Word |
Phonetic Pronunciation |
Part of Speech |
Definition |
|
BRAY-knee-ack |
|
a very intelligent person |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
Her son is a brainiac when it comes to computers.
Video game companies employ armies of brainiacs to do the best graphic design work.
From Braniac, superintelligent villain in Superman. Brainiac first appeared in Action Comics #242 (July 1958).
Eponyms | Likely Literary
|
|
CHIL-blayne |
|
an inflammatory swelling produced by exposure to cold, affecting the hands and feet, accompanied with heat, itching, and occasionally ulceration |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
After hours of camping in a damp chill, his hands were covered in gruesome chilblains.
From chill + blain (a blain is an inflammatory swelling or sore)
Likely Literary
|
|
con-FAB-u-late |
|
1. to talk informally; CHAT
2. to fill in gaps in memory by fabrication |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
Dad is in the parlor confabulating with a prospective customer
Complex Words For Simple Things | Likely Literary | Little-known Synonyms for Well-known Words
|
eldritch
Old English |
EL-dritch |
adjective |
1. strange or unearthly
2. eerie |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
The eldritch screams
froze his bones and sent a chill through his heart.
Likely Literary
|
fuliginous
Latin |
fyoo-LI-juh-nus |
adjective |
1. sooty, obscure, murky
2. having a dark or dusky color |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
At the height of the Industrial Revolution, London
was perhaps the most fuliginous city on earth.
The mountains were obscured in a fuliginous mantle of storm.
From the Latin fuligo, “soot.”
Likely Literary | Little-known
Synonyms for Well-known Words
|
|
lo-THER-ee-oh |
|
a man whose chief interest is seducing women |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes:
|
Don't let his dashing looks deceive you - he's nothing more than a conniving lothario with no interest in a long-term commitment.
From Lothario, character in Nicholas Rowe's 1703 play The Fair Penitent.
Eponyms | High-Falutin' Insults | Likely Literary | There's A Word For That?
|
|
PUL-kri-tood |
|
physical beauty |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
He was a dashing figure of great pulchritude,
sculpted as from a stone by the gods.
Complex Words For Simple
Things | High-Falutin' Praises | Likely Literary | Little-known Synonyms for Well-known Words
|
|
ri-GALE |
|
1. to entertain richly or agreeably
2. to give pleasure or amusement to
3. to feast oneself |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
After we had sated ourselves on ham and mead,
the bard regaled us with tales
of kings.
Likely Literary
|
|
san-FRWA |
|
self-possession; an imperturbable state, esp. under strain |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
The man’s sangfroid was admirable, though perhaps not surprising given his military
training.
Literally, "cold blooded"
Likely Literary
|
scabrous
Latin |
SKAB-rus
SKAY-brus |
adjective |
1. difficult
2. rough to the touch; having small, raised dots or patches
3. dealing with indecent or scandalous themes |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Ex. 3.
Rel. Themes: |
We found ourselves in a scabrous situation.
The dragon’s scabrous skin was rough to the touch.
The film was far too scabrous for my taste.
Likely Literary
|
|
SOM-no-lent |
|
1. drowsy; sleepy
2. inducing or tending to induce sleep |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
The quiet murmur of the somnolent stream made vigilance a chore.
Likely Literary
|
vertiginous
Latin |
ver-TIJ-i-nus |
adjective |
1. tending to produce vertigo or dizziness
2. inclined to frequent and often pointless change; inconstant
3. revolving; whirling; rotary |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
The ship hurtled along at a vertiginous speed as it climbed to the very parapets of Heaven.
Likely Literary | Words
That Impress
|
vinaceous
Latin |
vi-NAY-shus |
adjective |
having the color of red wine |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
The vinaceous petals
stood out in stark contrast against the surrounding greenery.
The vinaceous rosefinch is a stunning find for a birdwatcher.
From the Latin vinaceus, meaning "of
wine."
Likely Literary | There's
A Word For That?
|
|
WAH-sul |
|
1. to sit carousing and health-drinking
2. to sing carols from house to house at Xmas
3. to drink to the health or thriving of |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
Our musically inclined neighbors typically wassail us with beautiful carols on Christmas Day, but this year they are out of town.
From the Old Norse toast ves heill, "be well"
Likely Literary
|
|
WI-dur-shinz |
|
1. in a direction opposite to the usual; the wrong way; counterclockwise
2. in a direction contrary to the apparent course of the sun (considered as unlucky or causing disaster) |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes:
* |
"The coracle whirled round, clockwise, then widdershins." (Anthony Bailey)
Chiefly a Scottish dialect word, probably from Middle Low German weddersinnes, lit. "against the way"
Likely Literary, Little-known Synonyms, Sounds Silly
Technically not a German word, since modern German (or "New High German") is different from the Middle Low German (c. 1100 - c. 1500) from which this word is likely descended
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