Word of the Day

Definition: (adjective) Quick to take offense. Synonyms: huffy, touchy, feisty. Usage: My thin-skinned students often mistake my constructive criticism for personal attacks. Discuss

Definition: (adjective) Shockingly brutal or cruel. Synonyms: atrocious, monstrous, grievous. Usage: All faults or defects, from the slightest misconduct to the most flagitious crime, Pantocyclus attributed to some deviation from perfect regularity in the bodily figure. Discuss

Definition: (verb) Mar or spoil the appearance of. Synonyms: blemish, disfigure. Usage: The vandals defaced the statue by drawing a mustache on it. Discuss

Definition: (verb) Rise up as if in waves. Synonyms: wallow. Usage: Smoke from the burning building billowed up into the sky, obscuring the sun. Discuss

Definition: (noun) A witty, often paradoxical remark, concisely expressed. Synonyms: quip. Usage: These gentlemen were obliged to be civil in public, yet they cut at each other with epigrams that were as sharp as razors. Discuss

Definition: (verb) Cry or whine with snuffling. Synonyms: blubber. Usage: Put your handkerchief away—don't snivel before me. Discuss

Definition: (noun) Assigning some quality or character to a person or thing. Synonyms: attribution. Usage: The ascription to me of honors I had not earned left me feeling guilty and ashamed. Discuss

Definition: (noun) Blithe lack of concern; nonchalance. Synonyms: carefreeness, lightheartedness, lightsomeness. Usage: He replied with characteristic insouciance, "So what?" Discuss

Definition: (noun) Pompous or pretentious talk or writing. Synonyms: blah, bombast, fustian, rant. Usage: He talks a lot of pretentious claptrap and rarely gets down to brass tacks. Discuss

Definition: (verb) Make up something artificial or untrue. Synonyms: cook up, invent, manufacture. Usage: Did Harold really wrestle a bear, or did he fabricate the story to impress us? Discuss