Word Power 2023-2024 Vocabulary

a fortiori

For a still stronger reason; all the more.

ab initio

From the beginning

abscission

1. The act of cutting off.

2. Botany The shedding of leaves, flowers, or fruits following the formation of the abscission zone.

acquittal

1. Judgment, as by a jury or judge, that a defendant is not guilty of a crime as charged.

2. The state of being found or proved not guilty.

acrodont

Having teeth attached to the edge of the jawbone without sockets.

ad valorem

In proportion to the value.

adipocere

A brown, fatty, waxlike substance that forms on dead animal tissues in response to moisture.

aiguille

1. A sharply pointed mountain peak, especially one of several on a larger massif.

2. A needle-shaped drill for boring holes in rock or masonry.

akimbo

adv.

In or into a position in which the hands are on the hips and the elbows are bowed outward

adj.

1. Placed in such a way as to have the hands on the hips and the elbows bowed outward

2. Being in a bent, bowed, or arched position

alcazar

A Spanish palace or fortress, originally one built by the Moors.

alpha privative

The prefix a- or an- before vowels, used in Greek and in English words borrowed from Greek to express absence or negation.

amalgamation

1. The act of amalgamating or the condition resulting from this act.

2. A consolidation or merger, as of several corporations.

3. The production of a metal alloy of mercury.

ametropia

An eye abnormality, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism, resulting from faulty refractive ability of the eye.

anaglyph

1. An ornament carved in low relief.

2. A moving or still picture consisting of two slightly different perspectives of the same subject in contrasting colors that are superimposed on each other, producing a three-dimensional effect when viewed through two correspondingly colored filte

anaphylactic shock

Anaphylaxis in which systemic vasodilation results in sho

anecdotal

1. Of, characterized by, or full of anecdotes.

2. Based on casual observations or indications rather than rigorous or scientific analysis

anemochory

Dispersal of seeds, fruits, or other plant parts by wind.

animadvert

To remark or comment critically, usually with strong disapproval or censure.

anosmic

Loss of the sense of smell

anthrax

1. A serious infectious disease of mammals caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, most commonly affecting grazing animals. The disease can be transmitted to humans by handling infected animals or contaminated animal products (resulting in cutaneous lesions), by ingesting contaminated meat, or by inhaling bacterial spores.

2. A lesion caused by a serious infectious disease of mammals

ao dai

A long-sleeved, usually full-length garment with sides slit up to the hips, traditionally worn by Vietnamese women over loose trousers.

aphonia

Loss of the voice resulting from disease, injury to the vocal cords, or various psychological causes, such as hysteria.

apparatchik

1. A member of a Communist apparat.

2. An unquestioningly loyal subordinate, especially of a political leader or organization.

appreciable

Possible to estimate, measure, or perceive: appreciable changes in temperature; perceptible

Arikara

1. A member of a Native American people formerly inhabiting the Missouri River valley from Kansas into the Dakotas and now located in western North Dakota. Traditional life was based on agriculture and trade with the Plains Indians to the west.

2. The Caddoan language of this people

assigned

1. To select for a duty or office; appoint: firefighters assigned to the city's industrial park. See Synonyms at appoint.

2. To set apart for a particular purpose or place in a particular category; designate: assigned the new species to an existing genus. See Synonyms at allocate.

3. To give out as a task; allot: assigned homework to the class.

4. To ascribe; attribute: assigned blame for the loss to a lack of good defense. See Synonyms at attribute.

5. To match or pair with: assign a value to each of the variables.

6. Law To transfer (property, rights, or interests) from one to another.

n.
Law

An assignee.

bagasse

The dry, fibrous residue remaining after the extraction of juice from the crushed stalks of sugarcane, used as a source of cellulose for some paper products.

balmacaan

A loose, full overcoat with raglan sleeves, originally made of rough woolen cloth.

baronial

1. Of or relating to a baron or barony.

2. Suited for or befitting a baron; stately and grand

barratry

1. The act or practice of bringing a groundless lawsuit or lawsuits.

2. An unlawful breach of duty on the part of a ship's master or crew resulting in injury to the ship's owner.

3. Sale or purchase of positions in church or state.

bazooka

A shoulder-held weapon consisting of a long metal smoothbore tube for firing armor-piercing rockets at short range.

bdellium

An aromatic gum resin similar to myrrh, produced by certain Asian and African shrubs or trees of the genus Commiphora.

beccafico

Any of various small songbirds that are eaten as a delicacy in Italy and France.

bicephalous

Having two heads

Bloemfontein

A city of central South Africa east-southeast of Kimberley. It is unofficially called the judicial capital of the country because the appellate division of the national supreme court sits here.

bodhisattva

An enlightened being who, out of compassion, forgoes nirvana in order to save others.

brevet

n.

A commission promoting a military officer in rank without an increase in pay.

To promote by brevet.

breviary

A book containing the hymns, offices, and prayers for the canonical hours.

cachexia

Weight loss, wasting of muscle, loss of appetite, and general debility that can occur during a chronic disease.

calenture

A tropical fever once believed to be caused by the heat.

calvados

A French brandy made from apples.

capacitance

n.

1. Symbol C

a. The ratio of charge to potential on an electrically charged, isolated conductor.

b. The ratio of the electric charge transferred from one to the other of a pair of conductors to the resulting potential difference between them.

2.

a. The property of a circuit element that permits it to store charge.

b. The part of the circuit exhibiting capacitance.

castanet

A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of slightly concave shells of ivory or hardwood, held in the palm of the hand by a connecting cord over the thumb and clapped together with the fingers.

casuistic

1. Specious or excessively subtle reasoning intended to rationalize or mislead.

2. The determination of right and wrong in questions of conduct or conscience by analyzing cases that illustrate general ethical rules.

catastasis

1. The intensified part of the action directly preceding the catastrophe in classical tragedy.

2. The climax of a drama.

catchword

1. A well-known word or phrase, especially one that exemplifies a notion, class, or quality

2. Printing

a. A guideword.

b. The first word of a page printed in the bottom right-hand corner of the preceding page.

causerie

1. An informal discussion or chat, especially of an intellectual nature.

2. A short conversational piece of writing or criticism.

ceilidh

A social gathering with traditional Irish or Scottish music, dancing, and storytelling.

centesimal

Relating to or divided into hundredths.

cerotype

The process of preparing a printing surface for electrotyping by first engraving on a wax-coated metal plate.

chasmogamous

Of or relating to a flower that is pollinated after it opens.

chatoyant

Having a changeable luster.

chiffonier

A narrow high chest of drawers or bureau, often with a mirror attached

Chiricahua

A member of a formerly nomadic Apache tribe inhabiting southern New Mexico, southeast Arizona, and northern Mexico, with present-day populations in Oklahoma and New Mexico.

chthonic

Of or relating to the underworld.

circadian

Relating to or exhibiting approximately 24-hour periodicity.

clerisy

Educated people considered as a group; the literati.

collocation

1. The act of collocating or the state of being collocated.

2. An arrangement or juxtaposition of words or other elements, especially those that commonly co-occur, as rancid butter, bosom buddy, or dead serious.

compleat

1. Of or characterized by a highly developed or wide-ranging skill or proficiency

2. Being an outstanding example of a kind; quintessential

concavity

1. The state of being curved like the inner surface of a sphere.

2. A surface or structure configured in such a curve.

concretize

To make real or specific

consortium

1.

a. An association or a combination, as of businesses, financial institutions, or investors, for the purpose of engaging in a joint venture.

b. A cooperative arrangement among groups or institutions

2. An association or society.

3. The typical collection of benefits arising from marriage, including companionship, love, assistance, and sexual relations, which may have value recognized under law.

continuum

1. A continuous extent, succession, or whole, no part of which can be distinguished from neighboring parts except by arbitrary division.

2. Mathematics

a. A set having the same number of points as all the real numbers in an interval.

b. The set of all real numbers.

contraption

A mechanical device; a gadget.

Coventry

A city of central England east-southeast of Birmingham. Famous as the home of Lady Godiva in the 11th century, this city was severely damaged in air raids during World War II (November 1940).

cravenly

Characterized by abject fear; cowardly.

n.

A coward.

cretinism

A congenital condition caused by a deficiency of thyroid hormone during prenatal development and characterized by small stature, intellectual disability, dystrophy of the bones, and a low basal metabolism.

cuesta

A ridge with a gentle slope on one side and a cliff on the other

cyclotron

An early particle accelerator in which charged subatomic particles generated at a central source are accelerated spirally outward in a plane perpendicular to a fixed magnetic field by an alternating electric field. A cyclotron is capable of generating particle energies between a few million and several tens of millions of electron volts.

Dakar

The capital and largest city of Senegal, in the western part of the country on the Atlantic Ocean. It grew around a French fort built in 1857 and was the capital of French West Africa from 1902 to 1959.

dariole

1. A small cooking mold.

2. A dish, as of vegetables, fish, custard, or pastry, that is cooked and served in a small mold.

decorticate

1. To remove the bark, husk, or outer layer from; peel.

2. To remove the surface layer, membrane, or fibrous cover of (an organ or structure).

decumbent

1. Lying down; reclining.

2. Botany Lying or growing on the ground but with erect or rising tips: decumbent stems.

defeasance

1. A rendering void; an annulment.

2.

a. The voiding of a contract or deed.

b. A clause within a contract or deed providing for annulment.

definiens

A word or expression that is being defined.

dentifrice

A substance, such as a paste or powder, for cleaning the teeth.

derailleur

A device for shifting gears on a bicycle by moving the chain between sprocket wheels of different sizes.

despot

1. A ruler with absolute power.

2. A person who wields power oppressively; a tyrant.

3.

a. A Byzantine emperor or prince.

b. An Eastern Orthodox bishop or patriarch.

diagnostician

A person who diagnoses, especially a physician specializing in medical diagnostics.

dinghy

1. A small open boat carried or towed as a tender, lifeboat, or pleasure craft by a larger boat.

2. A small rowboat or motorboat.

3. An inflatable rubber life raft.

4. A small recreational sailboat, especially one designed for racing

discombobulate

To throw into a state of confusion; befuddle

disinclination

A lack of inclination; a mild aversion or reluctance.

disseminate

1. To scatter widely, as in sowing seed.

2. To spread abroad; promulgate: disseminate news.

v.intr.

To become diffused; spread.

doggerel

Crudely or irregularly fashioned verse, often of a humorous or burlesque nature.

draconian

Exceedingly harsh; very severe

dulcet

1.

a. Pleasing to the ear; melodious.

b. Having a soothing, agreeable quality.

2. Archaic Sweet to the taste.

duplicitous

Given to or marked by deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech.

dyspepsia

Disturbed digestion; indigestion.

eccentricity

1.

a. The quality of being eccentric.

b. Deviation from the normal, expected, or established.

2. An example or instance of eccentric behavior.

3. Physics The distance between the center of an eccentric and its axis.

4. Mathematics

a. The ratio of the distance of any point on a conic section from a focus to its distance from the corresponding directrix. This ratio is constant for any particular conic section.

b. Such a ratio used to define the shape of the orbit or path of a celestial body or satellite.

ecumenism

1. A movement promoting unity among Christian churches or denominations.

2. A movement promoting worldwide unity among religions through greater cooperation and improved understanding.

effusion

1.

a. The act or an instance of effusing.

b. Liquid or other matter poured forth.

2. An unrestrained outpouring of feeling, as in speech or writing: "the devout effusions of sacred eloquence" (Edmund Burke).

3. Medicine

a. The seeping of serous, purulent, or bloody fluid into a body cavity or tissue.

b. The effused fluid.

ekistics

The science of human settlements, including city or community planning and design.

eldritch

Strange or unearthly; eerie.

elutriate

1. To purify, separate, or remove (ore, for example) by washing, decanting, and settling.

2. To wash away the lighter or finer particles of (soil, for example).

encomiast

A person who delivers or writes an encomium; a eulogist.

ensconce

1. To settle (oneself) securely or comfortably

2. To place or conceal in a secure place.

epicurism

The beliefs, tastes, or lifestyle of an epicure

(1. A person with refined taste, especially in food and wine.

2. A person devoted to sensuous pleasure and luxurious living.)

equitation

The art and practice of riding a horse.

erudition

Deep, extensive learning; knowledge

erysipelas

1. An acute bacterial infection of the skin and superficial lymphatic vessels, caused by streptococci and marked by localized inflammation and fever. Also called Saint Anthony's fire.

2. Infection of pigs, sheep, turkeys, or other animals with the bacterium Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, characterized by symptoms such as skin lesions and arthritis in mammals and septicemia in fowl. Humans who become infected with the bacterium from handling infected animals or animal products can develop erysipeloid.