/ word of the day:
“the dictionary is a poem about everything”—Steven Wright
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/mar 12
03.31.2012
brigand noun. a member of a band. Synonymns: bandit.
03.30.2012
inactivate verb. Release from military service or remove from the active list of military service. Synonymns: demobilize.
03.29.2012
indispose verb. Make unwilling. Synonymns: disincline.
03.28.2012
upstart noun. A person who has suddenly risen to a higher economic status but has not gained social acceptance of others in that class. Synonymns: arriviste, nouveau-riche, parvenu.
03.27.2012
headliner noun. A performer who receives prominent billing. Synonymns: star.
03.26.2012
substandard adjective. Falling short of some prescribed norm. Synonymns: deficient, inferior.
03.25.2012
pitchy adjective. Of the blackest black; similar to the color of jet or coal. Synonymns: sooty.
03.24.2012
neaten verb. in order. Synonymns: clean up, square away, tidy, straighten.
03.23.2012
silver-tongued adjective. Having or exhibiting the power of fluent and persuasive speech. Synonymns: eloquent, smooth-spoken, fluent, facile.
03.22.2012
hamartia noun. The character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall. Synonymns: tragic flaw.
03.21.2012
remodel verb. a house. Synonymns: redo, reconstruct.
03.20.2012
calque noun. An expression introduced into one language by translating it from another language. Synonymns: loan translation.
03.19.2012
cogwheel noun. A toothed wheel that engages another toothed mechanism in order to change the speed or direction of transmitted motion. Synonymns: gear.
03.18.2012
dolorous adjective. Marked by or exhibiting sorrow, grief, or pain. Synonymns: lachrymose, weeping, tearful.
03.17.2012
lampblack noun. A black colloidal substance consisting wholly or principally of amorphous carbon and used to make pigments and ink. Synonymns: crock, smut, soot.
03.16.2012
starchy adjective. Rigidly formal. Synonymns: buckram, stiff.
03.15.2012
will-o'-the-wisp noun. A pale light sometimes seen at night over marshy ground. Synonymns: friar's lantern, ignis fatuus, jack-o'-lantern.
03.14.2012
devotee noun. An ardent follower and admirer. Synonymns: buff, lover, fan.
03.13.2012
fecundity noun. The quality of something that causes or assists healthy growth. Synonymns: fruitfulness.
03.12.2012
pitfall noun. An unsuspected difficulty or danger. Synonymns: booby trap.
03.11.2012
overstate verb. To enlarge beyond bounds or the truth. Synonymns: exaggerate, hyperbolize, magnify, overdraw, amplify.
03.10.2012
follow-up noun. A subsequent examination of a patient for the purpose of monitoring earlier treatment. Synonymns: reexamination, review.
03.09.2012
overplay verb. Exaggerate one's acting. Synonymns: ham.
03.08.2012
cloak-and-dagger adjective. Conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods. Synonymns: clandestine, hush-hush, undercover, underground, secret, surreptitious, hole-and-corner, hugger-mugger.
03.07.2012
anchorite noun. A person who has retired into seclusion for religious reasons. Synonymns: hermit.
03.06.2012
flagellate verb. To whip or flog. Synonymns: scourge.
03.05.2012
efface verb. Remove completely from recognition or memory. Synonymns: obliterate.
03.04.2012
congee verb. A Chinese rice gruel eaten for breakfast. Synonymns: jook.
03.03.2012
demitasse noun. Small cup of strong black coffee without milk or cream. Synonymns: cafe noir.
03.02.2012
workaday adjective. Being a part of general human experience; ordinary. Synonymns: everyday, mundane, quotidian, routine, unremarkable.
03.01.2012
two-piece noun. A woman's very brief bathing suit. Synonymns: bikini.