Word of the Day Archive
October 2000

Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Previous Words | Subscribe for Free | Help

1. castigate: to punish or criticize severely.
2. aver: to assert as true.
3. callow: immature.
4. lucre: money; profit.
5. epigone: an inferior imitator.
6. imbue: to dye; to instill profoundly.
7. concupiscence: lust.
8. irrefragable: impossible to refute.
9. rictus: a gaping grin or grimace.
10. nostrum: a questionable remedy.
11. scintilla: a tiny amount; a spark.
12. ergo: therefore; consequently.
13. animus: a feeling of ill will; also, animating spirit; disposition.
14. ignoramus: an ignorant person; a dunce.
15. interregnum: the interval between two reigns; also, any breach of continuity in an order.
16. lexicography: the writing or compiling of dictionaries.
17. circumambient: surrounding; encompassing.
18. purdah: social seclusion.
19. proscribe: to forbid; to prohibit.
20. coquetry: flirtation.
21. cadre: a core or nucleus of trained or otherwise qualified personnel around which an organization is formed.
22. titivate: to make decorative additions to; to spruce.
23. bromide: a commonplace or conventional saying.
24. orotund: full in sound; also, bombastic.
25. pertinacious: holding obstinately to a belief, purpose or design; also, stubbornly persistent.
26. Promethean: of or pertaining to Prometheus; also, boldly original.
27. extraneous: coming from the outside; also, not essential; also, irrelevant.
28. amity: friendship; friendly relations.
29. pettifogger: a petty, unscrupulous lawyer; also, who quibbles over trivia.
30. mountebank: a quack; also, a charlatan.
31. apparition: a ghost; also, an unexpected appearance.