Word of the Day-castigate0 评论
castigate \KAS-tuh-gayt\, transitive verb:
To punish severely; also, to chastise verbally; to rebuke; to criticize severely. It was not good enough to castigate him for his sins.-- Frank Deford, "Knight is too easy a target", Sports Illustrated, May 25, 2000 Out in the world they marvelled that they were found acceptable to others, after years of being castigated as unsatisfactory, disappointing.-- Anita Brookner, Falling Slowly Though castigated by the Catholic Church, illegitimacy was scarcely an unusual feature of Austrian country life.-- Ian Kershaw, Hitler: 1889-1936: Hubris For my lack of missionary zeal, I have been castigated by a few militant atheists, who are irritated by my disinclination to try persuading people to abandon their faith that God exists (while some religious people regard me as a militant atheist intent on promoting worship of unspecified "secular idols").-- Wendy Kaminer, Sleeping With Extra-Terrestrials Word of the Day-captious0 评论
Part of Speech: adjective
Pronunciation: [ 'kæp-shês] Definition: (1) Not merely deceptive but designed to (mis)lead you to the wrong conclusion, e.g. a sign, argument, or advertisement; sophistical. (2) Having an ill-natured inclination to find faults and raise objections; caviling, carping. Usage: "Have you stopped beating your husband?" is a captious question in the first sense of the word. That sense also brings to mind advertisements like, "Super Eldopé Extra with BMX-43 helps stop tough headache pain according to studies by a respected east coast research institution." This ad is designed to make you think Eldopé is a wonder drug for stopping headaches. But "BMX-43" could be evaporated water and the studies could have been conducted in the company's own laboratories (not Harvard). People who are captious in the second sense could even find fault with the Word of the Day. We hope none of these ever cross your (or our) path. Suggested Usage: Captious is a well-behaved adjective that belongs to a small family: "captiously" is the adverb and "captiousness" is the noun. Etymology: From Old French captieux, from Latin captisus, the adjective from captio "seizure, sophism," the noun of capere "to seize." Related words from Latin include "capture" and "captain." The English word "catch" comes from Old North French cachier "to chase" from the same Latin word. The original root, *kap, came down to English as "have" (from Old English "habban"; cf. German "haben") and "heavy" (from Old English "hefig"). In German it became Haft "arrest" but also the suffix –haft "like, having," as in lebhaft "lively, spirited" from leb-en "live" + -haft. captious \KAP-shuhs\, adjective: 1. Marked by a disposition to find fault or raise objections. 2. Calculated to entrap or confuse, as in an argument. The most common among those are captious individuals who can find nothing wrong with their own actions but everything wrong with the actions of everybody else.-- "In-Closet Hypocrites", Atlanta Inquirer, August 15, 1998 Mr Bowman had, I think, been keeping Christmas Eve, and was a little inclined to be captious: at least, he was not on foot very early, and to judge from what I could hear, neither men nor maids could do anything to please him.-- M. R. James, The Haunted Dolls' House and Other Stories Most authors would prefer readers such as Roiphe over captious academic critics.-- Steven Moore, "Old Flames", Washington Post, November 26, 2000 With the imperturbablest bland clearness, he, for five hours long, keeps answering the incessant volley of fiery captious questions.-- Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution Word of the Day-capricious0 评论
capricious \kuh-PRISH-us; -PREE-shus\, adjective:
Apt to change suddenly; whimsical; changeable. Molly was a capricious woman. Her moods were unpredictable, her anger petty and vicious.-- Rand Roberts and James Olson, John Wayne: American The Countess was a capricious minx, by turns seductive and aloof.-- Saul David, Prince of Pleasure: The Prince of Wales and the Making of the Regency Mathematics is logical; people are erratic, capricious, and barely comprehensible.-- Bruce Schneier, Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World Word of the Day-carapace0 评论
Part of Speech: noun
Pronunciation: ['kæ-rê-peys] Definition: (1) A hard outer covering or exoskeleton, such as the shell of a turtle or lobster; (2) any protective covering like a turtle shell, literal or figurative. Usage: The word "shell" is so broad in its meaning that it can lead to confusion. In referring to an animal encased in a shell, use today's word with its more focused meaning: "The only evidence of the clambake the night before was a beach strewn with corncobs and empty lobster carapaces." Since this word is associated with turtles, however, it lends itself comfortably to an image of figurative withdrawal, "When life becomes too complicated for Ethylene, she pulls her head into her carapace and shuts out the world." Suggested Usage: "Carapace" comes with a rarely used adjective "carapacial," which automatically entails an adverb, "carapacially." Remember that the accent falls on the first syllable and you will have no trouble with today's word. Etymology: English slipped a copy of today's word out of French, who had it on loan from Spanish, where it was carapacho "tortoise shell." It may be a victim of metathesis (switching places), a reduction of "?carapazon" by metathesis from caparazon "caparison, body-armor or parade trappings of a horse." This word is the augmentative of Medieval Latin capara "a hood coming over the shoulders." This word is an extension of Medieval Latin capa "cape." Unfortunately, we have no evidence of the metathesis. carapace \KAIR-uh-pace\, noun: 1. The thick shell that covers the back of the turtle, the crab, and other animals. 2. Something likened to a shell that serves to protect or isolate from external influence. . . .a gauge for measuring the length of a lobster's carapace from the thorax to the eye socket.-- Richard Adams Carey, Against the Tide Hannah Jelkes, . . . who wears an air of cool reserve like a carapace.-- Howard Taubman, "Theatre: 'Night of the Iguana' Opens", New York Times, December 29, 1961 Desperate to win his father's attention and respect, Kennedy became a hard man for a long while, covering over his sensitivity and capacity for empathy with a carapace of arrogance.-- Evan Thomas, Robert Kennedy: His Life Eisenman, who is Meier's second cousin, was so neurotically insecure about his abilities that he sought to hide them within the dense carapace of arcane theory.-- Martin Filler, "The Spirit of '76", New Republic, July 9, 2001 Almost all the vivid, eyewitness accounts we have . . . date from a quarter of a century later, when Degas, celebrated and successful, had developed a crusty, cantankerous carapace, from which he emerged occasionally to deliver his famously caustic and enigmatic mots.-- Christopher E. G. Benfey, Degas in New Orleans Word of the Day-capitulate0 评论
capitulate \kuh-PICH-uh-layt\, intransitive verb:
To surrender under agreed conditions. Just before peace talks on Kosovo are due to resume, the United States and its allies are sending contradictory signals to Belgrade, making it less likely that President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia will capitulate on American terms.-- Steven Erlanger, "West's Bosnia Move May Hurt Kosovo Bid", New York Times, March 7, 1999 Word of the Day-capacious0 评论
capacious \kuh-PAY-shuhs\, adjective:
Able to contain much; roomy; spacious. Litter was picked up non stop during the week (mostly by that nice governor with the capacious pockets).-- Faysal Mikdadi, "'Why shouldn't it be like this all the time?'", The Guardian, September 2, 2002 Out of those capacious receptacles he brought forth a small bottle of Scotch whiskey, a lemon, and some lump sugar.-- Ellen M. Calder, "Personal Recollections of Walt Whitman", The Atlantic, June 1907 Is it worth pointing out that the boot seems remarkably capacious for a little car?-- Giles Smith, "Er what's the sixth gear for?", The Guardian, January 8, 2002 Capacious is derived from Latin capax, capac-, "able to hold or contain." Word of the Day-cant0 评论
cant \KANT\, noun:
1. The idioms and peculiarities of speech in any sect, class, or occupation. 2. The use of religious phraseology without understanding or sincerity. 3. Empty, solemn speech, implying what is not felt; insincere talk; hypocrisy. 4. A whining manner of speaking, especially of beggars. Don Juan delighted London gossipmongers with plentiful allusions to the scandal surrounding the poet's divorce from his young wife of one year and his subsequent flight from English "hypocrisy and cant."-- Banite Eisler, Byron: Child of Passion, Fool of Fame Underneath all the grime there was as much sentimental piety and conformist cant.-- Andrew Sarris, "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet" ...the English major from a working-class family who now and then asks a forthright question that cuts through the literary cant.-- Theodore Solotaroff, "Memoirs for Memorial Day", New York Times, May 29, 1977 Cant ultimately derives from Latin cantus, singing, chanting. Word of the Day-craven0 评论
craven adjective : lacking the least bit of courage : contemptibly fainthearted
Exampled Sentence Lavinia thought it was craven of Alex to cave into pressure and retract his allegations instead of defending his position. Did you know? "Craven" and its synonyms "dastardly" and "pusillanimous" are all basically fancy words for "cowardly." Don't be afraid to use them — here's a little information to help you recognize the subtle distinctions in their connotations. "Craven" suggests extreme defeatism and complete lack of resistance. One might speak of "craven yes-men." "Dastardly" often implies behavior that is both cowardly and treacherous or skulking or outrageous, as in this example: "a dastardly attack on unarmed civilians." "Pusillanimous" suggests a contemptible lack of courage (e.g., "After the attack, one editorialist characterized the witnesses as 'the pusillanimous bystanders'"). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Word of the Day-chaff0 评论
chaff \chaf\, noun, verb:
1. the stiff strawlike part of grains such as wheat, oats, rye 2. to make good-natured fun of someone 3. worthless material; detritus Chaff is separated from the grain by threshing. It's hard to separate the chaff from the wheat sometimes. The kids chaffed the exchange student for her mistakes in grammar. Word of the Day-bulwark0 评论
Definition: (noun) A protective structure of stone or concrete; extends from shore into the water to prevent a beach from washing away.
Synonyms: breakwater, groyne, jetty, seawall, mole Usage: We ran to the end of the bulwark to watch the waves break against the unyielding structure. 1. to defend or protect, serve as a bulwark; shelter 2. a person, thing, or concept that is a defense or protection 3. an embankment of earth or other material used as a defense against a threat; rampart（堡垒） 4. the sides of a ship extending like a fence above the deck level（舷墙） The French eventually prevailed, and Asher and his ally Alex were kicked up north to the town of Siem Reap, where they helped reconstruct the earthquake-damaged Elephant Wall, an infuriatingly complicated Khmer bulwark that had fallen into several hundred pieces some centuries ago. -- Robert Bingham, Lightning on the Sun Originally a set of largely structural guarantees applying only against the federal government, the Bill has become a bulwark of rights against all government conduct. -- Akhil Reed Amar, The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction The country has overwhelming importance to America as a strategic ally in a highly volatile Islamic region; indeed, Washington is counting on it to be a bulwark against the spread of Islamic fundamentalism into Europe. -- Jeffrey E. Garten, The Big Ten: The Big Emerging Markets and How They Will Change Our Lives For Laura's mother the church, in addition to what spiritual significance it possessed, stood out as a bulwark of civilization in the midst of a still forming, rough frontier culture. -- John E. Miller, Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Woman Behind the Legend Today we bulwark an older, liberal-Christian Europe against newer atheistic totalitarian forces. -- Daniel J. Boorstin, We, the People, in Quest of Ourselves, New York Times, 20207
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