Word of the Week – Page 18 – Princeton Writes

Word of the Week: intransigent (ĭn-TRĂN-sə-jənt)

Stephanie Whetstone2021-05-11T11:36:17-04:00

Word of the Week: intransigent (ĭn-TRĂN-sə-jənt) Definition (Adjective) That refuses to come to terms or make any compromise (in politics); uncompromising, irreconcilable. In Context "In his presummit assessment in August 1978, Samuel Lewis, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said it was impossible to decide in the abstract whether Begin's firmness was that of 'an intransigent hardliner' or just 'a tough bargainer,' but the White House preferred to assume the latter." David Reynolds, Summits: Six Meetings That Shaped the Twentieth Century, 2007.

Word of the Week: intransigent (ĭn-TRĂN-sə-jənt)Stephanie Whetstone2021-05-11T11:36:17-04:00

Word of the Week: vainglory (VĀN-glôr-ē)

Stephanie Whetstone2021-05-11T11:34:29-04:00

Word of the Week: vainglory (VĀN-glôr-ē) Definition (Noun) Glory that is vain, empty, or worthless; inordinate or unwarranted pride in one's accomplishments or qualities; disposition or tendency to exalt oneself unduly; idle boasting or vaunting. In Context "Though there always will be soldiers and sailors 'seeking the bubble reputation, even in the cannon's mouth,' it seems that the vainglory of individual commanders has lately become less dangerous in war, as improvements in the technology of communications and surveillance have increased the ability of senior commanders to control subordinate officers." Steven Weinberg, Lake Views: This World and the Universe, 2009.

Word of the Week: vainglory (VĀN-glôr-ē)Stephanie Whetstone2021-05-11T11:34:29-04:00

Word of the Week: piebald (PĪ-bôld)

Stephanie Whetstone2021-05-11T11:32:17-04:00

Word of the Week: piebald (PĪ-bôld) Definition (Adjective) Chiefly derogatory. Composed of differing or incongruous parts; motley, mixed. In Context "He was surveying the piebald capital of terminal Communism, a place where the glorious swirl and stripe of St. Basil's Cathedral seems increasingly exceptional as the bureaucrats make a colorless theme park of the city." Francis X. Clines, "Architect's Lament: Moscow So Drab," The New York Times, March 18, 1990.

Word of the Week: piebald (PĪ-bôld)Stephanie Whetstone2021-05-11T11:32:17-04:00

bunkum (BŬNG-kəm)

Stephanie Whetstone2021-04-06T12:54:57-04:00

bunkum (BŬNG-kəm) Definition (Noun) Empty clap-trap oratory; "tall talk"; humbug. In Context "I heard of some interesting cases of bunkum, by which is signified the bringing forward of a sham proposal, in order to catch popular applause." William Chambers, Things As They Are in America, 1854.

bunkum (BŬNG-kəm)Stephanie Whetstone2021-04-06T12:54:57-04:00

prevaricate (prĭ-VĂR-ĭ-kāt)

Stephanie Whetstone2021-04-06T12:52:57-04:00

Definition (Verb) To deviate from straightforwardness; to speak or act in an evasive way; to quibble, equivocate. In Context "If a crisis nevertheless occurred then the appropriate course of action was to prevaricate, to avoid drawing lines in the sand, and to seek a compromise solution that would permit both sides to step back from the brink with honour intact." John Stone, Military Strategy: The Politics and Technique of War, 2011.

prevaricate (prĭ-VĂR-ĭ-kāt)Stephanie Whetstone2021-04-06T12:52:57-04:00

convivial (kən-VĬV-ē-əl)

Stephanie Whetstone2021-04-06T12:51:30-04:00

Definition (Adjective) Of or belonging to a feast or banquet; characterized by feasting or jovial companionship; such as befits a feast, festive. In Context "Voltaire was particularly attracted by the fact that the Fontaine-Martel house was a convivial establishment, in which she would often invite her lodgers to eat and drink together, at suppers which were apparently long and gay." Ian Davidson, Voltaire: A Life, 2010.

convivial (kən-VĬV-ē-əl)Stephanie Whetstone2021-04-06T12:51:30-04:00

Word of the Week: canard (kə-NÄRD)

Stephanie Whetstone2021-04-06T12:57:37-04:00

Word of the Week: canard (kə-NÄRD) Definition (Noun) An extravagant or absurd story circulated to impose on people's credulity; a hoax, a false report. In Context "The news of the awful calamity of Johnstown, Pa., with all its horrors, appalled us; and so frightful and improbable were the reports, that it required twenty-four hours to satisfy ourselves that it was not a canard." Clara Barton, The Red Cross in Peace and War, 1898.

Word of the Week: canard (kə-NÄRD)Stephanie Whetstone2021-04-06T12:57:37-04:00

Word of the Week: tatterdemalion (tăt-ər-dĭ-MĀL-yən)

Stephanie Whetstone2020-05-12T11:37:46-04:00

Word of the Week: tatterdemalion (tăt-ər-dĭ-MĀL-yən) Definition (Noun) A person in tattered clothing; a ragged or beggarly fellow; a ragamuffin. In Context "Whenever his name was mentioned, she had a vague impression of a bearded tatterdemalion like Ben Gunn in Treasure Island, leading a lonely existence on some bleak, salty islet, his pants in rags and his wristwatch corroded from the seawater." Donna Tartt, The Little Friend, 2002.

Word of the Week: tatterdemalion (tăt-ər-dĭ-MĀL-yən)Stephanie Whetstone2020-05-12T11:37:46-04:00

Word of the Week: screed (skrēd)

Stephanie Whetstone2020-05-12T11:59:24-04:00

Word of the Week: screed (skrēd) Definition (Noun) A long roll or list; a lengthy discourse or harangue; a gossiping letter or piece of writing. In Context "The first article ever penned by Thomas Paine was a powerful screed against slavery." Carl M. Cannon, The Pursuit of Happiness in Times of War, 2004.

Word of the Week: screed (skrēd)Stephanie Whetstone2020-05-12T11:59:24-04:00

Word of the Week: roil (ˈrȯi(-ə)l ) (Submitted by Julie Mellby, Graphic Arts Librarian)

admin2020-10-01T16:45:41-04:00

Word of the week: roil (ˈrȯi(-ə)l) (Submitted by Julie Mellby, Graphic Arts Librarian) Definition (transitive verb) 1a. to make turbid by stirring up the sediment or dregs of b. to stir up : DISTURB, DISORDER 2. RILE sense 1 (intransitive verb) to move turbulently : be in a state of turbulence or agitation In Context Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman,"Trump Fans Strife as Unrest Roils the U.S." The New York Times, Aug. 31, 2020 "The debate over what was said to the commission — and why — comes as protests over the police shooting of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., continue to roil communities [...]

Word of the Week: roil (ˈrȯi(-ə)l ) (Submitted by Julie Mellby, Graphic Arts Librarian)admin2020-10-01T16:45:41-04:00

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