March 2021

opprobrium

[əˈprəʊbrɪəm]

NOUN

1. harsh criticism or censure.

“the critical opprobrium generated by his films”

2. public disgrace arising from shameful conduct.

“the opprobrium of being closely associated with gangsters”

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.