Words of the Wee 08

Whenever I read, I keep a pencil handy and I underline words that I don’t know and dog ear the page so that I can go back and look them up in the dictionary. I have always been interested in etymology and even took Latin for three years. I hope that these words can help all of us in our writings. Be sure to check out your dictionary for additional usages of the words and spellings associated with changing the word from adjective to adverb to noun … etc.

BALNEATION

noun

Pronounced: bal-knee-AY-shun

Meaning: The act or action of bathing.

Example: Alicia uses a sponge to assist her in her daily

balneation

.

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ICONOCLAST

noun

Pronounced: eye-CON-no-klast

Meaning: One who attacks established beliefs, ideals, customs or institutions.

Example: Malcolm has always considered himself the

iconoclast

of the family.

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REDOLENT

adjective

Pronounced: REH-dough-lint

Meaning: Conveying an aura; tending to suggest.

Example: Every page of Ryan’s essay is

redolent

of fine scholarship.

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DRACONIAN

adjective

Pronounced: dra-KONE-ee-en

Meaning: Marked by extreme severity or cruelty.

Example: The pop star’s main residence was on an island where the tax laws were less

draconian

than in her native England.

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USURPER

noun

Pronounced: you-SERP-er

Meaning: One that infringes or encroaches upon the rights or property of another.

Example: By the end of his term, the mayor had become known as a

usurper

of authority.

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GLABROUS

adjective

Pronounced: GLAY-bruss

Meaning: Having skin that has absolutely no hair.

Example: Mr. Franklin showed the first graders that reptiles, unlike mammals, are completely

glabrous

.

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NASCENT

adjective

Pronounced: NAY-cent

Meaning: Undergoing the process of being born; beginning to exist.

Example: The Boston Tea Party revealed

nascent

revolutionary tendencies among the American colonists.

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CROTCHETY

adjective

Pronounced: KRAW-chit-tee

Meaning: Subject to crankiness or ill temper.

Example: Not getting enough sleep usually makes Trudy

crotchety

in the morning.

* * * * *

VENDETTA

noun

Pronounced: vin-DET-ta

Meaning: A prolonged feud marked by bitter hostility.

Example: Chloe’s all-night party exacerbated the

vendetta

with the neighbor.

* * * * *

FALLACY

noun

Pronounced: FAAL-uh-cee

Meaning: A false or erroneous idea.

Example: Though Ben’s argument may seem plausible, it is pure

fallacy

.

* * * * *

EXACERBATE

verb

Pronounced: egg-ZASS-sir-bate

Meaning: make more violent or bitter; intensify the bad qualities of.

Example: Cindy learned how name-calling could

exacerbate

an already violent argument.

* * * * *

MAVERICK

noun

Pronounced: MAV-rick

Meaning: A member of any group who refuses to conform and who takes an unorthodox stand.

Example: The rest of the teachers considered Ms. Thorne to be a

maverick

because she invited her students to call her by her first name.

* * * * *

APPENDAGES

noun

Pronounced: uh-PEN-did-jizz

Meaning: Things accompanied or appended to another thing and usually subordinate or not essential to it.

Example: The Abbey-Mill Farm, with all its

appendages

of prosperity and beauty, was a favorable spot for a walk.

* * * * *

OLEAGINOUS

adjective

Pronounced: oh-lee-AD-gin-nuss

Meaning: Characterized by smooth courteousness or sickly sentimentality.

Example: Grandpa was too smart to be taken in by

oleaginous

salesmen.

* * * * *

JUVENESCENCE

noun

Pronounced: joo-ven-ESS-scents

Meaning: The state of being youthful or growing young.

Example: The director helped the aging actress produce the illusion of

juvenescence

through careful makeup and lighting.

* * * * *

TRANSMOGRIFY

verb

Pronounced: trans-MOG-riff-fye

Meaning: Change or alter in form, appearance or structure often with grotesque or humorous effect.

Example: Buford set out to

transmogrify

the hearse into a hot rod.

* * * * *

LIGATURE

noun

Pronounced: LIGG-a-tyoor

Meaning: Something that is used to bind, specifically, a thread, wire or other material used in surgery.

Example: Dr. Adams removed the

ligature

that had held the vein closed during the surgery.

* * * * *

YIELD

verb

Pronounced: YEELD

Meaning: Agree to accept or comply with something; exhibit willingness rather than opposition.

Example: Sarah looks forward to the day when she will not have to

yield

to her parents’ wishes.

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SILENTIARY

noun

Pronounced: si-LEN-shur-ree

Meaning: One appointed to keep silence and order (as in a court of law or a public assembly).

Example: One stern glance from the

silentiary

was all it took to stop Karen’s insipid murmuring.

* * * * *

KITSCH

noun

Pronounced: KIT-sshh

Meaning: Artistic or literary material held to be of low quality, often produced to appeal to popular taste and marked especially by sentimentalism, sensationalism and slickness.

Example: Souvenir shops are filled with

kitsch

for the undiscriminating tourist.

* * * * *

PRECEDENT

noun

Pronounced: PRESS-si-dent

Meaning: Something done or said that may serve as an example or rule to authorize or justify a subsequent act of the same or of the analogous kind.

Example: As far as Sasha knew, the decision to allow a girl to play on the football team was without

precedent

.

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