Vocabulary

Learn a word a day

December 01, 2008

Welsh

welsh /adj
of Wales, its people or its language: the Welsh coastline; Welsh poetry
 
welsh/ v
(on sth) to fail to do sth that one has promised to do: He welshed on the deal.
 
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My last post was more than a month ago, time to catch up on my word blog. Again, if it helps, I finished two books :) Unfortunately it's not the dictonary or 'A' of the encyclopedia.

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October 29, 2008

Viceroy

viceroy /n
a person governing a colony, province, etc as the representative of a king or queen

viceregal /adj of a viceroy

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October 28, 2008

Unbidden

unbidden /adv (fml)
1. without having been asked, invited or ordered: walk in unbidden
2. without conscious effort: memories/ images coming unbidden to one's mind
 
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Yes, long hiatus from learning English, blame my new job.

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October 02, 2008

Thwart

thwart /v
sb (in sth) (esp passive) to prevent sb doing what they intend to do; to oppose a plan, etc successfully: thwarted ambitions; He was thwarted (his his aims) by bad luck.
 
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Been kind of lacking in entries, getting lazy with the flipping of dictionary. But if it helps, I am reading a book.

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September 21, 2008

Scintillating

scintillating /adj
brilliant amusing in a clever way: a scintillating performance/display; (ironic) That was a very scintillating conversation!

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September 18, 2008

Ramshackle

ramshackle /adj
(a) (of houses, vehicles, etc) almost collapsing: a ramshackle old cottage
(b) ((of an organisation or a system) baldy organised or designed: ramshackle government policies

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September 15, 2008

Querulous

querulous /adj
complaining; showing that one is irritated: in a querulous tone of voice; a querulous child
    querulously /adv
    querulousness /n

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September 11, 2008

Proclivity

proclivity /n (for/to sth/doing sth)(fml)
a natural tendency to do sth, esp sth considered strange or bad: have a proclivity to sudden violent rages; his unusual sexual proclivities

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September 10, 2008

Octogenarian

octogenrian /n
a person between 80 and 89 years of age.

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September 09, 2008

Niggle

niggle /v
1. (at sb) (about/over sth) to criticize sb/sth or spend too much time on unimportant details: Stop niggling about every penny we spend, You never say anything nice - all you do is niggle (at me).
2. to irritate or worry sb slightly: His untidiness constantly niggled her.
 
niggle /n
1. a minor criticism: My only niggle about the meal was the cost of the wine.
2. a minor pain: He gets the occasional niggle in his right shoulder.
3. a small worry, doubt, etc: have a few niggles about his fitness for the match on Saturday.

niggling /adj
1. too unimportant to give time or attention to: Don't waste time on niggling details.
2. causing continual slight worry or annoyance: a niggling pain; niggling doubt; She had a niggling feeling that something was wrong at home.

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