Category: Today’s Word

Today’s Word

overzealous

Definition: (adjective) Marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea. Synonyms: fanatical, rabid. Usage: The pop star's overzealous fans climbed …

bemoan

Definition: (verb) Regret strongly. Synonyms: bewail, deplore, lament. Usage: When he is under the depressing influence of the after-consequences, he bemoans his sufferings and his …

long-winded

Definition: (adjective) Using or containing too many words. Synonyms: verbose, wordy, tedious, windy. Usage: To say the politician's speech was long-winded would be to utter …

Friday face

noun: A glum expression or a person with such an expression.

choleric

Definition: (adjective) Quickly aroused to anger. Synonyms: hot-tempered, hotheaded, irascible, quick-tempered, short-tempered. Usage: Gordon was a man by nature ill-suited to be a schoolmaster: he …

hackbut

Definition: (noun) An obsolete firearm with a long barrel. Synonyms: arquebus, hagbut, harquebus. Usage: It is unusual to encounter a hackbut outside of a museum, …

roly-poly

Definition: (adjective) Short and plump. Synonyms: pudgy, tubby, dumpy. Usage: He went about in fear and trembling of the fat roly-poly puppy who was unafraid …

Eeyore

noun: A gloomy, pessimistic person.

henchman

Definition: (noun) Someone who assists in a plot. Synonyms: collaborator, partner in crime, confederate. Usage: During the rest of that short and successful strike, Bill …

Tapleyism

noun: Extreme optimism, even under most hopeless circumstances.

petiole

Definition: (noun) The slender stem that supports the blade of a leaf. Synonyms: leafstalk. Usage: Beth pruned her plants methodically, snipping dead leaves at their …

Debbie Downer

noun: Someone who is persistently negative and pessimist.

habitant

Definition: (noun) A person who inhabits a particular place. Synonyms: denizen, dweller. Usage: The cave's only habitant appeared filthy and unshaven, suggesting that he had …

Tigger

noun; Someone filled with energy, cheerfulness, and optimism.

horologist

Definition: (noun) Someone who makes or repairs watches. Synonyms: watchmaker. Usage: My neighbor, Paula, is an amateur horologist, so she may be able to figure …

Gummidge

noun: An peevish, pessimistic person.

espial

Definition: (noun) The act of detecting something; catching sight of something. Synonyms: catching, detection, spotting, spying. Usage: Laure refused to condescend to an act of …

glister

Definition: (noun) The quality of shining with a bright reflected light. Synonyms: glitter, sparkle, scintillation. Usage: Brian had to shield his eyes from the glister …

antimicrobial

Definition: (noun) An agent (as heat or radiation or a chemical) that destroys microorganisms that might carry disease. Synonyms: disinfectant, germicide. Usage: Karen attempts to …

indubitable

Definition: (adjective) Too obvious to be doubted. Synonyms: veritable, undeniable, indisputable, irrefutable, unquestionable, incontrovertible, unarguable, incontestable. Usage: In the course of the day they saw …

anacoluthon

noun: An abrupt change in the middle of a sentence making one part inconsistent with the other.

eyestrain

Definition: (noun) A tiredness of the eyes caused by prolonged close work by a person with an uncorrected vision problem. Synonyms: asthenopia. Usage: Extended computer …

apophenia

noun: The perception of connections or meaning in unrelated or random phenomena.

presentment

Definition: (noun) A show or display; the act of presenting something to sight or view. Synonyms: demonstration. Usage: He added a few remarks of a …

besaiel

noun: A grandfather’s father: great-grandfather.

caravansary

Definition: (noun) An inn in some eastern countries with a large courtyard that provides accommodation for caravans. Synonyms: khan. Usage: A steady stream of travelers …

thinko

noun: A careless error in thinking.

extenuate

Definition: (verb) Lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of. Synonyms: mitigate, palliate. Usage: Let him, if he be able, justify or …

red-blooded

Definition: (adjective) Endowed with or exhibiting great bodily or mental health. Synonyms: full-blooded, lusty, hearty. Usage: George was admired as a true red-blooded athlete who …

disheveled

Definition: (adjective) In disarray; extremely disorderly. Synonyms: frowzled, rumpled, tousled. Usage: With tender hands Mercy smoothed the disheveled hair and arranged the crumpled dress. Discuss

contumacy

noun: Stubborn rebelliousness or insubordination.

off-color

Definition: (adjective) In violation of good taste even verging on the indecent. Synonyms: indelicate. Usage: The shareholder's meeting was entirely the wrong forum for his …

indefeasible

adjective: Not subject to be revised, defeated, or annulled.

undersell

Definition: (verb) To sell goods for a lower price than (another seller). Synonyms: undercut. Usage: The executive instituted a store-wide sale in an effort to …

hombre

Definition: (noun) An informal term for a youth or man. Synonyms: guy, bozo, cat. Usage: I am the kind of hombre who enjoys a good …