Swanky :
Swanky things are fancy and stylish, like a swanky hotel lobby with sparkling chandeliers, plush furniture, and elegant guests.
You can also call swanky things ritzy or classy.
They're expensive and luxurious, like a swanky car, a swanky apartment building with a doorman, or a swanky neighborhood where only movie stars can afford to live.
The adjective swanky comes from its less-common synonym swank, which stems from the now-obsolete verb swank, "to behave ostentatiously."
Swanky things are fancy and stylish, like a swanky hotel lobby with sparkling chandeliers, plush furniture, and elegant guests.
You can also call swanky things ritzy or classy.
They're expensive and luxurious, like a swanky car, a swanky apartment building with a doorman, or a swanky neighborhood where only movie stars can afford to live.
The adjective swanky comes from its less-common synonym swank, which stems from the now-obsolete verb swank, "to behave ostentatiously."
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Forestall
It takes a bit of planning to forestall something, meaning stop it from happening.
To forestall the effects of aging, exercise and take care of your health all your life.
You can break the word forestall into parts to figure out its meaning. The prefix fore is one you've seen in words like forewarn, which means "to warn in advance." And you probably know that stall means "delay." So to forestall is to stall in advance, or put another way, to try to prevent or put off something you don't want to happen
It takes a bit of planning to forestall something, meaning stop it from happening.
To forestall the effects of aging, exercise and take care of your health all your life.
You can break the word forestall into parts to figure out its meaning. The prefix fore is one you've seen in words like forewarn, which means "to warn in advance." And you probably know that stall means "delay." So to forestall is to stall in advance, or put another way, to try to prevent or put off something you don't want to happen
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Snob
If your best friend tells you that you've become a snob, he means that you've become condescending and you like to think you're better than everyone else. Of course maybe he's a snob for looking down on your behavior — how annoying!
Snob has a funny history. It used be slang for "shoemaker," then "common person," and then came to mean "someone who doesn't have a degree from a fancy university," and then it started to mean "people who liked to pretend they have degrees and are generally fancy and look down on common people like shoemakers."
Nowadays, snob isn't only for people with false pretentions. Rich people who despise less tasteful folks are snobs, too.
If your best friend tells you that you've become a snob, he means that you've become condescending and you like to think you're better than everyone else. Of course maybe he's a snob for looking down on your behavior — how annoying!
Snob has a funny history. It used be slang for "shoemaker," then "common person," and then came to mean "someone who doesn't have a degree from a fancy university," and then it started to mean "people who liked to pretend they have degrees and are generally fancy and look down on common people like shoemakers."
Nowadays, snob isn't only for people with false pretentions. Rich people who despise less tasteful folks are snobs, too.
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Obliterate
When you see obliterate, think of evil alien invaders that zap a planet with a destructive ray.
In one blast, the planet and all of the people on it are vaporized. The planet is truly obliterated, or completely wiped out.
A long time ago, obliterate had to do with blotting out words on a page. This is why you see the word literate in there. Today it means to erase or destroy completely so that there is nothing left. @WordCzar
While you can still obliterate text, you can also obliterate hope, an opponent, or all traces of your presence.
Whatever you obliterate is completely gone.
When you see obliterate, think of evil alien invaders that zap a planet with a destructive ray.
In one blast, the planet and all of the people on it are vaporized. The planet is truly obliterated, or completely wiped out.
A long time ago, obliterate had to do with blotting out words on a page. This is why you see the word literate in there. Today it means to erase or destroy completely so that there is nothing left. @WordCzar
While you can still obliterate text, you can also obliterate hope, an opponent, or all traces of your presence.
Whatever you obliterate is completely gone.
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Cognitive :
If it's related to thinking, it's considered cognitive.
Anxious parents might defend using flashcards with toddlers as "nurturing their cognitive development." @WordCzar
The adjective, cognitive, comes from the Latin cognoscere "to get to know" and refers to the ability of the brain to think and reason as opposed to feel.
A child's cognitive development is the growth in his or her ability to think and solve problems.
Many English words that involve knowing and knowledge have cogn- in them such as cognizant "aware of" and recognize "to know someone in the present because you knew them from the past."
If it's related to thinking, it's considered cognitive.
Anxious parents might defend using flashcards with toddlers as "nurturing their cognitive development." @WordCzar
The adjective, cognitive, comes from the Latin cognoscere "to get to know" and refers to the ability of the brain to think and reason as opposed to feel.
A child's cognitive development is the growth in his or her ability to think and solve problems.
Many English words that involve knowing and knowledge have cogn- in them such as cognizant "aware of" and recognize "to know someone in the present because you knew them from the past."
lotus eater
noun
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
a member of a people represented by Homer as living in a state of dreamy forgetfulness and idleness as a result of eating the fruit of the lotus plant.
"on arrival at the land of the lotus eaters, Odysseus sends out a reconnaissance party"
a person who spends their time indulging in pleasure and luxury rather than dealing with practical concerns.
"life as a lotus eater in sunny climes appears to be well and truly over"
someone indifferent to the busy world
Synonyms: stargazer
noun
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
a member of a people represented by Homer as living in a state of dreamy forgetfulness and idleness as a result of eating the fruit of the lotus plant.
"on arrival at the land of the lotus eaters, Odysseus sends out a reconnaissance party"
a person who spends their time indulging in pleasure and luxury rather than dealing with practical concerns.
"life as a lotus eater in sunny climes appears to be well and truly over"
someone indifferent to the busy world
Synonyms: stargazer
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ken
The noun ken means "range of vision or comprehension." If quantum mechanics is beyond your ken, you don't understand it, or it is beyond your scope of knowledge.
Ken is rarely used today outside of the phrase, "beyond one's ken."
It goes all the way back, however, to Proto Indo-European, the reconstructed ancestor of most European, Near Eastern, and South Asian languages. Coming from the root *gno- "to know," ken has many relatives in modern English such as incognito, cunning, and know itself.
The noun ken means "range of vision or comprehension." If quantum mechanics is beyond your ken, you don't understand it, or it is beyond your scope of knowledge.
Ken is rarely used today outside of the phrase, "beyond one's ken."
It goes all the way back, however, to Proto Indo-European, the reconstructed ancestor of most European, Near Eastern, and South Asian languages. Coming from the root *gno- "to know," ken has many relatives in modern English such as incognito, cunning, and know itself.
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Sacrilege
If you show up to an animal rights rally with a bucket full of fried chicken for lunch, you may be accused of committing sacrilege.
You are violating a belief held sacred, at least by some individuals.
Sacrilege has its roots in the Latin sacr-, meaning "holy." Sacrilege was originally reserved for talking about blasphemous acts that disrespect, violate, or misuse holy traditions or objects.
However, today the term sacrilege carries a broader, and lighter, meaning than its origins suggest. For example, it's usually considered sacrilege to root for the out-of-town team that's playing against your home team. Ancient users of this word might think our looser definition is sacrilege.
If you show up to an animal rights rally with a bucket full of fried chicken for lunch, you may be accused of committing sacrilege.
You are violating a belief held sacred, at least by some individuals.
Sacrilege has its roots in the Latin sacr-, meaning "holy." Sacrilege was originally reserved for talking about blasphemous acts that disrespect, violate, or misuse holy traditions or objects.
However, today the term sacrilege carries a broader, and lighter, meaning than its origins suggest. For example, it's usually considered sacrilege to root for the out-of-town team that's playing against your home team. Ancient users of this word might think our looser definition is sacrilege.
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Dead rubber
is a term used in sporting parlance to describe a match in a series where the series result has already been decided by earlier matches.
The dead rubber match therefore has no effect on the winner and loser of the series, other than the total number of matches won and lost.
is a term used in sporting parlance to describe a match in a series where the series result has already been decided by earlier matches.
The dead rubber match therefore has no effect on the winner and loser of the series, other than the total number of matches won and lost.
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Philomath :
Lover of learning.
Type of: bookman, scholar, scholarly person, student
a learned person (especially in the humanities); someone who by long study has gained mastery in one or more disciplines
Lover of learning.
Type of: bookman, scholar, scholarly person, student
a learned person (especially in the humanities); someone who by long study has gained mastery in one or more disciplines
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THAW
When things thaw, they're coming out of deep freeze and warming up. @WordCzar
You can thaw a chicken, and a chilly friendship can thaw too.
Anything that thaws is warming up after a frigid or chilly period. The weather thaws when spring hits, especially after a bad winter.
When you take food out of the freezer, it thaws. When you have an unpleasant relationship with someone, that can thaw too. A warm, friendly gesture from one person to another can be a sign that their cold relationship is thawing.
When you think of thawing, think "Warming up."
When things thaw, they're coming out of deep freeze and warming up. @WordCzar
You can thaw a chicken, and a chilly friendship can thaw too.
Anything that thaws is warming up after a frigid or chilly period. The weather thaws when spring hits, especially after a bad winter.
When you take food out of the freezer, it thaws. When you have an unpleasant relationship with someone, that can thaw too. A warm, friendly gesture from one person to another can be a sign that their cold relationship is thawing.
When you think of thawing, think "Warming up."
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Befuddled:
When you're befuddled, you're bewildered, confused, lost, or mixed-up. In other words, you don't know what's going on.
A befuddled person is so confused that they just can't understand or figure something out. Or they've had way too much to drink. @WordCzar
A difficult math problem could leave you befuddled. If your teacher showed up in a gorilla suit one day, you'd probably be pretty befuddled.
Things that are vague and perplexing can also be described as befuddled, like a speech that makes no sense.
When you're befuddled, you're bewildered, confused, lost, or mixed-up. In other words, you don't know what's going on.
A befuddled person is so confused that they just can't understand or figure something out. Or they've had way too much to drink. @WordCzar
A difficult math problem could leave you befuddled. If your teacher showed up in a gorilla suit one day, you'd probably be pretty befuddled.
Things that are vague and perplexing can also be described as befuddled, like a speech that makes no sense.
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Sentinel
A sentinel is a guard, a lookout, a person keeping watch. It's often a soldier, but not always.
If you're watching a pot, waiting for it to boil, you're standing sentinel over it — and incidentally, it won't boil until you leave.
Etymologists think sentinel stems from the Old Italian words sentina, meaning "vigilance," and sentire, "to hear or perceive." It's a close cousin of sentry, which means the same thing. You can use sentinel as a noun or a verb.
A kid in a snowball war might be the sentinel, patrolling the entrance to the fort. Wolves stand sentinel over their kill, stepping aside only for the alpha male, who always eats first.
A sentinel is a guard, a lookout, a person keeping watch. It's often a soldier, but not always.
If you're watching a pot, waiting for it to boil, you're standing sentinel over it — and incidentally, it won't boil until you leave.
Etymologists think sentinel stems from the Old Italian words sentina, meaning "vigilance," and sentire, "to hear or perceive." It's a close cousin of sentry, which means the same thing. You can use sentinel as a noun or a verb.
A kid in a snowball war might be the sentinel, patrolling the entrance to the fort. Wolves stand sentinel over their kill, stepping aside only for the alpha male, who always eats first.
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Pluviophile:
is a noun which means a lover of rain or someone who finds joy or peace of mind during rains.
It finds its origin in the latin word pluvial meaning of or relating to rain or a prolonged period of wet.
is a noun which means a lover of rain or someone who finds joy or peace of mind during rains.
It finds its origin in the latin word pluvial meaning of or relating to rain or a prolonged period of wet.
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Enervate
To enervate is to weaken, wear down, or even bum out.
A three-hour lecture on the history of socks might thrill someone, it would enervate most people. So would a too-long soak in a hot tub. With your parents.
Trace enervate back far enough and you'll discover that it comes from the Latin enervare which means basically “to cut the sinew” or “to cause to be cut from the muscle.” That would certainly weaken someone.
These days, there’s no need for violence.
To enervate someone is to sap their energy, like by reading your ex all the love letters your new sweetheart wrote you. When something enervates you, it does more than get on your nerves; it brings you down.
To enervate is to weaken, wear down, or even bum out.
A three-hour lecture on the history of socks might thrill someone, it would enervate most people. So would a too-long soak in a hot tub. With your parents.
Trace enervate back far enough and you'll discover that it comes from the Latin enervare which means basically “to cut the sinew” or “to cause to be cut from the muscle.” That would certainly weaken someone.
These days, there’s no need for violence.
To enervate someone is to sap their energy, like by reading your ex all the love letters your new sweetheart wrote you. When something enervates you, it does more than get on your nerves; it brings you down.
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Indelible :
If something is indelible, you better hope you never regret it, like the indelible tattoo of the name of your favorite band or the indelible first impression it might give people you meet years from now, especially if your taste in music changes.
@WordCzar
The adjective indelible describes something that can't be erased or removed, like marks made by an indelible marker, or an indelible moment you will never forget, like your first day of kindergarten or the first time you visit a new, exotic place.
It comes from the Latin word indelebilis, meaning "not able to be destroyed."
If something is indelible, you better hope you never regret it, like the indelible tattoo of the name of your favorite band or the indelible first impression it might give people you meet years from now, especially if your taste in music changes.
@WordCzar
The adjective indelible describes something that can't be erased or removed, like marks made by an indelible marker, or an indelible moment you will never forget, like your first day of kindergarten or the first time you visit a new, exotic place.
It comes from the Latin word indelebilis, meaning "not able to be destroyed."
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