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Definition 1: Modest as a result of being chaste, having a very sensitive sense of shame.[@more@]Usage 1: American dictionaries no longer list this word but it continues to be used in Britain (thanks, cousins). The adverb is the standard "pudically" and the noun, "pudicity." This word is entrenched in our vocabulary from the days when pure and chaste maidens were supposed to be ashamed of their attraction to men. Blushing or, better, fainting at words like "love" an

Definition 1: Aimed at total destruction; mutually destructive; pertaining to a struggle within an entity, such as a nation or organization. [@more@]Usage 1: Today's word exemplifies the mischief dictionaries can do to language. The prefix inter– in today's word was used in Latin as an intensifier meaning "completely" rather than as a prefix with its usual meaning "mutual, between." Samuel Johnson mistook the prefix, and defined the word as "endeavoring mutual destructi

Definition 1: (1) Inclined to follow rather than lead, conformist, following others in thought and behavior; (2) continuing in a consistent direction, as a line of reasoning. [@more@]Usage 1: Since "sequacity" is too close to a sound a duck might produce, most writers today prefer "sequaciousness" as the noun for this adjective. "Sequaciously" is the adverb, available to modify verbs, as to think sequaciously. Suggested usage: "Sequacious" is a much loveli

Definition 1: Displaying insightful mental capacities and/or shrewd discernment. [@more@]Usage 1: The noun is "perspicacity" [pêr-spi-'kæ-si-ti]. A shrewd person has a practical kind of intelligence and a sagacious one has knowledge usually accumulated over time. "Perspicacious" implies an ability to perceive hidden truths and to understand what puzzles others.Suggested usage: As you can see, this is a word that should be part of a lexical arsenal for distinguishing di

Definition 1: Arousing or appealing to sexual desire or imagination; lewd, lascivious. [@more@]Usage 1: We like the cleanness of "salacity" [sê-'læ-si-tee] for the noun but note that the clumsier "salaciousness" is used more frequently. Suggested usage: If you do not want to use "pornography" around the house, you may refer to it as "salacious material" in front of the kids. Of course, if they read your Word of the Day, their vocabulary may keep up

Definition 1: Overstatement; a figure of speech that uses exaggeration for effect, without intending to be taken literally.[@more@]Usage 1: There must be a thousand forms of this word: hyperbolism "the use of hyperbole" is the noun, "hyperbolize" is the verb, and "hyperbolic" [hI-pêr-'bah-lik] is the adjective. When using "hyperbole" in writing or speaking, one must be especially careful to avoid the hyperbolic cliché. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a

Definition 1: The point at which two or more streams flow together; a coming together, congress, or gathering of anything. [@more@]Usage 1: The adjective is "confluent" though "confluential" has also been used. Suggested usage: First, you may use this word in concrete metaphors like, "Raoul, unfortunately, lived at the confluence of two major traffic arteries so he didn't get much sleep." But the abstract metaphors are more interesting. "I believe I have an ide

Definition 1: To cause someone to jump or start. To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly.[@more@]Usage 1: This verb has produced an adjective from its present participle, "startling," but no other offspring. Revelations are often startling. The verb itself may be used as a noun: "Your goose gave me quite a startle;" indeed, the final -le is often omitted, probably for reasons given in the Etymology: "Your goose gave me quite a start." Suggested usage: We are startl

Definition 1: (Colloquial) To totally confuse, to confuse to the point of frustration. [@more@]Usage 1: "Flummox" is hardly a word we proper speakers of English would use. It is a term originating in the musty dialects of Merry Old (England) that has assumed residence in the vocabularies of reporters. Its origin apparently flummoxed Dickens, who wrote in the Pickwick Papers in 1837 (xxxiii), "He'll be what the Italians call reg'larly flummoxed." In 1840 the Cambridge Universi

Definition 1: A horrible act of any sort: a crime, an insult, or a gross violation of good taste; explosive anger or resentment caused by such an act. [@more@]Usage 1: Today's word may be used as a verb: "Jose's behavior at the party outraged everyone." The adjective is "outrageous" and the adverb "outrageously." Because of an etymological twist, it is no longer related to outré "highly unconventional, bizarre" but that was not always the case (see Etymol

Definition 1: Ursa minor or the North Star which it contains, hence that which provides guidance or attracts attention by its brilliance. [@more@]Usage 1: Here is another exorbitantly beautiful word grossly underutilized. We should take a cue from Milton, who wrote in "L'Allegro" (1645), " Where perhaps some Beauty lies, / The Cynosure of neighbouring eyes. " The adjective is "cynosural." Suggested usage: As in Milton's lines, "cynosure" is usually associa

Definition 1: To chew or to grind to a pulp.[@more@]Usage 1: You should be sure to masticate your food sufficiently before swallowing.Suggested usage: The word "pulverize" is a bit overused by sports announcers, so give this word some use. "I'm not only going to win this argument, I'm going to masticate him and spit him out." Almost anything done with the mouth falls within the range of this word's metaphors. To indicate passionate articulation, you might say, "In his re

Definition 1: A daring opening move in chess that sacrifices a piece for a future advantage.[@more@]Usage 1: Applied first and foremost to the game of chess.Suggested usage: Of course, it can be applied to any daring opening move, such as a provocative statement to open a conversation or a risky business maneuver that promises long-term gains. "Buying so much of the flood plain was a risky gambit that could pay off if fish-farming becomes profitable."Etymology: Italian gambetto "g

Definition 1: Used in the phrase "Pyrrhic victory," meaning a victory with losses or costs so great, it's no victory at all.[@more@]Usage 1: Today's word is usually capitalized, since it comes from a proper name (see the Etymology). It is used almost exclusively in the phrase "Pyrrhic victory." As a noun it can refer to an ancient Greek military dance, the pyrrhic, or a metric foot in poetry comprising two unaccented syllables. Suggested usage: Arguably, every victory in war

Definition 1: To outsource or subcontract a high-paying job overseas to a less developed country where wages are significantly lower.[@more@]Usage 1: The adjective "offshore" usually means in the ocean, away from the shore, as an offshore oil drilling rig or an offshore bank account located on an island. It is a poor candidate for the meaning it has picked up recently; the phrase "outsource overseas" is more precise. To "overseas" would be the best word but that fin

Today's Word:Sanction (Noun)Pronunciation: ['sængk-shên]Definition 1: This word has two contradictory meanings: approval for or prohibition against doing something. It also may refer to a specific law prohibiting something or the penalty for violating such a law. [@more@]Usage 1: When you sanction the use of something you either approve of it or effectively prohibit it. The meanings are distinguished by the prepositions used with the word: sanction to (approval) versus sanction against (p

Definition 1: Changeable, unstable; apt to slip away.[@more@]Usage 1: When used to describe personalities, today's word replaces "temperamental" or "moody," as in, "Birgitta was a labile lass with a personality hard to calculate." It also refers to unstable chemical and electrical changes. The noun is lability [lê-'bi-lê-tee]. Suggested usage: Today's proffering works in discussions of international politics: "Don't talk to me about lability in the Middle Eas

Definition 1: Blindly and naively optimistic. [@more@]Usage 1: Today's word provides a way to shorten conversations by condensing "overly-optimistic and na飗e" into a single word. The adjective may be also used freely as a noun, "Nothing distresses Rita; she is an eternal panglossian." It has a non-identical twin, "panglossic," which offers the advantage of an adverb, "panglossically." The noun is "panglossism," taken directly from "Pangloss

Definition 1: Capable of coexistence with something else, possible in coexistence with something else, compatible.[@more@]Usage 1: Today's word is a relative of "possible" and "impossible," whose prefix lends the sense of "with, together." The adverb is "compossibly" and the noun, "compossibility." Suggested usage: Our readers involved in criminal investigation will find this word very useful: "The facts from the crime scene are compossible

Definition 1: Threatening harm, ominous or sinister.[@more@]Usage 1: "Baleful" and "baneful" are close cousins, but do have different uses. "Baleful" is said of something that seems to assure danger; "baneful" refers to something that has already caused harm. "I'm not going to have those baleful eggs; they look runny" versus "The baneful effect of the undercooked eggs was sour after-breakfast moods and conversations."Suggested usage: Th