Tuesday, March 31, 2009

March '09 List of "Today's Word"

These words were run in my daily Today's Word on Twitter in March.

PALLIATE (PAL-ee-ate)--To make a crime seem less serious; to mitigate or alleviate.

ATRABILIOUS (a-truh-BIL-ee-us)--Gloomy; ill-tempered.

SCRUTATOR (SCREW-tay-der)--one who investigates; an examiner or observer.

TATTERDEMALION (tat-er-di-MAIL-yuhn)--(Adj.) Ragged, tattered. (Noun) Person in ragged clothes.

SEQUACIOUS (si-KWAY-shus)--(adj.) Unthinkingly following others.

VERBIGERATION (verb-ij-uh-RAY-shun)--(noun) Obsessive repetition of meaningless words or phrases.

PROPINQUITY (pro-PING-kwi-tee) (noun)--Nearness of blood (kinship); Nearness of place (proximity).

ABSTEMIOUS (ab-STE-me-us) adj.--Eating/drinking in moderation; restricted to bare necessities/sparing.

EOLEAN (e-oh-LEE-un) adj.--Borne, deposited, produced, or eroded by the wind.

LEONINE (LEE-uh-nine) adj.--Pertaining to a lion.

SCROFULOUS (SCROF-yu-lus) adj.--Having a diseased appearance; morally degenerate/corrupt.

VICISSITUDE (vis-SIS-uh-tood) noun--State of being changeable (mutability); a change in condition/fortune.

PHLEGMATIC (fleg-MAD-ic) adj.--Having a sluggish temperament; calm/unemotional. (

PALADIN (PAA-luh-din) noun--A trusted military leader; a champion of a cause.

MOLDER (MOL-der) verb--To crumble away; to deteriorate for lack of exercise.

LIMPET (LIMP-ut)--One who clings tenaciously; a mollusk clinging fast to rock; a bomb that clings to a ship hull.

SENECTITUDE (se-NECK-ti-tood) noun--Old age.

MISCIBLE (MISS-uh-ble) adj.--Capable of being mixed together.

TERPSICHOREAN (turp-sik-uh-RE-un) adj.--Pertaining to dancing. From Terpsichore, Greek muse of dancing/singing.

SUCCEDANEUM (suck-suh-DAY-ne-um) noun--A substitute.

REDIVIVUS (red-uh-VIV-us) adj.--Brought back to life; revived.

REGNANT (REG-nunt) adj.--Reigning; predominant; of common or widespread occurrence.

NOSTOMANIA (nos-tuh-MAY-nee-uh) noun--Overwhelming desire to return home or to familiar places.

EFFLORESCENCE (ef-luh-RES-unse) noun--Gradual process of unfolding or developing; highest point or culmination.

ANODYNE (AN-uh-dine) adj.--intended to assuage pain or sooth mind/feelings. Inducing oblivion/unconcern.

GAMIN (GAM-in) noun--A boy street urchin.

HARRIDAN (HAIR-uh-dun) noun--A vicious, scolding old woman.

RAPACIOUS (ruh-PAY-shus) adj.--Taking by force; excessively covetous; ravenous; existing on prey.

SKIRL (SKURL) verb--to emit a shrill tone; to play the bagpipe.

SYBARITE (SIB-uh-rite) noun--a person devoted to luxury and pleasure.

MORIBUND (MORE-uh-bund) adj.--approaching death; in a state of suspended activity or arrested growth.

Anybody wanna tackle using at least five of these babies in a sentence?

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Read April '09

8 comments:

Rosslyn Elliott said...

And to the hut he came, our paladin

Pursuing hard the hateful harridan.

Alack! he was too late, for on the hearth

Scrofulous cowered a child, all tatterdemalion

Forgotten by the world. Her aging dam

Had breathed her last, and moldered in the grave.

"From Le Morte de la Harridan."

;-)

~ Brandilyn Collins said...

Very fine, Rosslyn. Waytago!

Rosslyn Elliott said...

But darn it! In my nerdy zeal, I forgot to keep it to one sentence. Just substitute semi-colons for the first two periods. :-)

I hear the CBA market for mock medieval epics is on fire.

Nicole said...

There are some great words there among the absurd ones. ;)

l said...

I love these lists--a word lovers' treasure box! Thanks for posting, these, Brandilyn!

Anonymous said...

What fun!

Pushing past the sybarite harridan, the paladin, like a sequacious gamin, followed the scrofulous, phlegmatic scrutator in watching a tatterdemalion, eolean tater just as the moribund tuber moldered away of senectitude and subsequently vowed to be abstemious that day as he felt nostomania and imagined anodyne thoughts as he quickly went on his way.

Translation:

Pushing past the [wealthy, luxurious] [scolding old woman], the palading, like a[n] [unthinking] [boy street urchin], followed the [diseased], [sluggish] [observer] in watching a [ragged], [eroded] tater just as the [deathly] tuber [deteriorated] away of [old age] and subsequently vowed to [eat sparingly] that day as he felt [an overwhelming desire to return home] and imagined [soothing] thoughts as he quickly went on his way.

Hannah said...

Hmmm... The tatterdemalion gamin seemed to have a sequacious nature, but in reality, he was a leonine, a fighter, never giving in to the atrabilious thoughts that battered his mind as he roamed the streets, searching for a home while dodging the skirl harridans who assaulted him with their peppery words.

I'm not even sure that that can count as a properly constructed sentence!

~ Brandilyn Collins said...

Whoa, dsmith77--your sentence made my head spin. Hannah--great one also.