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Word Of The Day Archives - January 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
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| hyperbole (n) |
obvious exaggeration |
| hyperbolic |
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| Sentence: |
Hyperbole will not persuade your parents; try speaking plainly instead. |
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| Similar Words: |
overstatement |
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Wednesday, January 2, 2008
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| miniscule (adj) |
tiny |
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| Sentence: |
It is hard to imagine that transistors are so miniscule that thousands can fit on the head of a pin. |
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Thursday, January 3, 2008
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| reprisal (n) |
revenge |
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| Sentence: |
Everyone in my town believed that the burning of the preacher's house was in reprisal for the preacher's infidelity long ago. |
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| Similar Words: |
recompense, vengeance |
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Friday, January 4, 2008
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| vehement (adj) |
forceful |
| vehemence |
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| Sentence: |
In closing arguments, the lawyer delivered a vehement defense of his client. |
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| Similar Words: |
vigorous, strong |
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Saturday, January 5, 2008
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| debacle (n) |
utter downfall or defeat |
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| Sentence: |
The team was confident, but the game turned out to be a debacle. |
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| Similar Words: |
disaster, collapse |
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Sunday, January 6, 2008
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| fortitude (n) |
strength of mind |
| fortitudinous |
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| Sentence: |
On D-Day, 18-year olds showed unimaginable fortitude in the face of deadly enemy gunfire. |
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| Similar Words: |
resolve |
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Monday, January 7, 2008
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| florid (adj) |
flowery, embellished |
| floridness |
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| Sentence: |
An elaborate, florid display of new merchandise adorned the store window. |
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| Similar Words: |
ornate, flamboyant |
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Tuesday, January 8, 2008
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| wither (v) |
shrivel |
| withering |
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| Sentence: |
While we were on vacation, our beautiful tomatoes withered on the vine. |
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| Similar Words: |
decay |
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Wednesday, January 9, 2008
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| vacuous (adj) |
empty |
| vacuousness |
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| Sentence: |
The vacuous expression on the man's face accurately depicted his empty head. |
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| Similar Words: |
inane |
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Thursday, January 10, 2008
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| gesticulate (v) |
gesture |
| gesticulation |
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| Sentence: |
Gesticulating wildly, my overcharged physics professor tried to demonstrate the fine points of relativity. |
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| Similar Words: |
signal |
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Friday, January 11, 2008
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| cosmopolitan (adj) |
worldly |
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| Sentence: |
As he aged, my father's attitudes became more cosmopolitan. |
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| Similar Words: |
urbane |
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Saturday, January 12, 2008
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| capricious (adj) |
impulsive |
| capriciousness, caprice |
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| Sentence: |
The tyrant's harsh, capricious decrees made him loathed throughout the country. |
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| Similar Words: |
unpredictable |
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Sunday, January 13, 2008
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| anguish (n) |
agonizing pain |
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| Sentence: |
I felt anguish at my son's failure in law school. |
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| Similar Words: |
torment |
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Monday, January 14, 2008
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| incipient (adj) |
just beginning |
| incipience |
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| Sentence: |
I detected an incipient jealousy in my new girlfriend. |
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| Similar Words: |
inchoate |
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Tuesday, January 15, 2008
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| hirsute (adj) |
hairy |
| hirsuteness |
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| Sentence: |
Once exceptionally hirsute, the old man did not have a hair left on his head. |
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| Similar Words: |
whiskered, bushy |
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
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| tactile (adj) |
relating to sense of touch |
| tactility |
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| Sentence: |
Many people buy leather for its tactile qualities rather than for its durability. |
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| Similar Words: |
sensual |
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Thursday, January 17, 2008
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| whet (v) |
sharpen |
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| Sentence: |
That aroma of fresh-baked bread whets my appetite. |
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| Similar Words: |
arouse |
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Friday, January 18, 2008
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| ubiquitous (adj) |
everywhere |
| ubiquitousness |
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| Sentence: |
Election posters for the incumbent are a ubiquitous site in my town. |
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| Similar Words: |
omnipresent |
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Saturday, January 19, 2008
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| mendacity (n) |
lie |
| mendacious |
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| Sentence: |
The senator's testimony at the trial was nothing but mendacity -- for which he was eventually charged with perjury. |
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| Similar Words: |
falsehood |
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Sunday, January 20, 2008
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| guise (n) |
appearance |
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| Sentence: |
Communism sometimes has been termed utopianism in a new guise. |
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| Similar Words: |
aspect, semblance |
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Monday, January 21, 2008
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| mellifluous (adj) |
pleasant sounding |
| mellifluousness |
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| Sentence: |
Mellifluous tunes were drifting from my old radio. |
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| Similar Words: |
resonant, euphonious |
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Tuesday, January 22, 2008
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| pretentious (adj) |
showy |
| pretense |
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| Sentence: |
A pretentious display of wealth in our neighborhood irritated the rest of our town. |
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| Similar Words: |
ostentatious |
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Wednesday, January 23, 2008
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| purview (n) |
scope |
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| Sentence: |
Are you sure that decision is within the purview of your assignment? |
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| Similar Words: |
range |
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Thursday, January 24, 2008
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| repose (n) |
rest, peace |
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| Sentence: |
Don't disturb Mrs. Smith; she is in repose. |
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| Similar Words: |
tranquility |
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Friday, January 25, 2008
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| dissonant (adj) |
clashing |
| dissonance |
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| Sentence: |
The dissonant views of the two politicians made for angry debates on the Senate floor. |
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| Similar Words: |
incompatible, incongruent |
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Saturday, January 26, 2008
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| maladroit (adj) |
inept |
| maladroitness |
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| Sentence: |
Although an accomplished athlete, Will was maladroit at darts. |
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| Similar Words: |
awkward, unskillful |
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Sunday, January 27, 2008
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| ken (n) |
range of knowledge |
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| Sentence: |
That philosophical question is well beyond the ken of a typical high school student. |
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| Similar Words: |
cognizance |
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Monday, January 28, 2008
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| integrate (v) |
combine |
| integration |
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| Sentence: |
City officials managed to integrate 20 immigrant families into our town smoothly and quickly. |
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| Similar Words: |
blend, unify |
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Tuesday, January 29, 2008
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| truant (adj) |
absent without permission |
| truancy |
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| Sentence: |
The teenager was truant from school for the third time in the semester and risked expulsion. |
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| Similar Words: |
idle, malingering |
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008
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| cupidity (n) |
greed |
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| Sentence: |
The king's cupidity made his miserliness seem trifling. |
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| Similar Words: |
avarice |
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Thursday, January 31, 2008
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| punctilious (adj) |
attentive to details |
| punctiliousness |
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| Sentence: |
We are on vacation; you do not need to be so punctilious about your eating habits! |
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| Similar Words: |
meticulous, exacting |
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