Category: Word of the Day

Definition: (adjective) Not firm, solid, or securely in place; unstable.

Synonyms: unfirm.

Usage: He climbed carefully up the unsteady ladder and cleaned the leaves that had clogged the gutter around the house.

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Definition: (noun) The floor of a fireplace, usually extending into a room and paved with brick, flagstone, or cement.

Synonyms: fireside.

Usage: They sat on the hearth and warmed themselves before the fire.

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Definition: (adjective) Infirm, feeble, and often senile.

Synonyms: gaga, senile.

Usage: His mother was doddering and frail, so he hired aides to care for her around the clock.

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Definition: (adjective) Lacking in cunning, guile, or worldliness.

Synonyms: artless.

Usage: His ingenuous delight in it was a delight to her, and a new and mutual love-thrill was theirs—because of a flower.

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Definition: (adjective) Happening every second year.

Synonyms: biyearly.

Usage: They met at the biennial convention and lamented the fact that they would not see each other until the next meeting two years later.

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Definition: (adjective) Tending to depart from the main point or cover a wide range of subjects.

Synonyms: excursive, rambling, discursive.

Usage: His speech was digressive and rambling, and we soon tired of the pointless tangents.

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Definition: (adjective) Stubbornly resistant to authority or control.

Synonyms: recalcitrant, refractory.

Usage: The young horse was a fractious animal that would not submit to the harness; no one could ride her.

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Definition: (noun) A distinct feature or element in a problem.

Synonyms: aspect.

Usage: He carefully studied every facet of the question before offering his response.

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Definition: (adjective) Marked by courage and determination in the face of difficulties or danger; robust and uninhibited.

Synonyms: plucky.

Usage: Though she lost her arm in a violent shark attack, the gutsy teen refused to abandon her dream of becoming a world-class surfer and soon returned to the water.

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Definition: (noun) Excess in action and immoderate indulgence of bodily appetites, especially in passion or indulgence.

Synonyms: self-indulgence.

Usage: A slouching, moody, drunken sloven, wasted by intemperance and vice, sat on the stoop and lamented his lot in life.

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