Tag: Word

Word of the Week

white ceramic teacup with saucer near two books above gray floral textile
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book·ish
[ˈbo͝okiSH]

ADJECTIVE
(of a person or way of life) devoted to reading and studying rather than worldly interests.
“by comparison I was very bookish, intellectual, and wordy in a wrong way”
synonyms:
studious · scholarly · academic · literary · intellectual · highbrow · erudite · learned · well read · widely read · educated · well educated · well informed · knowledgeable · cultured · accomplished · pedantic · pedagogical · donnish · bluestocking · cerebral · serious · earnest · thoughtful · impractical · ivory-towerish · brainy · egghead · lettered · clerkly
antonyms:
lowbrow
(of language or writing) literary in style or allusion.
“long bookish scholarship” · “a bookish but eloquent erotic memoir”

Word of the day

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ser·pen·tine
[ˈsərpənˌtēn, ˈsərpənˌtīn]

ADJECTIVE
of or like a serpent or snake.
“serpentine coils”
winding and twisting like a snake.
“serpentine country lanes”

 
synonyms
winding · windy · zigzag · zigzagging · twisting · twisty · turning · meandering · curving · sinuous · snaking · snaky · tortuous · anfractuous · flexuous · meandrous · serpentiform
antonyms:
straight
complex, cunning, or treacherous.
“his charm was too subtle and serpentine for me”
synonyms:
complicated · intricate · complex · involved · tortuous · convoluted · tangled · elaborate · knotty · confusing · bewildering · baffling · inextricable · entangled · impenetrable · Byzantine · Daedalian · Gordian · involute · involuted
antonyms:
straightforward · simple
NOUN
a dark green mineral consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate, sometimes mottled or spotted like a snake’s skin.
a riding exercise consisting of a series of half-circles made alternately to right and left.
historical
a kind of cannon, used especially in the 15th and 16th centuries.
VERB
serpentines (third person present) · serpentined (past tense) · serpentined (past participle) · serpentining (present participle)
move or lie in a winding path or line.
“fresh tire tracks serpentined back toward the hopper”

ORIGIN
late Middle English: via Old French from late Latin serpentinus ( see serpent).

Word of the day

Word of the Day : October 9, 2018

ambivalent

adjective am-BIV-uh-lunt
Definition
: having or showing simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings toward something : characterized by ambivalence

Did You Know?
The words ambivalent and ambivalence entered English during the early 20th century in the field of psychology. They came to us through the International Scientific Vocabulary, a set of words common to people of science who speak different languages. The prefix ambi- means “both,” and the -valent and -valence parts ultimately derive from the Latin verb valēre, meaning “to be strong.” Not surprisingly, an ambivalent person is someone who has strong feelings on more than one side of a question or issue.

 

Examples
Bianca was ambivalent about starting her first year away at college—excited for the new opportunities that awaited but sad to leave her friends and family back home.
“A new study from LinkedIn found that many people feel ambivalent in their careers—wondering if they should stay in the same job or take time to invest in learning new skills or even change to a new path altogether.” — Shelcy V. Joseph, Forbes, 3 Sept. 2018

Word Of The Day

 

gorgonize

verb

gor·gon·ize | \ ˈgȯr-gə-ˌnīz

gorgonized; gorgonizing

Definition of gorgonize
transitive verb
: to have a paralyzing or mesmerizing effect on : stupefy, petrify

Did You Know?
In Greek mythology, the Gorgons (from the Greek adjective gorgos, meaning “terrifying”) were commonly depicted as three female monsters who had snakes for hair and the ability to turn anyone who looked at them into stone. The most notorious of the three was Medusa; when she was slain by the hero Perseus, her severed head retained the power of turning anyone who looked on it to stone. In modern parlance, to gorgonize someone is to make him or her feel (metaphorically) petrified, usually through an intimidating glance or gaze.
First Known Use of gorgonize
1609, in the meaning defined above

Word of the Day

se·nes·cence

[səˈnesəns]

NOUN
biology
  1. the condition or process of deterioration with age.
    synonyms: elderliness · old age · oldness · seniority · maturity · dotage · senility · one’s advancing/advanced years · one’s declining years · the winter/autumn of one’s life · senescence · eld · caducity
    antonyms: youth · childhood

Word of The Day

lode·stone
[ˈlōdˌstōn]

NOUN
loadstone (noun)
a piece of magnetite or other naturally magnetized mineral, able to be used as a magnet.
synonyms: lodestone · magnetite · field magnet · bar magnet · horseshoe magnet · transverse magnet · electromagnet · electret · solenoid · diamagnet · antiferromagnet · magnetoid · wiggler
a naturally magnetized mineral; magnetite.
a thing that is the focus of attention or attraction.
“the revolution in eastern Europe has robbed the state of its ideological lodestone”

Word of the Day

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bim·ble

[ˈbimbəl]

VERB
  1. walk or travel at a leisurely pace.
    “on Sunday we bimbled around Spitalfields and Brick Lane”
    synonyms: saunter · amble · wander · meander · ramble · dawdle · promenade

Word of The Day

From my Alexa Morning Brief, my word of the day is…

sang-froid

Pronounced…
[säNGˈfrwä]

NOUN
sang-froid (noun)
composure or coolness, sometimes excessive, as shown in danger or under trying circumstances.
synonyms: composure · equanimity · self-possession · level-headedness · equilibrium · aplomb · poise · assurance · self-assurance · self-control · nerve · calmness · coolness · countenance

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