Recently Added Articles Page #117

cant - vocabulary

cant - verb To talk in a singsong, preaching, whining tone; to speak tediously with affected solemnity.nounMonotonous speech crammed with platitudes; the special vocabulary of a group or profession; whining speech. All gentle cant and philosophizing ...

captious - vocabulary

captious - adjective One who finds fault, is difficult to please; designed to perplex or confuse, as in captious questions. Pat Oliphant's cartoon is notable because of the classic grace of the lines of the Statue of Liberty. The point is that freedo...

caricature - vocabulary

caricature - noun A picture or depiction that ludicrously exaggerates the features or defects of persons or things. The most perfect caricature is that which, on a small surface, with the simplest means, most accurately exaggerates, to the highest po...

castigate - vocabulary

castigate - verb To criticize harshly; to punish for the purpose of correcting; to reprimand severely. How can you support a policy of racial preferences and then attack one of its supposed beneficiaries as undeserving? This, ultimately, is the intri...

chagrin - vocabulary

chagrin - verb To vex by disappointment or humiliation, as in The defeat chagrined him deeply.nounA feeling of vexation; disappointment or humiliation. Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to...

charlatan - vocabulary

charlatan - noun A person pretending to have more knowledge or skill than he or she actually possesses; a quack; a flamboyant deceiver. There is hardly any mental misery worse than that of having our own serious phrases, our own rooted beliefs, cari...

circumlocution - vocabulary

circumlocution - noun A roundabout way of speaking, usually using more words than necessary; evasion in speech or writing. Whatever was required to be done, the Circumlocution Office was beforehand with all the public departments in the art of percei...

circumscribe - vocabulary

circumscribe - verb To draw a line around, to encircle, as in to circumscribe a village on a map; to enclose with bounds, to delimit, as in His ambition is circumscribed by his lack of drive and determination. [U]ntil women assume the place in societ...

circumspect - vocabulary

circumspect - adjective Watchful, discreet, cautious, prudent, as in a circumspect investment strategy. I smiled, I waited, I was circumspect; O never, never, never write that I missed life or loving.—Hilda Doolittle “A Dead Priestess Speaks” N...

cogent - vocabulary

cogent - adjective Incisive, analytical, convincing, believable because of a forcible and clear presentation. [C]ider-apples furnish one of the most cogent arguments to prove that Providence had the production of alcoholic liquors directly in its eye...

cognizant - vocabulary

cognizant - adjective Fully informed, aware, conscious.Note: Usually followed by the preposition of, as in He was cognizant of the dangers. In my own view, there are clear differences between child and adult artistic activity. While the child may be ...

colloquialism, colloquial - vocabulary

colloquialism, colloquial - noun Colloquialism: an ordinary or familiar expression; familiar style or usage.adjectiveColloquial: appropriate to or characteristic of ordinary or familiar conversation instead of formal speech or writing. Colloquial poe...

complement, compliment - vocabulary

complement, compliment - verb Complement: to complete, to add to something, to provide something felt to be lacking, as in The two books complemented each other and provided a complete picture of the war.Compliment: to praise or extol, as in She comp...

comport - vocabulary

comport - verb To conduct or behave (oneself), as in He comported himself with dignity; to be in agreement with (usually followed by with), as in Our policy must comport with the principles of free enterprise. Christians, like 12-step group attendees...

compunction - vocabulary

compunction - noun A feeling of anxiety or discomfort caused by regret for doing wrong or causing pain; contrition; remorse; any uneasiness or hesitation about the rightness of an action. Torture, presented with gusto and almost no moral compunction,...

comprise - vocabulary

comprise - verb To include, contain, consist of.Note: Correct, and traditional usage, requires the use of comprise in a way whereby the whole comprises the parts, as in The United States comprises 50 states. Increasingly, writers use the verb in a pa...

condescend - vocabulary

condescend -verb Three meanings:1. To behave as if conscious of descending from a superior position, rank, or dignity, as in The wealthy art patron, seemingly put upon, condescended to attend the “new art” exhibit.2. To stoop to do something, as ...

connote - vocabulary

connote - verb To suggest or signify something in addition to the primary meaning, as in A hot cup of tea connotes hospitality and comfort. With so many mass-market goods made off-shore, American-made products, which are often more expensive, have co...

consummate - vocabulary

consummate - verb To bring to completion, to fulfill; to complete an arrangement or an undertaking, as in to consummate the deal; to complete a marital union through sexual intercourse.adjectiveHighly skilled, superb, as in a consummate musician; of ...

contemptible, contemptuous - vocabulary

contemptible, contemptuous - adjective Contemptible: Worthy of scorn or disdain, despicable.Contemptuous: Showing or expressing contempt or disdain.Note: One would be contemptuous of a contemptible act. The story unfolds as Liberti's diary, an accoun...

continual, continuous - vocabulary

continual, continuous - adjective Continual: regular or frequent events or occurrences, as in continual trips to the doctor. A good synonym is intermittent.Continuous: uninterrupted in time or space, as in continuous talking by the people behind you ...

contravene - vocabulary

contravene - verb To conflict with, to go against, to deny or oppose, as in He contravened his opponent’s position with an array of data; to violate or transgress, as in She contravened the election laws. The Times also detailed an investment of $3...

corollary - vocabulary

corollary - noun A proposition following so obviously from another that it requires little demonstration. The corollary to Cheney's zealous embrace of secrecy is his near total aversion to the notion of accountability. I've never seen a former member...

correlate, correlative, correlation - vocabulary

correlate, correlative, correlation - verb Correlate: to establish an orderly connection or relation; to have, or stand in, a relation.adjectiveCorrelative: mutually or reciprocally related.nounCorrelation: either one of two related things, especiall...

corroboration, corroborate - vocabulary

corroboration, corroborate - noun Corroboration: the act of making more certain, the act of corroborating. verb Corroborate: to make more certain, to confirm; to strengthen or support with other evidence. A newly released video that was obtained by B...