Forever A Fangirl

Word: Hubris

The Word of the Day for Apr 15 is:
hubris \HYOO-bris\ noun

: exaggerated pride or self-confidence

Example sentence:
Many have fallen into the trap of Icarus, and soar, overcome with hubris, until their pride is thwarted and rude reality hurls them earthward again.

Did you know?

English picked up both the concept of hubris and the term for that particular brand of cockiness from the ancient Greeks, who considered hubris a dangerous character flaw capable of provoking the wrath of the gods. In classical Greek tragedy, hubris was often a fatal shortcoming that brought about the fall of the tragic hero. Typically, overconfidence led the hero to attempt to overstep the boundaries of human limitations and assume a godlike status, and the gods inevitably humbled the offender with a sharp reminder of his or her mortality.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
My sentence:
Steven's overconfidence often reached a level of hubris.

Word: Disseise

The Word of the Day for Apr 14 is:

disseise \dih-SEEZ\ verb
HEAR IT

: to deprive especially wrongfully of seisin : dispossess

Example sentence:
Landlords in New York beware: The law provides that "if a person is disseised, ejected, or put out of real property in a forcible or unlawful manner ... he is entitled to treble damages." (McKinney's Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law § 853)

Did you know?

"Disseise," "seisin" ("the possession of land"), and "seize" are all 14th-century words derived from the Anglo-French word "seisir," meaning "to put in possession of." That's the original meaning of English "seize" as well. ("Seize" can also be spelled "seise" in that sense.) By the 16th century, "seize" had also come to mean "to put (oneself) in possession of" (as in "the king seized himself of the crown"), which ultimately led to the more general meaning "to take by force." The Magna Carta (the great charter of liberties, originally written in Medieval Latin) is perhaps the most frequently quoted use of the word "disseise": "No freeman shall be ... disseised ... except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
In searching for a fuller definition of the word "disseise," I found that it is associated with the words "chattel" and "slave."

I really don't dig this word. Not only have I never used it or have seen it used before, it doesn't even follow the "'i'" before "e" except..." spelling rule of the English language. :/

Word: Pertinacious

The Word of the Day for Apr 13 is:
pertinacious \per-tuh-NAY-shuss\ adjective
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*1 a : adhering resolutely to an opinion or purpose b : perversely persistent
2 : stubbornly unyielding or tenacious

Example sentence:
The professor spent much of the class hour in debate with a pertinacious student about gun control.

Did you know?
If you say "pertinacious" out loud, it might sound familiar. That may be because if you take away the word's first syllable, you're left with something very similar to the word "tenacious," which means "tending to adhere or cling." The similarity between "pertinacious" and "tenacious" isn't mere coincidence; both words ultimately derive from "tenax," the Latin word for "tenacious," and ultimately from the verb "tenēre," meaning "to hold." But "pertinacious" and "tenacious" aren't completely interchangeable. Both can mean "persistent," but "pertinacious" suggests an annoying or irksome persistence, while the less critical "tenacious" implies strength in maintaining or adhering to something valued or habitual.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
My sentence:
Maureen's pertinacious belief that Samuel had designs on her was vigoously denied by his girlfriend.

Word: Solecism

The Word of the Day for Apr 10 is:
solecism \SAH-luh-sih-zum\ noun
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1 : an ungrammatical combination of words in a sentence; also : a minor blunder in speech
2 : something deviating from the proper, normal, or accepted order
*3 : a breach of etiquette or decorum


Example sentence:
In traditional Japanese households, it is a solecism to keep on your shoes upon entering.

Did you know?

Soloi had a reputation for bad grammar. That city, located in Cilicia, an ancient coastal nation in Asia Minor, was populated by Athenian colonists called "soloikos" (literally "inhabitant of Soloi"). According to historians, the colonists of Soloi allowed their native Athenian Greek to be corrupted and they fell to using words incorrectly. As a result, "soloikos" gained a new meaning: "speaking incorrectly." The Greeks used that sense as the basis of "soloikismos," meaning "an ungrammatical combination of words." That root in turn gave rise to the Latin "soloecismus," the direct ancestor of the English word "solecism." Nowadays, "solecism" can refer to social blunders as well as sloppy syntax.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
The President is known world-wide for his solecisms and some people believe it a ploy in an effort to be underestimated; others believe he simply takes after his father, George the Elder, our former vice-president and one-term president.

Word: Pasch

The Word of the Day for Apr 08 is:
Pasch \PASK\ noun
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*1 : Easter
2 : Passover

Example sentence:
"Miss Ina will not be for burying him in the kirkyard, but in Isle-Monach, where my Donald would be seeing ghosts at Yule and Pasch." (Walter C. Smith, "Kildrostan")

Did you know?

Easter is sometimes called the Christian Passover, and Passover the Jewish Easter. Given that, it's not surprising that "Pasch" comes from the Hebrew word for "Passover" — "pesah." That word, in turn, is from Hebrew "pāsah," meaning "to pass over." One interpretation (though not the only one) is that the word refers to the final plague before the Jews were permitted to leave Egypt (the Exodus commemorated by the celebration of Passover), in which God slew the firstborn sons of the Egyptians but passed over the Jewish households. "Pesah" became "pascha" in Greek, then "Pasch" in English, which, like a basket with two eggs, has held both a reference to Passover and to the Christian celebration of Christ's Resurrection since at least 1200.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
Since there is no such thing as separation of church and state, the United States will essentially grind to halt, save for egg hunts and chocolate bunny chasing, this (Good) Friday through Sunday when the Christian majority celebrate Pasch.

Word: Retrodict

retrodict \reh-truh-DIKT\ verb
: to utilize present information or ideas to infer or explain (a past event or state of affairs)
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Example sentence:
Geologists have retrodicted the positions of the continents millions of years ago.

Did you know?

We predict that you will guess the correct origins of "retrodict," and chances are we will not contradict you. English speakers had started using "predict" by at least the early 17th century; it's a word formed by combining "prae-" (meaning "before") and "dicere" (meaning "to say"). Since the rough translation of "predict" is "to say before," it's no surprise that when people in the 1950s wanted a word for "predicting" the past, they created it by combining the word for "backward" ("retro-") with the "-dict" of "predict." Other "dicere" descendants in English include "contradict," "benediction," "dictate," "diction," "interdict," "malediction," and, of course, "dictionary."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
My sentence:
Even though the explanation of the beginnings of the usage of retrodict make sense, it still sounds like a trendy 21st century word.

Word: Abstruse

The Word of the Day for Apr 06 is:
abstruse \ub-STROOS\ adjective

: difficult to comprehend : recondite
HEAR IT

Example sentence:
"This textbook is poorly written and unnecessarily abstruse," complained Marilyn.

Did you know?

Look closely at the following Latin verbs, all of which are derived from the verb "trudere" ("to push"): "extrudere," "intrudere," "obtrudere," "protrudere." Each of these Latin verbs has an English descendant whose meaning involves pushing or thrusting. Another "trudere" offspring, "abstrudere," meaning "to push away" or "to conceal," gave English "abstrude," meaning "to thrust away." But that verb didn't make it past the 17th century. The "abstrudere" descendant that did survive is "abstruse," an adjective that recalls the meaning of its Latin parent "abstrusus," meaning "concealed."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
My sentence:
The song, The Way You Look Tonight, is abstruse in the way it's music notation is written.

Word: Festinate

The Word of the Day for Apr 05 is:
festinate \FESS-tuh-nut\ adjective

: hasty
HEAR IT

Example sentence:
"Even [the company's] successes ... are vestiges of 1990s thinking. They may halt a festinate death, but you don't build a company around them." (Fritz Nelson, Network Computing, August 21, 2000)

Did you know?

"Festinate" is one among many in the category of words whose first recorded use is in the works of Shakespeare ("Advise the Duke where you are going, to a most festinate preparation." — King Lear, III.vii.10). Perhaps the Bard knew about "festinatus," the Latin predecessor of "festinate," or was familiar with the Latin proverb "festina lente" — "make haste slowly." Shakespeare also gets credit for the adverb "festinately" (first seen in Love's Labour's Lost, III. i. 6: "Bring him festinately hither."), but another writer beat him to the verb "festinate" (pronounced \FESS-tuh-nayt\), meaning "to hasten."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
"Festinate" reminds me of the word "fester" and all it's implications, therefore I shall make a festinate post so I may quickly rid myself of the unappealing visual imagery.

Word: Hieroglyphic

The Word of the Day for Apr 03 is:
hieroglyphic \hye-uh-ruh-GLIH-fik\ adjective
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1 : written in, constituting, or belonging to a system of writing mainly in pictorial characters
2 : inscribed with hieroglyphic
*3 : resembling hieroglyphic in difficulty of decipherment

Example sentence:
Although they're notorious for hieroglyphic handwriting, physicians probably don't write any worse than other professionals.

Did you know?

If Egyptian hieroglyphic writing is "all Greek to you," you know more about the etymology of "hieroglyphic" than you might think. That word comes from the Greek "hieroglyphikos," which means "sacred carving" (from "hieros," meaning "sacred," and "glyphein," meaning "to carve"). The ancient Greeks who named hieroglyphic writing reserved that term for the picture writing they found carved in temple walls or on public monuments in Egypt; it was distinguished from writings done in ink on papyrus or other smooth surfaces. But since making their first appearances in English in the 1580s, both the noun "hieroglyphics" and the adjective "hieroglyphic" have been extended to apply to the picture writing of various cultures, whether or not those writings were carved or sacred.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
The cave of Lascaux in which a plethora of hieroglyphics is housed, was discovered by four French teenagers in 1940.

Word: Amenable

The Word of the Day for Apr 02 is:
amenable \uh-MEE-nuh-bul\ adjective
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1 : liable to be brought to account : answerable
2 a : capable of submission (as to judgment or test) : suited b : readily brought to yield, submit, or cooperate *c : inclined or favorably disposed in mind : willing

Example sentence:
Dorothy assured her family she'd be amenable to whatever they planned for her 80th birthday.

Did you know?

"Amenable" is a legacy of Anglo-French and derives ultimately from Latin "minari," meaning "to threaten." Since 1596, English speakers have been using it in courtrooms and writings of law with the meaning "answerable," as in "citizens amenable to the law." It later developed the meanings "suited" ("a simple function . . . which is perfectly amenable to pencil-and-paper arithmetic" — Nature, April 1973) and "responsive" (as in "mental illnesses that are amenable to drug therapy"). It also came to be used of people with a general disposition to be agreeable or complaisant -- like Mr. Dick in David Copperfield, who was "the most friendly and amenable creature in existence." Nowadays, "amenable" is often used to describe someone who is favorably disposed to a particular named something.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
My sentence:
My first guess about the etomology of "amenable" was that it might be related to the word "amen," which I thought might mean "yes."

Word: Stalwart

stalwart \STAWL-wert\ adjective
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: marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit

Example sentence:
Although they were poorly equipped, the people of Greenville proved to be stalwart souls, and they worked through the night to save the dam and prevent a terrible flood.

Did you know?

Sometime in the 15th century, English speakers began to use "stalwart" in place of the older form "stalworth." Although "stalworth" is now archaic, it laid the groundwork for today's meaning of "stalwart." In the 12th century, "stalworth" began to be used to describe strongly built people or animals (a meaning "stalwart" took on about two centuries later). It also came to be used as an adjective for persons who showed bravery or courage (likewise, a meaning passed on to "stalwart"). So, in a way, "stalwart" has been serviceable in keeping the spirit of "stalworth" alive. This character of "stalwart" is true to its roots. "Stalworth" came from the Old English word "stælwierthe" (meaning "serviceable"), which, in turn, is thought to come from terms meaning "foundation" and "worth."

My sentence:
President Bush and his advisors are stalwart in their assertion that the invasion of Iraq was justified.

Word: Vulpine

The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day for Mar 30 is:
vulpine \VUL-pyne\ adjective
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1 : of, relating to, or resembling a fox
*2 : foxy, crafty

Example sentence:
The stranger's vulpine smile revealed his cunning mind and greedy heart, and Hazel knew instantly that she shouldn't trust him.

Did you know?

In Walden (1854), Henry David Thoreau described foxes crying out "raggedly and demoniacally" as they hunted through the winter forest, and he wrote, "Sometimes one came near to my window, attracted by my light, barked a vulpine curse at me, and then retreated." Thoreau's was far from the first use of "vulpine"; English writers have been applying that adjective to the foxlike or crafty since the 15th century. Its Latin parent is the adjective "vulpinus," which itself comes from the noun "vulpes," meaning "fox."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence

My sentence:
Women are sometimes stereotyped as having vulpine and manipulative personalities.

Word: Torrid

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
torrid \TOR-id\ adjective

1: parched with heat especially of the sun : hot
*2 : ardent, passionate

Example sentence:
As she cleaned out the attic, Monica was shocked to find a box filled with torrid love letters that her grandfather had written to her grandmother.

Did you know?

"Torrid" derives from the Latin verb "torrēre," which means "to burn" or "to parch" and is an ancestor of our word "toast." Despite the dry implications of this root, it is also an ancestor of "torrent," which can refer to a violent stream of liquid (as in "a torrent of rain"). "Torrid" first appeared in English in the 16th century, and was originally used to describe something burned or scorched by exposure to the sun. The term "torrid zone" later came about to refer to tropical regions of the Earth. By the end of that century the word had taken on the extended meaning that we know today — suggesting fiery passion.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
The film Hidalgo includes a torrid trek across Arabian desert, challenging the survival of a horse and its rider.

Word: Indissoluble

The Word of the Day for Mar 25 is:
indissoluble \in-dih-SAHL-yuh-bul\ adjective

: not dissoluble; especially : incapable of being annulled, undone, or broken : permanent

Example sentence:
The contract should have been indissoluble, but the lawyers discovered an obscure clause that made it not so.

Did you know?

"Indissoluble" is a legacy of Latin. The Latin adjective "dissolubilis" gave us "dissoluble" (both meaning "capable of being dissolved"), which first appeared in print in 1534, followed rapidly by the addition of "in-" to make its antonym in 1542. "Dissolubilis" derives from "dissolvere" ("to loosen" or "to dissolve"), which in turn comes from "dis-" ("apart") and "solvere" ("to loosen"). Not surprisingly, "dissolvere" is also the source of "dissolve" and "dissolvable," among other words. Is there an "indissolvable"? Yes and no. It exists, but it is archaic and exceedingly rare. The word most likely to be used for things that cannot be dissolved in a liquid is "insoluble." "Indissoluble" generally refers to abstract entities, such as promises or treaties, that cannot be dissolved.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
Because of their shared war experiences, the bonds between the veterans were indissoluble.

Word: Besot

besot \bih-SAHT\ verb

*1 : infatuate
2 : to make dull or stupid; especially : to muddle with drunkenness

Example sentence:
"The views besot me.... Fields of hay, wheat, and sunflowers, olive groves, and patches of forest spread out in every direction." (David Leavitt, Travel & Leisure, May 2000)

Did you know?
"Besot" developed from a combination of the prefix "be-" ("to cause to be") and "sot," a now archaic verb meaning "to cause to appear foolish or stupid." "Sot" in turn comes from the Middle English "sott," a noun meaning "fool." The first known use of "besot" is found in a poem by George Turberville, published in 1567. In the poem the narrator describes how he gazed at a beautiful stranger "till use of sense was fled." He then proceeds to compare himself to Aegisthus of Greek legend, the lover of Clytemnestra while Agamemnon was away at war, writing: "What forced the Fool to love / his beastly idle life / was cause that he besotted was / of Agamemnon's Wife."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
James' infatuation with libation was rather besotting.

Word: Chirography

The Word of the Day for Mar 23 is:
chirography \kye-RAH-gruh-fee\ noun
HEAR IT

*1: handwriting, penmanship
2: calligraphy


Example sentence:
As she leafed through her father's old book, Sheila noted that its margins were filled with annotations made in his distinct chirography.

Did you know?

Some might argue that handwriting is a dying art in this age of electronic communication. Nevertheless, we have a fancy word for it. The root "graph" means "writing" and appears in many common English words such as "autograph" and "graphite." The lesser-known root "chir," or "chiro-," comes from a Greek word meaning "hand" and occurs in words such as "chiromancy" (the art of palm reading) and "enchiridion" (a handbook or manual), as well as "chiropractic." "Chirography" first appeared in English in the 17th century and probably derived from "chirograph," a now rare word referring to a legal document or indenture. "Chirography" should not be confused with "choreography," which refers to the composition and arrangement of dances.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence: In grammar school, my chirography was so bad that often my assignments were returned to me with the word "sloppy" scrawled in red ink across the top.

Word: Sesquipedalian

The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day for Mar 22 is:
sesquipedalian \ses-kwuh-puh-DAIL-yun\ adjective

1 : having many syllables : long
*2 : using long words

Example sentence:
While the writer's sesquipedalian style can be irksome at times, his novels usually have interesting plots and good character development.

Did you know?

Horace, the Roman poet known for his satire, was merely being gently ironic when he cautioned young poets against using "sesquipedalia verba" — "words a foot and a half long" — in his book Ars poetica, a collection of maxims about writing. But in the 17th century, English literary critics decided the word "sesquipedalian" could be very useful for lambasting writers using unnecessarily long words. Robert Southey used it to make two jibes at once when he wrote "the verses of [16th-century English poet] Stephen Hawes are as full of barbarous sesquipedalian Latinisms, as the prose of [the 18th-century periodical] the Rambler." The Latin prefix "sesqui-" is used in modern English to mean "one and a half times," as in "sesquicentennial" (a 150th anniversary).

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
Ironically, "sesquipedalian" is itself an example of a sesquipedalian word.

Word: Rapscallion

The Word of the Day for Mar 19 is:  rapscallion \rap-SKAL-yun\ noun : rascal, ne'er-do-well  

Example sentence: "The film ["Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"] stars Johnny Depp as the sauntering, dark-eyed rapscallion Capt. Jack Sparrow...." (Anthony Breznican, The Associated Press, July 9, 2003) Did you know? The word "rascal" has been part of English since the 15th century, but on its own it apparently didn't quite capture the roguish nature of the wily knaves of yore. By the 17th century, English speakers had modified "rascal" to create "rascallion." But it seems that even that term didn't sound quite mischievous enough. By the century's end, "rascallion" had been further altered to create "rapscallion." Today, "rapscallion" is still commonly used as a synonym for "blackguard," "scoundrel," and "miscreant." "Rascallion" is still around as well, but it's very rare. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. My sentence: Marge's strong affinity for rapscallions often resulted in wild adventures.

Word: Desideratum

The Word of the Day for Mar 18 is:
desideratum \dih-sih-duh-RAH-tum\ noun

: something desired as essential

Example sentence:
"The other desideratum is a pitcher with good control — far rarer, even at the major-league level, than one might suppose." (Roger Angell, The New Yorker, March 12, 1984)

Did you know?

We'd like to introduce you to some close cousins of "desire." Although long eclipsed by "desire" and its offspring, the lesser-known cousins are of purer lineage. All trace their roots to the ancient Latin house of "sider-," a house whose origins are nothing if not stellar: "sider-" in Latin means "heavenly body." "Desiderare," meaning "to long for," was born when Latin "de-" was prefixed to "sider-." "Desiderare" was Frenchified as "desirer" in an Anglo-French branch of the family, which brought forth English "desire," "desirous," and "desirable" in the 13th and 14th centuries. But many years later, in the 17th century, English acquired "desideration" (longing), "desiderate" (to wish for), and finally "desideratum," all of which can lay claim to a pure Latin ancestry from "desiderare."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
The desideratum of the blog writer was to be free of the shackles of the ever-increasing censorship.

Word: Ideate

The Word of the Day for Mar 16 is:
ideate \EYE-dee-ayt\ verb

transitive sense : to form an idea or conception of
*intransitive sense : to form an idea

Example sentence:
"Drawing on typically far-ranging and hands-on experience, designers are prolific in ideating." (Mike Tennity, Design Management Journal, Summer 2003)

Did you know?

Like "idea" and "ideal," "ideate" comes from the Greek verb "idein," which means "to see." The sight-thought connection came courtesy of Plato, the Greek philosopher who based his theory of the ideal on the concept of seeing, claiming that a true philosopher can see the essential nature of things and can recognize their ideal form or state. Early uses of "idea," "ideal," and "ideate" in English were associated with Platonic philosophy; "idea" meant "an archetype" or "a standard of perfection," "ideal" meant "existing as an archetype," and "ideate" referred to forming Platonic ideas. But though "ideate" is tied to ancient philosophy, the word itself is a modern concoction, relatively speaking. It first appeared in English only about 400 years ago.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
I haven't yet been able to ideate a solution to my current dilemma.

Word: Adulation

The Word of the Day for Mar 15 is:
adulation \aj-uh-LAY-shun\ noun

: excessive or slavish admiration or flattery

Example sentence:
The star was somewhat embarrassed by the adulation of his teenage fans.

Did you know?

If "adulation" makes you think of a dog panting after its master, you're on the right etymological track; the word ultimately derives from the Latin verb "adulari," meaning "to fawn on" (a sense used specifically of the affectionate behavior of dogs) or "to flatter." "Adulation," which came to us from Latin by way of Old French, can be traced back as far as the 14th century in English. The verb "adulate," the noun "adulator," and the adjective "adulatory" later joined the language.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
She was a star in her own mind, expecting adulation from all those she had contact with.

Word: Winsome

The Word of the Day for Mar 13 is:
winsome \WIN-sum\ adjective

*1 : generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence
2 : cheerful, lighthearted


Example sentence:
Andrew's winsome smile and sweet personality endeared the toddler to everyone who tended him in the hospital.

Did you know?
"Winsome" began as "wynsum" a thousand years ago. It was formed from "wynn," the Old English word for "joy" or "pleasure," and the suffix "-sum," an older form of the "-some" we see today in many adjectives, such as "awesome," "irksome," and "lonesome." "Wynn" later became "win," meaning "pleasure," but we haven't used that noun since the 17th century. We do, however, use another word that has a "pleasing" connection and is related, albeit distantly, to "winsome." "Winning" ("tending to please or delight," as in "a winning smile" or "winning ways"), the present participle of the familiar verb "win," is from Old English "winnan," meaning "to struggle." Both "winnan" and "wynn" are thought to be related to Latin "venus," which means, among other things, "charm."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
For many years the actress Meg Ryan was described as having winsome qualities, but the passing of her 40th birthday seems to have cast her in a new light (though not a good film).

Word: Jabberwocky

The Word of the Day for Mar 12 is:
jabberwocky \JAB-er-wah-kee\ noun

: meaningless speech or writing

Example sentence:
"The salesman started spewing computer jabberwocky at me like an auctioneer. I understood about every sixth word he uttered." (Larry D. Clifton, The Tampa Tribune, September 6, 1998)

Did you know?
In a poem titled "Jabberwocky" in the book Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1872), Lewis Carroll warned his readers about a frightful beast:

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

This nonsensical poem caught the public's fancy, and by 1902 "jabberwocky" was being used as a generic term for meaningless speech or writing. The word "bandersnatch" has also seen some use as a general noun, with the meaning "a wildly grotesque or bizarre individual." It's a much rarer word than "jabberwocky," though.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
Every time I engage in a telephone "conversation" with my cable company, the individual at the other end of the line seems to speak nothing but jabberwocky.

Word: Swivet

swivet \SWIV-ut\ noun

: a state of extreme agitation

Example sentence:
The residents of Cedar Hills are in a swivet over the state's proposal to extend the highway through their town.

Did you know?

People have been in a swivet over one thing or another since the 1890s. That, at least, is when the word first appeared in print in a collection of "Peculiar Words and Usages" of Kentucky published by the American Dialect Society. In the ensuing years, "swivet" popped up in other pockets of the South as well. Chances are it had already been around for some time before it was recorded in writing, and by the time it was, nobody could say where or how it had originated. What we do know is that its use gradually spread, so that by the 1950s it was regularly appearing in national magazines like Time and The New Yorker. Thus, it entered the mainstream of American English.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence: If the people around Liza just look at her crookedly, she goes into a swivet.

Word: Volte-face

The Word of the Day for Mar 08 is:
volte-face \vawlt-FAHSS\ noun

: a reversal in policy : about-face

Example sentence:
The provisional government's volte-face on holding special elections in June instead of October took everybody by surprise.

Did you know?

Today, English speakers can choose between "volte-face" and the more English-sounding "about-face," but that wasn't always the case. Although foot soldiers have been stepping smartly to the command "To the right about face! Forward march!" for centuries, "about-face" didn't appear as a figurative noun meaning "a reversal of attitude, behavior, or point of view" until the 20th century. On the other hand, we've been using the noun "volte-face" with this meaning since at least 1819. "Volte-face" came to us by way of French from Italian "voltafaccia" (from "voltare," Italian for "to turn," and "faccia," meaning "face").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence
My sentence:

I wonder if speakers in the U.K. are more likely to say "volte-face" than their American counterparts when referring to a reversal in policy or "about-face?"

Word: Ethereal

The Word of the Day for Mar 07 is:
ethereal \ih-THEER-ee-ul (TH as in "think")\ adjective

*1 : celestial, heavenly
2 : exceptionally delicate : airy, dainty

Example sentence:
That evening, John and Courtney relaxed on the deck of their chartered sloop, gazing up at the starry, ethereal firmament.

Did you know?
If you're burning to know the history of "ethereal," you're in the right spirit to fully understand that word's etymology. The ancients believed that the Earth was composed of earth, air, fire, and water, but that the heavens and its denizens were made of a purer, less tangible substance known as either "ether" or "quintessence." Ether was often described as an invisible light or fire, and its name derives from the Greek "aithein," a verb meaning "to ignite" or "to blaze." When "ethereal," the adjective kin of "ether," debuted in English in the 1500s, it referred specifically to regions beyond the Earth, but it gradually came to refer to anything heavenly, spiritual, or intangible.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
Many years ago, when Chrissie Hynde first sang that she was "feeling kinda ethereal," in the song "Precious," I looked it up to better grasp it's meaning.

Word: Grimalkin

The Word of the Day for Mar 05 is:
grimalkin \grih-MAWL-kin\ noun

: a domestic cat; especially : an old female cat

Example sentence:
The family grimalkin, dreaming, perhaps, of mousing days long past, twitched her tail as she dozed contentedly on the windowsill.

Did you know?

In the opening scene of "Macbeth," one of the three witches planning to meet with Macbeth suddenly announces, "I come, Graymalkin." The witch is responding to the summons of her familiar, or guardian spirit, which is embodied in the form of a cat. Shakespeare's "graymalkin" literally means "gray cat." The "gray" is of course the color; the "malkin" was a nickname for Matilda or Maud that came to be used in dialect as a general name for a cat (and sometimes a hare), and for an untidy woman as well. By the 1630s, "graymalkin" had been altered to the modern spelling "grimalkin."

My sentence:
"Grimalkin" is not a word that one hears in the everyday American lexicon.

The Dark Side of The Moon

The Word of the Day for Mar 04 is:
mare \MAHR-ay\ noun, plural maria

: any of several mostly flat dark areas of considerable extent on the surface of the moon or Mars


Example sentence:
Looking up at the bright full moon, we saw clearly the maria that make up the face of the man in the moon.

Did you know?

"Mare" didn't officially touch down in English until 1860, but the idea that the dark areas of the moon's surface might be seas goes back at least to the ancient Greek writer Plutarch. Galileo introduced the concept in modern times. He himself never used the Latin word "mare" ("sea") to describe these "seas," but various writers of 17th-century Latin works did. Today we know that the moon is dry and its "seas" are actually old lava flows, but we still use "mare" and its plural "maria" to refer to them. (The plural "mares" occurs, too, but less frequently.) Incidentally, the "mare" that is pronounced MAIR and means "female horse" has no connection with Latin or the sea. Rather, it is derived from "mearh," the Old English word for "horse."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
The word mare has such a narrow, specific definition that I'm at a loss for even a mediocre sentence.

Word: Parable

The Word of the Day for Mar 03 is:

parable \PAIR-uh-bul\ noun

: example; specifically : a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle

Example sentence:
The novel is a modern-day parable about appreciating what you have.

Did you know?
"Parable" comes to us via Anglo-French from the Late Latin "parabola," which in turn comes from the Greek "parabolē," meaning "comparison." The word "parabola" may look familiar if you remember your geometry. The mathematical "parabola" refers to a kind of comparison between a fixed point and a straight line, resulting in a parabolic curve; it came to English from New Latin (Latin as used since the end of the medieval period especially in scientific description and classification). "Parable," however, descends from Late Latin (the Latin language used by writers in the 3rd to 6th centuries). The Late Latin term "parabola" referred to verbal comparisons: it essentially meant "allegory" or "speech." Other English descendants of the Late Latin "parabola" are "parole" and "palaver."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
I don't think I quite managed to make a parable of the story I wrote, but it's the first fictional writing I've attempted since college.

Word: Recalcitrant

The Word of the Day
for Mar 02 is: recalcitrant \rih-KAL-suh-trunt\ adjective

*1 : obstinately defiant of authority or restraint
2 a : difficult to manage or operate b : not responsive to treatment c : resistant


Example sentence:
Anna's doctor ordered a week of complete bed rest, but, ever recalcitrant when it comes to doctors' orders, she was up and baking a cake after two days.

Did you know?

Long before any human was dubbed "recalcitrant" in English (that first occurred, as best we know, in one of William Thackeray's works in 1843), there were stubborn mules (and horses) kicking back their heels. The ancient Romans noted as much (Pliny the Elder among them), and they had a word for it — "recalcitrare," which literally means "to kick back." (Its root "calc-," meaning "heel," is also the root of "calcaneus," the large bone of the heel in humans.) Certainly Roman citizens in Pliny's time were sometimes willful and hardheaded — as attested by various Latin words meaning "stubborn" — but it wasn't until later that writers of Late Latin applied "recalcitrare" and its derivative adjective to humans who were stubborn as mules.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
The United States government is recalcitrant in admitting that there were no WMD's in Iraq.

Word: Aegis

The Word of the Day for Mar 01 is:
aegis \EE-jiss\ noun

1 : shield, protection
*2 : patronage, sponsorship


Example sentence:
The county fair is being run under the aegis of the business council, so we can expect to see its members' logos featured prominently throughout the fairgrounds.

Did you know?

We borrowed "aegis" from Latin, but the word derives ultimately from the Greek noun "aigis," which means "goatskin." In ancient Greek mythology, an aegis was something that offered physical protection. In some stories, it was the thundercloud where Zeus kept the thunderbolts he used as weapons. In others, the aegis was a magical protective cloak made from the skin of the goat that had suckled Zeus as an infant. The word first entered English in the 16th century as a noun meaning "shield" or "protection," but by the 20th century it had acquired the extended senses of "auspices" or "sponsorship."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
Under the aegis of MTV, the Superbowl half-time show has become a a lightening rod for myriad conservative causes in their quest for censorship.

Word: Baksheesh

The Word of the Day

for Feb 28 is:
baksheesh \BAK-sheesh\ noun

: payment (as a tip or bribe) to expedite service Example sentence:
The baksheesh that Uncle Jim slipped the maitre d' magically got us the next available table, vanishing the hour-long wait.

Did you know?

"Baksheesh" came into the English language around 1760 and was most likely picked up by British subjects as they traveled abroad. In Asia, English speakers would have heard "baksheesh" used as a word for "gratuity, a present of money, tip" — a meaning they directly adopted. Etymologically speaking, "baksheesh" is from Persian "bakhshīsh," which is also the source of the word "buckshee," meaning "something extra obtained free," "extra rations," or "windfall, gratuity." "Buckshee" is strictly a British English term and is not used in American English. Like "baksheesh," it too is dated circa 1760.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
Despite the generous baksheesh that I gave the airport luggage handler, my suitcases still ended up in a different state than I.

Word: Cachinnate

The Word of the Day for Feb 27 is:
cachinnate \KAK-uh-nayt\ verb

: to laugh loudly or immoderately

Example sentence:
"He looked in at the door and snickered, then in at the window, then peeked down from between the rafters and cachinnated till his sides must have ached." (John Burroughs, "A Bed of Boughs")

Did you know?

"Cachinnate" has been whooping it up in English since the 19th century. The word derives from the Latin verb "cachinnare," meaning "to laugh loudly," and "cachinnare" was probably coined in imitation of a loud laugh. As such, "cachinnare" is much like the Old English "ceahhetan," the Old High German "kachazzen," and the Greek "kachazein" — all words of imitative origin that essentially meant "to laugh loudly." Our word "cackle" has a different ancestor than any of these words (the Middle English "cakelen"), but this word, too, is believed to have been modeled after the sound of laughter.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence: Many people cachinnate when hearing the President mangle the English language.

Word: Apprehension

The Word of the Day for Feb 26 is:
apprehension \ap-rih-HEN-shun\ noun

1 *a : the act or power of perceiving or comprehending b : the result of apprehending mentally : conception
2 : seizure by legal process : arrest
3 : suspicion or fear especially of future evil : foreboding


Example sentence:
"Oddly combined with her sharp apprehension ... was the primitive simplicity of her attitude...." (Edith Wharton, The Reef)

Did you know?

The Latin verb "prehendere" really grabs our attention. It means "to grasp" or "to seize," and it is an ancestor of various English words. It teamed up with the prefix "ap-" ("to," "toward," or "near") to form "apprehendere," the Latin predecessor of our words "apprehension," "apprehend" and "apprehensive." When "prehendere" joined the prefix "com-" ("with," "together," "jointly"), Latin got "comprehendere," and English eventually got "comprehend," "comprehension," and "comprehensive." "Prehendere" also gave us the words "comprise," "prehensile" ("adapted for seizing or grasping"), "prison," "reprehend," and "reprise," among others.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
The novice singer approached her first solo performance with great apprehension.

Word: Mardi Gras

The Word of the Day for Feb 24 is: Mardi Gras \MAR-dee-grah\ noun

1 a : Shrove Tuesday often observed (as in New Orleans) with parades and festivities *b : a carnival period climaxing on Shrove Tuesday
2 : a festive occasion resembling a pre-Lenten Mardi Gras

Example sentence:
In New Orleans, Mardi Gras is a several-day event that is well-known for its spectacular parades and wild street celebrations.

Did you know?

"Mardi Gras," which literally means "fat Tuesday" in French, is the term for Shrove Tuesday, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the Christian period of Lent. Though Mardi Gras has been celebrated since at least the Middle Ages in Europe, the celebration did not arrive in America until 1699, when, according to tradition, a group of French explorers held a Mardi Gras celebration downstream from the site of what is now New Orleans. In modern times the festive revelry and extravagant parades and costumes that are hallmarks of the carnival tradition are alive and well in both France and New Orleans, as well as other places around the globe.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence: After several days of pre Mardi Gras partying, Mike was so exhausted that he slept though the actual celebration.

Word: Bellwether

The Word of the Day for Feb 23 is:

bellwether \BEL-WEH-ther ("th" as in "this")\ noun

:one that takes the lead or initiative : leader; also : an indicator of trends

Example sentence:
Always the fashion bellwether of the class, Mike started wearing khaki pants to school while other boys were still wearing jeans.

Did you know?

We usually think of sheep more as followers than leaders, but in a flock one sheep must lead the way. Long ago, it was common practice for shepherds to hang a bell around the neck of one sheep in their flock, thereby designating it the lead sheep. This animal was called the "bellwether," a word formed by a combination of the Middle English words "belle" (meaning "bell") and "wether" (a noun that refers to a male sheep that has been castrated). It eventually followed that "bellwether" would come to refer to someone who takes initiative or who actively establishes a trend that is taken up by others. This usage first appeared in English in the 13th century.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
It appears Arnold will be a political bellwether, championing the rights of non-native born Americans to become President.

Word: Precarious

The Word of the Day from word@m-w.com for Feb 21 is:

precarious \prih-KAIR-ee-us\ adjective

1 : depending on the will or pleasure of another
2 : dependent on uncertain premises : dubious
*3 a : dependent on chance circumstances, unknown conditions, or uncertain developments b : characterized by a lack of security or stability that threatens with danger


Example sentence:
Joanna knows that acting is an economically precarious profession, but she's determined to make her living in the theater.

Did you know?
"This little happiness is so very precarious, that it wholly depends on the will of others." Joseph Addison, in a 1711 issue of Spectator magazine, couldn't have described the oldest sense of "precarious" more precisely — the original meaning of the word was "depending on the will or pleasure of another." Prayers and entreaties directed at that "other" might or might not help. Nowadays we usually think of things precarious as depending on circumstances, rather than people, rendering it necessary to direct our prayers and entreaties to a higher power. What precariousness really hangs on, in the end, is "prex," the Latin word for "prayer." From "prex" came the Latin word "precarius," meaning "obtained by entreaty," from whence came our own adjective "precarious." Anglo-French "priere," from "precarius," gave us "prayer."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence

My sentence:
Because the table legs were of differing lengths, the vase of flowers placed in the table center wobbled precariously.

Word: WSIWYG

WYSIWYG \WIH-zee-wig\noun Word Of The Day

: a display generated by word-processing or desktop-publishing software that exactly reflects the appearance of the printed document

Example sentence:
Arnold wanted a WYSIWYG Web editor that would show him what a new page looked like as he made it.

Did you know?
The slogan "what you see is what you get" has long been used by advertisers to indicate that a deal is honest and straightforward. In the early 1980s, the phrase was abbreviated to "WYSIWYG" by computer users who sought a term to describe software that accurately reflects the appearance of the finished product. WYSIWYG interfaces eliminate the need for users to master complex formatting codes, allowing them to concentrate instead on design. Originally used in word processing and desktop publishing, they are now found in Web editors and other programs used to create electronic documents. The word "WYSIWYG" is a noun, but it is often used attributively (modifying another noun) as in our example sentence.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence

My sentence:

Cyn was completely floored to learn that WYSIWYG is a recognized word, not simply an acronym.

Word: Hypnagogic

The Word of the Day for Feb 19 is:
hypnagogic \hip-nuh-GAH-jik\ adjective

:of, relating to, or occurring in the period of drowsiness immediately preceding sleep

Example sentence:
In her hypnagogic state, Edith wondered why the flight attendant was telling her to buckle her seat belt in church (or so she thought).

Did you know?

"The hypnagogic state is that heady lull between wakefulness and sleep when thoughts and images flutter, melt, and transform into wild things," wrote Boston Globe correspondent Cate McQuaid (October 1, 1998). Scientists attribute many alien-abduction stories to this state, but for most people these "half-dreams" are entirely innocuous. Perhaps the most famous hypnagogic dream is that of the German chemist Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz, who was inspired with the concept of the benzene ring by a vision of a snake biting its own tail. You're not dreaming if the Greek root "hypn-," meaning "sleep," seems familiar — you've seen it in "hypnotize." The root "-agogic" is from the Greek "-agōgos," meaning "inducing," from "agein" meaning "to lead." We borrowed "hypnagogic" (also spelled "hypnogogic") from French "hypnagogique" in the late 19th century.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
Though fully awake, in class Jim behaved in a hypnagogic manner.

Word: Revanche

The Word of the Day for Feb 17 is:
revanche \ruh-VAHNSH (vowel in second syllable pronounced nasally)\ noun

:revenge; especially : a usually political policy designed to recover lost territory or status

Example sentence:
Soon after losing the northern territory to the invading army, the general began drafting a plan of revanche to get it back.

Did you know?

"Revanche" first appeared in English in the mid-19th century, deriving, along with our noun "revenge," from the Middle French verb "revenchier" ("to revenge"). The word developed its specific political application in the years following the Franco-German War (1870-71), which resulted in France losing the territory known as Alsace-Lorraine to Germany. (The territory was returned to France following World War I and then twice switched hands again during World War II.) Although "revanche" appears occasionally in English today, you are more likely to encounter its relatives "revanchism," which refers to a government's policy of revanche, and "revanchist," referring to a follower of such a policy. These words did not appear in English until the 20th century.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
There's been a climate of revanchism in the Middle East for many years.

Word: Susurrous

susurrous \soo-SUR-us ("oo" as in "good")\ adjective : full of whispering sounds

Example sentence:
The susurrous opening phrases of the first movement, with its whispering violins, gave way to a thunderous crescendo of brass.

Did you know?

"Susurrous" derives from the Latin noun "susurrus," meaning "a hum" or "a whisper," and may be a distant relative of "swarm" (think of the collective hum of a beehive). "Susurrus" also occurs as an English noun, with the meaning "a whispering or rustling sound." Of the two English words, the noun is the oldest (it debuted in 1826); "susurrous" came onto the scene about thirty years later. Both of these were preceded by the noun "susurration," which appeared in the 14th century and means "a whispering sound, murmur." Today "susurrous" is used to describe any kind of sound that resembles a whisper: a light breeze through a tree, perhaps, or the murmurs of intrigued theatergoers.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
As the newly thin starlet strode onto the stage, a susurrous wave washed over the audience.

Word: Vilipend

vilipend \VIH-luh-pend\ verb Word Of The Day

*1 : to hold or treat as of little worth or account : contemn
2 : to express a low opinion of : disparage


Example sentence:
As a women's movement pioneer, Susan B. Anthony fought against the dictums of those who would vilipend women by treating them as second-class citizens.

Did you know?
"Vilipend" first appeared in English in the 15th century and comes to us through French from the Latin roots "vilis," meaning "cheap" or "vile," plus "pendere," meaning "to weigh," "to estimate," or "to cause to hang." These roots work in tandem to form a meaning of "to deem to be of little worth." Both of those roots have weighed in heavily as a source of common English words. Other "vilis" offspring include "vile" and "vilify," while "pendere" has spawned such terms as "append," "expend," and "suspend."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
It's seems the new administrator is taking every opportunity he can to vilipend those with whom he has a personal grudge.

Word: Amative

The Word of the Day for Feb 14 is:
amative \AM-uh-tiv\ adjective

1 : strongly moved by love and especially sexual love
*2 a : indicative of love b : of or relating to love

Example sentence:
On Valentine's Day, Fred expressed his amative feelings for Nancy with a gift of chocolate.

Did you know?
"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways . . ." Elizabeth Barrett Browning came up with eight ways to express her love in her poem; we offer six ways, or rather six words, to describe those expressions of love. Besides the familiar "amorous" and today's "amative," there's "amatory," "amoristic," "amatorious," and "amatorial" (you have to go to our unabridged dictionary to look up those last two). What we love about this list is that all the words stem from Latin "amare," meaning "to love." "Amative," which was first introduced in 1636, was modeled on Medieval Latin "amativus," from the past participle of "amare." "Amorous," on the other hand, goes back to Middle English and came from Medieval Latin "amorosus," an adjective based on the noun "amor" ("love").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence: The over-eager teenage boy offended his female friend with his inappropriate amative behavior.

Word: Flapdoodle

The Word of the Day for Feb 13 is:
flapdoodle \FLAP-doo-dul\ noun

: nonsense

Example sentence:
"That whole business with the gypsy fortune-teller was just a lot of fabricated flapdoodle," snorted General Rumsey, "and you shouldn't believe a word of it."

Did you know?
Combining the letters "f" and "l" (and often "d" or "m") is a great formula for creating funny words — take "folderol," "fiddlesticks," "fandangle," "flubdub," "flummox," and "flimflam." To ascribe pedigreed origins to any of those silly syllables would be fiddle-faddle. "Flapdoodle" certainly can't claim high-flown ancestors. Like many of its nonsensical fellows listed above, it most likely originated as an alteration of some other absurd word ("fadoodle" is a candidate), but its exact origins are unknown. What we do know is that it first appeared in English in 1878. Six years later, Mark Twain employed the word in Huckleberry Finn, with narrator Huck describing a king's speech at a funeral as "all full of tears and flapdoodle."

My sentence:If we can avoid all the flapdoodle that comes with mixing a group of people like this together, everything should be copacetic.

Word: Compurgator

compurgator \KAHM-per-gay-ter\ noun

: one who under oath vouches for the character or conduct of an accused person

Example sentence:
Several of his acquaintances were brought into court as compurgators.

Did you know?

"Compurgator" comes to us from the Latin word "compurgatus" and the suffix "-or." "Compurgatus" is the past participle of the verb "compurgare," meaning "to purge completely." "Purgare" also gave us our "purge" ("to clear of guilt," "to cause evacuation from," or "to get rid of") and "expurgate" ("to cleanse of something morally harmful, offensive, or erroneous"). "Compurgator" has occasionally been used in a more general sense of "one who supports or defends another," but its primary application is to the specific legal situation in which someone appears in court as a character witness for the defendant. "Compurgator" has been used in English with this specific legal meaning since the 16th century.

My sentence: Despite the attorney's best attempts, no compugators could be found for her client.

Word: Excoriate

The Word of the Day for Feb 11 is:
excoriate \ek-SKOR-ee-ayt\ verb

*1 : to wear off the skin of : abrade
2 : to censure scathingly


Example sentence:
"A day of arduous toil, that might excoriate a lady's palm, would make no sensible impression on that of a hardy ploughman." (Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey)

Did you know?

"Excoriate," which first appeared in English in the 15th century, comes from "excoriatus," the past participle of the Late Latin verb "excoriare," which means "to strip off the hide." "Excoriare" was itself formed from a pairing of the Latin prefix "ex-," meaning "out," and "corium," meaning "skin" or "hide" or "leather." "Corium" has several other descendants in English. One is "cuirass," a name for a piece of armor that covers the body from neck to waist (or something, such as bony plates covering an animal, that resembles such armor). Another is "corium" itself, which is sometimes used as a synonym of "dermis" (the inner layer of human skin).

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence

My sentence: Much to his dismay, Lukas was excoriated at the executive board meeting.

Word: Pukka

pukka \PUK-uh\ adjective

: genuine, authentic; also : first-class

Example sentence:
Ellingsworth stood framed in the door of his club, the picture of a pukka gentleman, immaculately groomed, upper lip appropriately stiff, perfectly genteel.

Did you know?
"Pukka" tends to evoke the height of 18th- and 19th-century British imperialism in India, and, indeed, it was first used in English at the trial, in 1775, of a certain Maha Rajah Nundocomar, accused of forgery, and tried by a British court in Bengal. The word is borrowed from Hindi and Urdu "pakkā," which means not only "cooked" and "ripe," but "solid" as well. The English speakers who borrowed it applied the "sound and reliable" sense of "solid" and thus it came to mean "genuine" or "bona fide." As the British Raj waned, "pukka" was occasionally appended to "sahib" (an Anglo-Indian word for a European of some social or official status). That expression is sometimes used as a compliment for an elegant and refined gentleman, but it can also imply that someone is overbearing and pretentious.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
I'd be extremely surprised if anyone referred to me as a pukka lady.

Word: Animus

The Word of the Day for Feb 09 is:
animus \AN-uh-muss\ noun

1 : basic attitude or governing spirit : disposition, intention
*2 : a usually prejudiced and often spiteful or malevolent ill will
3 : an inner masculine part of the female personality in the analytic psychology of C. G. Jung

Example sentence:
Barney's deep-seated animus towards doctors dates back to when his first wife left him for one.

Did you know?

"Animus" has long referred to the rational or "animating" components of a person's psyche (it derives from the Latin "animus," which can mean "spirit," "mind," "courage," or "anger"). Since a key "animating" component of personality can be temper, the word came to mean "animosity," especially ill will driven by strong prejudice. As you might expect, the English "animus" is closely related to words such as "animosity," "magnanimous," and "unanimous," but you might be surprised to learn that it is not as closely related to other similar-looking terms such as "animal" and "animate." Those latter terms derive from the Latin "anima," a distinct term that means "soul" or "breath" and that suggests someone's physical vitality or life force — the breath of life.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:
I think my animus is working overtime today.

Word: Palindrome

The Word of the Day for Feb 08 is:
palindrome \PAL-un-drohm\ noun

: a word, verse, or sentence (as "Able was I ere I saw Elba"), or a number (as 1881) that reads the same backward or forward

Example sentence:
Hannah was amused when Otto pointed out that they both had first names that were palindromes.

Did you know?

Palindromic wordplay is nothing new. Palindromes have been around since at least the days of ancient Greece, and our name for them comes from two Greek words, "palin," meaning "back" or "again," and "dramein," meaning "to run." Nowadays, we can all appreciate a clever palindrome (such as "Drab as a fool, aloof as a bard" or "A man, a plan, a canal: Panama"), or even a simple one like "race car," but in the past palindromes were more than just smart wordplay. Until well into the 19th century some folks thought palindromes were actually magical, and they carved them on walls or amulets to protect people or property from harm.
--------------------------------
"Race car" is a palindrome?! Gah. It never ceases to amaze me how little I know. Okay. I now know this. I am not stupid, though my former English major brother might disagree.

My (borrowed) sentence:

Dammit I'm mad!
This is the place to borrow more.

Word: Dissemble

The Word of the Day for Feb 07 is:
dissemble \dih-SEM-bul\ verb

transitive senses
*1 : to hide under a false appearance
2 : to put on the appearance of : simulate
intransitive sense
: to put on a false appearance : conceal facts, intentions, or feelings under some pretense

Example sentence:
Political propagandists often don't hesitate to dissemble any facts contrary to their position.

Did you know?

We don't have anything to hide: "dissemble" is a synonym of "disguise," "cloak," and "mask." "Disguise" implies a change in appearance or behavior that misleads by presenting a different apparent identity. "Cloak" suggests a means of hiding a movement or an intention. "Mask" suggests some often obvious means of hiding or disguising something. "Dissemble" (from Latin "dissimulare," meaning "to hide or conceal") stresses the intent to deceive, especially about one's own thoughts or feelings, and often implies that the deception is something that would warrant censure if discovered.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

My sentence:

Lawyers, politicians and used car salemen are believed to dissemble as a matter of course.

Please share your sentence in "comments" below. :)