meaningless, nonmeaningful – having no meaning or direction or purpose; “a meaningless endeavor”; “a meaningless life”; “a verbose but meaningless explanation”
3.
vacuous – devoid of matter; “a vacuous space”
empty – holding or containing nothing; “an empty glass”; “an empty room”; “full of empty seats”; “empty hours”
1. A particular word, phrase, or expression, especially one that is used by a particular person or group.
2. Style of speaking; phraseology.
[Middle English locucion, from Old French locution, from Latin locti, loctin-, from loctus, past participle of loqu, to speak; see tolkw- in Indo-European roots.]
Beatitude – one of the eight sayings of Jesus at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount; in Latin each saying begins with `beatus’ (blessed); “her favorite Beatitude is `Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth’”
logion – a saying of Jesus that is regarded as authentic although it is not recorded in the Gospels
calque, calque formation, loan translation – an expression introduced into one language by translating it from another language; “`superman’ is a calque for the German `Ubermensch’”
advice and consent – a legal expression in the United States Constitution that allows the Senate to constrain the President’s powers of appointment and treaty-making
ambiguity – an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context
euphemism – an inoffensive or indirect expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or too harsh
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”
shucks – an expression of disappointment or irritation
agrapha – sayings of Jesus not recorded in the canonical Gospels
sumpsimus – a correct expression that takes the place of a popular but incorrect expression; “he preferred his erroneous but pleasing mumpsimus to the correct sumpsimus”
change state, turn – undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; “We turned from Socialism to Capitalism”; “The people turned against the President when he stole the election”
2.
ossify – make rigid and set into a conventional pattern; “rigidify the training schedule”; “ossified teaching methods”; “slogans petrify our thinking”
stiffen – make stiff or stiffer; “Stiffen the cream by adding gelatine”
3.
ossify – cause to become hard and bony; “The disease ossified the tissue”
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”
line of battle – a line formed by troops or ships prepared to deliver or receive an attack
projection – any solid convex shape that juts out from something
Adj.
1.
salient – having a quality that thrusts itself into attention; “an outstanding fact of our time is that nations poisoned by anti semitism proved less fortunate in regard to their own freedom”; “a new theory is the most prominent feature of the book”; “salient traits”; “a spectacular rise in prices”; “a striking thing about Picadilly Circus is the statue of Eros in the center”; “a striking resemblance between parent and child”
conspicuous – obvious to the eye or mind; “a tower conspicuous at a great distance”; “wore conspicuous neckties”; “made herself conspicuous by her exhibitionistic preening”
2.
salient – (of angles) pointing outward at an angle of less than 180 degrees
Not to be avoided or escaped; inevitable: “Those war plans rested on a belief in the ineluctable superiority of the offense over the defense”(Jack Beatty).
[Latin inluctbilis : in-, not; see in-1 + luctbilis, penetrable (from luctr, to struggle out of : ex-, ex- + luctr, to struggle).]
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