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18 Aug 09

define:ascendant - Google Search

Definitions of ascendant on the Web:

* position or state of being dominant or in control; "that idea was in the ascendant"

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words definitions

    • Definitions of ascendant on the Web:

      • position or state of being dominant or in control; "that idea was in the ascendant"

    • Definitions of ascendant on the Web:

      • position or state of being dominant or in control; "that idea was in the ascendant"
  • 2 more annotations...
01 Jun 09

Laodicean - Wiktionary

    • Adjective


      Laodicean (comparative more Laodicean, superlative most Laodicean)





      Positive

      Laodicean





      Comparative

      more Laodicean





      Superlative

      most Laodicean






      1. pertaining to Laodicea
      2. lukewarm, neither hot nor cold (with reference to Revelation 3:16)


        • 1955: The baths were mostly tiled showers, with an endless variety of spouting mechanisms, but with one definitely non-Laodicean characteristic in common, a propensity, while in use, to turn instantly beastly hot or blindingly cold upon you, depending on whether your neighbor turned on his cold or his hot to deprive you of a necessary complement in the shower you had so carefully blended. — Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita
17 Mar 09

HowStuffWorks "Birth Defects as Side Effect"

  • teratogenic. That means that they can interfere with fetal development and lead to birth defects.
  • Thalidomide is one of the most infamous teratogenic drugs. First synthesized in Germany in the 1950s, this drug was prescribed as a sleeping aid and anti-nausea pill to thousands of pregnant women in nearly 50 countries (although it hadn't been approved in the United States). Unfortunately, it was never proven to be safe for pregnant women. Between 1956 and 1962, nearly 10,000 women who took Thalidomide gave birth to babies with phocomelia [source: Bartfai and Lees]. Often referred to as "flipper babies," these children were born with extremely short or missing limbs.
01 Nov 08

A.Word.A.Day --quiddity


  • quiddity



    PRONUNCIATION:

    (KWID-i-tee)



    MEANING:

    noun:


    1. The essence of someone or something.


    2. A trifling point.
07 Oct 08

Dictionary.com

  • officious \uh-FISH-uhs\, adjective:

    <!-- wotd="officious" -->
    Marked by excessive eagerness in offering services or advice where they are neither requested nor needed; meddlesome.
29 Jul 08

A.Word.A.Day --popinjay


  • popinjay



    PRONUNCIATION:

    (POP-in-jay)



    MEANING:

    noun: Someone who indulges in vain and empty chatter.




    ETYMOLOGY:

    Via French and Spanish from Arabic babbaga (parrot). The last syllable
    changed to jay because some thought the word referred to that bird instead
    of a parrot.
12 Jul 08

A.Word.A.Day --catholicon


  • catholicon



    PRONUNCIATION:

    (kuh-THOL-i-kuhn)



    MEANING:

    noun: A panacea or cure-all.




    ETYMOLOGY:

    Via Latin from Greek katholikos (general), from kata (according to, by) +
    holou (whole). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sol- (whole) that gave
    us words such as solid, salute, save, salvo, and soldier.
11 Jul 08

A.Word.A.Day --misoneism


  • misoneism



    PRONUNCIATION:

    (mis-uh-NEE-izm)



    MEANING:

    noun:

    A hatred or fear of change or innovation.




    ETYMOLOGY:

    From Italian misoneismo, from Greek miso- (hate) + neos (new). Ultimately
    from the Indo-European root newo- (new) that also gave us new, neo-, neon,
    novice, novel, novelty, innovate, and renovate.




    USAGE:

    "The prevailing attitude was therefore one of extreme conservatism:
    may I indeed say of misoneism?"

    Expanding Trade, Changing Ways of Life-Conclusions; Addis Tribune
    (Ethiopia); May 15, 1998.
30 Jun 08

HowStuffWorks "Why does my stomach growl?"

  • Word Origins
    The technical name for the noises made by a grumbling stomach is borborygmi (borborygmus is the singular form). The term comes from the Greek word borborugmos, an example of onomatopoeia (a word created to imitate a sound). Borborygmi illustrates what stomach growling might sound like in word form.
27 Jun 08

A.Word.A.Day -- sardonic


  • sardonic (sahr-DON-ik) adjective


    Marked by scorn, mockery, and cynicism.

12 Jun 08

A.Word.A.Day -- dornick


  • dornick (DOR-nik) noun


    1. A piece of rock small enough to throw.

    [From Irish dornog (small stone, literally fistful).]


    2. Stout linen.

    [After Doornik, the name of a Flemish town where the cloth
    was first manufactured.]

30 May 08

Dictionary.com/Word of the Day Archive/schadenfreude

  • schadenfreude \SHOD-n-froy-duh\, noun:

    <!-- wotd="schadenfreude" -->
    A malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others.
24 May 08

Vince Lombardi Quotes

  • Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price.



    Vince Lombardi
  • The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.



    Vince Lombardi
15 May 08

define:antipathy - Google Search

    • Definitions of antipathy on the Web:

      • a feeling of intense dislike
      • the object of a feeling of intense aversion; something to be avoided; "cats were his greatest antipathy"
        wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
      • Antipathy is dislike for something or somebody, the opposite of sympathy. While antipathy may be induced by previous experience, it often exists without a rational cause-and-effect explanation being present to the individuals involved.

        en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipathy
24 Apr 08

A.Word.A.Day -- yammer


  • yammer (YAM-uhr) verb tr., intr.


    To whine, complain, or to talk loudly and incessantly.

A.Word.A.Day -- meshuga


  • This week's theme: Words from Yiddish.


    meshuga or meshugga (muh-SHOOG-uh) adjective


    Crazy; stupid.

Dictionary.com/Word of the Day Archive/pugnacious

  • pugnacious \puhg-NAY-shuhs\, adjective:

    <!-- wotd="pugnacious" -->
    Inclined to fight; combative; quarrelsome.
19 Apr 08

Dictionary.com/Word of the Day Archive/camarilla

  • camarilla \kam-uh-RIL-uh; -REE-yuh\, noun:

    <!-- wotd="camarilla" -->
    A group of secret and often scheming advisers, as of a king; a cabal or clique.
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