Vocab word of the week

brawn·y  [braw-nee]
adjective, brawn·i·er, brawn·i·est.
muscular; strong.

Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English;  see brawn, -y1

Vocab word of the week

pal·pa·ble  [pal-puh-buhl]
adjective
1. readily or plainly seen, heard, perceived, etc.; obvious; evident: a palpable lie; palpable absurdity.
2. capable of being touched or felt; tangible.
3. Medicine/Medical . perceptible by palpation.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English  < Late Latin palpābilis  that can be touched, equivalent to palpā ( re ) to stroke, touch, palpate1  + -bilis -ble

Vocab word of the week

con·tral·to

  [kuhn-tral-toh]

noun, plural con·tral·tos.

1.

the lowest female voice or voice part, intermediate between soprano and tenor.

2.

the alto, or highest male voice or voice part.

3.

a singer with a contralto voice.

adjective

4.

pertaining to the contralto voice or its compass.

Vocab word of the week

For guttered

gut·ter

  [guht-er]

noun

1.

a channel at the side or in the middle of a road or street, for leading off surface water.

2.

a channel at the eaves or on the roof of a building, for carrying off rain water.

3.

any channel, trough, or the like for carrying off fluid.

4.

a furrow or channel made by running water.

5.

Bowling. a sunken channel on each side of the alley from the line marking the limit of a fair delivery ofthe ball to the sunken area behind the pins.

Vocab word of the week

os·ten·si·ble  [o-sten-suh-buhl]
adjective
1. outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended: an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness.
2. apparent, evident, or conspicuous: the ostensible truth of their theories.

Vocab word of the week

in·noc·u·ous  [ih-nok-yoo-uhs]
adjective
1.not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy.
2.not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark.
3.not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid: an innocuous novel.
Origin:
1590–1600;  < Latin innocuus.  See in-3 , nocuous

Vocab Word of the Week

quix·ot·ic  [kwik-sot-ik]
adjective
1.( sometimes initial capital letter ) resembling or befitting Don Quixote.
2.extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable.
3.impulsive and often rashly unpredictable.
Also, quix·ot·i·cal.

Origin:
1805–15;  ( Don) Quixote + -ic

Vocab word of the week

firebrand  

fire·brand  [fahyuhr-brand]
noun
1. a piece of burning wood or other material.
2. a person who kindles strife or encourages unrest; an agitator; troublemaker.
Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English;  see fire, brand

Vocab word of the week

en·tro·py  [en-truh-pee]
noun
1. Thermodynamics .
a.(on a macroscopic scale) a function of thermodynamic variables, as temperature, pressure, or composition, that is a measure of the energy that is not available for work during a thermodynamic process. A closed system evolves toward a state of maximum entropy.
b.(in statistical mechanics) a measure of the randomness of the microscopic constituents of a thermodynamic system. Symbol:  S
2.(in data transmission and information theory) a measure of the loss of information in a transmitted signal or message.
3.(in cosmology) a hypothetical tendency for the universe to attain a state of maximum homogeneity in which all matter is at a uniform temperature (heat death)
4.a doctrine of inevitable social decline and degeneration.

World English Dictionary
entropy  (ˈɛntrəpɪ)

— n  , pl -pies
1. See also law of thermodynamics S  a thermodynamic quantity that changes in a reversible process by an amount equal to the heat absorbed or emitted divided by the thermodynamic temperature. It is measured in joules per kelvin
2. a statistical measure of the disorder of a closed system expressed by S  = k log P  + c  where P  is the probability that a particular state of the system exists, k  is the Boltzmann constant, and c  is another constant
3. lack of pattern or organization; disorder
4. a measure of the efficiency of a system, such as a code or language, in transmitting information

Vocab Word of the Week

co·pa·cet·ic  [koh-puh-set-ik, -see-tik]
adjective Slang.
fine; completely satisfactory; OK.
Also, copasetic, copesetic.

Origin:
1915–20,  Americanism; of obscure origin; popular attributions of the word to Louisiana French, Italian, Hebrew,  etc., lack supporting evidence

Vocab Word

You can always count on Sherlock (the show) to give us a interesting word.  This particular word comes from dear, Mycroft, talking about his brother, none other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's darling Sherlock.

in·tran·si·gent

inˈtransijənt,-zi-/
adjective

1. unwilling or refusing to change one's views or to agree about something.

Weekly vocab word

vac·il·lat·ing  [vas-uh-ley-ting]
adjective
1. not resolute; wavering; indecisive; hesitating: an ineffectual, vacillating person.
2. oscillating; swaying; fluctuating: a vacillating indicator.

Weekly Vocab word, 1st for the New Year

This one is because of one of the blogs I follow. Her title is Ms. Misanthropy and I was curious about the meaning of the word. I think her kind of strange since she doesn't give off that kind of mentality when she posts. But hey, I learned a new word!

mis·an·thro·py  [mis-an-thruh-pee, miz-]  

noun

hatred, dislike, or distrust of humankind.

Origin: 1650–60;  < Greek mīsanthrōpía.  See misanthrope, -y3 

Vocab Builder Word

SOLIPSISM

sol·ip·sism (slp-szm, slp-)

n. Philosophy
1. The theory that the self is the only thing that can be known and verified.
2. The theory or view that the self is the only reality.
[Latin slus, alone; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots + Latin ipse, self + -ism.]
solip·sist n.
solip·sistic adj.

I read this word in a workshop piece and fell in love with it.  Essentially it is a spectrum word that indicates a person's inability (in varying degrees) to empathize with others.  It's totally a Philip K. Dick wet-dream word.  

Weekly vocab word

flor·id  [flawr-id, flor-]
adjective
1. reddish; ruddy; rosy: a florid complexion.
2. flowery; excessively ornate; showy: florid writing.
3. Obsolete . abounding in or consisting of flowers.

Long awaited and belated weekly vocab word

ca·ve·at  [kav-ee-aht, -at, kah-vee-, key-]  Show IPA
noun
1. a warning or caution; admonition.
2. Law. a legal notice to a court or public officer to suspend a certain proceeding until the notifier is given a hearing: a caveat filed against the probate of a will.

Scripturient

 www.gdfalksen.com/post/67540778214

scripturient  

scripturient adjective & noun. [skrɪp'tʃʊǝrɪǝnt] Now rare. M17.
[Late Latin scripturient- pres. ppl stem of scripturire desire to write, from Latin script-: see SCRIPTURE, -ENT.]
A. adjective. Having a passion for writing or authorship. M17.
B. noun. A person with a passion for writing. Only in M17.
scripturiency noun a passion or mania for writing M17.

 http://www.seadict.com/en/en/scripturient

 

This is now one of my new favorite old words.

Vocab Builder

Stentorian!

sten·to·ri·an (stn-tôr-n, -tr-)
adj.   Extremely loud: a stentorian voice.

Example: His stentorian cries of terror echoed throughout the apartment building until the tentacles won, and then there was silence.  

Vocab Word

Recalcitrant

re·cal·ci·trant (r-kls-trnt)

adj.
Marked by stubborn resistance to and defiance of authority or guidance.

adj.
1. resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant: a recalcitrant prisoner.
2. hard to deal with, manage, or operate.n.
3. a recalcitrant person.

Vocab: Ostentatious

Definition of OSTENTATIOUS

: marked by or fond of conspicuous or vainglorious and sometimes pretentious display
— os·ten·ta·tious·ly adverb
— os·ten·ta·tious·ness noun

Synonyms

flamboyant, flaring, flashy, garish, glitzy, loud, noisy,gaudy, razzle-dazzle, splashy, swank (or swanky)

Collected from Merriam Webster