Tag: word of the week
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Veneer
Noun Definition: a thin decorative covering of fine wood applied to a coarser wood or other material Example: The cabinet’s veneer hade chipped over time. Noun Definition: an attractive appearance that covers or disguises someone or something’s true nature or feelings Example: Makima’s seductive veneer hid her manipulative nature. Verb Definition: cover or disguise (someone or something’s true nature) with an…
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Bryologist
Noun Definition: a person who studies the branch of botany dealing with bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, lichens, etc.) Ex. The bryologists were stunned to find a new breed of moss growing at the site of the nuclear fallout.
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Cockle
Noun Definition: a wrinkle; pucker Example: I ironed out a cockle in the fabric. Verb Definition: to rise in short, irregular waves Example: The water cockled as the wind blew it to and fro. Verb Definition: to contract into wrinkles Example: The paper cockled as it aged.
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Svengali
Adj. Definition: a person who completely dominates another, usually with selfish or sinister motives Example: The dictator had to be svengali with his dealings to maintain his power.
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Postulate
Verb Definition: to ask, demand, or claim Example: The siblings postulated that the other had broken the vase. Verb Definition: to assume without proof, or as self-evident; take for granted Example: The man postulated that his girlfriend would always be there to take care of him. Noun Definition: something taken as self-evident or assumed without…
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Consanguineous
Adj. Definition: having the same ancestry or descent; related by blood Ex. It was quite a shock when the groom’s father revealed that the bride and groom were consanguineous just before the wedding.
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Malaise
Noun Definition: a condition of general bodily weakness or discomfort, often marking the onset of a disease Ex. Annette realized her poisoning from her sudden sense of malaise after drinking her tea. Noun Definition: a vague or unfocused feeling of mental uneasiness, lethargy, or discomfort Ex. Working 80 hours a week at her job filled…
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Prognostication
Noun Definition: a forecast or prediction Ex. No matter how often the meteorologist’s prognostications were wrong, he never got fired.
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Furtive
Adj. Definition: taken, done, used, etc., surreptitiously or by stealth; secret Ex. The couple shared furtive glances throughout the business meeting. Adj. Definition: sly; shifty: Ex. Mr. Surei was a furtive man who was always trying to get one over somebody
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Calabash
Noun Definition: a tropical American tree, Crescentia cujete, of the bignonia family, bearing large, gourdlike fruit Ex. My mother warned me not to sit underneath the calabash tree in case one of its gourds fell. Noun Definition: a bottle, kettle, ladle, etc., made from such a shell Ex. My uncle gifted my mother a few…
The Writing Coconut 