Perfervid
by ETR (09/6/2008)
“Perfervid” (pur-FUR-vid) - from the Latin for “to boil” - means impassioned, marked by exaggerated or overwrought emotion.
Example (as used by Mordecai Richler in The New York Times): “Years ago Philip Roth published a perspicacious essay on the pitfalls of writing satire, the gist of which was that the daily absurdities in our morning newspapers too often outdid even a novelist’s most perfervid imaginings.”
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Similar Articles:
- A Better Way to Criticize a Piece of Writing - A publisher I know likes to help his writers write better by criticizing their published work. Once …
- Something Useful Suzanne Taught Me - When Suzanne Richardson took over as Managing Editor of ETR, I was pleased. I had recommended her - …
- Weird Scholarships - Most scholarships are given out to the most talented, hardest working, and most deserving students. …
- The Language Perfectionist: Is This Word Always Unnecessary? - Recently, I read an article advising writers to eliminate the word “that” from their work. The word …
- Dear ETR: “This might be a personal question…” - "Michael, this might be a personal question, but you seem to cross boundaries when it comes to …
- An Everyday Misuse I See Every Day - When I saw this sign outside a local gas station, I cringed: "Special discount! Diet Pepsi 12 p…
- A Life-Changing Early-Morning Routine - When it comes to personal productivity, we all have the chance to have good days or bad days. Good d…