Word to the Wise
"Supercilious" (soo-pur-SIL-ee-us) - from the Latin for "eyebrow" - means haughty or disdainfully arrogant.
"Dolorous" (DOH-luh-rus) - from the Latin for "to grieve" - is another way of saying "sorrowful."
Something that's "capacious" (kuh-PAY-shus) is roomy or spacious. The word is derived from the Latin for "able to hold or contain."
To "confute" (kun-FYOOT) - from the Latin for "to put down to silence" - is to overwhelmingly prove to be false
"Ignominious" (ig-nuh-MIN-ee-us) - from the Latin for "shameful" - is another way of saying "humiliating."
To "interpolate"- from the Latin for "to polish up," hence to falsify - is to insert new or foreign material into a text or conversation.
To "palliate" (PAL-ee-ate) - from the Latin for "to conceal" - is to lessen in severity or make less intense.
"Durance" (DUR-unts) - from the Latin for "to endure" - is imprisonment or restraint by force. It is usually used in the phrase "durance vile."
"Invective" (in-VEK-tiv) - from the Latin for "to inveigh against" - is insulting or abusive language.
"Sentient" (SEN-shunt) - from the Latin for "to feel" - means responsive to or conscious of sensory perceptions.
"Tremulous" (TREM-yuh-lus) - from the Latin for "tremble" - means shaking or quivering. The word is often used to indicate fear or timidity.
"Sub rosa" (sub ROH-zuh) - Latin for "under the rose" - means secret or private. The phrase comes from an ancient legend associating roses with confidentiality.
In ancient Greece, a "phalanx" (FAY-langks) was a tight formation of heavily armed soldiers, with their shields joined and their spears overlapping. Today, we use the word to refer to any close-knit or compact group.
Something that's "recherche" (ruh-sher-SHAY) - from the French for "to seek out" - is either (1) rare or exotic, or (2) pretentious.
"Lubricious" (loo-BRISH-us) - from the Latin for "smooth" - means (1) lustful or (2) slippery.
"Raillery" (RAY-luh-ree) - from the French for "to mock" - is good-natured banter or teasing.
A "paean" (PEE-un) is a song of praise, joy, or triumph. The word is derived from an ancient Greek hymn of thanksgiving, often addressed to the god Apollo.
"Rodomontade" (rod-uh-mun-TADE) is vain, pretentious bragging. It comes from Rodomonte ("roller-away of mountains"), the name of a boastful warrior king in two Italian Renaissance epic poems.
To "lambaste" (lam-BAYST) is to beat or scold severely.
Someone who's "saturnine" (SAT-ur-nine) is bitter, melancholy, or sullen - the temperament of someone born under the supposed astrological influence of Saturn.
To "ruminate" (ROO-mih-nate) - from the Latin for "meditate" - means "to ponder," to turn an idea over and over in your mind. The word "ruminant" (an animal that chews its cud) is related.
"Obvelation" (ob-vuh-LAY-shun) - from the Latin for "veil" or "shroud" - is the act of concealing.
A "disquisition" (dis-kwuh-ZISH-un) - from the Latin for "investigate" - is a formal discourse in which a subject is examined and discussed.
"Execrable" (EK-sih-kruh-bul) - from the Latin - means utterly detestable.
A "maelstrom" (MAYL-strum) - from the Dutch for "to whirl round" - is a powerful or destructive whirlpool.
"Immutable" (ih-MYOO-tuh-bul) - from the Latin - means "not subject to change."
A "hoyden" (HOID'n) - possibly from the Dutch for "heathen" - is a bold, boisterous, high-spirited girl.
A "morass" (muh-RAS) - from the Dutch for "marsh" - is a bog, an area of low, soft, soggy ground. We also use the word to refer to something that hinders, engulfs, or overwhelms.
"Subfusc" (sub-FUSK) - from the Latin for "brownish" - means dark or drab.
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