| Meeting Date |
Word of the Day |
Definition |
| 16 October 2013 |
vernacular |
of, relating to, or using the language of ordinary speech rather than formal writing
|
| Example Sentence: |
That building is representative of the vernacular architecture of the region. |
|
| 9 October 2013 |
roseate |
1: resembling a rose especially in color 2: overly optimistic : viewed favorably >
|
| Example Sentence: |
One analyst who envisions a qualifiedly roseate future for the nation's automotive industry. |
|
| 2 October 2013 |
equanimity |
1: evenness of mind especially under stress 2 : right disposition : balance |
| Example Sentence: |
Those who are doomed to become artists are seldom blessed with equanimity. |
|
| 25 September 2013 |
salubrious |
favorable to or promoting health or well-being
|
| Example Sentence: |
Fresh air and exercise are always salubrious. |
|
| 18 September 2013 |
lollygag |
to spend time doing things that are not useful or serious : to fool around and waste time
|
| Example Sentence: |
There are very few folks in our club that lollygag! |
|
| 11 September 2013 |
ambivalent |
a: continual fluctuation (as between one thing and its opposite), b: uncertainty as to which approach to follow
|
| Example Sentence: |
Although her husband was a football fanatic, she was quite ambivalent about the sport. |
|
| 04 September 2013 |
untrammeled |
not confined or limited; not respected, not hampered
|
| Example Sentence: |
The gift of a fresh eye and an untrammeled curiosity were her greatest assets. |
|
| 28 August 2013 |
erudite |
Having or showing knowledge that is gained by studying
|
| Example Sentence: |
He wasn't bashful about showing himself to be feverishly erudite. |
|
| 21 August 2013 |
lagniappe |
a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase
|
| Example Sentence: |
The hotel threw in some free shampoo as a lagniappe. |
|
| 14 August 2013 |
laconic |
using or involving the use of a minimum of words : concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious
|
| Example Sentence: |
He had a reputation for being laconic. |
|
| 31 July 2013 |
aplomb |
complete and confident composure or self-assurance : poise
|
| Example Sentence: |
He showed great aplomb in dealing with the reporters. |
|
| 24 July 2013 |
taciturn |
habitually silent, reserved, or uncommunicative; not inclined to conversation
|
| Example Sentence: |
Nobody has ever accused our club president of being taciturn in front of an audience. |
|
| 17 July 2013 |
scaramouche |
a stock character in the Italian commedia dell'arte that burlesques the Spanish don and is characterized by boastfulness and cowardliness, a cowardly buffoon
|
| Example Sentence: |
What decent girl's going to listen to such a ragged scaramouche as you are? |
|
| 10 July 2013 |
lackadaisical |
lacking life, spirit, or zest : languid
|
| Example Sentence: |
His teachers did not approve of his lackadaisical approach to homework. |
|
| 03 July 2013 |
lucidity |
1: clearness of thought or style 2 : a presumed capacity to perceive the truth directly and instantaneously
|
| Example Sentence: |
the lucidity of the recipe should ensure a minimum of confusion. |
|
| 26 June 2013 |
churlish |
1 of, resembling, or characteristic of a churl : vulgar 2 marked by a lack of civility or graciousness : surly 3 difficult to work with or deal with
|
| Example Sentence: |
It would be churlish for a loser not to congratulate a winner who won fair-and-square. |
|
| 19 June 2013 |
vacillate |
repeatedly alternating between different courses of action, or thought, or feeling; being indecisive
|
| Example Sentence: |
After the jury vacillated for two weeks, the judge declared a mis-trial due to hung jury. |
|
| 12 June 2013 |
assiduous |
marked by careful unremitting attention or persistent application
|
| Example Sentence: |
The detectives cracked the 10 year cold-case with assiduous examination of the evidence and witness interviews. |
|
| 05 June 2013 |
comity |
a: friendly social atmosphere : social harmony <group activities promoting comity>
b: a loose widespread community based on common social institutions <the comity of civilization>
|
| Example Sentence: |
Many web-sites engage in a policy of comity such that if a person can login to one, they have automatic access to a group of others. |
|
| 29 May 2013 |
altruism |
is the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of others; may also refer to an ethical doctrine that claims that individuals are morally obliged to benefit others. Used in this sense, it's usually contrasted to egoism, which is defined as acting to the benefit of one's self
|
| Example Sentence: |
The movie "It's a Wonderful Life" portrays a classic case and the joy of altruism. |
|
| 22 May 2013 |
irascible |
marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger
|
| Example Sentence: |
The presidential bids of Howard Dean and Newt Gingrich fell short because they both came across as irascible during the party primaries. The electorate felt they lacked the steady temperament needed to guide the country and that they would risk alienating factions of congress. |
|
| 15 May 2013 |
requite |
1.Make appropriate return for (a favor or service); reward. 2.Avenge or retaliate for (an injury or wrong). |
| Example Sentence: |
Unemployment checks are requited to those who have spent time in the labor force dutifully paying their taxes, but are going through hard times by no fault of their own such as a work-force reduction lay-off. |
|
| 08 May 2013 |
excogitate |
Think out carefully, plan, or devise. |
| Example Sentence: |
Despite an excogitated heist the thieves still left inculpatory evidence behind. |
|
| 01 May 2013 |
svelt |
Slender and elegant.
slim - willowy - jimp |
| Example Sentence: |
My classmate lost 100 pounds in anticipation of their High School reunion making her one of the more svelt women there. |
|
| 24 Apr 2013 |
vacuous |
Empty, without thought, substance, or intelligence. |
| Example Sentence: |
Nick glanced up at him for a fraction of a second, and then turned back to his magazine. Jason doubted, by his vacuous stare, that he was really reading. |
|
| 17 Apr 2013 |
illustrious |
Well known, respected, and admired for past achievements: "an illustrious career". |
| Example Sentence: |
Margaret Thatcher's illustrious service in the British government warranted a biographical movie and a funeral with high honors. |
|
| 10 Apr 2013 |
bellicose |
Warlike or hostile in manner or temperament. inclined or eager to fight; aggressively hostile; belligerent; pugnacious. |
| Example Sentence: |
United States has strategically positioned military assets in response to the bellicose dialog from North Korea. |
|
| 27 Mar 2013 |
eloquence |
1 : discourse marked by force and persuasiveness; also: the art or power of using such discourse 2 : the quality of forceful or persuasive expressiveness |
| Example Sentence: |
Arguments of eloquence were presented before the Supreme Court on each side of the same-sex marriage debate. |
|
| 20 Mar 2013 |
sanguine |
in medieval medicine it described someone whose ruddy complexion was a sign of an optimistic outlook. That was back when people thought that "bodily humors" like blood were responsible for your attitudes. Now that we no longer believe in humors, sanguine has settled down as a fancy way to say someone is cheerfully confident. Experts are frequently described as feeling sanguine about a political or economic situation — or not sanguine, if they think we're going to hell in a handbasket. |
| Example Sentence: |
Jay's sanguine disposition makes him the life of the party. |
|
| 13 Mar 2013 |
capricious |
Given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior.
whimsical - wayward - fickle - freakish - crotchety |
| Example Sentence: |
Steering a sailboat is tricky because the wind can be rather capricious. |
|
| 06 Mar 2013 |
zeitgeist |
the intellectual fashion or dominant school of thought that typifies and influences the culture of a particular period in time. |
| Example Sentence: |
Some people are in favor of much stronger gun-control because they feel the zeitgeist surrounding the writing of the 2nd amendment no longer applies. |
|
| 27 Feb 2013 |
prevaricate |
deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information [syn: beat around the bush, lie ]
|
| Example Sentence: |
Jimmy Carter expressed pride that his presidential administration did not prevaricate with the American people. |
|
| 13 Feb 2013 |
expiate |
To make amends or reparation for; atone: expiate one's sins by acts of penance.
|
| Example Sentence: |
His three years earning a seminary degree did nothing to expiate the sins of his youth. |
|
| 23 Jan 2013 |
garrulous |
given to constant and frivolous chatter; loquacious; talkative , wordy or diffuse; prolix |
| Example Sentence: |
She was unable to sleep on the flight because of the garrulous passenger sitting beside her. |
|
| 16 Jan 2013 |
draconian |
is an adjective meaning great severity, that derives from Draco, an Athenian law scribe under whom small offences had heavy punishments |
| Example Sentence: |
This seems somewhat Draconian and forces smokers to become social outcasts in a way. |
|
| 09 Jan 2013 |
misbegotten |
1.Badly conceived, designed, or planned: "a misbegotten journey". 2.Contemptible (used as a term of abuse). |
| Example Sentence: |
Rather, as there was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature that now faced me--something seizing, surprising and revolting-- this fresh disparity seemed but to fit in with and to reinforce it; so that to my interest in the man's nature and character, there was added a curiosity as to his origin, his life, his fortune and status in the world. |
|
| 02 Jan 2013 |
incorrigible |
not able to be corrected or reformed. |
| Example Sentence: |
The prisoner proved incorrigible during the first half of his prison term and was denied parole. |
|
| 19 Dec 2012 |
infallible |
incapable of error |
| Example Sentence: |
I had hoped the pilot of the airliner in which I was flying was infallible. |
|
| 12 Dec 2012 |
lugubrious |
Looking or sounding sad and dismal. |
| Example Sentence: |
Despite the cheery nature of these identical twins, the oppressive gloom of Arbus' photographs adds something lugubrious to her subjects. |
|
| 05 Dec 2012 |
insipid |
Weak, without taste, not interesting. |
| Example Sentence: |
He has quite a good voice, it's just a shame they gave him a rather insipid song. |
|
| 28 Nov 2012 |
colloquial |
a word, phrase, or paralanguage that is employed in conversational or informal language but not in formal speech or formal writing. |
| Example Sentence: |
They wanted to steer between a register of language that was too colloquial and one that was too formal. |
|
| 14 Nov 2012 |
psychosomatic |
: of, relating to, concerned with, or involving both mind and body |
| Example Sentence: |
Talking to a nurse about a small lesion, I said it felt a bit painful but that may be psychosomatic because physical symptoms were not apparent. |
|
| 07 Nov 2012 |
gorgonize |
to have a paralyzing or mesmerizing effect on |
| Example Sentence: |
University freshmen are often gorgonized in their first week of classes by an effect comparable to culture-shock. |
|
| 24 Oct 2012 |
dauntless |
fearless |
| Example Sentence: |
Dauntless heroes are inclined to rush to danger, not away from it which is why a US dive bomber was so named in World War II. |
|
| 17 Oct 2012 |
copasetic |
completely satisfactory; |
| Example Sentence: |
I was worried about the effectiveness of my French speaking during my trip to Paris, but reactions I got assured me it was copasetic. |
|
| 03 Oct 2012 |
ephemeral |
Lasting for a very short time, transitory, existing only briefly |
| Example Sentence: |
An ephemeral waterbody is a wetland, spring, stream, river, pond or lake that only exists for a short period following precipitation or snowmelt. They are not the same as intermittent or seasonal waterbodies, which exist for longer periods, but not all year round. |
|
| 26 Sep 2012 |
palter |
To talk or act insincerely or misleadingly; equivocate. See Synonyms at lie2. , To be capricious |
| Example Sentence: |
I would warn you, sir, that if you palter with the truth in such little matters you may darken your more important statements with suspicion. |
|
| 19 Sep 2012 |
insidious |
1.Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects: "the insidious effects of stress".
2.Treacherous; crafty: "an insidious alliance". |
| Example Sentence: |
Few people see any real difference between the various forms of PC pest, but trojans are an especially insidious bunch. |
|
| 12 Sep 2012 |
corroborate |
- to support with evidence or authority : make more certain |
| Example Sentence: |
Studies that are wrong will be superseded by better studies with different results. Studies that are right will be corroborated by other good studies. |
|
