To my readers-
I am deeply saddened when I go out into the world and find people
using the same words over and over again to express themselves. And it
troubles me to no end that your vocabularies are so limited that you
frequently use five or six words when but one would suffice. To this
end, I have made it my mission to introduce all of you to words so
useful, you'll wonder how you ever lived without them. So if you have
the sitzfleisch to hear me out, here are five (possibly) new words for
you.
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| Defenestration – (noun) Defenestration
is the act of tossing something out of a window. |
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You can also use it as a verb: to defenestrate
something or someone.
It is pronounced as follows: dee-fen'-ih-stray'-shun.
An example of the word in a sentence is:
"After Hjarlf greatly irritated me, I defenestrated his beloved
battleaxe."
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| Truculence – (noun) Somehow, this word
just rolls off the tongue. Try it once or twice. |
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Truculence is a quality that people or actions
possess. It is similar to ferocity, cruelty, and a violent nature. If
I solved all my problems like Hjarlf, I would be truculent. The
adjective form is truculent.
This word is pronounced Truk-you-lens
Used in a sentence:
"Marvin's solution to the problem presented by the highwaymen was
excessively truculent."
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| Obstreperous – (adjective) This wonderful
word, contrary to what you might think, is not |
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any sort of disease or ailment. In fact, the only
part of the body to which this word could be applied would be the
bowels. It means loudly and stubbornly defiant, and also boisterous.
In other words, a fair approximation of Hjarlf.
It is pronounced ohb-strep-er-ous.
Used in a sentence:
"The obstreperous boys out front were giving me a headache, so I sent
Marvin out to deal with them."
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|
| Disassemble – (verb) That means to lie.
Oh... sorry... wait a minute. I meant: |
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Dissemble – (verb) That means to lie. (Or to conceal something
behind a fake appearance |
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especially one's motives, feelings, or true self.)
Pronounced: dih-sem-bull.
In a sentence:
"When I play chess, I always try to dissemble my real plan behind an
appearance of ineptitude."
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|
| Ubiquitous – (adjective) If something is
ubiquitous, it's everywhere. |
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Pronounced You-beek-wih-tus
In a sentence:
"My God! The word ubiquitous is ubiquitous on this page!"
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Well, that wraps up this edition of
Tom's Essential Words. Enjoy!
-Tom
10.2005 |
