Word - 20

SUPERANNUATED \soo-per-AN-yuh-way-tud\ adjective

1 : outmoded, old-fashioned

2 a : incapacitated or disqualified for active duty by advanced age

*b : older than the typical member of a specified group

Example sentence:

The article focused on senior citizens who retired from the workplace and returned to school to become superannuated graduate students.

Did you know?

"Superannuated" was first put to use in English in the 1600s, having been borrowed from Medieval Latin "superannuatus," the past participle of "superannuari" ("to be too old") -- from Latin "super-" ("over" or "above") and "annus" ("year"). Shortly thereafter, we made our own verb, "superannuate," from the adjective. "Superannuate" meant "to retire and pension because of age or infirmity" as well as "to declare obsolete," meanings that are still in active service. "Superannuated" can mean "outmoded or old-fashioned," as in "superannuated slang" or "superannuated neckties," or it can simply mean "older than usual," as in our example sentence.

Word - 19

BELVEDERE \BEL-vuh-deer\ noun

: a structure (as a cupola or a summerhouse) designed to command a view

Example sentence:
On summer evenings, guests at the estate often joined their hosts in the belvedere to watch the sunset.

Did you know?

It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder -- and someone with a belvedere will likely have a great deal of beauty to behold. Given the origins of the word, "belvedere" is the ideal term for a building (or part of a building) with a view; it derives from two Italian words, "bel," which means "beautiful," and "vedere," which means "view." The term has been used in English since at least 1593.

Word - 18

OCCAM'S RAZOR \AH-kumz-RAY-zer\ noun

: a scientific and philosophic rule that entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily which is interpreted as requiring that the simplest of competing theories be preferred to the more complex or that explanations of unknown phenomena be sought first in terms of known quantities

Example sentence:
Invoking Occam's razor, Eli concluded that the sill was wet because someone had left the window open during the storm.

Did you know?

William of Occam (also spelled "Ockham") didn't invent the rule associated with his name. Others had espoused the "keep it simple" concept before that 14th-century philosopher and theologian embraced it, but no one wielded the principle (also known as the "law of parsimony") as relentlessly as he did. He used it to counter what he considered the fuzzy logic of his theological contemporaries, and his applications of it inspired 19th-century Scottish philosopher Sir William Hamilton to link "Occam" with the idea of cutting away extraneous material, giving us the modern name for the principle.

Word - 17

INDURATE \IN-duh-rut\ adjective

: physically or morally hardened

Example sentence:
The sculpture was so realistic that it seemed that at any moment the indurate marble form would shift position to stare back at the viewer.

Did you know?

"Indurate" is a hard word -- in more than one way. Not only is it fairly uncommon in modern usage, but it also can be traced back to Latin "durare," meaning "to harden." ("Durare" can mean "to endure" as well, and appropriately "indurate" is a word that has lasted many years -- it has been a part of the English language since the 14th century.) "Durare" is also the root of other durable English words, including "during," "endure," "duration," "durance" (an archaic word meaning "endurance"), and even "durable" itself. In addition, "indurate" can be a verb meaning "to make or grow hard," "to make unfeeling, stubborn, or obdurate," and "to establish firmly."

Word - 16

LIONIZE \LYE-uh-nyze\ verb

*1 : to treat as an object of great interest or importance
2 Brit : to show the sights of a place to

Example sentence:
After his successful first novel, critics lionized the young writer as a literary virtuoso, though he has yet to replicate the feat.

Did you know?

The lion is traditionally regarded as the king of beasts, and perhaps rightly so -- the lion is brave, stately, and quite often ferocious. Those qualities that earn the lion respect from other creatures were probably in people's minds when, in the 18th century, "lion" came to be used for a person who is similarly well-regarded, especially after a long and distinguished career in a particular field. A veteran lawmaker might be considered one of the lions of the Senate; a literary lion has enjoyed a long career as a successful writer. This sense of "lion" forms the basis of "lionize," which first appeared in English in the early 19th century.

Word - 15

TRIPTYCH \TRIP-tik\ noun

1 : an ancient Roman writing tablet with three waxed leaves hinged together
2 *a : a picture (as an altarpiece) or carving in three panels side by side
b : something composed or presented in three parts or sections; especially : trilogy

Example sentence:
The artist unveiled an elaborate triptych in which the three panels represented the past, present, and future.

Did you know?

A painted or carved triptych typically has three hinged panels, and the two outer panels can be folded in towards the central one. A literary or musical triptych generally consists of three closely related or contrasting themes or parts. "Triptych" derives from the Greek "triptychos" ("having three folds"), formed by combining "tri-" ("three") and "ptyche" ("fold" or "layer"). Although "triptych" originally described a specific type of Roman writing tablet that had three hinged sections, it is not surprising that the idea was generalized first to a type of painting, and then to anything composed of three parts.

Word - 14

IGNOMINIOUS \ig-nuh-MIN-ee-us\ adjective

1 : marked with or characterized by disgrace or shame : dishonorable
2 : deserving of shame or infamy : despicable
*3 : humiliating, degrading

Example sentence:
The director's first film was an ignominious failure, panned by critics and ignored by moviegoers.

Did you know?

The "-nom-" of "ignominious" comes from "nomen," the Latin word for "name" or “repute.” (It's also the root of "misnomer," "nomenclature," and "nominal," among others.) The "ig-" part of the word is akin to the negative prefix "in-"; when joined to the root "-nom-," it indicates the namelessness that goes with shame or dishonor. To suffer an ignominious fate is to lose the opportunity to make a name for oneself or to lose one's good name. When "ignominious" was first borrowed from a French form of the word in the 15th century, it meant "disgraced" or "dishonorable." "Ignominious" continues to have such meanings, but it also has somewhat milder meanings -- "embarrassing" and "humiliating."

Word - 13

ALEMBIC \uh-LEM-bik\ noun

1 : an apparatus used in distillation
*2 : something that refines or transmutes as if by distillation

Example sentence:
In the alembic of the child's mind, the ratty old blanket became a magnificent cape.

Did you know?

The alembic is a kind of still that has been used since ancient times and continues to be used even today in the production of cognac, a distinctive brandy distilled from white wine in western France. In ancient times, this apparatus was called "al-anbiq," a word that means "the still" in Arabic and can be traced to "ambix," meaning "still" in Greek. When the apparatus found its way into Medieval European laboratories, scientific texts first transformed the Arabic word into Medieval Latin as "alembicum." English speakers shortened it to "alembic," and some also dropped the initial "a." That change led to "limbeck," a standard variant still in use today. "Alembic" acquired its figurative use in the 17th century.

Word - 12

WAHINE \wah-HEE-nee\ noun

1 : a Polynesian woman
*2 : a female surfer

Example sentence:
"Make some serious waves this summer by learning to surf! Ridin' the swells is fab exercise and, well, what's cooler than a wahine girl?" (Girls' Life, June 2005)

Did you know?

The word "wahine" came into English in the late 18th century from Maori, the language of a Polynesian people native to New Zealand; it was originally used for a Maori woman, especially a wife. The word is also used for a woman in Hawaiian and Tahitian, though spelled "vahine" in the latter. Enormous waves, which are perfect for surfing, are an attraction of the Polynesian islands. As the surfing culture solidified in the mid-20th century, and as more and more girls and women grabbed their boards, "wahine" took on the new meaning of "female surfer."

Word - 11

WELTANSCHAUUNG \VELT-ahn-show-ung (“ow” as in “cow”)\ noun, often capitalized

: a comprehensive conception or apprehension of the world especially from a specific standpoint

Example sentence:
Nadia dreads visiting her cousin, whose narrow, provincial Weltanschauung contrasts sharply with her own open-minded view of the world.

Did you know?

The German word "Weltanschauung" literally means "world view"; it combines "Welt" ("world") with "Anschauung" ("view"), which ultimately derives from the Middle High German verb "schouwen" ("to look at" or "to see"). When we first adopted it from German in the mid-19th century, "weltanschauung" referred to a philosophical view or apprehension of the universe, and this sense is still the most widely used. It can also describe a more general ideology or philosophy of life.

Word - 10

TURPITUDE \TER-puh-tood\ noun

: inherent baseness : depravity; also : a base act

Example sentence:

The judge declared that the murders were the product of a gross moral turpitude.

Did you know?

"Turpitude" came to English from Latin by way of Middle French. The Latin word "turpitudo" comes from "turpis," which means "vile" or "base." The word is often heard in the phrase "moral turpitude," an expression used in law to designate an act or behavior that gravely violates the sentiment or accepted standard of the community. A criminal offense that involves "moral turpitude" is considered wrong or evil by moral standards, in addition to being the violation of a statute.

Word - 9

MACADAM \muh-KAD-um\ noun

: a roadway or pavement of small closely packed broken stone

Example sentence:
We left the old city with much regret, passing from its quaint cobblestones to lumpy macadam, leaving our vacation behind and returning reluctantly to the workaday world.

Did you know?

In 1783, inventor John Loudon McAdam returned to his native Scotland after amassing a fortune in New York City. He became the road trustee for his district and quickly set his inventiveness to remedying the terrible condition of local roads. After numerous experiments, he created a new road surfacing material made of bits of stone that became compressed into a solid mass as traffic passed over them. His invention revolutionized road construction and transportation, and engineers and the public alike honored him by using his name (respelled "macadam") as a generic term for the material or pavement made from it. He is further immortalized in the verb "macadamize," which names the process of installing macadam on a road.

Word - 8

INALIENABLE \in-AY-lee-uh-nuh-bul\ adjective

: incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred

Example sentence:
"Just because I can use my work e-mail for personal correspondence doesn't mean I have the inalienable right to do so," Brian explained.

Did you know?
"Alien," "alienable," "inalienable" -- it's easy enough to see the Latin word "alius," meaning "other," at the root of these three words. "Alien" joined our language in the 14th century, and one of its earliest meanings was "belonging to another." By the early 1600s that sense of "alien" had led to the development of "alienable," an adjective describing something you could give away or transfer ownership of, and "unalienable," its opposite. By about 1645, "inalienable" was also in use as a synonym of "unalienable." "Inalienable" is the more common variant today, but it was "unalienable" that was used in the Declaration of Independence to describe rights like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Word - 7

PEREGRINE \PAIR-uh-grin\ adjective

: having a tendency to wander

Example sentence:
"Birders are peregrine by nature, typically traveling to distant destinations in pursuit of their hobby...." (James F. McCarty, Plain Dealer [Cleveland], June 1, 2006)

Did you know?

The current meaning of "peregrine" has wandered a bit from its earlier meanings. The word originally meant "foreign," as did its Latin predecessor "peregrinus." But even before "peregrine" appeared on its own in English, it was part of the name of that well-known bird of prey, the peregrine falcon. The bird's appellation derives from "falco peregrinus" -- literally, "pilgrim falcon" in Medieval Latin. Peregrine falcons typically nest in high places, such as on cliff ledges or, in modern times, city skyscrapers. Because of the nests' inaccessibility, medieval falconers who wanted young peregrine falcons to train had capture them on their first flights or migratory "pilgrimages." That practice led to a new sense of "peregrine" ("engaged in or traveling on a pilgrimage"), which was later broadened to "wandering."

Word - 6

REIFY \RAY-uh-fye\ verb

: to regard (something abstract) as a material or concrete thing
: to give definite content and form to (something abstract)

Example sentence:
"He describes the phenomenal popularity of Edwin Markham's proletarian poem 'The Man With the Hoe,' which reified labor's feelings of injustice." (Neal Gabler, The Washington Post, February 18, 1996)

Did you know?

"Reify" is a word that attempts to provide a bridge between what is abstract and what is real. Fittingly, it derives from a word that is an ancestor to "real" -- the Latin noun "res," meaning "thing." Both "reify" and the related noun "reification" first appeared in English in the mid-19th century, though "reification" is a few years older and some dictionaries consider "reify" to be a back-formation of the noun. In general use, the words refer to the act of considering or presenting an abstract idea in real or material terms, or of judging something by a concrete example.

Word - 5

TRICHOTILLOMANIA \trick-uh-till-uh-MAY-nee-uh\ noun

: an abnormal desire to pull out one's hair

Example sentence:
Connie's trichotillomania left her with an unfortunate array of bald spots along the crown of her head.

Did you know?

The word "trichotillomania" derives from the Greek "trich-" ("hair") and "tillein" ("to pull or pluck"), along with the suffix "-mania" (from "mainesthai," meaning "to be mad"). People suffering from trichotillomania will routinely pluck hair from the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes or other parts of the body, usually impulsively but sometimes with careful deliberation (such as by using tweezers). Some researchers believe that it may be a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The word for this condition first appeared in English around the dawn of the 20th century (it's generally thought to have been first coined in French by a French dermatologist).

Word - 4

DECIMATE \DESS-uh-mayt\ verb

1 : to take or destroy the tenth part of
*2 : to cause great destruction or harm to

Example sentence:
Farmers struggled to feed their families after their crops were decimated by blight.

Did you know?

The connection between "decimate" and the number ten harks back to a brutal practice of the army of ancient Rome. A unit that was guilty of a severe crime (such as mutiny) was punished by selecting and executing one-tenth of its soldiers, thereby scaring the remaining nine-tenths into obedience. It's no surprise that the word for this practice came from Latin "decem," meaning "ten." From this root we also get our word "decimal" and the name of the month of December, originally the tenth month of the calendar before the second king of Rome decided to add January and February. In its extended uses "decimate" strayed from its "tenth" meaning and nowadays refers to the act of destroying or hurting something in great numbers.

Word - 3

JOG TROT\JOG-TROT\ noun

1 : a horse's slow measured trot
*2 : a routine habit or course of action

Example sentence:
The weekly Friday-night dances provided the townsfolk with a few hours of respite from the jog trot of life.

Did you know?

The jog trot is a kind of careful, deliberate trot that is sometimes required at horse shows, among other things. "Jog" is thought to have come from an alteration of "shog," a verb meaning "to shake" or "to jolt" and used primarily in dialect. "Trot" has been part of English since the 14th century. The phrase "jog trot," which first appeared in print in 1796, developed a figurative sense as well; it can refer to a steady and usually monotonous routine, similar to the slow, regular pace of a horse at a jog trot. There is a suggestion with the generalized sense that the action is uniform and unhurried, and perhaps even a little dull.

Word - 2

SENTIENT \SEN-shee-unt\ adjective

*1 : responsive to or conscious of sense impressions

2 : aware

3 : finely sensitive in perception or feeling

Example sentence:

"Pets are sentient beings, just like you and me," explained Ted, "so it's important to treat them kindly."

Did you know?

You may have guessed that "sentient" has something to do with the senses. The initial spelling "sent-" or "sens-" is often a giveaway for such a meaning. A "sentient" being is one who perceives and responds to sensations of whatever kind -- sight, hearing, touch, taste, or smell. "Sentient" ultimately comes from the Latin verb "sentire," which means "to feel" and is related to the noun "sensus," meaning "feeling" or "sense." A few related English words are "sentiment" and "sentimental," which have to do with emotions, and "sensual," which relates to more physical "sensations."

Word - 1

EUPHUISM\YOO-fyuh-wiz-um\ noun

1 : an elegant Elizabethan literary style marked by excessive use of balance, antithesis, and alliteration and by frequent use of similes drawn from mythology and nature
*2 : artificial elegance of language

Example sentence:
Cora, given to euphuism, exclaimed, "Oh, glorious auroral orb!" and Paul agreed, "Yeah, nice sunrise."

Did you know?
Now a days, someone who uses euphuism might be accused of linguistic excess and affectation, but "euphuism" hasn't always had a negative connotation. When John Lyly employed this verbose form of rhetoric in his prose works Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit (1578) and Euphues and His England (1580), it was a style that appealed to many of his contemporaries. “Euphuism” comes from the name of the character Euphues, whom Lyly described as a "young gallante, of more wit then wealth, and yet of more wealth then wisdome." The name was probably inspired by a Greek word meaning "witty." The term "euphuism" came into being to refer to Lyly's (and other writers') style a dozen or so years after his works appeared.