Word of the Day

Words of May 2008





word of May 31st, 2008


advocate
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: advocates, advocated, advocating


يُؤَيِّد، يُنَاصِر meaning: to speak in favor of : argue for


example


He advocates the return of capital punishment


He advocated increasing the charges


Local leaders advocate expanding the park to preserve the surrounding woodlands from development


Extremists were openly advocating violence


Those who advocate doctor-assisted suicide say the terminally ill should not have to suffer


other word forms
advocate: noun
advocacy: noun



word of May 30th, 2008


intervene
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: intervenes, intervened, intervening


يَتَدَخَّل meaning: to come between in order to stop, settle, or change


example


He intervened in the dispute


Ms. Rudolph decided not to intervene When Ray and Cody began arguing over who would use the Bunsen burner first, and in the end, they sorted it out and completed the experiment before class ended
The police don't usually like to intervene in disputes between husbands and wives


The army will have to intervene to prevent further fighting


other word forms
intervention: noun



word of May 29th, 2008


warble
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: warbles, warbled, warbling


يُغَرِّد، يَصْدَح meaning: to sing, especially in a high voice


example


The bird was warbling (his song) on a high branch


Was that you I heard warbling in the bathroom this morning


Mills warbled a few notes


other word forms
warble: noun



word of May 28th, 2008


ken
***********************


part of speech: noun


رتيب، مُمِل meaning: knowledge or understanding


example


Complex issues are well beyond our ken


Financial matters are beyond my ken, I'm afraid



word of May 27th, 2008


tweeze
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: tweezes, tweezed, tweezing


ينتف meaning: to pluck, remove, or handle with tweezers


example


Claudio carefully tweezed the remaining piece of the splinter from his finger



word of May 26th, 2008


humdrum
***********************


part of speech: adjective


رتيب، مُمِل meaning: boring; dull


example


With camp ahead of me, I knew the summer would be anything but humdrum
We lead such a humdrum life/existence


Most of the work is fairly humdrum


other word forms
humdrumness: noun



word of May 25th, 2008


preponderance
***********************


part of speech: noun


الغالبية meaning: the largest part or greatest amount


example


The preponderance of evidence suggests that he's guilty


The preponderance of votes is against the proposal


During the trial, the prosecution introduced a preponderance of evidence against the defendant


other word forms
preponderate: verb
preponderant: adjective
preponderantly: adverb



word of May 24th, 2008


superannuated
***********************


part of speech: adjective


متقاعد meaning: old, and almost no longer suitable for work or use


example


The company has a pension plan that provides financial assistance to some of its superannuated employees



word of May 23rd, 2008


pathos
***********************


part of speech: noun


القدرة على تحريك مشاعر الالم و الحزن meaning: the power of a situation, piece of writing, work of art or person to cause feelings of sadness, especially because of sympathy


example


The doc*umentary film captured the pathos of the refugee's situation, and there was not a dry eye in the theater when the movie ended


There's a pathos in his performance which he never lets slide into sentimentality



word of May 22nd, 2008


scathing
***********************


part of speech: adjective


انتقادي بشدة meaning: severely and unkindly critical


example


He was very scathing about the report, saying it was inaccurate


This scathing remark caused the Prince to hide his face for shame, and Steve to erect his head in the proud consciousness that this shot was not meant for him


other word forms
scathe: verb
scathingly: adverb



word of May 21st, 2008


anodyne
***********************


part of speech: adjective


مخفف او مزيل للألم meaning: Capable of soothing or eliminating pain


example


This is daytime television at its most anodyne


Somehow this avoids being just another silly pop song with anodyne lyrics about love and happiness


The music was an anodyne to his grief


She was in intense pain following the surgery and wondered whether the anodyne properties of her medication would be sufficient



word of May 20th, 2008


char
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: chars, charred, charring


يَحْرِقُ، يُفَحِّمُ meaning: to burn or turn black by fire or heat



example


The wood was charred by the intense heat


The fire charred the ceiling above the mantelpiece, and my mother had to hire a painter to cover up the discoloration


The flame charred the steak


The fire charred the paper


other word forms
charred: adjective
charring: noun



word of May 19th, 2008


admixture
***********************


part of speech: adjective


عنصر اضافي meaning: An additional ingredient that is added to something else


example


Platinum combines with phosphorus and arsenic and is seldom found without an admixture of related metals


The flowers flourished in the new growing medium, a nutrient-rich soil comprised of equal parts sand and loam with an admixture of peat moss and cow manure


This is a pure product; there are no admixtures



word of May 18th, 2008


complaisant
***********************


part of speech: adjective


قنوع meaning: Exhibiting a desire or willingness to please


example


In her behaviour she was respectful and complaisant, even to servility: she attempted to flatter and fawn upon me at first, but I soon checked that


John is the most complaisant child I've ever met


other word forms
complaisantly: adverb
complaisance: noun



word of May 17th, 2008


irreverent
***********************


part of speech: adjective


عَديم الإحْتِرام meaning: showing no respect eg for holy things, or people and things generally considered important


example


Sally's irreverent gaiety and ease of manner drew people to her and made her immediately likeable


other word forms
irreverently: adverb
irreverence: noun



word of May 16th, 2008


discard
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: discards, discarded, discarding


يَرْمي، يَطْرَح جانِبا meaning: to get rid of as useless


example


They discarded the empty bottles


Josh was forced to discard his favorite T-shirt when too many holes and stains made it unwearable


The act of discarding food containers and bottles littered the streets


other word forms
discardable: adjective
discarder: noun



word of May 15th, 2008


deter
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: deters, deterred, deterring


يَصُدُّ، يُثْني، يَرْدَعُ meaning: to discourage or restrain from acting or proceeding


example


She was not deterred by his threats


These measures are designed to deter an enemy attack


High prices are deterring many young people from buying houses


The warning signs are meant to deter those who want to explore the caves


The large dog deterred trespassers


other word forms
determent: noun
deterrability: noun
deterrable: adjective
deterrent: adjective



word of May 14th, 2008


beckon
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: beckons, beckoned, beckoning


يومئ، يُشيرُ إلى meaning: to call or signal to a person usually by a wave or nod


example


The customs official beckoned the woman to his counter


During the assembly, Barry kept beckoning to us but we couldn't make our way through the crowd


"Hey you!", she called, beckoning me over with her finger


He beckoned to me, as if he wanted to speak to me


other word forms
beckoner: noun
beckoningly: adverb



word of May 13th, 2008


bastion
***********************


part of speech: noun
plural form: bastions


مَعْقِل ;دِفاع meaning: a person, place or thing which acts as a defence


example


He's one of the last bastions of the old leisurely way of life


Mom wanted to spend the day working in her flower garden, which says is a bastion of peace and quiet for her


British public schools are regarded as one of the last bastions of upper-class privilege



word of May 12th, 2008


gesticulate
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: gesticulates, gesticulated, gesticulating


يُلَوِّحُ بيدَيْه وهو يَتَكَلَّم meaning: to wave one's hands and arms about when speaking


example


He was gesticulating wildly during his speech


There was a man outside the window gesticulating wildly


He gesticulates wildly when he is angry


other word forms
gesticulation: noun



word of May 11th, 2008


arcane
***********************


part of speech: adjective


غامض meaning: mysterious and known only by a few people


example


She knew a lot about Sanskrit grammar and other arcane matters


He was the only person who understood all the arcane details of the agreement


This argument may seem arcane to those not closely involved in the world of finance


It was a theory filled with arcane details


other word forms
justified: adjective
justifiable: adjective
justifiably: adverb
justification: noun



word of May 10th, 2008


justify
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: justifies, justified, justifying


يُبَرِّر، يُكَوِّن عُذْرا meaning: to give or to be a good reason for


example


Your state of anxiety does not justify your being so rude to me


I can't really justify taking another day off work


He tried to justify his behavior by saying that he was being pressured unfairly by his boss


The fact that we are at war does not justify treating innocent people as criminals


other word forms
justified: adjective
justifiable: adjective
justifiably: adverb
justification: noun



word of May 9th, 2008


whimsical
***********************


part of speech: adjective


غريب الاطوار meaning: unusual and strange in a way that might be amusing or annoying


example


Despite his kindly, sometimes whimsical air, he was a shrewd observer of people


She has a whimsical sense of humor


other word forms
whimsically: adverb
whimsicality: noun



word of May 8th, 2008


whopper
***********************


part of speech: noun
plural form: whoppers


شيء كبير جدا مما قد يلفت الانتباه meaning: something that is unusually large or that attracts attention


example


I mean, my nose is quite big but my Dad's got a whopper


It was a whopper of a diamond ring



word of May 7th, 2008


tot
***********************


part of speech: noun
plural form: tots


طِفْل صَغير meaning: a young child


example


These are good strong toys for tiny tots


My sister gave birth to a tiny cute tot



word of May 6th, 2008


vacillate
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: vacillates, vacillated, vacillating


يَتردد في اتخاذ القرارات meaning: to repeatedly change your opinions or desires


example


His tendency to vacillate makes him a poor leader


He vacillates between seeking attention from the public and avoiding the media altogether


Her mood vacillated between hope and despair


other word forms
vacillator: noun
vacillation: noun



word of May 5th, 2008


scavenge
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: scavenges, scavenged, scavenging


يَبْحَث بَين الزِّبالَه meaning: to look for or obtain food or other objects in other people's rubbish


example


Last night my child told me he saw an old man who scavenged the garbage cans for food scraps


The flood has left villagers and animals desperately scavenging for food


We managed to scavenge a lot of furniture from the local rubbish dump


other word forms
scavenger: noun



word of May 4th, 2008


kindred
***********************


part of speech: adjective


من نفس الطباع و الشخصية او مُشابِه meaning: of a similar nature or character


example


We did lots of sports like climbing and kindred sports


The rock-climbing club tends to attract kindred spirits -- outdoorsy, adventurous types who derive satisfaction from conquering new challenges


Many people believe that marriage should combine two kindred souls


other word forms
kindredship: noun
kindredness: noun



word of May 3rd, 2008


livid
***********************


part of speech: adjective


غاضب جدا meaning: very angry


example


When my mother caught me sneaking in after midnight, she was livid


He was livid when he found out that his son failed in school


Willful stupidity makes me absolutely livid


other word forms
lividly: adverb
lividness: noun
lividity: noun



word of May 2nd, 2008


flimsy
***********************


part of speech: adjective


غير مقنع meaning: not likely or convincing and difficult to believe


example


When I asked him why he was late, he gave me some flimsy excuse about having car trouble


Even though Judd told the truth about his sister's car running out of gas, the teacher thought it was just another of his flimsy excuses for being late to class


other word forms
flimsily: adverb
flimsiness: noun




word of May 1st, 2008


dissociate
***********************


part of speech: verb
other verb forms: dissociates, dissociated, dissociating


يَفْصِل meaning: a trick or act used to fool someone


example


I'm dissociating myself completely from their actions


The senator dissociated herself from the organization when she found out that its president had been involved in an embezzlement scheme


Marx never dissociated man from his social environment


other related words
dissociative: adjective
dissociation: noun