Category: Word of the Day

Definition: (verb) Censure severely.

Synonyms: castigate, chasten, objurgate, correct.

Usage: She chastised him for his insensitive remarks about her weight until he was the one crying.
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Definition: (noun) The art of conducting public affairs.

Synonyms: statesmanship, diplomacy.

Usage: Only through superior statecraft was he able to avoid a war while simultaneously achieving favorable trade conditions.
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Definition: (verb) To strengthen physically, mentally, or morally.

Synonyms: sustain, encourage, confirm, cheer, strengthen, reassure, brace, stiffen, hearten, embolden, invigorate.

Usage: Prayer fortified the congregants during their crisis.
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Definition: (verb) Be earlier in time; go back further.

Synonyms: antedate, forego, precede, predate.

Usage: Even though it was found in a higher stratum, the stone tool antecedes the bronze one unearthed nearby.
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Definition: (adjective) Very small.

Synonyms: bantam, diminutive, flyspeck, midget, petite, tiny.

Usage: How am I supposed to fit everything I will need for summer camp in this lilliputian trunk?!
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Definition: (adjective) Inferior in rank or status.

Synonyms: junior-grade, lower-ranking, petty, secondary, lowly.

Usage: The subaltern officer stood at attention as his superiors examined the floor he had just finished scrubbing.
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Definition: (noun) Sudden prostration due to exposure to the sun or excessive heat.

Synonyms: insolation, sunstroke, thermic fever.

Usage: We were stranded in the desert, and it was not long before members of our party began exhibiting signs of siriasis.
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Definition: (noun) Someone who is drafted into military service.

Synonyms: conscript, draftee.

Usage: Before beginning basic training, each inductee was given a haircut and a uniform.
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Definition: (adjective) With no effort to conceal.

Synonyms: bald.

Usage: They attacked him in various ways—with barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises; but he eluded the skill of them all.
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Definition: (verb) Show one’s unhappiness or critical attitude.

Synonyms: grumble, scold.

Usage: He always grouches about his job, but deep down he really loves it.
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