April 2009 Word of the Day Archives
TThe Word of the Day for Wednesday April 1, 2009 is BILIRUBIN(bil ee roo bin)--a reddish bile element that comes from a degradation of liver cells—a high level in the bloodstream will produce a jaundiced appearance.
The presence of bilirubin--even at a very small level--is generally indicative of a serious internal problem that warrants immediate attention.
Take the BILIRUBIN Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Thursday April 2, 2009 is PROFOUND (pro found)--having a deep meaning, far beyond the superficial or exterior, penetrating, indicative of deep thought or insight, from the depths of one’s being, greatly significant, pervasive, thorough, deep, low, an abyss, the deep sea, or something that is marked by any of the adjective forms. RROFUNDITY and PROFOUNDNESS are both valid noun forms.
Peggy Noonan employed profound wickedness when she disparaged Ron Reagan, Jr. as “that unusual person who actually seems less authentic when not in tutu.”
Take the PROFOUND Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Friday April 3, 2009 is ECCLESIAL (i klee zee il)--relating to
a church or its teachings, practices, organization, etc.
Since both Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson claim the title “reverend,”
does either one of them ever engage in any ecclesial activities, or do
they spend all their time self-aggrandizing in front of a camera?
Take the ECCLESIAL Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Monday April 6, 2009 is CONFOUND (kon found)--to throw into or increase already existing disorder or confusion, bewilder, perplex, to mistakenly treat as identical, mix or associate erroneously, contradict, put to shame, ruin, or damn (used as a mile epithet.) Curiously the only noun form is CONFOUNDEDNESS.
Miss Regan constantly confounds (mistakenly treat as identical) the names Joann and Joan which never ceases to confound (perplex) the girls who are endowed with either name.
Take the CONFOUND Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Tuesday April 7, 2009 is UNIPETALOUS (yoo na pet il es)--having only one petal.
Is it true that a severe lack of pollination could cause a daffodil or a pansy to bloom as a unipetalous anomaly?
Take the UNIPETALOUS Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Wednesday April 8, 2009 is JUGGLERY (jug la ree)--trickery,
deception, or the art or performance of juggling. The verb JUGGLE in addition to the common meaning of
throwing balls up in the air and catching them also means to
deceptively alter or manipulate or engage in legerdemain and as a noun
means an instance of such subterfuge.
Foxwood’s employs a large staff of security personnel who spend their
entire shifts prowling the gaming floor looking for jugglers whose deviousness costs the
Connecticut casino millions every year.
Take the JUGGLERY Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Thursday April 9, 2009 is MENTICIDE (men ta siyd)--a systematic
effort to supplant someone’s beliefs and values by subjecting the target to the
prolonged use of drugs, interrogation, torture, etc.
Are the Iowa Supreme Court and the Vermont State Legislature
attempting a societal menticide?
Take the MENTICIDE Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Friday April 10, 2009 is PASCHAL (pas kel)--pertaining to
Easter or Passover, or a candle or candlestick used for either
celebration.
Passover began on Wednesday night, and this Sunday is Easter so the
two paschal feasts are overlapping
again this year.
Take the PASCHAL Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Monday April 13, 2009 is ENORMITY (i nor mi tee)-something outrageously offensive or hateful; heinous character; immensity; or greatness in size, power, range, etc. The more common adjective ENORMOUS applies to all meanings although rarely used for the first two definitions.
Alex Rodriguez may be an incredibly talented baseball player, but his mastery at America’s Past Time does not excuse his blatant enormity.
Take the ENORMITY Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Tuesday April 14, 2009 is KATZENJAMMER (kat sem jam er)--a hangover, the ill feeling caused by excessive
drinking, distress, uproar, anguish, or unease.
The economy’s seemingly unstoppable slide has many people
trapped in an overwhelming state of katzenjammer that can debilitate mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Take the KATZENJAMMER Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Wednesday April 15, 2009 is ATARAXY (at a rak see)--a
state of freedom from anxiety or emotional distress, sanity,
or peacefulness. ATARAXIA (at a rak see a) is a synonym. ATARACTIC and ATARAXIC are the adjective forms.
Every time Sean Penn opens his mouth, he makes it abundantly
clear that any vestiges of ataraxia he once possessed have been relegated to his long past.
Take the ATARAXY Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Thursday April 16, 2009 is CRUCIVERBALIST (kroo sa vur ba list)--a
crossword puzzle aficionado or one who creates crossword puzzles. No other form of this word seems to exist.
If someone gives directions and repeatedly uses the words “down” and
across” it is safe to assume that he is an overly zealous cruciverbalist.
Take the CRUCIVERBALIST Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Friday April 17, 2009 is WITTOL (wit il)--a
husband who knows about and accepts his wife's infidelity.
Hillary Clinton may not be terribly feminine but calling her
a wicked wittol is
going a tad too far.
Take the WITTOL Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Monday April 20, 2009 is MANSUETUDE (man swi tood)--mildness or gentleness.
Winter lacked any hint of mansuetude this year and seemed to last from mid-October right up until sometimes in the hopefully very near future.
Take the MANSUETUDE Word of the Day Quiz.
Take the MANSUETUDE Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Tuesday April 21, 2009 is AUTOMATON (o tom a ton)--a robot, mechanical figure designed to act like it can move on its own, a being that acts in a monotonous, routine manner, or anything than can be programmed to act automatically. AUTOMATOUS is the adjective form.
Visitors to Disney World’s “Small World” attraction are fascinated by the plethora of singing automatons representing people from all over the globe.
Take the AUTOMATON Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Wednesday April 22, 2009 is CHEEKY (chee kee)--insolent, rude, or unmannered. CHEEKINESS is the noun from.
Coach Zaybre will not tolerate any cheekiness among his athletes because it is completely unfair to the other kids who behave themselves properly.
Take the CHEEKY Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Friday April 24, 2009 is SEXAGESIMAL (sek sa jes a mal)-- pertaining to or based upon the number 60 or in math
a power of sixty or a fraction whose denominator is sixty.
The late New York philanthropist Brook Astor’s grandsons were in their sexagesimal years when they were forced to sue their octogenarian father for elder abuse of their centurion grandmother.
Take the SEXAGESIMAL Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Monday April 27, 2009 is FURCATE (fur kayt)--branching out, forked, or to fork or branch out.
The Mighty Mississippi is furcate at so many different points that even riparian experts who have studied it for years cannot agree on the exact total of its branches.
Take the FURCATE Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Tuesday April 28, 2009 is ECOPHYSIOLOGY (ek oe fiz ee ol a jee)--the subcategory of physiology that studies how organisms are shaped by their environment. ECOPHYSIOLOGICAL is the adjective,
and ECOPHYSIOLOGIST means one engaged in such scholarship.
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy received a rare letter from their son Adam, an ecophysiologist currently working on a project studying penguin habitats in Antarctica.
Take the ECOPHYSIOLOGY Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Wednesday April 28, 2009 is CONTRADISTINCTION (kon tra di stingk shen)--unique by contrast or opposition. CONTRADISTINGUISH is the verb, and CONTRADISTINCTIVE is the adjective.
The identical twins’ completely different musical tastes is one of their very few contradistinctive personality traits.
Take the CONTRADISTINCTION Word of the Day Quiz.
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The Word of the Day for Thursday April 29, 2009 is GUFFAW (ga faw)--to
laugh loudly and boisterously or an instance of loud,
raucous laughing.
Three quarters of a century after the comedy team’s
heydays, the films of Laurel and Hardy are still bringing
guffaws to new
generations of fans.
Take the GUFFAW Word of the Day Quiz.
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