Word of the Day 11.20.08

euphemism

eu·phe·mism (yf-mzm)

n.

The act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive: “Euphemisms such as ‘slumber room’ . . . abound in the funeral business” Jessica Mitford.

[Greek euphmismos, from euphmizein, to use auspicious words, from euphmi, use of auspicious wordseu-, eu- + phm, speech; see bh-2 in Indo-European roots.]

:

euphe·mist n.

euphe·mistic (-mstk) adj.

euphe·misti·cal·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Noun 1. euphemism – an inoffensive or indirect expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or too harsh

neutralisation, neutralization – (euphemism) the removal of a threat by killing or destroying it (especially in a covert operation or military operation)
locution, saying, expression – a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations; “pardon the expression”
exit, expiration, going, passing, departure, release, loss – euphemistic expressions for death; “thousands mourned his passing”
collateral damage – (euphemism) inadvertent casualties and destruction inflicted on civilians in the course of military operations
sanitation department – the department of local government responsible for collecting and disposing of garbage
bowel movement, bm, movement – a euphemism for defecation; “he had a bowel movement”
making water, passing water, wetting, leak – a euphemism for urination; “he had to take a leak”
dysphemism – an offensive or disparaging expression that is substituted for an inoffensive one; “his favorite dysphemism was to ask for axle grease when he wanted butter”

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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Posted on November 20, 2008 by admin

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Word of the Day 11.19.08

sloven

slov·en (slvn)

n.

One who is habitually careless in personal appearance or work.

[Middle English slovein, perhaps from Middle Flemish sloovin, a scold, gossip, from Middle Low German slôven, to dress carelessly; akin to Dutch sloof, untidy woman; see sleubh- in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Noun 1. sloven – a coarse obnoxious person

slob, slovenly person, pig
litter lout, litterbug, litterer – a person who litters public places with refuse
slovenly woman, slut, trollop, slattern – a dirty untidy woman
vulgarian – a vulgar person (especially someone who makes a vulgar display of wealth)

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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Posted on November 19, 2008 by admin

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Word of the Day 11.18.08

cogent

co·gent (kjnt)

adj.

Appealing to the intellect or powers of reasoning; convincing: a cogent argument. See Synonyms at valid.

[Latin cgns, cgent-, present participle of cgere, to force : co-, co- + agere, to drive; see ag- in Indo-European roots.]

cogen·cy (-jn-s) n.

cogent·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

cogent

adjective convincing, strong, powerful, effective, compelling, urgent, influential, potent, irresistible, compulsive, forceful, conclusive, weighty, forcible

Collins Essential Thesaurus 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins Publishers 2005, 2006

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Posted on November 18, 2008 by admin

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Word of the Day 11.17.08

compendious

com·pen·di·ous (km-pnd-s)

adj.

Containing or stating briefly and concisely all the essentials; succinct.

[Middle English, from Late Latin compendisus, from Latin compendium, a shortening; see compendium.]

com·pendi·ous·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Adj. 1. compendious – briefly giving the gist of something; “a short and compendious book”; “a compact style is brief and pithy”; “succinct comparisons”; “a summary formulation of a wide-ranging subject”

succinct, summary, compact
concise – expressing much in few words; “a concise explanation”

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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Posted on November 17, 2008 by admin

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Word of the Day 11.16.08

pithy

pith·y (pth)

adj. pith·i·er, pith·i·est

1. Precisely meaningful; forceful and brief: a pithy comment.

2. Consisting of or resembling pith.

pithi·ly adv.

pithi·ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

pith·y (pth)

adj. pith·i·er, pith·i·est

1. Precisely meaningful; forceful and brief: a pithy comment.

2. Consisting of or resembling pith.

pithi·ly adv.

pithi·ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Posted on November 16, 2008 by admin

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Word of the Day 11.15.08

taciturn

tac·i·turn (ts-tûrn)

adj.

Habitually untalkative. See Synonyms at silent.

[French taciturne, from Old French, from Latin taciturnus, from tacitus, silent; see tacit.]

taci·turni·ty (-tûrn-t) n.

taci·turn·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Adj. 1. taciturn – habitually reserved and uncommunicative

incommunicative, uncommunicative – not inclined to talk or give information or express opinions
concise – expressing much in few words; “a concise explanation”
voluble – marked by a ready flow of speech; “she is an extremely voluble young woman who engages in soliloquies not conversations”

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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Posted on November 15, 2008 by admin

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Word of the Day 11.14.08

terse

terse (tûrs)

adj. ters·er, ters·est

Brief and to the point; effectively concise: a terse one-word answer.

[Latin tersus, past participle of tergre, to cleanse.]

tersely adv.

terseness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Adj. 1. terse – brief and to the point; effectively cut short; “a crisp retort”; “a response so curt as to be almost rude”; “the laconic reply; `yes’”; “short and terse and easy to understand”

laconic, curt, crisp
concise – expressing much in few words; “a concise explanation”

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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Posted on November 14, 2008 by admin

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Word of the Day 11.13.08

ver·tig·i·nous (vr-tj-ns)

adj.

1. Turning about an axis; revolving or whirling.

2. Affected by vertigo; dizzy. See Synonyms at giddy.

3. Tending to produce vertigo: “my small mind contained in earthly human limits, not lost in vertiginous space and elements unknown” Diana Cooper.

4. Inclined to change quickly; unstable.

[From Latin vertg, vertgin-, a whirling, from vertere, to turn; see version.]

ver·tigi·nous·ly adv.

ver·tigi·nous·ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Adj.

1.

vertiginous – having or causing a whirling sensation; liable to falling; “had a dizzy spell”; “a dizzy pinnacle”; “had a headache and felt giddy”; “a giddy precipice”; “feeling woozy from the blow on his head”; “a vertiginous climb up the face of the cliff”

dizzy, giddy, woozy

ill, sick – affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function; “ill from the monotony of his suffering”

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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Posted on November 13, 2008 by admin

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Word of the Day 11.12.08

non·plus (nn-pls)

tr.v. non·plused also non·plussed, non·plus·ing also non·plus·sing, non·plus·es also non·plus·ses

To put at a loss as to what to think, say, or do; bewilder.

n.

A state of perplexity, confusion, or bewilderment.

[From Latin nn pls, no more : nn, not; see non- + pls, more; see pel-1 in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Verb

1.

nonplus – be a mystery or bewildering to; “This beats me!”; “Got me–I don’t know the answer!”; “a vexing problem”; “This question really stuck me”

bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, baffle, mystify, perplex, puzzle, stupefy, amaze, gravel, vex, pose, stick, beat, get

stump, mix up – cause to be perplexed or confounded; “This problem stumped her”

befuddle, confound, confuse, discombobulate, fox, bedevil, fuddle, throw – be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly; “These questions confuse even the experts”; “This question completely threw me”; “This question befuddled even the teacher”

riddle – set a difficult problem or riddle; “riddle me a riddle”

elude, escape – be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by; “What you are seeing in him eludes me”

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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Posted on November 12, 2008 by admin

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Word of the Day 11.11.08

vi·ti·ate (vsh-t)

tr.v. vi·ti·at·ed, vi·ti·at·ing, vi·ti·ates

1. To reduce the value or impair the quality of.

2. To corrupt morally; debase.

3. To make ineffective; invalidate. See Synonyms at corrupt.

[Latin vitire, vitit-, from vitium, fault.]

viti·a·ble (vsh--bl) adj.

viti·ation n.

viti·ator n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Verb

1.

vitiate – corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality; “debauch the young people with wine and women”; “Socrates was accused of corrupting young men”; “Do school counselors subvert young children?”; “corrupt the morals”

corrupt, debase, debauch, demoralise, demoralize, deprave, misdirect, pervert, profane, subvert

alter, change, modify – cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; “The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city”; “The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue”

carnalise, sensualise, sensualize, carnalize – debase through carnal gratification

infect – corrupt with ideas or an ideology; “society was infected by racism”

lead astray, lead off – teach immoral behavior to; “It was common practice to lead off the young ones, and teach them bad habits”

poison – spoil as if by poison; “poison someone’s mind”; “poison the atmosphere in the office”

bastardise, bastardize – change something so that its value declines; for example, art forms

suborn – incite to commit a crime or an evil deed; “He suborned his butler to cover up the murder of his wife”

2.

vitiate – make imperfect; “nothing marred her beauty”

mar, deflower, impair, spoil

damage – inflict damage upon; “The snow damaged the roof”; “She damaged the car when she hit the tree”

defile, sully, taint, corrupt, cloud – place under suspicion or cast doubt upon; “sully someone’s reputation”

blemish, deface, disfigure – mar or spoil the appearance of; “scars defaced her cheeks”; “The vandals disfigured the statue”

3.

vitiate – take away the legal force of or render ineffective; “invalidate a contract”

void, invalidate

alter, change, modify – cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; “The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city”; “The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue”

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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Posted on November 11, 2008 by admin

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