Word of the Day

Here is a delightful word that I found in our drafts. There are thousands in there.

Today's Word:

Schism

1. Division within a group

2. Separation of a group from something else (e.g. a certian church or belief)
Sentence example: The schism in the class was creating competition, as both teams wanted the prize.

By Jess

Word of the Day

Here is one my mother mentioned during one of our academically charged conversations.

Today's Word:

Assimilate


To take in and incorporate as one's own.

Origin: Latin 'assimilatus' meaning 'likened to'.

Sentence example: He was assimilated into the native culture of the village as he had been staying there for three months.

By Jess

Word of the Day

Hello ancient followers. It is one half of your leaders speaking. Having not posted for a ridiculous time on the blog of English truth, I felt that an apology was due. So... sorry. But here's a brand new word of the day to cheer everyone up!

Today's Word:

Azure

Blue transparency

Sentence example: The azure lake expanded before her as she rested on its banks, pondering what to do next.

And since that word isn't used everyday, here is another. Also not used particularly often.

Marl

1. Archaic word for earth
2. A sort of fertilizer made from clay and calcium... or something.

I'm not doing a sentence example. It would be ridiculous.

Thank Milton's Paradise Lost for these wonderfully weird words. Toodle pip until tomorrow!

By Jess

Word of the Day

I learnt this word while doing a vocabulary test on dictionary.com. Because I am extremely cool.

Today's Word:

Glib

Readily (but insincerely) fluent; unconstrained

Sentence example: His glib chatter drove his friends to insanity.

Origin: From the Dutch word glibberig.

By Jess

Word of the Day

Today's Word:

Flagrant

Shockingly noticeable; scandalous

Sentence example: His underwear was flagrant because he had forgotten to wear his belt on his jeans.

Origin: From the Latin flagrare, meaning to burn, since in archaic language the word meant literally burning or blazing.

By Jess

Word of the Day

I found this one in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall a while ago, just thought you would all enjoy it.

Today's Word:

Desultory

Inconsistent; reluctant; random (e.g. an irrelevant comment)

Sentence example: The conversation between them was becoming desultory, and therefore proving to be a bit awkward, since it was only the first date.

Origin: From the Latin desultorius, meaning a circus performer who jumped from one horse to another.

By Jess

Word of the Day

This terribly useful word is from none other than Jane Eyre itself. For further details see the previous post to this one.

Today's Word:

Vignette

Brief description

Sentence example: In the Bronte classic Agnes Grey, Agnes only gives a vignette of each of her pupils at the Murrays'. For further details come back in a couple of days when I have finished and reviewed it.

By Jess

Word of the Day

This is from my new reading project, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Very good book by the way.

Today's Word:

Propensity

A natural inclination to behave in a certain way.

Sentence example: It was Victoire's propensity to be so kind as to let Jess borrow her laptop to post on her blog.

By Jess

Word of the Day

Sorry for the infrequent blogging, both of us are taking a slight summer hiatus but I found a word I wish to share.

Erubescent:

Becoming red or reddish; blushing

Sentence Example:

Her erubescent complexion was thanks to too many hours in the sun.

By Talia

Word of the Day

This is a word I found whilst looking up the meaning of an entirely different, all together more boring word. So rather than bore you with the dull one I'll just share the fun one.

Hypocorism:

1. A pet name.

2. The practice of using a pet name.

3. The use of forms of speech imitative of baby talk, especially by an adult.

Sentence Example:

Josh found the hypocoristic mannerism his best friend adopted around his girlfriend nauseating.


By Talia

Word of the Day

Just a quick Word of the Day today, no background story to this word, I've just always liked it.

Dearth:

An inadequate supply; scarcity; lack

Sentence Example:

During a famine there is a dearth of food.

By Talia

Words of the Day

I picked this word up whilst trying to find synonyms for miserable in my thesaurus. I assume you all know what miserable means therefore I will just provide you with a definition of the synonym I happened across.

Abject:

1. Utterly hopeless, miserable, humiliating, or wretched.
2. Contemptible; despicable

Sentence Example:

The situation seemed completely abject to Lucas; there seemed to be no right answer and he seemed to be facing zugzwang.

This sentence example neatly leads me onto the second word for today, and no it's not a made up word!

Zugzwang:

A situation in which a player is limited to moves that have a damaging effect.

Pronouced: TSOOK-TSVAHNG

By Talia

Word of the Day

This is more of a specific sort of word, but I think it's a suitable one none the less. It's from The Great Gatsby.

Echolalia

The uncontrollable and immediate repetition of what someone else has said.

As this isn't a word you would use in daily conversation, I am including yet another word from The Great Gatsby.

Tumultuous

Chaotic or riotous

Sentence example: The end of Harry Potter was marked by the tumultuous Battle of Hogwarts.

By Jess

A Special Word of the Day

Well folks today is a special day, it is the day we publish our one hundredth post! I know, you're all just as excited as I am. Who would have thought we'd find one hundred things to blog about in under half a year? So I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone that the word of the day is...

Hundred:

1. A cardinal number, ten times ten.

2. A set of this many persons or things: a hundred of the men. .

3. Hundreds, a number between 100 and 999, as in referring to an amount of money.

4. Informal: a hundred-dollar bill. 

5. Formerly is was an administrative division of an English county.

6.Similar to no. 5, division in colonial Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia, and in present-day Delaware.

7. Also called hundred's place in mathematics.

I bet none of you knew how many definitions of the word hundred there are, and now for a very obvious sentence example:

This is the one hundredth blog post on The English Review.

Synonyms when hundred pertains to 100:

Centenary, Centennial, Centuplicate, Century, Hundredth.

Synonyms when hundred pertains to a great number:

Army, Cloud, Crowd, Drove, Flock, Host, Legion, Multitude, Myriad, Rout, Swarm, Throng.

By Talia

Word of the Day

I cannot remember where I read this word, but I do remember questioning it's meaning. Upon discovering the answer I am now sharing it with you lovely readers.

Bivouac:

Noun: 
1. A military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire.

2. The place used for the above mentioned military encampment.

Verb:

To rest or assemble in such an area; encamp.

Sentence Example:

The 1st Battalion was now bivouacked in a field in the middle of nowhere.


By Talia

Word of the Day

This is one I learnt whilst reading 'A People's History of the United States.' Whilst I have not found the book entirely engaging I have learnt new words and one of those is:

Nadir:

The lowest point; the point of greatest adversity or despair

Sentence Example:
Leo had suffered through a monotonous day at work but the nadir came when the tube broke down on the way home, and he was stuck in a hot tube carriage, underground, during rush hour.

By Talia

Word of the Day

I am currently reading Robert Dallek's 'John. F. Kennedy. An Unfinished Life.' It is the very interesting biography of JFK and it is teaching me many new words, one of which I would like to share with you.

Sacrosanct:

1. Extremely sacred or inviolable.
2. Not to be entered or trespassed upon.
3. Above and beyond criticism, change or interference.

Sentence Example:
Victoria considered her room to be sacrosanct, and therefore was furious when she found her little sister in it, playing with her things.

By Talia

Word of the Day

This word is one that I found written on a post-it note attached to the bottom of my desk, so clearly I meant to post it at some point, and there's no time like the present is there?

Objurgate:

To express strong disapproval, to criticise severely

Sentence Example:

Sarah was objurgated by her mother when she came home four hours after curfew, consequently she was grounded for two weeks.

By Talia

Word of the Day

This is a very early Word of the Day as I currently cannot sleep, although depending on where you are in the world this might just be a normal timed Word of the Day.

Doyenne:

A women who is the most respected or prominent in any particular field

Sentence Example:

Oprah Winfrey is the doyenne of talk shows and has millions of viewers for every show.

By Talia

Words of the Day

Since I have not done any posts for a couple of days I shall give you two today to compensate. Both are from The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson. The first is wonderfully weird (note the alliteration) and the second just just sounds very intelligent.

Today's Word No.1:

Flibbertigibbet

1. A gossip
2. A chattering and flighty sort of person

Sentence example: She was a flibbertigibbet of a girl, always chattering away when she was meant to be concentrating.

Today's Word No. 2:

Sublunary

1. Terrestrial
2. Underneath the moon
3. Mundane or worldly

Sentence example: His playing chess was a sublunary pleasure he liked to have after a hard day at work.

By Jess