Category: Word of the Day

Definition: (noun) A route shorter than the usual one.
Synonyms: shortcut, crosscut.
Usage: My father claimed he knew a great cutoff, but it turned out to be longer than our original route.
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Source: The Free Dictionary

Definition: (noun) A small wooden embroidery frame consisting of two concentric hoops between which fabric is stretched.
Synonyms: embroidery frame, embroidery hoop.
Usage: She was addicted to needlepoint and took her tambour wherever she went.
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Source: The Free Dictionary

Definition: (adjective) Of, relating to, or marked by perfidy; treacherous.
Synonyms: punic, treacherous.
Usage: After Frank betrayed him, James swore he would never forgive his friend's perfidious behavior.
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Source: The Free Dictionary

Definition: (noun) Someone who is repeatedly arrested for criminal behavior, especially for the same criminal behavior.
Synonyms: habitual criminal, repeater.
Usage: After his third arrest for petty theft, it became clear to the local police that they had a recidivist on their hands.
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Source: The Free Dictionary

Definition: (adjective) Warlike in manner or temperament; pugnacious.
Synonyms: battleful, combative, contentious.
Usage: She had always found him to be bellicose and was not surprised when he was expelled from the military academy for his belligerent and violent behavior.
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Source: The Free Dictionary

Definition: (noun) A craft capable of moving over water or land on a cushion of air created by jet engines.
Synonyms: ground-effect machine.
Usage: The police lost track of the bank robbers at the water's edge, where the thieves escaped in a hovercraft.
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Source: The Free Dictionary

Definition: (adjective) Unkempt; slovenly.
Synonyms: slovenly.
Usage: Between his frowzy clothes and late arrival, he made a decidedly bad first impression.
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Source: The Free Dictionary

Definition: (adjective) Having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression, or intellect.
Synonyms: searching.
Usage: His trenchant criticism redirected the debate and gave everyone something new to consider.
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Source: The Free Dictionary

Definition: (adjective) Feeding on plants, including shrubs and trees.
Synonyms: plant-eating, phytophilous.
Usage: The dot moth is phytophagous, feeding on a wide variety of plants.
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Source: The Free Dictionary

Definition: (noun) A medicine or drug, especially a cathartic.
Synonyms: aperient, cathartic, purgative.
Usage: "Affery, woman," said Mr. Flintwinch, with a friendly grin on his expressive countenance, "if you ever have a dream of this sort again, it'll be a sign of your being in want of physic."
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Source: The Free Dictionary