Vivacious Vocab

[dramasnot6]

The more extensive a vocabulary one has, the more appreciation of a text. I wanted to start a thread where we could share some of our favorite words. Only 3 conditions
1)Post one word at a time( there may be others like myself whose brains can overheat.....)
2) Include a definition, and creative example of your own! Show us a little of why its your favorite!
3) Please nothing too innapropriate

Ill start
Exacerbate- To make worse. Ex. Pestering people on the Forum Crush thread exacerbates their embaressment:p

[dramasnot6]

aww someone else has to think of some words! Ill post another one for another example. you just dont get to use this one often enough

Penultimate: Next to the last Ex. Catherine Howard was the penultimate wife of Henry the Eighth.

[SummerSolstice]

Here's my favorite word of all time:

Floccinaucinihilipilification: Categorization of something as worthless
"Your floccinaucinihilipilification of others is an egregeous display of pusillanimity. Please desist."

[Whifflingpin]

"penultimate" reminds me of "antepenultimate" - the one before the one before the last one.

e.g. Like most long English words, "antepenultimate" is stressed on its antepenultimate syllable.

[Misscaroline]

Ostenisbly- can mean either false or evident

I am ostensibly stubborn!:D (The double meaning confuses a lot of people, esp. Robin...:D)

[dramasnot6]

Exonerate- to free of guilt
Ex. Saying LitNet is a way of studying for Literature exonerates me from feeling like i spend way too much time on the computer

[Lily Adams]

^ Good sentence. I feel the same.

Loquacious, adj. very talkative

I have a friend who, every day, becomes very loquacious during physical education at school, and it gets rather bothersome at times.

Actually, she's just loquacious in general.

This is such a divine thread. Thank you, Miss Dramasnot, for creating it. :)

[mir]

hee hee, is it me? :D

defenestrate (everyone seems to know this one, but it's still my favorite! ;) ) - to throw out the window!

[Lily Adams]

No Miss mir, it's not. I enjoy your posts and their jocose (in a positive way) content.

Defenestrate. I have never heard that one before!

[dramasnot6]

^ Good sentence. I feel the same.

This is such a divine thread. Thank you, Miss Dramasnot, for creating it. :)


Aww thank you Lily! Youre such a sweetheart:) Im glad you like it, it was made on behalf of a very well-mannered, nice person;)

Ubiquitous- Being everywhere
Wonderful vocabulary is ubiquitous on LitNet!

[Lily Adams]

:blush: You flatter me!

[Misscaroline]

Peripatetic- perambulating, or walking around/pacing as would Aristotle or another philosopher of old (most were wandering, "free-lance" thinkers)

I wandered my house peripatitically as I waited for Robin to e-mail me back! (just an example, though...)

[dramasnot6]

Sycophant- suck-up, flatterer

Lily might have thought i was being a sycophant about her, but i assure her that my praise is complety sincere and genuine! :D

[TEND]

Well Drame never mentioned it had to be a difficult word, so one of my favorite words....
HOCKEY!!!
Definition: A sport (originating in Canada) played on ice with 5 players and a goalie per team where the objective is to score a goal on the other team by putting the puck in their net using hockey sticks.

In a sentence: Hockey is the greatest sport known to man :p .

[Miss Darcy]

Very profound example, TEND. :p

Behemothian: huge, gigantic (from the Behemoth, a creature of enormous proportions)

This thread can make a behemothian improvement in anybody's vocabulary! ;)

I learnt this word while reading a cricket report (fie on those who think there lies no edification in sport!) and swiftly put it to use in the next essay I wrote for my ancient history course at uni. Behemothian has been a favourite with me ever since! ;)

[RobinHood3000]

Heeey, Miss Darcy! Haven't seen you around lately!

Finagle: to obtain by indirect or involved (or devious) means.
Robin tried to finagle a tender kiss from Caroline...



I rather like the sound of this word.

[Misscaroline]

You would.

Impious- shameless or lack of modesty

Robin is being very impious today!

[dramasnot6]

Calm down you too, my monitor is steaming up :p

Anthropomorphize- give human qualities to non-human phenomenon

Ex. I have met one too many an old lady who anthropomorphizes her many cats out of loneliness.

[Misscaroline]

Ooh, those old ladies are creepy. And believe me- I'm picking on him, not flirting with him!

Sassafras- a tree whose plant is used to make root beer; a fun substitute for an expletive

Oh, sassafras! I forgot my sarsaparilla in the diner! (Sarsaparilla similarly comes from Sassafras, since it is root beer! I like words...~sheepish~)

[dramasnot6]

Aww who doesnt love words? Theyre the keys to understanding.

Precarious- exposed to danger, unstable, at risk

ex. My sanity is rather precarious when watching a stupid romantic comedy

[Misscaroline]

That post was at once sweet and sarcastic! :D How do you manage? :p

Extranneous- a word used only in essays to say extra, since people want to talk like they know something.

People who use the word extranneous extranneously extranneously annoy me.:D

[mir]

Bolshevik (to honor your fake expletives, Misscaroline :p) - a communist, revolutionary, or radical. Also my eight grade class's swearword of the year! :D

sentance - The bolshevik Mao Tse-Tung failed in his extraneous endeavors to improve China!

[ghideon]

Juliet:
You deserve much praise. This is a great idea.
My word? Prodigal.
"One who is given to wasteful luxury or extravagance."noun
"Rashly or wastefully extravagant"adjective

Once upon a time I dreamed of living a prodigal life, a life suffuse with drunken parties, diamonds,rubies and flights on private jets to places quite remote and savage. Ofcourse it was not to be. My failure, though, was due simply to this:One great mistake, I fell in love. Damn love it opened up my soul to those things immaterial, those things sublime.

Oh...one reason I picked this word is that for many years I confused it with "prodigy". And so I assumed that the "prodigal son" was a son with great talents.
Hey...please let me know if I am alone in having that confusion. I do not think so, but that is only a hunch.

[Misscaroline]

You're not alone ghideon. But sometimes I just get confused, so you might want a second opinion!

I choose Enchanting- it has such a nice ring to it!

Enchanting- charming, captivating

We have so many enchanting males on this Forum!:blush:

[Lily Adams]

Ha ha! No, I always knew it was genuine!

endearment, n. the act of showing affection

John Adams thought his criticisms he made about his wife, Abigail, were not criticisms in fact, but endearments in the movie 1776. :D

(Should I make a thread on the art of sophistication? :lol: I wouldn't know what to say! I never really considered my self sophisticated.)

[cuppajoe_9]

Bolshevik (to honor your fake expletives, Misscaroline ) - a communist, revolutionary, or radical. Not quite, a Bolshevik is a member of the majority faction of the defunct Russian Social Democratic Party. The literal meaning in Russian is "majority-ite". Menshevik, conversely, means "minority-ite", even though, at the time of the schism within the party, the Bolsheviki (correct Russian pluralization) were in the minority and the Mensheviki were in the majority. Many Mensheviki, however, abstained from voting under coercison from Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, alias Lenin. History dork here.

My word, or rather term, is 'yob's comma', meaning an unneccessary one.

"This, sentence contain's two, yob's commas".

See also: "Oxford comma", the second comma in "Ham, eggs, and bacon."

[ghideon]

Just a quick note on the topic of all things Russian and Revolutionary. I am a red-diaper baby. For those who do not know a r-d is anyone whose mother or father were Communists. I say big "C" Communist because it means being an actual member of the Communist Party(CP for those in the know).
My mother's parents came from Russia...legend has it that they were from Bolshevik stock. But that is only legend. I had two copies of The Communist Manifesto by the time is was 16.
Many Red Diaper babes are Jewish New Yorkers...or ex-New Yorkers. Back in the day the CP was big time and quite Jewish.
I had an aunt who lived in Brooklyn in a building that smelled of moth balls. She had actually been called up by McCarthy during the Witch Hunt and from that moment on she always made sure her window shades were pulled down. Hey...anyone who reads this...if they could give a shout-out(or some similar gesture of validation)to my deceased Aunt Sarah. She would always give me and my brother Hersheys Kisses and chicken soup. F that damn McCarthy.

[Shadowsarin]

One of my most loved words is Terracide, but I just never get a chance to use it, sadly.

Terracide - To kill a planet.

And example: "Thankfully, Austin Powers was able to stop Dr. Evil commiting an act of Terracide."

[dramasnot6]

(Should I make a thread on the art of sophistication? :lol: I wouldn't know what to say! I never really considered my self sophisticated.)


thats a wonderful idea lily!

Mellifluous- sweet sounding


Everytime she angered her parents, a mellifluous apology would warm their hearts and free her from punishment.

If only that worked with my folks:p

[Jolly McJollyso]

Ineluctable - unable to be changed

Ineluctable modality of the visible, at least that if no more, thought through my eyes.
(from James Joyce's Ulysses)

[ShoutGrace]

meliorism - the doctrine that the world tends to become better or may be made better by human effort.

Learned that one from chmpman.

ineffable - incapable of being expressed or described in words; inexpressible.


"And let us then try to eff the ineffable!"

[miss tenderness]

dystrophy:defective nutrition.

[Miss Darcy]

Heeey, Miss Darcy! Haven't seen you around lately!

Nor I you. :p I'm afraid my existence on the forums is a very precarious one - now I'm here, now I'm not. It's a hectic life....Are all the old people still around? Jay, Scher, Pensive, Smilingtearz, Nightshade (I think I saw a post by her not such a long time ago), Mono, Koa, rachel (and many others that I don't name for the sake of conciseness)? I see that we have quite a few new people, who seem to be very meritable members. ;) But I digress, I digress.

That's my word: precarious.


pre·car·i·ous /prɪˈkɛəriəs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pri-kair-ee-uhs] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective 1. dependent on circumstances beyond one's control; uncertain; unstable; insecure: a precarious livelihood. [Origin: 1640–50; < L precārius obtained by entreaty or mere favor, hence uncertain. See prayer1]

And as for an example, see the second sentence of what I wrote above. :)

[Nightshade]

Oligopoly: like a monopoly or duopoly, It is is about power often in a market sense. An oligopoly is where a few ( more than 2) control a sector while a monopoly is controlled by one and a duopoly is controlled by 2.

[AimusSage]

Apotheosis

I like that word. Related words are quintessence and epitome, which I also like, but I like apotheosis better. :)

[Nightshade]

What does it mean aimus??

[AimusSage]

apotheosis
1. the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of a god.
2. the ideal example; epitome; quintessence: This poem is the apotheosis of lyric expression.

I'm just copying the dictionary here. :) I prefer the second over the first definition.

[Schokokeks]

Awww, great idea for a thread, Drama !! Since the "Word of the Day" thread seems to be dying out...

My word for today:
emaciation - abnormal leanness.

It's really encouraging to see how many loan words in English are of Greek origin - means I'm not studying it for nothing :D.

[Nightshade]

I see It does look like a good word I might use that one day one of my current favouirtes is facilitate ( as sleepy will vouch) which is to make somthing easier/. run smoother.

[dramasnot6]

Nor I you. :p I'm afraid my existence on the forums is a very precarious one - now I'm here, now I'm not. It's a hectic life....Are all the old people still around? Jay, Scher, Pensive, Smilingtearz, Nightshade (I think I saw a post by her not such a long time ago), Mono, Koa, rachel (and many others that I don't name for the sake of conciseness)? I see that we have quite a few new people, who seem to be very meritable members. ;) But I digress, I digress.

That's my word: precarious.



And as for an example, see the second sentence of what I wrote above. :)

I can already tell we will be great friends Miss Darcy! We both love the same words:D I posted precarious just a lil while back:lol: ;)

And thank you cookie! that is so cool that you are studying greek! Its really a wonderful language, if you havent already you should go to greece and really put it to use;)


Skulk
To move around in a stealthy way

Whenever I'm eating, my dog is often skulking around the kitchen table in search of fallen goods:p

[Virgil]

Hey, if you guys are interested, I recieve a word of the day from webster's web site: http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl. You can sign up and have one sent to you every day to your email. I enjoy them and have learned some new words. Or at least they explain how a word came about and evolved.

[Nightshade]

Which reminds me whatever happpened to the word of the day thread??

maybe it needs a ~~~bump~~~

[dramasnot6]

Hey, if you guys are interested, I recieve a word of the day from webster's web site: http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl. You can sign up and have one sent to you every day to your email. I enjoy them and have learned some new words. Or at least they explain how a word came about and evolved.

oh, i get one too from Dictionary.com. i wish i had more time to look at mine, its been more like word of the week for me:(

[Lily Adams]

Same here. I usually either don't have time or I forget to look at it. :p

[dramasnot6]

Insidious
Working in a seemingly harmless way but actually with grave effect

The first few days in summer have insidious heat.

[Serenata]

sniglet- words that don't exist, but should.

[Mad Organist]

Logodaedalus - one who is cunning in the use of words

[dramasnot6]

i love sniglet! Im making my own example i love it so much.
I use many sniglets to the agitation of my unknowing friends who think I'm just using archaic terms :p

Misfeasance-the wrongful performance of a normally lawful or proper act

Overvigorous CPR, in which the victim is put in danger of a broken rib, is an act of misfeasance.

[cuppajoe_9]

Woking - the act of standing in the kitchen wondering what the hell you went in there to do.

(From Douglas Adams' The Meaning of Liff).

[dramasnot6]

Congrats on your 1,000th post Cuppa!
In honor of you:

felicitations- congratulations

I'm sure the entire forum gives their felicitations to cuppajoe for his post count! :D

[mockingbird]

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - the fear of long words

:D

[Virgil]

Woking - the act of standing in the kitchen wondering what the hell you went in there to do.

(From Douglas Adams' The Meaning of Liff).

:) At my age it has happened to me. I hope at your age Cuppa that it has not. ;) :p

[alhara]

i have no word but what is the meaning of liff word for that uncofortable feeling when you sit on a seat already warm from someone elses bottom, I know it&#180;s in there but i don&#180;t have the book.

virgil are you sure, I have been diagnosed with add(me and like half the U.S.) so I kinda have an excuse but I thought that happans to everyone, does it get WORSE or something

[Nightshade]

:) At my age it has happened to me. I hope at your age Cuppa that it has not. ;) :p

It happens to all of us I rember doing that when I was 6, eventually Id just get somthing out of the fridge ( like a cucmber) to munch on...now I just boil the kettle even if I have a cup of tea:rolleyes:

[cuppajoe_9]

Congrats on your 1,000th post Cuppa!
In honor of you:

felicitations- congratulations

I'm sure the entire forum gives their felicitations to cuppajoe for his post count! :D

Thanks Dram, I honestly hadn't even noticed.

ELY (n.)
The first, tiniest inkling you get that something, somewhere, has gone terribly wrong.

More Meaning of Liff (http://folk.uio.no/alied/TMoL.html). It's now public domain, apparently. Perhpas LitNet should get it. Then we could finally have a DNA board.

[Nightshade]

But heonly died in 2001 which according to my calculations means it shouldnt be in the public domain until.......2078. Well unless he left it to the public?

[cuppajoe_9]

But heonly died in 2001 which according to my calculations means it shouldnt be in the public domain until.......2078. Well unless he left it to the public?
That or I've linked to a pirated copy.

[Nightshade]

@I should thhink so...of course in some countries there is no copyright stature so if its uploaded from there its legal howvere accessing it from thhe US,or any country with literary affiliations its considered .........umm is illegal?

[cuppajoe_9]

@I should thhink so...of course in some countries there is no copyright stature so if its uploaded from there its legal howvere accessing it from thhe US,or any country with literary affiliations its considered .........umm is illegal?
Nope, I'm pretty sure that you can look at it all you want, as long as you don't make copies. The site I linked to appears to be affiliated with the University of Oslo somehow, if that helps make any sense of it. I can't figure out any of the copyright information because it is all written in Norwegian.

[Pensive]

Congrats on your 1,000th post Cuppa!
In honor of you:

felicitations- congratulations

I'm sure the entire forum gives their felicitations to cuppajoe for his post count! :D
Hey, just a question about the usage of feliciations! Can we use it in an informal letter or dialogue? This word always makes me wonder about this thing.

[Whifflingpin]

"but what is the meaning of liff word for that uncofortable feeling when you sit on a seat already warm from someone elses bottom,"

Shoeburyness

[Logos]

But heonly died in 2001 which according to my calculations means it shouldnt be in the public domain until.......2078. Well unless he left it to the public?


That or I've linked to a pirated copy.
Yup, mostly likely its a student's page at that uni, or the uni itself isn't aware of copyright law in UK? or they got special permission from the family/estate of Adams?

From http://www.douglasadams.com/dna/mfaq.html and their MFAQ it clearly states:
"Please note that like the game, the Radio Series and TV Series are under copyright. Uploading or downloading audio or video files of them could get you into trouble. Use a bit of common sense. Fair use should allow short audio clips of under 30 seconds, though. (Standard disclaimer applies. I do not have intimate knowledge of the law.) Same with the books. Quotes are okay, but posting the whole things are a big no-no. Expect to be shut down or worse if they catch you."
.
.
.

[B-Mental]

oops, needs more sleep kindly ignore

[ghideon]

Just a little bit confused here...haven't been keeping up with this thread and not too sure where we are at. But hey, life is full of shadows and risk so I will carry on regardless of the potential dangers. Dante survived hell...but then again...he had Virgil.

My word is "revere". I browsed through a dictionary last nite to try and add to my vocab. I use the word "respect" alot and I wanted some more choices. So then revere showed up.

It means: "To regard with awe, deference, and devotion." I can't come up with too many folks who I actually revere. Buddha is one. I suppose Shakespeare too. I would probably pass out if I met either one in person. And while I would be devoted to the Budha I don't know about Willilam.

Example: Which is wiser to revere the beauty or the truth? Or is there a difference between the two?

[Shalot]

Woking - the act of standing in the kitchen wondering what the hell you went in there to do.

(From Douglas Adams' The Meaning of Liff).



:lol:

sounds like a typical day at my house.

[zanna]

epiphany

not only does it sound cool, but epiphanies are good to have! In my words, it is finally understanding something that's been elusive (another good word).

Maybe an epiphany would help after woking? :)

[Lily Adams]

My new favorite word:

coxcombical, adj. foppish, concieted

One may say that John Adams was coxcombical, he was very conceited, and yet he was not really foppish.

(So John is just half coxcombical?)

[cuppajoe_9]

several n.
separate

After exchanging particng salutations, Nightengale and Jones retired to their several quarters.

[Chava]

sesquipedalian - someone who uses excessively long words...

[dramasnot6]

Hey, just a question about the usage of feliciations! Can we use it in an informal letter or dialogue? This word always makes me wonder about this thing.


Hmm...ive never heard or read it used informally. But i guess you can give it a shot and see how it goes! Always a first try for everything :) Good thought though..now i have to explore this too....

[dramasnot6]

tumultuous-raising a great clatter and commotion

When visiting New York, i saw a crowd go from sedate to tumultuous when the celebrity appeared.

[Whifflingpin]

contumacious - unruly, opposing the law with contempt.
Chapter House - A hall close to a Cathedral, where the cathedral clergy meet on formal occasions.

In a cathedral where I once worshipped, there were occasionally processions, that started in the Chapter House, and then went around outside before entering the cathedral. At the front of the procession would be the verger, with a rod, whose job it used to be to clear everyone out of the way. At the back was the Dean, the chief clergyman of the cathedral.

Before the procession started, the Dean would call to the verger and say, "Mr Verger, are there contumacious persons without?" The verger then opened a peephole in the door, looked into the yard, and, if all was well, replied "Mr Dean, there are no contumacious persons without." Then the Dean would reply "So, let the gate be opened!"

[dramasnot6]

wow whifflingpin, i learned a lot about religion jsut from your two definitions! thanks! :) Youre becoming my number one source of interesting facts now;) :D

Droll-amusing in an odd way

I consider being called droll a much greater compliment then funny or witty because it indicates both with a unique spark to boot.:D