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.