October 10, 2007

rapier

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DEFINITION: (noun) A straight sword with a narrow blade and two edges. SYNONYMS: tuck. USAGE: Strickland employed not the rapier of sarcasm but the bludgeon of invective.
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October 9, 2007

ramify

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DEFINITION: (verb) To have complicating consequences or outgrowths. SYNONYMS: complexify. USAGE: The problem merely ramified after the unsuccessful meeting.
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October 8, 2007

animus

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DEFINITION: (noun) A feeling of ill will arousing active hostility. SYNONYMS: bad blood, animosity. USAGE: Dorothea had observed the animus with which Will's part in the painful story had been recalled more than once.
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October 7, 2007

effervescent

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DEFINITION: (adjective) Marked by high spirits or excitement. SYNONYMS: sparkly, bubbling, scintillating, sparkling. USAGE: She exhibited none of that effervescent joy at his appearance which we like to see in our mothers-in-law elect.
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October 6, 2007

boding

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DEFINITION: (noun) An omen or foreboding, especially of evil. SYNONYMS: premonition, presentiment, foreboding. USAGE: Sara was filled with an evil sense of boding as she approached the decrepit house to sell her Girl Scout Cookies.
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October 5, 2007

camisole

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DEFINITION: (noun) A short, sleeveless undergarment for women. SYNONYMS: underbodice. USAGE: The beautiful dress was made out of a sheer fabric, so Nina wore a camisole underneath it.
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October 4, 2007

repertory

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DEFINITION: (noun) The entire range of skills or aptitudes or devices used in a particular field or occupation. SYNONYMS: repertoire. USAGE: When the band had exhausted its repertory it took wing and settled upon the rocks above and behind the queen.
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October 3, 2007

homily

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DEFINITION: (noun) A sermon, especially one intended to edify a congregation on a practical matter and not intended to be a theological discourse. SYNONYMS: preachment. USAGE: The priest addressed a hasty homily to the pair on the perils of life, on the duties they must, some day, inculcate upon their children.
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October 2, 2007

menagerie

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DEFINITION: (noun) The facility where wild animals are housed for exhibition. SYNONYMS: zoo, zoological garden. USAGE: Through the dim smoke-haze the bunks looked like the sleeping dens of animals in a menagerie.
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October 1, 2007

oceanaut

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DEFINITION: (noun) A skilled worker who can live in underwater installations and participate in scientific research. SYNONYMS: aquanaut. USAGE: The machinery on the ocean floor required constant maintenance, so the company had a team of oceanauts stationed nearby.
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