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Pronunciation:
/ æn'udain /
Entry Note:
n.; adj.
Explanation:
(n.)1. A medicine, such as aspirin, that relieves pain 2. A source of soothing comfort(adj.)1. Capable of soothing or eliminating pain 2. Relaxing 3. neutral, safe, not distressing or dangerous.
Conjugations:
Examples of Usage:
Some people find work an anodyne, others find it a chore.
She loves to read anodyne novels about country life.
The issue involved was sensitive, so the group kept the discussion at a safely anodyne level.
Epistemology:
Latin an-dynus, from Greek an-dunos, free from pain: an - without + odune - pain
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Pronunciation:
/ BEL-ih-kohs /
Entry Note:
adj.; bellicosity, bellicosenessn.; bellicoselyadv.;
Explanation:
1. Aggressive and likely to start an argument or a fight; 2. Warlike in manner or temperament; 3. Pugnacious;
Conjugations:
Examples of Usage:
Arnold was, in fact, in a bellicose vein. W. Irving
Yet his undoubtedly aggressive behaviour . . . only served to further endear him to all who had dealings with him. They recognised that behind the bellicose facade, there beat a big, warm, compassionate heart.
"Big, warm heart behind bellicose facade," Irish Times, August 21, 1999
There can be no peace as long as nations continue to adopt a bellicose stance.
Epistemology:
Middle English, from Latin bellicsus, from bellicus, of war, from bellum, war.
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Pronunciation:
/ berm /
Entry Note:
n.; v. (trans.) berm
Explanation:
1. narrow path: a ledge or narrow path along the top or bottom of a slope, at the edge of a road, or along a canal2. earthen embankment: an earthen embankment or wall, usually erected to provide protection from the weather or to act as a landscaping screen
3. ridge above high-tide mark: a natural ridge or flat platform formed at the rear of a beach, above the high-tide mark 4. military ledge between moat and rampart: a ledge or narrow path between a moat or ditch and a rampart 5. mineral extract roadway in strip mine: a narrow roadway cut in the slope of a strip mine
Conjugations:
v. bermed, berming, berms
Examples of Usage:
The children walked on the berm along the canal, with the earthen pots balanced precariously on their head.
The berm around the garden provided some privacy.
Epistemology:
French berme, from Dutch berm strip of ground along a dike; akin to Middle English brimme brim
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Pronunciation:
/ kermpLAI /
Entry Note:
v.; compliance n.; compliant adj.
Explanation:
(1) To do what you have to do or are asked to do; (2)To act in accordance with another's command, request, rule, or wish; (3)(Obsolete)To be courteous or obedient
Conjugations:
complies, complied, complying
Examples of Usage:
The client complied with his lawyer's instructions.
They refused to comply with the rules and regulations of the club.
Epistemology:
Middle English "complien", to carry out, fulfill, from Old French "complir", from Latin "complre"
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Pronunciation:
/ k'nvi:vvil /
Entry Note:
adj.; convivialist n.; conviviality n.;convivially adv.
Explanation:
1. (of an atmosphere or event) pleasant; friendly and lively; enjoyable because of its friendliness 2. (of a person) cheerfully sociable
2. sociable: fond of the company of others
He was famously convivial.
Conjugations:
Examples of Usage:
Tony and Sasha spent many a convivial evening at the Majestic Hotel before the war.
Mahmood's convivial nature earned him many friends.
I was what you might call a convivial man, yet I found the greatest joy in working alone among my orchids.
Epistemology:
Originally in the sense fit for a feast; Mid-17th century - Late Latin convivialis, from Latin convivium feast, banquet, from com- + vivere to live
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Pronunciation:
/ déss'l tàwree /
Entry Note:
adj.; desultorinessn.; desultorilyadv.;
Explanation:
1. Moving or jumping from one thing to another; disconnected: a desultory speech 2. Occurring haphazardly; random.
Conjugations:
Examples of Usage:
The soldiers were subject to desultory fire from the enemy position
Some people find his desultory explanation of the matter quite comical.
Changes should be planned and implemented systematically, not desultorily.
Epistemology:
Latin desultrius, leaping, from desultor, a leaper, from desultus, past participle of desilre, to leap down : d-, de- + salre, to jump
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Pronunciation:
/ di:'r 'män'tei /
Entry Note:
adj.
Explanation:
1. A small, glittering ornament, such as a rhinestone or a sequin, applied to fabric or a garment.
2. Fabric that has been covered with many of these ornaments 3. Decorated with artificial diamonds
Conjugations:
Examples of Usage:
Her diamanté necklace was so exquisitely crafted, everyone thought the stones were real.
The diamanté brooch that she found in her late grandma's jewellery box complemented her simmering sequined blue gown perfectly.
Epistemology:
French diamanté, decorated with diamonds, from diamant, diamond
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Pronunciation:
/ i'búlly'nt /
Entry Note:
adj.; ebullience n.; ebulliently adv. Synonyms: exuberant, high-spirited
Explanation:
1. lively and enthusiastic; full of cheerful excitement or enthusiasm
2. (formal; archaic or literary) boiling or bubbling vigorously
Conjugations:
Examples of Usage:
Enid Blyton's ebullient storytelling and luxuriant prose endeared her to many young readers.
The Wizard of the North ebulliently promised to help Rachel and Tim to escape from the Dark Forest.
Epistemology:
Late 16th Century (1599), "boiling," from Latin ebullientem, prp. of ebullire "to spout out, burst out," from ex- "out" + bullire "to bubble". Figurative sense of "enthusiastic" is first recorded 1664
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Pronunciation:
/ ehn da jE nihs /
Entry Note:
adj.; endogenously adv.; Opp. exogenous
Explanation:
1. coming or produced from or developing within, as certain spores, or due to internal conditions, as certain diseases.2. of, pertaining to, or constituting the metabolism of elements of living tissue containing nitrogen.
Conjugations:
Examples of Usage:
Metabolite/1, isolated from the medium,
however, showed a lower specific activity, which indicates endogenous synthesis of this metabolite.
Epistemology:
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Pronunciation:
[ flot·s'm ]
Entry Note:
n. As in flotsam and jetsam -discarded objects or odds and endsIn maritime law, flotsam refers to wreckage thrown overboard after a shipwreck. Jetsam refers to cargo or equipment thrown overboard from a ship in distress and either sunk or washed ashore.The common phrase flotsam and jetsam is now used loosely to describe any objects found floating or washed ashore.
Explanation:
1. wreckage found floating on the sea; debris, or refuse from a ship, found floating in the water 2. (Offensive)marginalized or homeless people
Conjugations:
Examples of Usage:
Criminals, drug addicts, the homeless, are viewed as the flotsam and jetsam of today's society.
After the air raid, the dockyard workers rushed in to clear the flotsam and jetsam in the yard.
Epistemology:
Early 17th century Old French /Anglo-Norman floteson, from floter ‘to float’;
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Pronunciation:
/ ge ROO liti /
Entry Note:
n. (or garrulousness); adj. garrulous; adv. garrulouslysyns loquaciousness;
loquacity; talkativeness
Explanation:
1. verbosity;
2. excessive or pointless talkativeness;
3. the quality of being wordy and talkative
Conjugations:
Examples of Usage:
Garrulity is the pouring forth of many words without any forethought. The garrulous man will sit down beside you though he never saw you in his life before, and laud his wife up to the skies.
Source: http://www.awakenings.com/theoph/theoph17.html
A garrulous man is never trusted to keep secrets.
The residents in the dormitory found his garrulousness annoying and many wished he would move out soon so that they could get some peace and quiet.
Epistemology:
Latin garrulitas; French garrulité
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Pronunciation:
/ grō tésk /
Entry Note:
adj.; n.; grotesquely, adv. ; grotesqueness, n.
Explanation:
adj
1. unnatural, distorted, or ugly in character or appearance. 2. fantastic or unnatural in the design or combination of forms, as in artwork combining incongruous human and animal features. n. 3. one that is grotesque. 4. an art style of sixteenth-century Italy that employed grotesque designs and forms.
Conjugations:
Examples of Usage:
Quasimodo could not help but think that his deformity must have looked grotesque to Esmerelda.
The grotesque mask hung on the wall was that of an evil monster named Rangda.
For some people grotesque art can best be described as scary, weird or even ugly, while others prefer bizarre, fantastic, distorted and absurd.
Epistemology:
Middle French & Old Italian; Middle French, from Old Italian (pittura) grottesca, literally, cave painting, feminine of grottesco of a cave, from grottaOnline Etymology Dictionary1561, originally a noun, from M.Fr. crotesque, from It. grottesco, lit. "of a cave," from grotta (see grotto). Used first of paintings found on the walls of basements of Roman ruins (It. pittura grottesca). Originally "fanciful, fantastic," sense became pejorative after mid-18c. Grotty, slang shortening, had a brief vogue in 1964 as part of Liverpool argot popularized by The Beatles in "A Hard Day's Night."
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