maunder \MON-duhr\ (intransitive verb) - 1 : To talk incoherently; to speak in a rambling manner. 2 : To wander aimlessly or confusedly.

"But if it be given to a man 'to maunder away his mind in softness,' he cannot live otherwise than as nature has made him. Such a man must maunder." -- Anthony Trollope, 'An Old Man's Love'

Maunder is perhaps...Read more

contretemps \KAHN-truh-tahn\ (noun) - An inopportune or embarrassing situation or event; a hitch.

"For the moment, the author goes from contretemps to contretemps. I have nothing against contretemps. I adore the Inferno. But how could I read it if I didn't know in advance that Dante won't let himself be turned away at the last minute from ...Read more

ululate - \UL-yuh-layt; YOOL-\ (intransitive verb) - To howl, as a dog or a wolf; to wail; as, ululating jackals.

"They began to ululate again, rolling their tongues so that their spittle flew as they emitted that terrible keening sound." -- Wilbur Smith, 'The Triumph of the Sun‎

Ululate derives from Latin ululare, to howl, to yell, ...Read more

impervious - \im-PUR-vee-uhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Not admitting of entrance or passage through; impenetrable. 2 : Not capable of being harmed or damaged. 3 : Not capable of being affected.

"She lay peacefully asleep, impervious to the man who watched her. Impervious to the fate that awaited her. Impervious to the cold that would blanket her." -- ...Read more

auspicious - \aw-SPISH-uhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Giving promise of success, prosperity, or happiness; predicting good; as, "an auspicious beginning." 2 : Prosperous; fortunate; as, "auspicious years."

"She is thin, wears only auspicious ornaments, speaks slowly and haltingly, and the pale complexion of her face outdoes the moonlight of the morning...Read more

equanimity - \ee-kwuh-NIM-uh-tee; ek-wuh-\ (noun) - 1 : Evenness of mind; calmness; composure; as, "to bear misfortunes with equanimity."

"When he made a profit, he accepted it with equanimity; when he made losses, he laughed and said: 'Well, look at this, so this one turned out badly!'" -- Herman Hesse, 'Siddhartha'

Equanimity comes from ...Read more

megalomania - \meg-uh-lo-MAY-nee-ah; -nyuh\ (noun) - 1 : A mania for grandiose or extravagant things or actions. 2 : A mental disorder characterized by delusions of grandeur.

"I'd call it incipient megalomania because he's spending far beyond sanity on self-aggrandisement." -- Dick Francis, 'Come to Grief'

Megalomania is Scientific Latin, from...Read more

euphonious - \yoo-FOH-nee-uhs\ (adjective) - Pleasing or sweet in sound; smooth-sounding.

"Pink isn't euphonious. I had a girlfriend once who called me Rosy. That wasn't good either." -- Antonia Susan Byatt, 'Still Life'

Euphonious comes from Greek euphonos, "sweet-voiced," from eu-, "well" (hence "sweetly") + phonos, from phone, "voice, sound...Read more

introspection \in-truh-SPEK-shuhn\ (noun) - The act or process of self-examination; contemplation of one's own thoughts and feelings; a looking inward.

"One could argue that most of the trouble in the world is caused by introspection. I'm not thinking of things like war, famine, disease, or violent crime -- not that sort of trouble." -- Nick ...Read more

aggress \uh-GRES\ (intransitive verb) - To commit the first act of hostility or offense; to make an attack.

"No, sir. We know they exist, of course, because we trade with them for chairs and bottles, and we know there are tmes we face away from certain places because they might be there and if we don't see them, we won't aggress because we have...Read more

osculation \os-kyuh-LAY-shuhn\ (noun) - The act of kissing; also: a kiss.

"Within a week fifty thousand women in forty counties had pictured to themselves this osculation of intellects, and shrugged their shoulders, and decided once more that men were incomprehensible." -- Arnold Bennett, 'The Old Wives' Tale'

Osculation comes from osculatio, ...Read more

mores \MOR-ayz; -eez\ (plural noun) - 1 : The fixed customs of a particular group that are morally binding upon all members of the group. 2 : Moral attitudes. 3 : Customs; habits; ways.

"After him I love
More than I love these eyes, more than my life,
More, by all mores,than e'er I shall love wife.
If I do feign, you ...Read more

chimerical \ky-MER-ih-kuhl; -MIR-; kih-\ (adjective) - 1 : Merely imaginary; produced by or as if by a wildly fanciful imagination; fantastic; improbable or unrealistic. 2 : Given to or indulging in unrealistic fantasies or fantastic schemes.

"They never overtook the chimerical friend, yet Andrea frequently inquired of walking passers and at ...Read more

upbraid \uhp-BRAYD\ (transitive verb) - To scold or criticize harshly.

"Verily, I have taken from you a hundred formulae and your virtue's favourite playthings; and now ye upbraid me, as children upbraid." -- Friedrich Nietzsche, 'Thus Spake Zarathustra'

Upbraid is from Middle English upbreiden, from Old English upbregdan, "to twist up, hence ...Read more

peregrination \pehr-uh-gruh-NAY-shun\ (noun) - A traveling from place to place; a wandering.

"In the meane season I frequented the sacrifices of Serapis, which were done in the night, which thing gave me great comfort to my peregrination, and ministred unto me more plentifull living, considering I gained some money in haunting the court, by ...Read more

disconcert \dis-kuhn-SURT\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To disturb the composure of. 2 : To throw into disorder or confusion; as, "the emperor disconcerted the plans of his enemy."

"In Natasha Prince Andrew was conscious of a strange world completely alient to him and brimful of joys unknown to him, a different world that in the Otradnoe avenue and ...Read more

apostasy \uh-POS-tuh-see\ (noun) - Total desertion or departure from one's faith, principles, or party.

"I understand apostasy, in the sense of abandonment of established policy or of doctrine -- and I must tell you that I cannot see how anyone could Pelagius or abandoning Christianity or its teachings -- but I don't understand the meaning of ...Read more

lineament \LIN-ee-uh-muhnt\ (noun) - 1 : One of the outlines, exterior features, or distinctive marks of a body or figure, particularly of the face. 2 : A distinguishing or characteristic feature; -- usually in the plural.

"Over the years Hardin had taken on the lineaments of evil. You would sometimes see him on a Saturday streetcorner, the ...Read more

refulgent \rih-FUL-juhnt\ (adjective) - Shining brightly; radiant; brilliant; resplendent.

"For an instant, refulgent in his halo of media lights, the camerlengo looked celestial, like some kind of modern deity." -- Dan Brown, 'Angels and Demons'

Refulgent comes from the present participle of Latin refulgere, "to flash back, to shine brightly,...Read more

Dear Word Guy,

I have a lot of time on my hands now, what with being expelled from the U.S. Congress and all, so I've had time to ponder several important questions: Are criminal penalties tax deductible? Is it wrong to while away the hours binge watching "The Decameron" on Netflix? Or should that be "wile away the hours"? -- George S.

Dear ...Read more