March 2020
bruit
/bruːt/
verb
1. spread (a report or rumour) widely.
“I didn’t want to have our relationship bruited about the office”
noun
1.
ARCHAIC
a report or rumour.
“the wildest bruits were greedily credited”
2.
MEDICINE
a sound, especially an abnormal one, heard through a stethoscope; a murmur.
February 2020
discrete (not to be confused with discreet)
/dɪˈskriːt/
adjective
1. individually separate and distinct.
“speech sounds are produced as a continuous sound signal rather than discrete units”
synonyms: separate, distinct, individual, detached, unattached, disconnected, discontinuous, disjunct, disjoined
origins: Latin, discretus meaning separate
January 2020
militate (not to be confused with mitigate)
ˈmɪlɪteɪt/
verb
verb: militate; 3rd person present: militates; past tense: militated; past participle: militated; gerund or present participle: militating
(of a fact or circumstance) be a powerful or conclusive factor in preventing.
“these fundamental differences will militate against the two communities coming together”
December 2019
historic (not to be confused with “historical”)
/hɪˈstɒrɪk/
adjective
1. famous or important in history, or potentially so.
“the area’s numerous historic sites”
synonyms:
famous, famed, important, significant, notable, celebrated, renowned, momentous, headline, consequential, outstanding, extraordinary, memorable, unforgettable, remarkable, landmark, groundbreaking, epoch-making, red-letter, of importance, of significance, of consequence, earth-shaking, earth-shattering
“we are standing on a historic site”
2. GRAMMAR
(of a tense) used in the narration of past events, especially Latin and Greek imperfect and pluperfect.
January 2019
terpsichorean
/ˌtəːpsɪkəˈriːən/
FORMAL•HUMOROUS
adjective
1. 1.
relating to dancing.
“‘the twist’ was a revolutionary terpsichorean innovation”
noun
1. 1.
a dancer.
December 2018
tenet
/ˈtɛnɪt,ˈtiːnɛt/
noun
plural noun: tenets
a principle or belief, especially one of the main principles of a religion or philosophy.
“the tenets of classical liberalism”
synonyms: principle, belief, doctrine, precept, creed, credo, article of faith, dogma, canon, rule; theory, component of a theory, thesis, conviction, persuasion, idea, view, opinion, position, hypothesis, postulation, presumption; ideology, code of belief, teaching(s)
“recycling is a core tenet of the environmental faith”
November 2018
phenomenon: (endangered singular version of the over-used phenomena!)phenomenon
/fəˈnɒmɪnən/Submit
noun
1.
a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question.
“glaciers are interesting natural phenomena”
synonyms: occurrence, event, happening, fact, situation, circumstance, experience, case, incident, episode, sight, appearance, thing
“war was not a rare phenomenon in the 18th century”
2.
PHILOSOPHY
the object of a person’s perception.
October 2018
meretricious
ˌmɛrɪˈtrɪʃəs/
adjective
1.
apparently attractive but having no real value.
“meretricious souvenirs for the tourist trade”
synonyms:
flashy, pretentious, gaudy, tawdry, trashy, garish, chintzy, Brummagem, loud, tinselly, cheap, tasteless, kitschy; More
2.
archaic
relating to or characteristic of a prostitute.