inquiline
noun: An animal living in the nest, burrow, or home of another.
Category: Today’s Word
Today’s Word
penitent
Definition: (adjective) Feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds. Synonyms: repentant. Usage: She now presented herself, with an elaborate apology, and with the nearest approach to …
fulgor
noun: Splendor; brightness.
censer
Definition: (noun) A container for burning incense (especially one that is swung on a chain in a religious ritual). Synonyms: thurible. Usage: The organ was …
disparage
Definition: (verb) To speak of in a slighting or disrespectful way. Synonyms: belittle, pick at. Usage: When it came to the principal's attention that Mrs. …
intermit
Definition: (verb) Cease an action temporarily. Synonyms: pause, break. Usage: Pray to the gods to intermit the plague. Discuss
great guns
noun: Someone or something impressive. adverb: With energy and enthusiasm; successfully. interjection: Expressing surprising or disbelief.
fire-eater
Definition: (noun) A belligerent grouch. Synonyms: hothead. Usage: That old fire-eater next door is always screaming at me to keep my dog off of his …
smoking gun
noun: Something that serves as incriminating evidence, especially of a crime.
milliner
Definition: (noun) Someone who makes and sells hats. Synonyms: hatter, modiste. Usage: The milliner is making me a special pillbox hat with a detachable veil …
battle-axe
noun: 1. A broadax used as a weapon of war. 2. A typically older woman with a reputation for being sharp-tongued, domineering, and aggressive.
reprove
Definition: (verb) To speak disapprovingly to (a person); rebuke or scold. Synonyms: admonish. Usage: He reproved the child for his bad behavior and sent him …
hatchet job
noun: Malicious criticism meant to harm someone’s reputation.
thieve
Definition: (verb) To steal (someone's possessions). Synonyms: cop, glom, snitch, knock off, hook. Usage: The unscrupulous but skilled pickpocket thieved no fewer than a dozen …
shell-shocked
adjective: Stunned, confused, and exhausted as a result of experiencing intense stress, such as in a war zone.
repast
Definition: (noun) The food served and eaten at one time. Synonyms: meal. Usage: Numerous exquisite dishes … were placed successively before the guests, and the …
subsist
Definition: (verb) Support oneself. Synonyms: exist, survive, live. Usage: I was more agile than they and could subsist upon coarser diet. Discuss
megahit
Definition: (noun) A product or event, such as a movie or concert, that is exceedingly successful. Synonyms: smash hit, blockbuster. Usage: After a series of …
vulgarian
noun: A boor, lewd, and crude person who makes a conspicuous display of wealth.
expunge
Definition: (verb) Remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line. Synonyms: excise, scratch, strike. Usage: She forced herself to expunge …
gangrel
noun: 1. A vagrant or drifter. 2. A tall, thin, long-limbed person.
bestride
Definition: (verb) Get up on the back of. Synonyms: climb on, hop on, jump on, mount. Usage: A man who bestrides a horse must be …
connoisseur
adjective: An expert who is knowledgeable enough to pass critical judgment in a field, especially in fine arts, cuisines, etc.
overtop
Definition: (verb) Look down on. Synonyms: command, overlook, dominate. Usage: The brow of the upland overtops the square tower of the Colebrook Church.
adjudge
Definition: (verb) To pronounce formally. Synonyms: declare, hold. Usage: It was a tight race, but Frankie was ultimately adjudged the winner. Discuss
gongoozler
noun: An idle spectator.
embrasure
Definition: (noun) An opening (in a wall or ship or armored vehicle) for firing through. Synonyms: porthole. Usage: As they passed over the drawbridge, Alleyne …
cajole
Definition: (verb) Influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering. Synonyms: blarney, coax, inveigle, sweet-talk, wheedle, palaver. Usage: The little girl cajoled her father …
rumpus
Definition: (noun) A noisy, confused, or disruptive commotion. Synonyms: ruckus, ruction, commotion, din, tumult. Usage: He left before the rumpus devolved into an all-out brawl …
valorous
adjective: Courageous; brave; bold.
dramatist
Definition: (noun) Someone who writes plays. Synonyms: playwright. Usage: My goal as a dramatist is to have my plays live on long after I am …
matronly
adjective: 1. Stately; dignified. 2. Characteristic of a mature, plump, unfashionable woman.
inadvertent
Definition: (adjective) Happening by chance or unexpectedly or unintentionally. Synonyms: accidental. Usage: An autobiography, when confronted by a careful editor with documentary evidence, is usually …
indolent
adjective: 1. Lazy, lethargic, averse to exertion. 2. Painless or causing little pain; slow to develop or heal. Used in medicine, for example, indolent ulcer.
overshadow
Definition: (verb) To render insignificant or less important in comparison. Synonyms: eclipse, dominate. Usage: They were warlike little nations and defied, in those days, governments …
listless
adjective: Devoid of energy or enthusiasm.
drowse
Definition: (verb) Sleep lightly or for a short period of time. Synonyms: doze, snooze. Usage: Through one after another of those gray days Alexander drowsed …
froward
adjective: Difficult to deal with; contrary.
misadventure
Definition: (noun) An instance of misfortune. Synonyms: mischance, mishap. Usage: D'Artagnan ran home immediately, and although it was three o'clock in the morning and he …
blather
Definition: (verb) To talk foolishly. Synonyms: smatter, babble. Usage: Patrick, oblivious to his sister's visible disinterest, continued to blather about the woes of his fantasy …