition: (adjective) Capable of being surmounted or excelled. Synonyms: conquerable. Usage: Bankruptcy is unpleasant, to say the least, but it is a superable problem. Discuss
Category: Today’s Word
Today’s Word
fomites
noun: Any inanimate object, such as a book, money, carpet, etc., that can transmit germs from one person to another.
browbeat
Definition: (verb) Discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate. Synonyms: bully, swagger. Usage: The police attempted to browbeat me into revealing my …
zoonosis
noun: Any disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
fallacious
Definition: (adjective) Intended to deceive. Synonyms: deceitful, fraudulent. Usage: In his closing argument, the prosecutor entreated the jurors not to fall for the defendant's fallacious …
venerate
Definition: (verb) To hold in deep respect. Synonyms: revere. Usage: In our culture, we venerate the elderly and pay heed to their wisdom. Discuss
foppish
Definition: (adjective) Affecting extreme elegance in dress and manner. Synonyms: dandyish. Usage: Though not foppish, he appreciated fine clothes. Discuss
Aunt Tom
noun: A woman considered to be a traitor to a cause.
abridge
Definition: (verb) Reduce in scope while retaining essential elements. Synonyms: abbreviate, shorten, contract, reduce, cut. Usage: I write with so much difficulty, the cold is …
topsy
noun: Something growing without intention or direction.
charnel
Definition: (adjective) Gruesomely indicative of death or the dead. Synonyms: ghastly, sepulchral. Usage: The charnel smell coming from the suspect's basement left little doubt that …
Uncle Tom
noun: A person regarded as betraying their cultural allegiance by being subservient to another.
erudition
Definition: (noun) Profound scholarly knowledge. Synonyms: encyclopedism, learning, scholarship. Usage: They, like himself, had been bred in the studious cloisters of a university, and were …
Simon Legree
noun: A harsh taskmaster.
drudge
Definition: (noun) A laborer who is obliged to do menial work. Synonyms: navvy, peon, galley slave. Usage: Picking up after my ungrateful kids every day …
Jim Crow
noun: The systematic practice of discriminating against Black people.
manumit
Definition: (verb) Free from slavery or servitude. Synonyms: emancipate. Usage: If I truly wanted to manumit the slave boy, I would have to buy his …
coddle
Definition: (verb) Treat with excessive indulgence. Synonyms: baby, cocker, cosset, featherbed, mollycoddle, pamper, spoil, indulge. Usage: I have warned her not to spoil the children, …
recidivate
Definition: (verb) To return to a previous pattern of behavior, especially to return to criminal habits. Synonyms: relapse, retrogress, lapse, regress, fall back. Usage: I …
hysteric
adjective: Exhibiting an uncontrolled or overly emotional state, volatility, attention-seeking behavior, etc. noun: An overly emotional or unstable person.
embolden
Definition: (verb) To foster boldness or courage in; encourage. Synonyms: cheer, hearten. Usage: Emboldened by the success of his first novel, he started on a …
chicken-livered
adjective: Cowardly; easily frightened.
dingle
Definition: (noun) A small wooded hollow. Synonyms: dell. Usage: For no reason but that his fancy led him, he … walked down the grassy sunny …
ithyphallic
adjective: 1. Lewd or salacious. 2. Having an erect phallus.
insolence
Definition: (noun) An instance of insolent behavior, treatment, or speech. Synonyms: rudeness, cheek. Usage: Sara sassed the teacher and was given detention for her insolence. …
pugnacious
adjective: Having a quarrelsome nature; belligerent.
declamatory
Definition: (adjective) Ostentatiously lofty in style. Synonyms: bombastic, orotund, tumid, turgid, large. Usage: He has a reputation for making bold, declamatory statements. Discuss
iron-hearted
adjective: Cruel; unfeeling.
heart-to-heart
Definition: (noun) An intimate talk in private. Synonyms: tête-à-tête. Usage: It felt good to open up, and I left our heart-to-heart feeling as though a …
obduracy
Definition: (noun) Resoluteness by virtue of being unyielding and inflexible. Synonyms: adamance, unyieldingness. Usage: My obduracy and hardheadedness often gets me in trouble at the …
lampoon
Definition: (verb) Ridicule with satire. Synonyms: satirize. Usage: Joe's coworkers lampoon his affected way of speaking. Discuss
fig
noun: 1. A tree or shrub of the genus “Ficus” or its fruit. 2. Something of little value. 3. A gesture of contempt. verb tr.: …
circumnavigate
Definition: (verb) Travel around, either by plane or ship. Synonyms: compass. Usage: Ferdinand Magellan was the first explorer to circumnavigate the globe. Discuss
birch
noun: 1. Any of various hardy trees or shrubs of the genus “Betula”. 2. A birch twig or a bundle of them. verb tr.: 1. …
higgledy-piggledy
Definition: (adjective) In utter disorder. Synonyms: hugger-mugger, jumbled, topsy-turvy, disorderly. Usage: My mother ordered me to straighten up my room and get rid of the …
willowy
adjective: 1. Of or related to a willow tree. For example, bordered, shaded, or covered by willows. 2. Gracefully tall, slender, and lithe.
purloin
Definition: (verb) To steal, often in a violation of trust. Synonyms: cabbage, filch, pilfer, snarf, swipe, abstract, nobble, pinch, sneak, hook, lift. Usage: Someone at …
palmary
adjective: Of supreme importance; outstanding; praiseworthy.
dither
Definition: (noun) An excited state of agitation. Synonyms: fuss, pother, tizzy, flap. Usage: I was in such a dither while getting dressed this morning that …
corroborate
verb tr.: To confirm or support a claim, theory, etc.