June 2011
31 posts
1 tag
extenuate
Today’s Merriam-Webster #definethis word of the day is:
extenuate
Extenuate means to lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of by making partial excuses : mitigate. Use the word of the day in a sentence and tweet your sentence with the hashtag #definethis to play the game. My entry today:
Hope the fact that I’ve just published my Book http://bit.ly/mHYRMw...
1 tag
Kyang
Right now the word is:
kyang
A kyang is the wild ass of Tibet, Equus hemionus. It is over four feet high at the shoulder, of a dark-reddish color, with a narrow stripe along the back.
1 tag
Craquelure
Right now the word is:
craquelure
Craquelure is the distinctive pattern of hairline cracks in the surface of an old painting.
3 tags
Mantic
Today’s Merriam-Webster #definethis word of the day is:
mantic
Mantic means “of or relating to the faculty of divination : prophetic”. Use the word of the day in a sentence and tweet your sentence with the hashtag #definethis to play the game. My entry today:
Although I have worked as a professional tarot card reader, I decided against a mantic career. #definethis...
3 tags
oxeye
Today’s Wordnik word of the day is:
oxeye
An oxeye is a familiar type of daisy.
1 tag
Concinnity
Right now the word is:
concinnity
Concinnity means “ harmony or elegance of design especially of literary style in adaptation of parts to a whole or to each other”. Which sounds great. But I can’t help wondering if it also smells like cinnamon.
1 tag
Hap'orth
Right now the word is:
hap’orth
Sometimes words become unusual because circumstances change and they are simply no longer as useful as they once were. There was a time when the smallest monetary unit used was the halfpenny. And a hap’orth was a “halfpenny’s worth”. It still means ”a very small quantity” but this word is almost never used...
1 tag
Pogonotomy
Right now the word is:
pogonotomy
As a bear, I’m honestly not much for pogonotomy, which means “cutting off a beard” or “shaving”.
1 tag
Agelast
Right now the word is:
agelast
Sometimes words mean just the opposite of what they seem to say. One often hears that “laughter is the best medicine” and surely humor can ease suffering. But an agelast is a person who never laughs.
3 tags
Amanuensis
Today’s Merriam-Webster #definethis word of the day is:
amanuensis
An amanuensis is “one employed to write from dictation or to copy manuscript”. Use the word of the day in a sentence and tweet your sentence with the hashtag #definethis to play the game. My entry today:
Programs like Dragon Naturally Speaking seem likely to end the careers of most amanuenses....
1 tag
Hyperborean
Today’s Merriam-Webster #definethis word of the day is:
hyperborean
Hyperborean means ”of or relating to an extreme northern region : frozen” Use the word of the day in a sentence and tweet your sentence with the hashtag #definethis to play the game. My entry today:
Jill considered going with Jack when he moved to Alaska for a job but feared she couldn’t handle...
1 tag
stig
Right now the word is:
stig
A stig is someone from a poor background, with a poor dress sense. (#NotACompliment)
1 tag
gank
Right now the word is:
gank
Although I confess I hadn’t heard of it until Wordnik’s Random Word feature brought it to my attention, gank seems to be an extremely useful word for web publishers and online gamers. The definitions:
Definitions
verb (4)
Wiktionary
To swindle.
To steal.
To copy, reproduce, reuse, or save an image, idea, or work of another person, often in the...
1 tag
solarize
Today’s Wordnik word of the day is:
solarize
Solarize is a verb. In photography, to become injured by too long exposure to the action of light. OR To affect by sunlight: modify in some way by the action of solar rays.
In photography, ‘solarize’ is related to ‘solarization,’ whole or partial reversal of tone in a negative or photographic print, such...
1 tag
Nudiustertian
Right now the word is:
nudiustertian
Nudiustertian has nothing whatsoever actually to do with nudes. It is simply a term for that pertaining to the day before yesterday.
1 tag
Lalochezia
Right now the word is:
lalochezia
Lalochezia is the use of foul or abusive language to relieve stress or ease pain. While I try to let the principle ”there’s a time and a place for everything” guide my use of four letter language, I have to admit that in times of sudden injury or severe pain, a round or two of cursing like a sailor does make one feel at least a...
1 tag
Accubate
Right now the word is:
accubate
To accubate is to eat or drink while lying down. Honestly, I prefer eating at a table to eating in bed.
3 tags
Vituperate
Today’s Merriam-Webster #definethis word of the day is:
vituperate
Vituperate means ”to abuse or censure severely or abusively” or ”to use harsh condemnatory language”. Use the word of the day in a sentence and tweet your sentence with the hashtag #definethis to play the game. My entry today:
While I would never vituperate whomever it was came up...
5 tags
The Voivode's Refection
The Wordnik word of the day today is:
voivode
A voivode is a “leader of an army; the title of certain rulers, particularly in Slavic countries; later, often in various countries, as in Poland, the head of an administrative division, as a province; in Moldavia and Wallachia, the former title of the princes; in Turkey, an inferior administrative official.
‘Voivode’ comes...
1 tag
dompteuse
Right now the word is:
dompteuse
A dompteuse is a female animal trainer.
1 tag
recumbentibus
Right now the word is:
recumbentibus
A recumbentibus is a “knock-out” blow, either physical or verbal. Being Fonda’d is often a recumbentibus for corporate social media departments on Empire Avenue.
1 tag
ailurophile
Right now the word is:
ailurophile
An ailurophile is a cat fancier— someone who loves cats.
1 tag
obloquy
Right now the word is:
obloquy
Obloquy means “harsh or critical statements about someone” or “the condition of someone who lost the respect of other people”. Obloquy is much more often written than spoken.
1 tag
elucubrate
Right now the word is:
elucubrate
In Latin, elucubrate means to compose by lamplight. In modern English it has come to mean to work out or express by studious effort.
temporize
Today’s Merriam-Webster #definethis word of the day is:
temporize
Temporize means to act to suit the time or occasion : yield to current or dominant opinion or to draw out discussions or negotiations so as to gain time. Use the word of the day in a sentence and tweet your sentence with the #definethis hashtag to play the game. My tweet today:
I don’t believe that...
1 tag
albumen
Right now the word is:
albumen
The albumen in the white of an egg. According to Merriam-Webster Online, albumen is one of the top ten spelling bee words in the United States.
disparage
Right now the word is:
disparage
Disparage means to lower in rank or reputation or to depreciate by indirect means.
While I would never disparage any of the top four guys named Chris on Empire Avenue, I will say I don’t own any of them.
2 tags
Twittergytis
Right now the word is:
Twittergytis
Twittergytis is defined as an inability to type any tweets, after having just noticed how many followers you are up to now. Celebrities are thought to be immune, but folks who’ve just reached 500 followers are especially susceptible.
3 tags
Prodrome
Today’s Wordnik word of the day is:
prodrome
A prodrome is a precursor, an early sign, a forewarning. It’s most often used these days in a medical context, referring to the earliest warning signs of impending disease. My sentence:
“The appearance of a book in my aStore is often a prodrome that a review of that title is forthcoming.”
“nicheprof: The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this:...”
– N-Tumble: Decide what you want
5 tags
enfant terrible, iota, deleterious
I just had to share this amazing tweet by my #definethis buddy @gavroche which uses three days of #definethis words, all in one sentence:
RT @gavroche: The enfant terrible cared not one iota that eating 25 cookies in 25 seconds was deleterious to his health. #definethis « x 3
