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In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". captious \KAP-shuss\ adjective 1. marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections2. calculated to confuse, entrap, or entangle in argument Example sentences:Befuddled by the captious question, the suspect broke down and confessed to the crime. "During the past 15 years Mr. Maxwell has established himself as one of the few sui generis voices in experimental theater, and like all truly original talents, he has been subject to varied and...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". effulgent [ih-fuhl-juh nt, ih-foo l-] adjectiveShining forth brilliantly; radiant Example sentences:Warmest climes but nurse the cruellest fangs: the tiger of Bengal crouches in spiced groves of ceaseless verdure. Skies the most effulgent but basket the deadliest thunders: gorgeous Cuba knows tornadoes that never swept tame northern lands.--Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, 1851 I am your brother of light, and have floated with you in the effulgent valleys.--H. P. Lovecraft, "Beyond the Wall of Sleep," Pine...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". inimical \in-NIM-ih-kul\ adjective1. being adverse often by reason of hostility or malevolence2a. having the disposition of an enemy : hostile b. reflecting or indicating hostility : unfriendly Example sentences:The mayor's proposal received an inimical response from members of the town council. "Profiling and other means of applying stereotypes to certain types of persons on the basis of how they appear, as opposed to how they behave, is inimical to the very foundations of...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". rallentando [rah-luh n-tahn-doh; Italian rahl-len-tahn-daw] adjectiveslackening; becoming slower (used as a musical direction). Example sentences:Sir Norman, a marked rallentando there please, a marked rallentando there. Professor Sevchik always insisted. It is consequent and logical as well as pleasing to the ear and that passage following should be taken like this.--Ralph Cusack, Cadenza, 1958 On the other hand, he would become quite depressed if he had to stop in the middle of a verse,...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". tu quoque /too kwoh-kwee, -kwey/ interjectionYou likewise: a retort made by a person accused of a crime implying that the accuser is also guilty of the same crime. Example sentences:A good debater recognizes that resorting to a tu quoque only weakens one's position in the argument. "Thomas describes Williams's defense tactic as 'tu quoque' (you're another), basically the aggressive defense for which Williams was known, accusing the accusers." -- From Kim Eisler's 2010...

> In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". pandiculation \pan-dik-yuh-LAY-shun\ nouna stretching and stiffening especially of the trunk and extremities (as when fatigued and drowsy or after waking from sleep). Example sentences:"He was coming on to yawn. His breath sucked in the draught from the window. His shoulders hunched, his legs stretched to their toes, he made claws of his fingers in his hands—a fierce pandiculation of his limbs." — Jamie O'Neill, At Swim, Two Boys, 2001 "Carefully orchestrated pandiculations follow...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". apricate (AP-ri-kayt) verb verb intr.: To bask in the sun.verb tr.: To expose to the sun. Example sentence:“I was also biting into that part of his body that must have been fairer than the rest because it never apricated.” --André Aciman; Call Me by Your Name; Picador; 2007 Etymology:From Latin apricari (to bask in the sun). Earliest documented use: 1691. Despite a similar spelling, the word apricot has a different origin. It’s from...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". solecism \SAH-luh-sih-zum\ noun1. an ungrammatical combination of words in a sentence; also: a minor blunder in speech2. something deviating from the proper, normal, or accepted order3. a breach of etiquette or decorum Example sentences: As a copyeditor, Jane has the eyes of a hawk; rarely, if ever, does she let a writer's solecism slip past her. "What [Leonard Lyons] presented in his columns was the essence of the person being reported on, and...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".incunabula \in-kyoo-NAB-yuh-luh, ing-\ noun1. the earliest stages or first traces of anything. 2. extant copies of books produced in the earliest stages (before 1501) of printing from movable type. Example sentence:Similarly, as considered from the entelechial point of view, the "principles" of Greek tragedy would be sought not in the incunabula of tragedy, but in late developments… -- Kenneth Burke, "Myth, Poetry, and Philosophy," Language as Symbolic Action, 1966 Gifted with an extraordinary eye...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".pericope \puh-RIK-uh-pee\ noun1. a selection or extract from a book. 2. a portion of sacred writing read in a divine service; lesson; lection. Example sentence: ...a single verse (and, in some cases, even a pericope) is too small a unit to split analytically into fragments. -- Donald Harman Akenson, Surpassing Wonder: the Invention of the Bible and the Talmuds, 1998 Etymology: Pericope came to English in the mid-1600s, and is ultimately derived from the...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".fustian \ FUHS-chuhn \ , noun A kind of coarse twilled cotton or cotton and linen stuff, including corduroy, velveteen, etc.2. An inflated style of writing or speech; pompous or pretentious language.adjective: 1. Made of fustian.2. Pompous; ridiculously inflated; bombastic. Example sentences: Apparel made of fustian, canvas, leather, and wool is always deemed appropriate for those of the ‘inferior sort’. Don't squander the court's patience puffing your cheeks up on stately bombast and lofty...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". calumny \KAL-um-nee\ noun 1. a misrepresentation intended to harm another's reputation 2. the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to harm another's reputation Example sentences: The notion that the mayor knew about the problem before the newspaper broke the story is nothing but calumny. "Some say that showing respect for your opponent after heaping disrespect upon him … and having disrespect heaped upon you civilizes our politics. In truth, however,...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". caitiff \KAY-tif\ adjective cowardly, despicable Example sentences: "Oh, horrible wretch! a murderer! unmanly murderer!—a defenceless woman smothered by caitiff hands!" — Edward Bulwer-Lytton, What Will He Do With It?, 1858 "… the Vichy cabinet accepted the German offer of air support from Sicily and Sardinia. This caitiff decision enabled the Germans to take the quick, decisive action of occupying airfields in Tunisia, with all its costly consequences upon our campaign." — Winston Churchill,...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". pabulum \ PAB-yuh-luhm\ noun 1. material for intellectual nourishment. 2. something that nourishes an animal or vegetable organism; food; nutriment.3. something (as writing or speech) that is insipid, simplistic, or bland Example sentences:He had two papers to provide for; papers diverse in character, papers published a hundred and fifty miles apart, papers to which expectant thousands looked for their weekly supply of mental pabulum.-- James Parton, The Life of Horace Greeley, 1868 The...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".chiaroscuro \kee-ahr-uh-SKYOOR-oh\ noun1. the distribution of light and shade in a picture. 2. Painting. the use of deep variations in and subtle gradations of light and shade, especially to enhance the delineation of character and for general dramatic effect: Rembrandt is a master of chiaroscuro. Example sentences:…film noir genealogies usually reduce Weimar cinema to German expressionism and German expressionism in turn to a catalogue of techniques including: 'foregrounded oblique objected, unbalanced compositions, irregular spatial...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".anodyne \AN-uh-dyne\ adjective 1. serving to alleviate pain 2. not likely to offend or arouse tensions Example sentences:The group's latest album is a fairly anodyne affair; it contains a number of lively tunes that are easy on the ears, but which play it far too safe to ever be anything more than passing amusements. "British comics in the 1950s were pale imitations of American ones. Many were anodyne: the first two prosecutions under a...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". trenchant \TREN-chunt\ adjective 1. keen, sharp2. vigorously effective and articulate; also : caustic3. a : sharply perceptive : penetratingb : clear-cut, distinct. Example sentences: The daily news satire show not only offers a healthy dose of laughs but also trenchant commentary on the current events of the day. "Nowhere was hayseed dialect better used to deliver trenchant truths than in 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' Through the voice of an uneducated river-town boy,...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". exiguous \ ig-ZIG-yoo-uhs, ik-SIG-yoo-uhs\ adjective Scanty; meager; small. Example sentences: His exiguous nautical pension is hardly enough to pay for the one cockroach infested room which he inhabits in the slum area behind Tatwig Street...-- Lawrence Durrell, Justine , 1957 There is an exiguous anthropological plot, concerning some papers improperly filched from a dying missionary, and an even more exiguous adulterous plot.-- A.S. Byatt, "Barbara Pym," Passions of the Mind,1991 Etymology:Exiguous is related...

> In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".antimetabole (AN-ti-muh-TAB-uh-lee) , noun A repetition of words or an idea in a reverse order. Example: "To fail to plan is to plan to fail." Example sentence:"Carl Sagan's antimetabole 'absence of evidence is not evidence of absence' immediately comes to mind."--Dieter Hartmann; A Multi-Messenger Story; Nature (London, UK); Jul 21, 2011. Etymology:From Greek antimetabole, from anti- (opposite) + metabole (change), from meta- (after, along) + bole (a throw). Earliest documented use: 1589. The sentence...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". pavonine \PAV-uh-nahyn, -nin\ adjective 1. of or like a peacock. 2. resembling the feathers of a peacock, as in coloring. Example sentences: In her hands the curtains rustle; she hangs silks purchased this morning on Princess Road, color stirring pavonine in the lamplight of her bedroom.-- Kate Moses, Wintering: A Novel of Sylvia Plath, 2003 "The artists were attacked for being a narcissistic, pavonine, and self-regarding group."--Arifa Akbar; The Cult of Beauty; The...