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Word of the day

valetudinarian \val-i-tood-n-AIR-ee-uh n, -tyood-\

noun:
1. a person who is excessively concerned about his or her poor health or ailments.
2. an invalid.
 
ninnyhammer \NIN-ee-ham-er\

noun:
1. a fool or simpleton; ninny.
 
asterism \AS-tuh-riz-uh m\

noun:
1. Astronomy. a. a group of stars. b. a constellation.
2. Mineralogy. a property of some crystallized minerals of showing a starlike luminous figure in transmitted light or, in a cabochon-cut stone, by reflected light.
 
brevity \BREV-i-tee\

noun:
1. the quality of expressing much in few words; terseness: Ironically, it is long-winded Polonius in Shakespeare's Hamlet who famously says that brevity is the soul of wit.
2. shortness of time or duration; briefness: the brevity of human life.
 
palliate \PAL-ee-eyt\

verb:
1. to relieve or lessen without curing; mitigate; alleviate.
2. to try to mitigate or conceal the gravity of (an offense) by excuses, apologies, etc.; extenuate.
 
tonsorial \ton-SAWR-ee-uh l, -SOHR-\

adjective:
1. of or relating to a barber or barbering: the tonsorial shop.
 
contretemps \KON-truh-tahn\

noun:
1. an inopportune occurrence; an embarrassing mischance: He caused a minor contretemps by knocking over his drink.
 
ersatz \ER-zahts, -sahts, er-ZAHTS, -SAHTS\

adjective
1. serving as a substitute; synthetic; artificial: an ersatz coffee made from grain.

noun
1. an artificial substance or article used to replace something natural or genuine; a substitute.
 
This is for the 9th

raconteuse \rak-uh n-TŒZ, -TOOZ, -TOOS\

noun:
1. a woman who is skilled in relating stories and anecdotes interestingly.
 
This is for the 10th

majuscule \muh-JUHS-kyool, MAJ-uh-skyool\

adjective:
1. large, as either capital or uncial letters.
2. (of letters) capital.
 
namby-pamby \NAM-bee-PAM-bee\

adjective:
1. lacking in character, directness, or moral or emotional strength: namby-pamby writing.
2. without firm methods or policy; weak or indecisive: namby-pamby handling of juvenile offenders.
 
fuliginous \fyoo-LIJ-uh-nuh s\

adjective:
1. sooty; smoky: the fuliginous air hanging over an industrial city.
2. of the color of soot, as dark gray, dull brown, black, etc.
 
ossify \OS-uh-fahy\

verb:
1. to become rigid or inflexible in habits, attitudes, opinions, etc.: a young man who began to ossify right after college.
2. to convert into or cause to harden like bone.
 
avuncular \uh-VUHNG-kyuh-ler\

adjective:
1. of, relating to, or characteristic of an uncle: avuncular affection.
 
miche \mich\

verb:
1. British Dialect. to lurk out of sight.
 
wafflestompers \WOF-uh l-stom-perz\

plural noun:
1. ankle boots with ridged soles, used especially for hiking.
 
endemic \en-DEM-ik\

adjective:
1. natural to or characteristic of a specific people or place; native; indigenous: endemic folkways; countries where high unemployment is endemic.
2. belonging exclusively or confined to a particular place: a fever endemic to the tropics.
 
somaticize \suh-MAT-uh-sahyz, SOH-muh-tuh-\

verb:
1. Psychiatry. to convert (anxiety) into physical symptoms.
 
pecuniary \pi-KYOO-nee-er-ee\

adjective:
1. of or relating to money: pecuniary difficulties.
2. consisting of or given or exacted in money or monetary payments: pecuniary tributes.
 
hoi polloi \HOI puh-LOI\

plural noun:
1. the common people; the masses (often preceded by the).
 
esemplastic \es-em-PLAS-tik, -uh m-\

adjective:
1. having the ability to shape diverse elements or concepts into a unified whole: the esemplastic power of a great mind to simplify the difficult.
 
gimcrack \JIM-krak\

adjective:
1. showy but useless.

noun:
1. a showy, useless trifle; gewgaw.
 
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