Word of the Day

Definition: (adjective) Expressing contemptuous reproach; bringing disgrace. Synonyms: abusive, scornful, shameful, ignominious. Usage: His opprobrious conduct during an assembly earned him a series of Saturday detentions. Discuss

Definition: (adjective) Endowed with feeling and unstructured consciousness. Synonyms: animate. Usage: The living knew themselves just sentient puppets on God's stage.

Definition: (adjective) Hypocritically, complacently, or effusively earnest. Synonyms: fulsome, oleaginous, unctuous. Usage: His smarmy speech left no doubt that he actually felt superior to those he was meant to be praising.

Definition: (verb) To undergo thickening or cause to thicken, as by boiling or evaporation. Synonyms: condense, thicken. Usage: The recipe then instructed the cook to inspissate the sauce by adding flour. Discuss

Definition: (adjective) Characterized by the repetition of the same sense in different words. Synonyms: redundant, tautological. Usage: "A true fact" and "a free gift" are pleonastic expressions.

Definition: (adjective) Of such fine texture as to be transparent or translucent. Synonyms: filmy, gauzy, sheer, vaporous. Usage: She wore a hat with a diaphanous veil that did not obscure her features. Discuss

Definition: (adjective) Highly influential in an original way; constituting or providing a basis for further development. Synonyms: germinal, originative. Usage: He prepared a speech describing his experiment, never realizing that his presentation would be the seminal event in the development of a new theory.

Definition: (noun) A short heavy stick. Synonyms: bastinado, club. Usage: She woke up with her head hurting as though it had been hit with a cudgel.

Definition: (verb) To talk casually. Synonyms: chat, natter. Usage: Three old friends met in a café to confabulate together. Discuss

Definition: (noun) Division into two usually contradictory parts or opinions. Synonyms: duality. Usage: One of the novel's themes is the dichotomy of Eastern and Western culture.