Category: Today’s Word

Today’s Word

despondent

Definition: (adjective) Feeling or showing profound hopelessness, dejection, discouragement, or gloom. Synonyms: heartsick. Usage: I did my best to take Mike's mind off his problems, …

rort

noun: 1. A fraudulent scheme or practice. 2. A wild party.

dispirit

Definition: (verb) Lower someone's spirits; make downhearted. Synonyms: cast down, deject, depress, dismay, demoralize. Usage: I try to maintain a positive outlook, but the sad …

zig

noun: A sharp turn or angle in a zigzag course. verb intr.: To make a sharp turn.

pouter

Definition: (noun) Someone with a habitually sullen or gloomy expression. Synonyms: picklepuss, sourpuss. Usage: What will it take for you to stop being such a …

swashbuckle

verb intr.: To swagger, bluster, behave recklessly, etc.

stockpile

Definition: (noun) Something kept back or saved for future use or a special purpose. Synonyms: reserve, backlog. Usage: Over the years, Gina has amassed quite …

onymous

adjective: Bearing the author’s name; named.

gangly

Definition: (adjective) Tall and thin and having long slender limbs. Synonyms: lanky, rangy. Usage: The gangly man's suit sleeves and pant legs flapped like empty …

indurate

Definition: (adjective) Emotionally hardened. Synonyms: callous, pachydermatous. Usage: My father was once an affectionate man, but he returned from the war cold and indurate. Discuss

snooze

Definition: (noun) A brief light sleep. Synonyms: catnap, forty winks, nap. Usage: Carey had retired as usual after dinner for a little snooze in the …

ironclad

adjective: 1. Covered with iron. 2. Inflexible, unbreakable, or indisputable.

brass tacks

noun: Practical details; essentials; realities.

incriminate

Definition: (verb) Suggest that someone is guilty. Synonyms: inculpate, imply. Usage: Every paper which would incriminate him was destroyed before he left the house. Discuss

tinhorn

noun: Someone who pretends to have money, skill, influence, etc. adjective: Inferior or insignificant, while pretending to be otherwise.

bespoke

Definition: (adjective) (Of clothing) custom-made. Synonyms: tailored, made-to-order. Usage: The cost of a bespoke suit is prohibitive, but if I am to interview for an …

vituperation

Definition: (noun) Abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter, deep-seated ill will. Synonyms: invective, vitriol. Usage: From one open shop …

golden calf

noun: Someone or something unworthy that is excessively esteemed.

antedate

Definition: (verb) Be earlier in time; go back further. Synonyms: antecede, forego, precede, predate. Usage: No man can antedate his experience, or guess what faculty …

confute

Definition: (verb) Prove to be false. Synonyms: disprove. Usage: He took out a packet of old letters and began turning them over as if in …

necropsy

Definition: (noun) An examination and dissection of a dead body to determine cause of death or the changes produced by disease. Synonyms: autopsy, postmortem. Usage: …

geratology

noun: 1. The study of aging and related decline. 2. The study of a species approaching extinction.

telepathy

Definition: (noun) Apparent communication from one mind to another without using sensory perceptions. Synonyms: thought transference. Usage: I sometimes wonder how he knows what I …

hyponym

noun: A more specific term in a general class. For example, “purple” is a hyponym of “color”.

disqualify

Definition: (verb) Make unfit or unsuitable. Synonyms: indispose. Usage: Timmy's dream of joining the Air Force was shattered when he learned that his color blindness …

henotheism

noun: Belief in or worship of one god without denying the possibility of others.

burble

Definition: (verb) Flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise. Synonyms: guggle, gurgle, ripple, babble. Usage: The brook burbled over the smooth stones, splitting …

jocular

Definition: (adjective) Characterized by jokes and good humor. Synonyms: jesting, joking. Usage: The jocular atmosphere of the mess hall disappeared when the drill sergeant entered …

lithophone

noun: Any of various musical instruments in which sound is produced by striking pieces of stone.

nemesis

Definition: (noun) A source of harm or ruin. Synonyms: bane, scourge, curse. Usage: My doctor says I need to improve my diet immediately, but fast …

accustom

Definition: (verb) Make psychologically or physically used (to something). Synonyms: habituate. Usage: Endeavor, then, to accustom yourself to our manner of living in these northern …

buttery

Definition: (adjective) Unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech. Synonyms: fulsome, oleaginous, smarmy, unctuous, soapy, oily. Usage: John's buttery praise was getting …

Niagara

noun: An outpouring; a deluge.

unflinching

Definition: (adjective) Showing neither fear nor indecision; resolute. Synonyms: unintimidated, unshrinking, unblinking. Usage: He held a silent combat with his inward agony, defying, meanwhile, my …

meander

verb intr.: 1. To follow a winding course. 2. To move aimlessly. 3. To speak or write without a focus. noun: 1. A curve or …

omniscient

Definition: (adjective) Having infinite knowledge or understanding. Synonyms: all-knowing. Usage: Every episode of the popular soap opera begins with an omniscient narrator revealing the featured …

Rubicon

noun: A point of no return, one where an action taken commits a person irrevocably.

bedevil

Definition: (verb) Be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly. Synonyms: befuddle, confound, discombobulate, fox, throw. Usage: Jerry frequently bedevils his …