Word of the day

1. Word of the day AUGUST – DECEMBER 2011

2. August 22 Apparel Abovo • Noun • Clothing or dress • Adjective • From the beginning • “The documentary presented the history of the city abovo, from its inception as a frontier trading post.

3. August 23 Besiege Popinjay • Verb • To attack by surrounding with military forces • Noun • A strutting supervilious person • “Who does that guy think he is?” Megan asked, referring to the popinjay who walked into the crowd.

4. August 24 Compress Fiduciary • Verb • To press together or to reduce in size or volume • Adjective • Involving a confidence or trust • “Bank trust departments have a fiduciary duty to file claims on behalf of their clients.

5. August 25 Denounce Causerie • Verb • To condemn openly; to accuse formally • Noun • A short, informal essay • “The author ended the book with an insightful causerie about social networks.

6. August 26 Dispatch Keelhaul • Verb • To send off or out for a purpose; to kill • Noun • An official message or the act of killing • Verb • To rebuke severely • “Several employees were keelhauled for an error that costs their company millions.”

7. August 29 Douse Omnium-Gatherum • Verb • To plunge into a liquid or drench • Noun • A miscellaneous collection • The June Jamboree featured an omnium-gatherum of performers like clowns and jugglers.

8. August 30 Expressly Vinaceous • Adv. • Plainly or in so many words • Adjective • Of the color of red wine • “The bird can be identified by the vinaceous tint of its head.”

9. August 31 Famished Didactic • Adjective • Suffering severely from hunger or lack of something • Adjective • Designed or intended to teach • “Many shows on the channel are didactic, teaching kids about fruits and exercise.”

10. September 1 Forsake Ulterior • Verb • To give up, leave, or abandon • Adjective • Going beyond what is openly said or shown • “The boy had ulterior motives for visiting his grandmother as he just wanted cookies.”

11. September 2 Gainful Holus-bolus • Adjective • Profitable; bringing in money or a special advantage • Noun • “The company shuttered its factory holus-bolus, without telling the men and women working there.”

12. September 6 Immense Riposte • Adjective • Very large or great • Noun • A retaliatory verbal comeback • “John pointed out Gary’s bald hair so Gary would come back with a riposte about John’s golf game.”

13. September 7 Inept Fructify • Adjective • Totally without skill • Verb • To bear fruit • “The company hopes that its new business partnership will fructify in the upcoming months.”

14. September 8 Ingenious Inane • Adjective • Showing remarkable originality; clever • Adjective • Void or empty space • “The classroom felt inane without any children in it.”

15. September 9 Instantaneous Collogue • Adjective • Done in an instant; immediate • Verb • To conspire or make ill-intentioned plans • “How can you collogue with James about stealing my Justin Bieber poster?”

16. September 12 Irk Immutable • Verb • To annoy • Adjective • Not capable of change • “The boulder was so heavy it was immutable to everything but a bulldozer.”

17. September 13 Libel Deke • Noun • Written statement that unfairly harms someone’s reputation • Verb • To fake an opponent out of position • “The shortstop caught the ball and deked the third baseman to complete a double play.”

18. September 14 Misgiving Wellerism • Noun • A feeling of fear, doubt, or uncertainty • Noun • An expression using a well known quotation • “My grandma’s favorite Wellerism is, “This week is beginning splendidly” said the man to be hanged on Monday.”

19. September 15 Oaf Spurious • Noun • A stupid person • Adjective • Not genuine or false • “My brother’s claim that he became best friends with Derek Jeter in high school sounded spurious.”

20. September 16 Recede Douceur • Verb • To go or move backward • Noun • A bribing gift • “As Mark waited to sign his contract, the boss sent him 2 tickets to a Husker Football game as a douceur.”

21. September 19 Repast Phlegmatic • Noun • A meal or food • Adjective • Having or showing a slow temperament • “Coach Campbell is phlegmatic while he stands on the sidelines.”

22. September 20 Adverse Troglodyte • Adjective • Unfavorable or negative • Noun • A person characterized by weird habits • “Eva thought of her parents as troglodytes because of their dislike for modern music.”

23. September 21 Arid Redound • Adjective • Extremely dry • Verb • TO have an effect • “It was almost certain that the traffic from the College World Series would redound to the benefit of most of the local businesses.”

24. September 22 Assailant Periphrasis • Noun • A person who attacks violently • Noun • Use of longer phrasing instead of the shorter form • “The English teacher warned her students not to use periphrasis in their essays to make the word count.”

25. September 23 Billow Sastruga • Noun • A large wave • Noun • Wavelike ridge of hard snow • “We traversed between areas or ravaged sastrugi.”

26. September 26 Confront Nidus • Verb • To meet face-to-face, especially as a challenge • Noun • A place where something originates • “The neighborhood had long been a nidus of children strong in Catholic faith.”

27. September 27 Constrain Extremophile • Verb • To force, compel • Noun • An organism that lives under extreme environmental conditions • “Anna is interested in studying how extremophiles thrive in conditions that kill most organisms.”

28. September 28 Contemporary Acquisitive • Adjective • Belonging to the same period of time as oneself • Adjective • Strongly desiring to possess something • “The banker had acquisitive impulses to steal money and buy a new watch.”

29. October 3 Depict Habeas Corpus • Verb • To portray or draw • Noun • The right to not be jailed without cause • “President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War.”

30. October 4 Disinterested Munificent • Adjective • Fair-minded or indifferent • Adjective • Generous • “At the banquet the president thanked all the munificent sponsors for their donations.”

31. October 5 Encompass Backstairs • Verb • To encircle or include within a certain group • Adjective • Secret or scandal • “Some people accuse government officials of backstairs agreements to limit the economy.”

32. October 6 Groundless Vade Mecum • Adjective • Without good reason or cause • Noun • A book for read reference • “Her latest book is an amusing vade mecum of the English literary tradition.”

33. October 7 Hypocrite Pundit • Noun • A person who pretends to be what he or she is not • Noun • An authority or critic • “Grandpa likes watching movie pundits argue over movies at the box office.”

34. October 10 Incomprehensible Anneal • Adjective • Impossible to understand • Verb • Strengthen or toughen • “Women were annealed by criticism from men in the early days.”

35. October 11 Manipulate Arduous • Verb • To handle or use skillfully • Adjective • Marked by great labor or effort • “The Navy Seals unit will be put through a long and arduous training program.”

36. October 12 Maximum Funambulism • Noun • The greatest possible amount or degree • Noun • To have special mental ability • “Brian amazed us all with his funambulism as he answered all the game show questions correctly.”

37. October 13 Mimic Zeitgeist • Noun • A person who does imitations • Noun • The general cultural climate of an era • “Casablanca does an excellent job of capturing the zeitgeist of Berlin.”

38. October 14 Ruffle Ebullient • Verb • To wrinkle or make uneven • Adjective • Having or showing enthusiasm • “Students found Ms. Heimann’s class to be a challenge, but her ebullient style made it interesting.”

39. October 17 Serene Scour • Adjective • Peaceful, calm • Verb • To go over in or as in search of • “The dog scoured the backyard looking for his bone.”

40. October 18 Sheepish Vaunted • Adjective • embarassed • Adjective • Highly or widely praised • “Our opponents were being vaunted all over town causing us anxiety about the game Friday.”

41. October 19 Stamina Pedantic • Noun • The strength needed to keep going or overcome physical strain • Adjective • Barely learned • “Many students at the lecture were confused by the pedantic professor.”

42. October 20 Barrage Chirography • Noun • Rapid, large scale outpouring of something • Noun • Handwriting • “It is important to improve your chirography so others can read it.”

43. October 21 Bigot Dally • Noun • An intolerant or biased person • Verb • To act playfully • “The boy’s mother was upset as he was still dallying at the park after he was told to come home.”

44. October 24 Designate Cloying • Verb • To indicate or point out • Adjective • Excessively sweet or sentimental • “Although Kelsey likes romance novels, she found this one to be so cloying that she couldn’t finish it.”

45. October 25 Diversity Inkling • Noun • Difference, variety • Noun • A slight indication or suggestion • “Sarah had an inkling that the answer was 7 and not 20.”

46. October 26 Enigma Maleutic • Noun • Someone or something that is extremely puzzling • Adjective • Relating to the Socratic method • “I am grateful to him for his maleutic inquiry about my own views.”

47. October 27 Gloat Frowsy • Verb • To look at or think about with great satisfaction • Adjective • Musty or stale • “The old house was damp and frowsy, barely fit for people to live in.”

48. October 28 Global Stentorian • Adjective • Of, relating to, or involving the entire world • Adjective • Extremely loud • “The actor’s charismatic presence and stentorian delivery captivated the audience.”

49. October 31 illusion Plenary • Noun • A false idea or something that seems real • Adjective • Complete in every respect • “The constitution grants the presidents plenary power to issue pardons.”

50. November 1 Infuriate Malleable • Verb • To make angry • Adjective • Capable of being shaped • Grandma made sure the cookie dough was malleable before they started baking.”