Word of the Day, November 16, 2019

besmirchment

Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Idioms.

be·smirch

(bĭ-smûrch′)

tr.v. be·smirched, be·smirch·ing, be·smirch·es

1. To stain; sully: a reputation that was besmirched by slander.
2. To make dirty; soil.

be·smirch′er n.
be·smirch′ment n.

Word of the Day – April 20, 2019

surreptitious

(ˌsʌrəpˈtɪʃəs)

adj

1. done, acquired, etc, in secret or by improper means
2. operating by stealth
3. characterized by fraud or misrepresentation of the truth
[C15: from Latin surreptīcius furtive, from surripere to steal, from sub- secretly + rapere to snatch]
ˌsurrepˈtitiously adv
ˌsurrepˈtitiousness n

Word of the Day August 11, 2018

pshaw

interj.

Used to indicate impatience, irritation, disapproval, or disbelief.
CITE: American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Word of the Day February 17, 2018

colloidal

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to colloidal: colloidal solution, Colloidal silver

n.1. Chemistry

a. A system in which finely divided particles, which are approximately 1 to 1,000 millimicrons in size, are dispersed within a continuous medium in a manner that prevents them from being filtered easily or settled rapidly.
b. The particulate matter so dispersed.
2. The gelatinous stored secretion of the thyroid gland, consisting mainly of thyroglobulin.
3. Gelatinous material resulting from degeneration in diseased tissue.
adj.

Of, relating to, containing, or having the nature of a colloid.

Word of the Day February 3, 2018

vac·il·late

(văs′ə-lāt′)

intr.v. vac·il·lat·ed, vac·il·lat·ing, vac·il·lates

1. To be unable to choose between different courses of action or opinions; waver: She vacillated about whether to leave.
2. To change between one state and another; fluctuate: The weather vacillated between sunny and rainy.
3. Archaic To sway from one side to the other.

[Latin vacillāre, vacillāt-, to waver.]

vac′il·lat′ing·ly adv.
vac′il·la′tion n.
vac′il·la′tor n.