Words of December
word of December 31st, 2008
dullard
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part of speech: noun
plural form: dullards
شخص غبي meaning: A person regarded as mentally dull; a stupid person
example
David was always a quiet, orderly boy and for a long time was thought by the people of Winesburg to be something of a dullard
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word of December 30th, 2008
amity
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part of speech: noun
الصداقة بين الامم meaning: Friendship; friendly relations, especially between nations
example
The two groups had lived in perfect amity for many years before the recent troubles
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word of December 29th, 2008
prosaic
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part of speech: adjective
ممل؛ يفتقر الخيال meaning: lacking interest, imagination and variety; boring
example
If only she'd been called 'Camilla' or 'Flavia' instead of the prosaic 'Jane'
He asked if I'd got my black eye in a fight - I told him the prosaic truth that I'd banged my head on a door
other related forms
prosaical: adjective
prosaicness: noun
prosaically: adverb
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word of December 28th, 2008
multifarious
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part of speech: adjective
بأنواع عديدة مختلفة meaning: of many different types
example
The newspaper report detailed the fraudster's multifarious business activities
This company is known for its successful multifarious business activities
other related forms
multifariousness: noun
multifariously: adverb
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word of December 27th, 2008
munificent
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part of speech: adjective
سخي جدا meaning: very generous in giving
example
Thanks to a number of munificent benefactors, the charity was able to brighten the holidays for many families
She received a munificent sum for her services
A former student has donated a munificent sum of money to the college
other related forms
munificence: noun
munificentness: noun
munificently: adverb
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word of December 26th, 2008
vouch
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part of speech: verb
يُؤَكِّد صِحَّة other verb forms: vouches, vouched, vouching
meaning:to affirm or certify someone or something to be true, genuine, or correct ; guarantee
example
Will you vouch for the truth of the statement
When Blake's parents asked him why his sister had missed school, he vouched for her because he knew she had been sick in the morning
I'll vouch for the quality of the report. I read it last night
Patricia has checked the reports and can vouch for the accuracy of the information
The witness vouched for the defendant's honesty
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word of December 25th, 2008
alma mater
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part of speech: noun
meaning: a school, college, or university that one has attended
المدرسة، الجامعة او الكلية التي ارتادها الشخص
example
Tonight we will hear the choir of my parents' alma mater perform Handel's Messiah
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word of December 24th, 2008
gelid
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part of speech: adjective
بارد جدا meaning: Very cold; icy
example
After only a few minutes in the gelid wind, they were shivering too hard to speak
The weather is gelid on a recent Thursday night--so uninviting that it's hard to imagine anyone venturing out
other related forms
gelidity: noun
gelidness: noun
gelidly: adjective
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word of December 23rd, 2008
homebody
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part of speech: noun
plural form: homebodies
meaning: One whose interests center on the home
example
He was not merely a homebody, but a true agoraphobic who lived in fear of the outside world
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word of December 22nd, 2008
unanimous
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part of speech: adjective
إجْماعي meaning: having, or showing, complete agreement
example
The whole school was unanimous in its approval of the headmaster's plan
The proposal was approved by a unanimous vote
The jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty after a short deliberation
After a lengthy discussion we reached a unanimous decision on the proposal
The new format has unanimous support and could be introduced next season
other related forms
unanimousness: noun
unanimity: noun
unanimously: adjective
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word of December 21st, 2008
concoct
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part of speech: verb
other verb forms: concocts, concocted, concocting
يَخْتَلِق، يُعِدُّ حِساءً بالمَزْج meaning: to prepare by combining various ingredients
example
I've concocted a new drink for you to try.
The child concocted a story about having been attacked
He concocted the most amazing dish from all sorts of unlikely ingredients
In order to use up all the leftovers in her refrigerator, Kirsten concocted a one-of-a-kind stew that turned out to be surprisingly tasty
other related forms
concoction: noun
concoctive: adjective
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word of December 20th, 2008
opulent
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part of speech: adjective
مَيْسور، غَني، ذو خَيْرٍ وفير meaning: having or showing much wealth
example
We visited an historic house that is full of opulent furnishings
They lived in opulent surroundings
Hollywood actresses wear evening dresses in opulent fabrics
other related forms
opulence: noun
opulently: adverb
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word of December 19th, 2008
manual
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part of speech: adjective
يدوي meaning: done with or operated by hands/ requiring or using physical skill and energy
example
She tried to cure the pain in my knee by putting manual pressure on the joint
He still works on an old manual typewriter
When we volunteered to help build a house for an area family, we spent the day carrying boards, driving nails, and other kinds of manual labor
Hundreds of manual workers will lose their jobs as a result of company cutbacks
Computer-controlled robots are taking over manual jobs in many industries
other related forms
manually: adverb
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word of December 18th, 2008
vagrant
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part of speech: noun
plural form: vagrants
مُتَشَرِّد meaning: a person who is poor and does not have a home or job; a tramp
example
When things started disappearing from their backyard, they began to suspect the vagrant who had recently been roaming the streets
The town has shelters and food handouts for vagrants
other related forms
vagrantness: noun
vagrant: adjective
vagrantly: adverb
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word of December 17th, 2008
vary
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part of speech: verb
other verb forms: varies, varied, varying
يَتَنَوَّع، يَخْتَلِف meaning: differ; to make, be or become different
example
Salary scales vary between states/from state to state/according to state/with each state
The samples varied in quality but were generally acceptable
The orchestra varied last night's program with one new selection
The age at which children are ready to read varies
The supermarket's selection of vegetables varies according to the season
His moods vary depending on the weather
These apples vary in size from small to medium
other related forms
variation: noun
varyingly: adverb
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word of December 16th, 2008
soporific
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part of speech: adjective
يُسبب النعاس meaning: causing sleep or making a person want to sleep
example
The soporific effect of the heat made him quickly fall asleep
After dinner, Owen sank onto the couch by the fireplace and -- succumbing to the soporific effect of his full belly and the comfortable surroundings -- quickly fell asleep
His voice had an almost soporific effect
other related forms
soporifically: adverb
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word of December 15th, 2008
harry
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part of speech: verb
other verb forms: harries, harried, harrying
يُؤلِم، يُزْعِج، يُضايِق meaning: to harass, annoy, or torment by or as if by repeated attacks
example
Seven-year-old Kaitlyn harried her little sister with pokes, hair pulling, and teasing, badgering her until she burst into tears
He was harried by constant doubts
He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked
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word of December 14th, 2008
impute
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part of speech: verb
other verb forms: imputes, imputed, imputing
يعزو إلى meaning: to say that someone is responsible for something that has happened, or that something is the cause of something else
example
They imputed the error to the lawyer who was handling her case
They imputed the rocket failure to a faulty gasket
The children imputed magical powers to the old woman
The teacher imputed the student's failure to his nervousness
Keller, why does your article impute things to my father without the slightest foundation?
other related forms
imputable: adjective
imputive: adjective
imputively: adverb
imputiveness: noun
imputedly: adverb
imputer: noun
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word of December 13th, 2008
runnel
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part of speech: noun
plural form: runnels
جدول meaning: A small stream; a brook
example
He could tell from the impression carved into the landscape that the runnel's flow had drifted a few feet to the north
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word of December 12th, 2008
gambol
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part of speech: verb
other verb forms: gambols, gambolled, gambolling
يَثِبُ، يَقْفِزُ مَرَحا meaning: to run and jump in a happy and playful way
example
Lambs were gambolling (about/around) in the spring sunshine.
Then he ran back to the shed pulling the playful young horse, who wanted to gambol all over the yard, by the rein
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word of December 11th, 2008
granger
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part of speech: noun
plural form: grangers
مزارع meaning: A person who operates a farm; farmer
example
Their lands had been bought long ago, and the grangers moved to the city to find work as manual laborers
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word of December 10th, 2008
consign
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part of speech: verb
other verb forms: consigns, consigned, consigning
يَعْهَد إلى meaning: To give over to the care of another; entrust
example
She consigned her daughters to the care of their aunt and took an extended vacation to Africa.
The little boy was consigned to his grandmother's care
Many older people feel they have been consigned to the medical scrapheap
related forms
consignation: noun
consignable: adjective
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word of December 9th, 2008
filch
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part of speech: verb
other verb forms: filches, filched, filching
يَخْتَلِس، يَسْرِقُ شيئا قَليل meaning: to steal something of little value
example
Who has filched my pen?
Jack used to filch ashtrays from fancy restaurants.
Who has filched my pencils?
related forms
filcher: noun
filchingly: adveb
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word of December 8th, 2008
pique
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part of speech: verb
other verb forms: piques, piqued, piquing
يُغضِب meaning: to arouse anger or resentment in
example
My brother's teasing and poking finally piqued me so much that I lost my temper and threw my math book at him
She was greatly piqued when they refused her invitation
related forms
pique: noun
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word of December 7th, 2008
roast
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part of speech: verb
other verb forms: roasts, roasted, roasting
يَشْوي meaning: to cook food in an oven or over a fire
example
It's a family tradition of ours to roast chestnuts this time of year, and the smell of them roasting is one of my favorite things about the season
Just roast the chicken in the oven and baste it in oil and lemon
The beef was roasting in the oven
related forms
roast: adjective
roasted: adjective
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word of December 6th, 2008
quiver
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part of speech: verb
other verb forms: quivers, quivered, quivering
يَهْتَز meaning: to shake slightly, often because of strong emotion
example
People in the audience quivered with excitement as they waited for the sculpture to be unveiled
Lennie's bottom lip quivered and tears started in his eyes
The leaves quivered in the breeze
related forms
quiveringly: adverb
quiverer: noun
quivery: adjective
quiver: noun
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word of December 5th, 2008
crux
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part of speech: noun
plural form: cruxes, cruces
عُقدَه، صُلْب الموضوع، النُقطة الحاسِمـه meaning: the most important point
example
After beating around the bush for a while, Cameron finally got to the crux of his argument
The crux of the country's economic problems is its foreign debt
The issue of an arms embargo will be at the crux of the negotiations in Geneva
The crux of the trial was his whereabouts at the time of the murder
That is the crux of the matter
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word of December 4th, 2008
laudable
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part of speech: adjective
جَدير بالثَّناء meaning: worthy of praise
example
It is, no doubt, a very laudable effort, in modern teaching, to render as much as possible of what the young are required to learn, easy and interesting to them
The recycling programme is laudable, but does it save much money
Reorganizing the files was a laudable idea
related forms
laudably: adverb
laudatory: noun
laudableness: noun
laudability: noun
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word of December 3rd, 2008
stint
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part of speech: verb
other verb forms: stints, stinted, stinting
يخصص او يأخذ جزءا قليلا من شيء meaning: to provide, take or use only a small amount of something
example
The bride's parents did not stint on the champagne - there was plenty for everyone
Don't stint yourself - take another slice of cake
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word of December 2nd, 2008
lament
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part of speech: verb
other verb forms: laments, lamented, lamenting
يَنوحُ ، يَبْكي على meaning: to express sorrow for
example
The poem opens by lamenting (over) the death of a young man
My grandmother, as usual, lamented the decline in moral standards in today's society
Mr.s Johnson lamented the absence of her son who is studying abroad
We all lament his death; He sat lamenting over his past failures
He lamented his thoughtless acts
related forms
lament: noun
lamentation: noun
lamenter: noun
lamentingly: adverb
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word of December 1st, 2008
munchkin
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part of speech: noun
شخص صغير الحجم و محبوب meaning: a person who is notably small and often endearing
example
Timmy is such a sweet little munchkin and everyone loves to tickle him and tell him what a darling baby he is
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22-12-08, 07:49 PM
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