Definition (Noun) Melodramatic or hysterical behaviour, typically intended to attract attention. Usually depreciative. In Context "Such histrionics, the account complained, were an affront to good taste and privacy." Harry S. Stout, The Divine Dramatist: George Whitefield and the Rise of Modern Evangelicalism, 1991.
Definition (Noun) A name given to a cat; hence, a cat, especially an old she-cat; contemptuously applied to a jealous or imperious old woman. In Context "Every day he sat on the window ledge, purring in the sun, as happy and contented a grimalkin as ever lived." H. Maria George, "The Old Widow and Her Cat," St. Nicholas, August 1905.
Definition (Adjective) Ill-sounding, having a harsh or unpleasant sound. In Context "Initially, you hear a cacophonous mixture of loud rock music, news broadcasts, and noisy static as though you were listening to dozens of radio stations simultaneously." Neil deGrasse Tyson, Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, 2007.
Definition (Adjective) To be deplored or lamented; lamentable, very sad, grievous, miserable, wretched. Now chiefly used of events, conditions, circumstances. In Context "There is a deplorable tendency to refer to others with whom we do not agree as 'reds,' 'communists,' 'fascists,' 'atheists,' 'radicals,' and other choice epithets." "No Time for Racial Hatreds Among American Citizens," The Capital Times, October 19, 1939.
Definition (Noun) One who copies or writes from the dictation of another. In Context "Some years ago I noticed that almost none of the manuscripts published about jazz and the lives and experiences of black performers were written by Afro-Americans or by the performers themselves, without a ghostwriter or amanuensis." Preston Love, A Thousand Honey Creeks Later: My Life in Music from Basie to Motown – and Beyond, 1997.
Definition (Noun) A gaudy trifle, plaything, or ornament, a pretty thing of little value, a toy or bauble. In Context "Manet applauded the gesture, dismissing the award as a 'dirty gewgaw,' suitable for children and regime toadies." Philip Nord, Impressionists and Politics: Art and Democracy in the Nineteenth Century, 2000.
Definition (Adjective) Of the same blood, related by blood, akin; of or pertaining to those so related. In Context "As a result of this blatant disregard of the canons forbidding consanguineous marriage, she was forced by Pope Innocent III to separate from her husband." John Carmi Parsons and Bonnie Wheeler, Editors, Medieval Mothering, 1996.
Definition (Noun) A person from a humble background who has rapidly gained wealth or an influential social position; a nouveau riche; an upstart, a social climber. Generally used with the implication that the person concerned is unsuited to the new social position, especially through lacking the necessary manners or accomplishments. In Context "In short, Nora's contempt for Society's ways was not the sour grapes of the excluded parvenu; it was the amused disdain of the old aristocracy." Malcolm Macdonald, Sons of Fortune, 1978.
Definition (Adjective) Superficially resembling or simulating, but lacking the genuine character or qualities of, something; not true or genuine; false, sham, counterfeit. In Context "The second potential problem is one of spurious correlations; the chance that an association between one of our scales and independent variable X might actually be due to the action of another independent variable Y." Martin King Whyte, The Status of Women in Preindustrial Societies, 1978.
Definition (Adjective) Strictly observant of or insistent on fine points of procedure, etiquette, or conduct; extremely or excessively particular or correct. Also: characterized by such scrupulous attention to detail or formality. In Context "Spain, degenerate and fallen in many respects, is as punctilious and jealous of her honor as ever she was, and would not hesitate to declare war against the most powerful nation on earth in defense of the least valuable of her possessions." "Cuba and Central America," San Francisco Chronicle, June 21, 1873.
