Word of the Day!

Tuesday, Apr. 13, 2021

Purify (verb)
pu·ri·fy [pyoor-uh-fahy]

verb (used with object)
1. to make pure; free from anything that debases, pollutes, adulterates, or contaminates: to purify metals.
2. to free from foreign, extraneous, or objectionable elements: to purify a language.
3. to free from guilt or evil.
4. to clear or purge (usually followed by of or from ).
5. to make clean for ceremonial or ritual use.

verb (used without object)
6. to become pure.

OTHER WORDS FROM PURIFY
pu·ri·fi·ca·tion, noun
pu·rif·i·ca·to·ry [pyoo-rif-i-kuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], adjective
pu·ri·fi·er, noun
non·pu·ri·fi·ca·tion, noun

WORDS RELATED TO PURIFY
absolve, atone, wash, lustrate, fumigate, expiate, purge, decontaminate, sanitize, exculpate, aerate, oxygenate, clarify, redeem, shrive, cleanse, exonerate, chasten, sublimate, deodorize

See synonyms for: purify / purified / purification / purificatory on Thesaurus.com

Origin: 1250–1300; Middle English purifien < Middle French purifier < Latin purificare. See pure, -ify

EXAMPLE SENTENCES FROM THE WEB FOR PURIFY
The manufacturing is complicated because the vaccine virus is grown in living cells before it is purified and bottled.
THE ONE-SHOT VACCINE FROM JOHNSON & JOHNSON NOW HAS FDA SUPPORT IN THE US|ANTONIO REGALADO|FEBRUARY 27, 2021|MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Researchers then extract and purify this protein and combine it with a GSK compound that, when injected, prompts the human immune system to generate defenses, specifically antibodies, against it.
THE GREAT VACCINE RACE: INSIDE THE UNPRECEDENTED SCRAMBLE TO IMMUNIZE THE WORLD AGAINST COVID-19|ALICE PARK|SEPTEMBER 9, 2020|TIME

As for the claims that activated charcoal will help purify your body from toxins?
COULD EATING CHARCOAL HELP YOU DETOX?|DAILYBURN|SEPTEMBER 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

"We have an Islamic government, an interior ministry trying to purify its image, and a conservative masculine society," he says.
EGYPT’S GROWING GAY-RIGHTS MOVEMENT|BEL TREW|MAY 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST

sepulchral [suh-puhl-kruhl]

adjective:
1 of, relating to, or serving as a tomb or sepulchre
2 of or relating to burial.
3 proper to or suggestive of a tomb; funereal or dismal.
4 hollow and deep:

Examples:

Detractors of Lincoln Center have compared the place to a mausoleum, but the absence of artists—and audiences—has made its hulking marble structures particularly sepulchral. (Michael Schulman, How New York City Ballet Took On the Pandemic, The New Yorker, October 2020)

The architect, who was responsible for the Bank of England, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Pitzhanger Manor and many other significant commissions, made his own home a strange and delirious living museum of the dead, with a 'sepulchral chamber' in the cellar containing a sarcophagus, statues of the dead, paintings of ruins. (Chris Waywell, London’s most magical and eccentric house reopens to the public this week, TimeOut, September 2020)

He declared that I was 'breaking the Lord's fourth commandment,' and proceeded to enumerate, in a sepulchral tone, the disasters which had befallen him whenever he had done any ordinary work on the Sabbath. (Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers)

You come to the trenches out of strangely wasted lands, you come perhaps to a wood in an agony of contortions, black, branchless, sepulchral trees, and then no more trees at all. (Lord Dunsany, Tales of War)

Origin:

1610s, 'pertaining to a burial or place of burial,' from Latin sepulcralis 'of a tomb, sepulchral,' from sepulcrum + -al. Transferred sense of 'gloomy' is from 1711. (Online Etymology Dictionary)

Sfumato - noun.

Sfumato is an art term that describes a painting technique where the edges are blurred and blended, leaving a super soft transition. Sfumato translates to gradient in Italian. This is why Renaissance paintings often look otherworldly and glowing. The most famous example, of course, is Da Vinci's Mona Lisa :-)

Tuesday, Apr. 6, 2021

Spurious (adjective)
spu·ri·ous [spyoor-ee-uhs]

adjective
1. not genuine, authentic, or true; not from the claimed, pretended, or proper source; counterfeit.
2. Biology. (of two or more parts, plants, etc.) having a similar appearance but a different structure.
3. of illegitimate birth; bastard.

OTHER WORDS FROM SPURIOUS
spu·ri·ous·ly, adverb
spu·ri·ous·ness, noun
non·spu·ri·ous, adjective
non·spu·ri·ous·ly, adverb

WORDS RELATED TO SPURIOUS
specious, bogus, phony, false, affected, apocryphal, artificial, assumed, bastard, bent, bum, contrived, deceitful, deceptive, dummy, ersatz, feigned, forged, framed, illegitimate

SYNONYMS FOR SPURIOUS
See synonyms for: spurious / spuriousness on Thesaurus.com
1. false, sham, bogus, mock, feigned, phony; meretricious, deceitful.

ANTONYMS FOR SPURIOUS
1. genuine.

Origin: 1590–1600; < Latin spurius bastard, perhaps < Etruscan; see -ous

EXAMPLE SENTENCES FROM THE WEB FOR SPURIOUS
Part of an effective rebuttal to such malicious positions may come from extending our understanding of racism to include the anecdotal, spurious and pseudoscientific birth of these ideas centuries ago.
FACING AMERICA'S HISTORY OF RACISM REQUIRES FACING THE ORIGINS OF 'RACE' AS A CONCEPT|ANDREW CURRAN|JULY 10, 2020|TIME

President Obama repeated the spurious gender wage gap statistic in his State of the Union address.
NO, WOMEN DON’T MAKE LESS MONEY THAN MEN|CHRISTINA HOFF SOMMERS|FEBRUARY 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

As the day progressed, it seemed the misinformation on the internet was growing exponentially spurious by the minute.
THE WOODY ALLEN ALLEGATIONS: NOT SO FAST|ROBERT B. WEIDE|JANUARY 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A spurious, wrong-headed idea that spreads virally and poisons public discourse.
A LEXICAL LIFE RAFT FOR THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN|LIESL SCHILLINGER|OCTOBER 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST

reprehensible [rep-ri-hen-suh-buhl]

adjective:
very bad, deserving very strong criticism

Examples:

In a word, curiosity. Curiosity fueled by a deep, lingering attachment I felt toward even the most reprehensible of characters in The Forgers. (Rebecca Rego Barry, Forgery, Fiction, and Poe with Author Bradford Morrow, Fine Books and Collections, September 2020)

While Joni was finishing her set, I went backstage to tune up and I did something reprehensible - I took a peek in her notebook. (Cindy Stagoff, Richard Thompson explores past in revelatory memoir, 'Beeswing', NJArts.net, February 2021)

And on the strength of peccadillos, reprehensible in an author, but excusable in a son, the Anglo-Saxon race is accused of prudishness, humbug, pretentiousness, deceit, cunning, and bad cooking. (W Somerset Maugham, Moon and Sixpence)

Origin:

late 14c, from Old French reprehensible (14c) or directly from Late Latin reprehensibilis, from reprehens-, past participle stem of Latin reprehendere 'to blame, censure, rebuke; seize, restrain'. (Online Etymology Dictionary)

Howdy friends, I'm still here! I'm barrelling towards the end of the semester and haven't had a few minutes to sit down and queue up entries.

Zarf - noun.

Today's word comes from the Facebook game Word Blitz, which had me asking "Zarf??? That doesn't sound cromulent!"

It turns out that a zarf (plural: zarfs) is an intricate, usually metal holder for cups without a handle. I remember having plastic zarfs as a kid when we went camping. They were plastic holders that Solo cups could be snapped into. Fancy! :-) See you Wednesday!

By Silar - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Tuesday, Mar. 30, 2021

Decry (verb)
decry [ dih-krahy ]

verb (used with object)
1. to speak disparagingly of; denounce as faulty or worthless; express censure of: She decried the lack of support for the arts in this country.
2. to condemn or depreciate by proclamation, as foreign or obsolete coins.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH DECRY
descry

OTHER WORDS FROM DECRY
de·cri·er, noun
un·de·cried, adjective

WORDS RELATED TO DECRY
minimize, belittle, denounce, condemn, disgrace, undervalue, asperse, malign, slam, rap, vilify, traduce, reprehend, discredit, underestimate, depreciate, derogate, reprobate, hit, censure

SYNONYMS FOR DECRY
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
1. belittle, disparage, discredit, depreciate, minimize.

SYNONYM STUDY FOR DECRY
Decry, denigrate, deprecate, derogate all involve the expression of censure or disapproval. Decry means to express one's vigorous disapproval of or to denounce: to decry all forms of discrimination. Denigrate means to speak damagingly of, to criticize in derogative terms: denigrating his works as trifling and poorly executed. Deprecate implies the expression of earnest, thoughtful disapproval: to deprecate a plan because of possible environmental damage. Derogate means to speak in such a way as to decrease the status, high quality, or good reputation of someone or something, making the person or object seem of less value: Fear of change makes them derogate every proposal put forth.

Origin: 1610–20; < French décrier, Old French descrier. See dis- , cry

EXAMPLE SENTENCES FROM THE WEB FOR DECRY
Asked about the Democratic agenda moving through Congress, Wright didn't decry anything in particular, but said the majority didn't have “Texas values” in mind.
THE TRAILER: IS ELECTION REFORM HEADED FOR PASSAGE, COURTS, OR NOWHERE?|DAVID WEIGEL|MARCH 4, 2021|WASHINGTON POST

Several of the defense lawyers not only claim prosecutors have failed to make those cases, but they strongly decry the secretive one-judge grand jury process that led to the charges, a system unique to Michigan and rarely used in the state.
THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS OF FLINT’S WATER CRISIS|BY ANNA CLARK|JANUARY 22, 2021|PROPUBLICA

Again and again, various people in the crowd decry those who are actually trying to do the violent work of breaching the building that the mob is pushing to enter.
INSIDE THE CAPITOL RIOT: WHAT THE PARLER VIDEOS REVEAL|BY ALEC MACGILLIS|JANUARY 17, 2021|PROPUBLICA

Democrats decried the campaign — which was to feature celebrities friendly to the president — as reelection propaganda.
VACCINES WERE A CHANCE TO REDEEM FAILURES IN THE U.S. CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE. WHAT WENT WRONG?|LENA H. SUN, ISAAC STANLEY-BECKER, FRANCES STEAD SELLERS, LAURIE MCGINLEY, AMY GOLDSTEIN, CHRISTOPHER ROWLAND, CAROLYN Y. JOHNSON|JANUARY 11, 2021|WASHINGTON POST

Ensorcelled, ensorceled [en-sawr-suhl -d]

past tense verb:
bewitched, enchanted

Examples:

'Charity,' drawing from W W's 'The Monkey's Paw,' is about a cursed selfie stick that charms its ensorcelled owners into thinking they're taking the best pictures of their lives. (Sam Sacks, Fiction: 'Reality and Other Stories' Review, The Wall Street Journal, March 2021)

How has this seemingly extremely conventional survival game ensorcelled so many people? I stuck on my big beard and picked up my axe, determined to find out. (Fraser Brown, Valheim is better because it rejects boring survival systems, PCGamer, February 2021)

Light gathered in awesome brilliance on the ledge about the pit, thickening like a solid substance, so that the pit, the island, with its great curving horns, and the prisoner upon the draping silvery veil seemed frozen within glittering crystal. The scene was fantastic nightmare ensorcelled into hideous permanence. (Stanley Mullen, The Pit Of Nympthons)

Origin:

from ensorcel, 'to bewitch,' 1540s, from French ensorceller, from Old French ensorceler, a dissimilation of ensorcerer from en- + verb from sorcier 'sorcerer, wizard'

A rare word in English until Richard Burton took it for The Tale of the Ensorcelled Prince, a translation of a title of one of the Arabian Nights tales (1885). The word had been used in an earlier (1838) partial translation, 'The Book of The Thousand Nights and One Night,' by Henry Torrens, whose book Burton knew and admired. It turns up, once, in George Puttenham's 'Arte of English Poesie' (1589), which was reprinted in the early 19th century. Perhaps Torrens saw it there.

Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2021

Fraternize (verb)
frat·er·nize [frat-er-nahyz]

verb (used without object)
1. to associate in a fraternal or friendly way.
2. to associate cordially or intimately with natives of a conquered country, enemy troops, etc.

verb (used with object)
3. Archaic. to bring into fraternal association or sympathy.

Also, especially British, frat·er·nise.

OTHER WORDS FROM FRATERNIZE
frat·er·ni·za·tion, noun
frat·er·niz·er, noun
un·frat·er·nized, adjective
un·frat·er·niz·ing, adjective

WORDS RELATED TO FRATERNIZE
hobnob, rub elbows with, club together, fall in with, make friends, rub shoulders with, run with

SYNONYMS FOR FRATERNIZE
See synonyms for: fraternize / fraternization on Thesaurus.com
1. socialize, mingle, mix, consort, hobnob.

Origin: 1605–15; < French fraterniser < Medieval Latin fraternizare. See fraternal, -ize

EXAMPLE SENTENCES FROM THE WEB FOR FRATERNIZE
They also forbid any US citizen to fraternize or associate with the group.
THE YAKUZA OLYMPICS|JAKE ADELSTEIN|FEBRUARY 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Maybe Margaret would like to fraternize with Mr. Gerald who seems to have the same ideas.
A REAL-LIFE ‘DOWNTON ABBEY’ AFFAIR|MARGARET POWELL|JANUARY 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST

It was then voted, and with enthusiasm, that the Convention should go out and fraternize with the multitude.
MADAME ROLAND, MAKERS OF HISTORY|JOHN S. C. ABBOTT

Such a wonderful spirit among the militia; perhaps the soldiers will fraternize with the strikers.
PRISON MEMOIRS OF AN ANARCHIST|ALEXANDER BERKMAN

brumous [broo-muhs]

adjective:
foggy and wintry; filled or abounding with fog or mist

Examples:

Ellis, who previously wrote and directed Anthropoid and Metro Manila, has an eye for arresting imagery and a knack for tension-building, ratcheting up the action from dour discussions by candlelight, fraught matrimonial silences and brumous forests, to horrifying ethnic cleansing, dreamscapes, and rabid attacks. (Jane Crowther, Eight For Silver review, Sundance 2021, TotalFilm, January 2021)

In the long brumous hours of the evening, I sipped tea next to the small tree oasis overlooking the Potala-like palace. (Nitin Chaudhary, Notes from Leh, The Hindu, August 2019)

There's a brumous, pewter light outside, as if someone had stuck tracing paper against the glass. (Helen Macdonald, H Is For Hawk)

Origin:

French, from Old French, perhaps from Provençal, from Latin brūma, winter (The Free Dictionary)