Category: Today’s Word

Today’s Word

upbraid

Definition: (verb) Express criticism towards. Synonyms: reproach. Usage: Eleanor upbraided her husband for forgetting to pick up the dry cleaning. Discuss

titter

Definition: (verb) To laugh in a restrained, nervous way. Synonyms: giggle. Usage: Mention sex therapy and most people will titter with embarrassment. Discuss

egregious

Definition: (adjective) Conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible. Synonyms: flagrant, glaring, crying, rank, gross. Usage: His account of that night was full of egregious lies, …

Prince Charming

noun: A suitor who fulfills the expectations of his beloved.

hangdog

Definition: (adjective) Downcast, furtive, or guilty in appearance or manner. Synonyms: guilty, shamefaced. Usage: His hangdog look and shamed silence were proof enough of his …

sleeping beauty

noun: Someone or something that lays dormant for a long time.

gallivant

Definition: (verb) Wander aimlessly in search of pleasure. Synonyms: gad, jazz around. Usage: Mike spent years gallivanting around and indulging his every whim before settling …

ugly duckling

noun: One that seems unattractive or unpromising at first but has great potential and later turns out to be quite attractive or successful.

convalesce

Definition: (verb) To return to health and strength after illness. Synonyms: recover, recuperate. Usage: After two weeks in the hospital, I was sent home to …

Cinderella

noun: 1. One who deserves success or recognition, but instead suffers from neglect or obscurity. 2. One who achieves sudden triumph or recognition, especially after …

epicurean

Definition: (adjective) Displaying luxury and furnishing gratification to the senses. Synonyms: sybaritic, luxuriant, voluptuous. Usage: I starved myself all day to make sure I would …

Goldilocks

adjective: Just right; a happy medium; optimal; not at either extreme.

goggle

Definition: (verb) Look with amazement; look stupidly. Synonyms: gape, gawk, gawp. Usage: He goggled at her in astonishment. Discuss

falsify

Definition: (verb) Tamper, with the purpose of deception. Synonyms: fudge, fake, misrepresent, wangle, manipulate, cook. Usage: The researcher was tempted to falsify his data in …

merriment

Definition: (noun) High-spirited fun and enjoyment; hilarity. Synonyms: fun, playfulness. Usage: All merriment was now at an end, and the subsequent discourse consisted only of …

firmament

Definition: (noun) The vault or expanse of the heavens; the sky. Synonyms: celestial sphere, empyrean, heavens, welkin. Usage: The stars shine in the endless firmament. …

sanguinary

adjective: 1. Relating to blood. 2. Blood-red. 3. Involving bloodshed. 4. Bloodthirsty.

habiliment

Definition: (noun) A covering designed to be worn on a person's body. Synonyms: clothing, wearable, vesture, wear. Usage: The figure was tall and gaunt, and …

disquisition

noun: A formal discussion on a subject: discourse or dissertation.

paltry

Definition: (adjective) Contemptibly small in amount. Synonyms: petty, trivial, trifling, beggarly, derisory, measly, piddling. Usage: The miserly millionaire was criticized for his paltry donation, but …

stridor

noun: A harsh, grating or creaking sound.

statuesque

Definition: (adjective) Suggestive of a statue, as in proportion, grace, or dignity. Synonyms: stately. Usage: She was of majestic form and stature, her attitudes were …

adulterate

Definition: (verb) Corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones. Synonyms: dilute, debase, …

flinty

Definition: (adjective) Showing unfeeling resistance to tender feelings. Synonyms: granitic, obdurate, stony. Usage: He maintained a hard, careless deportment, indicative of neither joy nor sorrow: …

interject

Definition: (verb) To insert between other elements. Synonyms: interpose, throw in, come in, inject, put in. Usage: He listened thoughtfully, interjecting only the odd word. …

bloody shirt

noun: A symbol used to incite people to partisan outrage or animosity.

torturous

Definition: (adjective) Extremely painful. Synonyms: agonizing, excruciating, harrowing. Usage: Losing someone you love is a torturous experience. Discuss

built-in

Definition: (adjective) Existing as an essential constituent or characteristic. Synonyms: inherent, integral, constitutional. Usage: I have learned to tame it, but competitiveness is a built-in …

all-out

Definition: (adjective) Using all available resources. Synonyms: full-scale. Usage: Holding nothing back, the candidate launched an all-out attack on his critics. Discuss

smarty-pants

noun: Someone who presents as being obnoxiously clever.

graven

Definition: (adjective) Cut or impressed into a surface. Synonyms: engraved, etched, inscribed, incised. Usage: The lines from the corners of his mouth seemed graven into …

redshirt

noun: A college athlete who practices with the team, but does not take part in official games. verb tr., intr.: 1. To extend eligibility by …

immensity

Definition: (noun) Unusual largeness in size or extent or number. Synonyms: vastness, enormousness, grandness, greatness, wideness. Usage: This projectile was but an atom in the …

high-spirited

Definition: (adjective) Joyously unrestrained. Synonyms: ebullient, exuberant. Usage: These beer busts were a diversion of these high-spirited young fellows whereby they whiled away the tedium …

lifelike

Definition: (adjective) Free from artificiality. Synonyms: natural. Usage: The mannequin's appearance is so lifelike that customers often mistake it for a salesperson. Discuss

couth

adjective: Cultured; refined; sophisticated. noun: Refinement; sophistication.