Category: Word of the Day

Definition: (noun) A quaint and amusing jest.

Synonyms: waggery.

Usage: We filed into the parlor for some entertainment from Uncle Jones, who was known for his drollery and excellent impersonation of Aunt Cecilia.

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Definition: (noun) A fit of violent emotion, such as anger or panic.

Synonyms: fit, tantrum, scene.

Usage: When he discovered that his soup was only lukewarm, he had a conniption and stormed out of the restaurant.

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Definition: (adjective) Unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech.

Synonyms: unctuous, buttery, oleaginous, smarmy, oily.

Usage: His introduction contained such fulsome flattery that I began to wonder whether anything else he said could be trusted.

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Definition: (noun) A purplish-red dye derived from certain lichens.

Synonyms: archil, orchil.

Usage: The monks secured a small sample of cudbear to see if it could be used in their illuminated manuscripts.

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Definition: (noun) A mischievous, troublesome, or unruly person.

Synonyms: devil, heller.

Usage: He chased the young hellions out of his yard, but the boys had already trampled his wife’s precious flowerbeds, and the blooms could not be salvaged.

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Definition: (noun) The abode of Satan and the forces of evil; where sinners suffer eternal punishment.

Synonyms: Hell, infernal region, nether region, Inferno.

Usage: She feared the fires of perdition and listened closely to the preacher’s sermon about purity of heart and avoiding sin.

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Definition: (noun) A sleeveless garment similar to an apron, worn especially by small girls as a dress or an overdress.

Synonyms: jumper, pinny.

Usage: Dolly came into the yard sobbing and crying, with her little blue frock and white pinafore spattered all over with mud.

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Definition: (noun) Extreme want or poverty; destitution.

Synonyms: indigence, pauperism, beggary, need.

Usage: Fyne did not know what it might mean to be suddenly reduced from riches to absolute penury.

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Definition: (noun) A small elevator used to convey food (or other goods) from one floor of a building to another.

Synonyms: food elevator.

Usage: The cook put the food on the dumbwaiter and sent it upstairs, where the waiters served it.

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Definition: (adjective) Stubbornly contrary and disobedient; obstinate.

Synonyms: headstrong, self-willed, willful.

Usage: Her siblings were obedient and well-behaved, but she was froward and stubborn.

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