Words (of the Day) Flashcards
Baleful
[ beyl -fuhl]
- Full of menacing or malign influences; pernicious
2. Wretched or miserable
Cryptesthesia
[krip-tuhs- thee -zhuh]
Allegedly paranormal perception
Oeuvre
[ œ -vruh]
- (French) the collective works of a writer, painter, or other type of artist
- Any work of an artist, writer, painter, or etc.
Crapehanger
[ kreyp -hang-er]
A person who sees the gloomy side of things; pessimist
Horology
[haw- rol -uh-jee, hoh-]
The art or science of making timepieces or of measuring time
Kickshaw
[ kik -shaw]
- A tidbit or delicacy, especially one served as an appetizer
- A trinket or trifle; something showy but without value
Pusillanimous
[pyoo-suh- lan -uh-mus]
- Lacking courage or resolution; cowardly or faint-hearted
2. Preceding from or indicating a cowardly spirit
Anatine
[ an -uh-tahyn, -tin]
- Resembling a duck
2. Of or pertaining to the family Anatidae, comprising of the swans, geese, and ducks
Comeuppance
[kuhm- uhp -uhns]
Deserved reward, usually unpleasant
Hoyden
[hoid-n]
A boisterous, bold, and carefree girl; tomboy
Sinistral
[ sin -uh-struhl]
- Left-handed
- Of, pertaining to, or on the left side; left (as opposed to dextral)
- (Of certain gastropod shells) coiling counterclockwise, as seen from the apex
Gossamer
[ gos -uh-mer]
Noun:
- a fine, filmy cobweb seen on grass or bushes or floating in the air in calm weather, especially in autumn.
- a thread or a web of this substance.
- an extremely delicate variety of gauze, used especially for veils.
- any thin, light fabric.
- something extremely light, flimsy, or delicate.
- a thin, waterproof outer garment, especially for women.
Adjective:
7. Thin or light (of or like gossamer)
Clowder
[ klou -der]
A group or cluster of cats
Gapeseed
[ geyp -seed, gap -]
- (British Dialect) a person who gapes or stares in wonder, especially a rustic or unworldly person who is easily awed.
- (British Dialect) a daydream or reverie.
- (British Dialect) an idealistic, impossible, or unreal plan or goal.
- (British Dialect) something that is gaped at; anything unusual or remarkable.
Horripilation
[haw-rip-uh- ley -shuhn, ho-]
A bristling of the hair on the skin from cold, fear, etc; goosebumps
Slubber
[ sluhb -er]
To perform hastily or carelessly
Pell-mill
[ pel - mel ]
- in a confused or jumbled mass, crowd, manner, etc.
2. in disorderly, headlong haste; in a recklessly hurried manner.
Panivorous
[pa- niv -er-uhs]
Subsisting on bread; bread-eating
Rufescent
[roo- fes -uhnt]
Somewhat reddish; tinged with red; rufous
Star-crossed
[ stahr -krawst]
ill-fated
Chiaroscuro
[kee-ahr-uh- skyoor -oh]
- the distribution of light and shade in a picture.
- Painting. the use of deep variations in and subtle gradations of light and shade, especially to enhance the delineation of character and for general dramatic effect: Rembrandt is a master of chiaroscuro.
- a woodcut print in which the colors are produced by the use of different blocks with different colors.
- a sketch in light and shade.
Apocryphal
[uh- pok -ruh-fuhl]
- of doubtful authorship or authenticity.
- Ecclesiastical. a. ( initial capital letter ) of or pertaining to the Apocrypha. b. of doubtful sanction; uncanonical.
- false; spurious: He told an apocryphal story about the sword, but the truth was later revealed.
Bovarism
[ boh -vuh-riz-uhm]
an exaggerated, especially glamorized, estimate of oneself; conceit.
Vespertide
[ ves -per-tahyd]
The period of vespers; evening
Frigorific
[frig-uh- rif -ik]
Causing or producing cold
Gaslight
[ gas -lahyt]
- light produced by the combustion of illuminating gas.
- a gas burner or gas jet for producing this kind of light.
- to cause (a person) to doubt his or her sanity through the use of psychological manipulation: How do you know if your partner is gaslighting you?
Zoanthropy
[zoh- an -thruh-pee]
a mental disorder in which one believes oneself to be an animal.
wanion
[ won -yuhn]
curse; vengeance
clairaudience
[klair- aw -dee-uh ns]
the power to hear sounds said to exist beyond the reach of ordinary experience or capacity, as the voices of the dead
vernacularise
[ver- nac -yuh-luh-rahyz]
to translate into the natural speech peculiar to a people.
Famulus
[ fam -yuh-luhs]
a servant or attendant, especially of a scholar or a magician.
Pavlovian
[pav- loh -vee-uh n, -law-, - lov -ee-]
of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Pavlov or his work, especially of experiments in which he elicited predictable responses from laboratory animals.
Philosophaster
[fil-los-uh- fas -ter, fi- los -uh-fas-ter]
a person who has only a superficial knowledge of philosophy or who feigns a knowledge he or she does not possess
Happenstance
[ hap -uh n-stans]
a chance happening or event
Prithee
[ prith -ee]
“pray thee”
Verbigeration
[verb-bij-uh- rey -shuh n]
the constant or obsessive repetition of meaningless words or phrases
Nostomania
[nos-tuh- mey -nee-uh]
Intense homesickness; an irrepressible compulsion to return home
Whippersnapper
[ hwip -er-snap-er, wip -]
an unimportant but offensively presumptuous person, especially a young one
Weltanschauung
[ velt -ahn-shou-oo ng]
(German) a comprehensive conception or image of the universe and of humanity’s relation to it
Thalassic
[thuh- las -ik]
- of or pertaining to seas and oceans.
- of or pertaining to smaller bodies of water, as seas and gulfs, as distinguished from large oceanic bodies.
- growing, living, or found in the sea; marine.
Subfuscous
[suhb- fuhs -kuh s]
slightly dark, dusky, or somber
Chutzpa
[ khoot -spuh, hoot-]
(Slang) unmitigated effrontery or impudence; gall
(Slang) audacity; nerve.
Beforetime
[bih- fawr -tahym]
formerly
Mysophobia
[mahy-suh- foh -bee-uh]
(Psychiatry) a dread of dirt or filth
Larrikin
[ lar -i-kin]
disorderly; rowdy
a street rowdy; hoodlum
Frenetic
[fruh- net -ik]
frantic, frenzied
Vinous
[ vahy -nuh-s]
of, resembling, or containing wine.
of, pertaining to, or characteristic of wine: a vinous fragrance.
produced by, indicative of, or given to indulgence in wine.
wine red; wine-colored: a vinous hue.
Mirth
[murth]
gaiety or jollity, especially when accompanied by laughter: the excitement and mirth of the holiday season.
amusement or laughter: He was unable to conceal his mirth.
Evanesce
[ev-uh- nes ]
to disappear gradually; vanish; fade away.
Flapdragon
[ flap -drag-uh n]
an old game in which the players snatch raisins, plums, etc., out of burning brandy, and eat them.
the object so caught and eaten.
Incunabula
[in-kyoo- nab -yuh-luh]
the earliest stages or first traces of anything.
extant copies of books produced in the earliest stages (before 1501) of printing from movable type.
Remunerative
[ri- myoo -ner-uh-tiv]
affording remuneration; profitable: remunerative work.
that remunerates.
Niveous
[niv-ee-uh s]
resembling snow, especially in whiteness; snowy
Gleed
[gleed]
a glowing coal
Rallentando
[rah-luh n- tahn-doh]
slackening; becoming slower (used as a musical direction)
Sororal
[suh- rawr-uh l]
of, relating to, or characteristic of a sister or sisters; sisterly
Cogitation
[koj-i- tey-shuh n]
concerted thought or reflection; meditation; contemplation: After hours of cogitation he came up with a new proposal
the faculty of thinking: She was a serious student and had a great power of cogitation
a thought; design or plan: to jot down one’s cogitations.
Interosculate
[in-ter- os -kyuh-leyt]
to form a connecting link
to interpenetrate; inoculate
Dowie
[ doh -ee]
Scot. and North England. dull; melancholy; dismal
Railbird
[ reyl -burd]
any kibitzer or self-styled critic or expert
a horse-racing fan who watches races or workouts from the railing along the track
Alight
[uh- lahyt ]
to settle or stay after descending
to dismount from a horse, descend from a vehicle, etc.
to encounter or notice something accidentally