November 13, 2007

sloven

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DEFINITION: (noun) One who is habitually careless in personal appearance or work. SYNONYMS: slob, pig. USAGE: I could better eat with one who did not respect the truth or the laws than with a sloven and unpresentable person.
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November 12, 2007

abase

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DEFINITION: (verb) Cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of. SYNONYMS: chagrin, humiliate, humble, mortify. USAGE: Today she overwhelmed me with shrill reproaches, and abased me to the level of a hearth-brush.
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November 1, 2007

prudery

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DEFINITION: (noun) Excessive or affected modesty. SYNONYMS: Grundyism, primness, prudishness. USAGE: Casting prudery to the wind, I lifted my head, looked him in the eyes, and professed my undying love.
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October 31, 2007

fulminate

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DEFINITION: (verb) To issue a thunderous verbal attack or denunciation. SYNONYMS: rail. USAGE: He fulminated against corruption in governmental institutions.
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October 30, 2007

sagacity

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DEFINITION: (noun) The quality of being discerning, sound in judgment, and farsighted; wisdom SYNONYMS: discernment, sagaciousness, judgment. USAGE: Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity.
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October 29, 2007

remunerate

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DEFINITION: (verb) To pay (a person) a suitable equivalent in return for goods provided, services rendered, or losses incurred. SYNONYMS: recompense, compensate. USAGE: John carefully weeded his neighbors' gardens, aware that they would remunerate him for a job well done.
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October 14, 2007

acrimony

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DEFINITION: (noun) Bitter, sharp animosity, especially as exhibited in speech or behavior. SYNONYMS: acerbity, bitterness, jaundice. USAGE: Their divorce was marked by bitter acrimony, even though their friends had hoped it would be amicable.
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October 13, 2007

mince

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DEFINITION: (verb) To moderate or restrain (words) for the sake of politeness and decorum; euphemize. SYNONYMS: moderate, soften. USAGE: She begged him not to mince words and to tell her exactly what had happened.
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October 12, 2007

ruralism

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DEFINITION: (noun) A rural idiom or expression. SYNONYMS: rusticism. USAGE: He was a country poet whose verses were filled with ruralisms.
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October 11, 2007

inveterate

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DEFINITION: (adjective) Persisting in an ingrained habit. SYNONYMS: chronic, confirmed, habitual. USAGE: He was an inveterate gambler, though a poor loser.
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