Word of the Day Archive/December 2000
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oneiric:
a pertaining to or suggestive of dreams.
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execrable:
detestable; extremely bad.
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patina:
a superficial layer.
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caveat:
a warning or caution.
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nonage:
a period of immaturity; minority.
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atelier:
a workshop; a studio.
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fetid:
stinking.
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itinerant:
going from place to place.
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conurbation:
an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities.
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equipoise:
equilibrium; also, counterbalance.
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harridan:
a scolding, vicious old woman.
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ambit:
circuit or compass; also, sphere of action or influence.
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pandemic:
affecting a whole people or a number of countries.
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apocryphal:
of doubtful authority or authenticity.
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cormorant:
a gluttonous, greedy, or rapacious person.
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microcosm:
a smaller, representative unity having analogies to a larger unity.
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harbinger:
a precursor; one that presages what is to come.
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censure:
to criticize severely; also, an expression of disapproval.
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capricious:
whimsical; changeable.
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sporadic:
occuring singly, or occasionally, or in scattered instances.
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wassail:
an expression of good wishes on a festive occasion, especially in drinking
to someone.
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quidnunc:
a gossip; a busybody.
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impassible:
incapable of suffering; unfeeling, or not showing feeling.
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gloaming:
twilight; dusk.
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manse:
a large and imposing house.
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Grub
Street: the world or category of impoverished literary hacks.
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Hogmanay:
the name, in Scotland, for the last day of the year.