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Favorite Words of Sarah Fugman
(Note: Not all words are real - please use your discretion when using them)

A-E | F-J | K-O | P-T | U-Z

aberrant:
   Abnormal.

afflatus \uh-FLAY-tuhs\, noun:
   A divine [1]impartation of knowledge; supernatural impulse; inspiration.

alacrity \uh-LACK-rih-tee\, noun:
   A cheerful readiness, willingness, or promptitude; briskness; sprightliness; as, the soldiers advanced with alacrity to meet the enemy.

ameliorate:
   To better a situation.*

animadversion:
   Harsh criticism or disapproval.

antinomianism:
   Against moral law.

apothegm, also apophthegm \AP-uh-them\, noun:
   A short, pithy, and instructive saying; a terse remark, conveying some important truth; a [1]sententious precept or [2]maxim.

argot \AHR-go; -gut\, noun:
   1. A specialized and often secret vocabulary and idiom peculiar to a particular group.
   2. A secret language or conventional slang peculiar to thieves, tramps, and vagabonds.

aubade \oh-BAHD\, noun:
   A song or poem greeting the dawn; also, a composition suggestive of morning.

avoirdupois \av-ur-duh-POIZ; AV-ur-duh-poiz\, noun:
   1. Avoirdupois weight (see below).
   2. Weight; heaviness; as, a person of much avoirdupois.

bete noire \bet-NWAHR\, noun:
   Something or someone especially hated or dreaded; a [1]bugbear.

bonhomie (also written bonhommie) \bonn-uh-MEE\, noun:
   Good nature; pleasant and easy manner; geniality.

bravura \bruh-VYUR-uh; brah-; -VUR-\, noun:
   1. A florid, brilliant style of music, written for effect, to show the range and flexibility of a singer's voice, or the technical force and skill of a performer; virtuoso music.
   2. A showy display.

bromide \BRO-myd\, noun:
   1. A compound of bromine and another element or a positive organic radical.
   2. A dose of potassium bromide taken as a sedative.
   3. A dull person with conventional thoughts.
   4. A commonplace or conventional saying.

buss \BUHS\, noun:
   A kiss; a playful kiss; a smack.
   transitive verb:
   To kiss; especially to kiss with a smack.

cant:
   Hypocrisy; use of religious phraseology without sincerity.

cavil:
   A frivolous objection.

chimerical:
   Merely imaginary.

circumlocution \sir-kum-lo-KYOO-shun\, noun:
   The use of many words to express an idea that might be expressed by few; indirect or roundabout language; a [1]periphrase.

concupiscence \kahn-KYOO-puh-sun(t)s; kun-\, noun:
   Strong desire, especially sexual desire; lust.

contradistinction \kon-truh-dis-TINK-shun\, noun:
   Distinction by contrast; as, "sculpture in contradistinction to painting."

coquette \koh-KET\, noun:
   A woman who habitually trifles with the affections of men; a flirt.

coxcomb \KOKS-kohm\, noun:
   1. obsolete. A cap worn by court jesters; adorned with a strip of red. (Now [1]cockscomb).
   2. archaic. The top of the head, or the head itself.
   3. obsolete. A fool.
   4. A vain, showy fellow; a conceited, silly man, fond of display; a superficial pretender to knowledge or accomplishments; a dandy; a [2]fop.

crapulous \KRAP-yuh-lus\, adjective:
   1. Suffering the effects of, or derived from, or suggestive of gross intemperance, especially in drinking; as, a crapulous stomach.
   2. Marked by gross intemperance, especially in drinking; as, a crapulous old reprobate.

crepuscular:
   Pertaining to twilight; imperfectly clear, or luminous.

defenestrate \dee-FEN-ih-strayt\, transitive verb:
   To throw out of a window.

desuetude:
   The cessation of use.

diaphanous \dy-AF-uh-nuhs\, adjective:
   Allowing light to pass through; translucent or transparent.

doppelganger:
   A spiritual or ghostly double or counterpart.

ennui \on-WEE\, noun:
   Boredom.

erudite:
   Well instructed; learned.

equivocate \ih-KWIV-uh-kayt\, verb:
   To be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or to avoid committing oneself to anything definite.

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farrago \fuh-RAHG-oh; fuh-RAY-go\, noun, plural farragoes:
   A confused mixture; an assortment; a medley.

fin de siecle \fan-duh-see-ECK-ul; fan-duh-SYECK-luh\, adjective:
   A phrase mostly used adjectively in English to signify: belonging to, or characteristic of, the close of the (19th) century; hence, modern; ``up-to-date;'' sophisticated; world-weary; decadent.

flummox \FLUM-uks\, transitive verb:
   To confuse; to perplex.

fop \FOP\, noun:
   A man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance; a dandy.

fugacious:
   Lasting but a short time.

fustian \FUS-chun\, noun:
   1. A kind of coarse twilled cotton or cotton and linen stuff, including corduroy, velveteen, etc.
   2. An inflated style of writing; a kind of writing in which high-sounding words are used, above the dignity of the thoughts or subject; bombast; pompous or pretentious language.

garrulous:*
   Talking much; especially about commonplace or trivial things.

gimcrack \JIM-krak\, noun:
   A trivial mechanism; a device; a toy; a pretty but useless or worthless object; a gewgaw.

harangue \huh-RANG\, noun:
   A speech addressed to a large public assembly; a popular oration; a loud address a multitude; in a bad sense, a noisy or pompous speech; declamation; ranting.

Hobson's choice \HOB-sunz-chois\, noun:
   A choice without an alternative; the thing offered or nothing.

hugger-mugger:
   Secret, clandistine, sly, confused, disorderly, slovenly, mean.

iconoclast:
   Someone who debunks the platitudes mainstream society espouses: 'Elvis is king,' 'Love is forever,' 'My country, right or wrong.'

ignoramus \ig-nuh-RAY-mus\, noun:
   An ignorant person; a vain pretender to knowledge; a dunce.

immure \ih-MYUR\, transitive verb:
   To enclose within walls, or as if within walls; hence, to shut up; to imprison; to incarcerate.

impervious \im-PUR-vee-us\, adjective:
   1. a. Not admitting of entrance or passage through; impenetrable.
      b. Not capable of being harmed or damaged.
   2. Not capable of being affected.

inamorata \in-am-uh-RAH-tuh\, noun:
   A woman whom one is in love with; a mistress.

ineffable \in-EFF-uh-bull\, adjective:
   Incapable of being expressed in words; unspeakable; unutterable; indescribable; as, the ineffable joys of heaven.

inure \in-YOOR\, verb:
   1. (transitive) To use or accustom till use gives little or no pain or inconvenience; to habituate; to practice habitually.
   2. (intransitive) To pass into use; to take or have effect; to be applied; to serve to the use or benefit of; as, a gift of lands inures to the heirs.

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kismet \KIZ-met; -mit\, noun:
   Destiny; fate.

kvetch \KVECH\, intransitive verb:
   To complain habitually.
   noun:
   1. A complaint
   2. A habitual complainer.

laconic \luh-KAH-nik\, adjective:
   Expressing much in few words; brief and pithy; brusque.

lachrymose \LACK-ruh-mohs\, adjective:
   Generating or shedding tears; given to shedding tears; suffused with tears; tearful.

logorrhea \log-uh-REE-uh\, noun:
   Excessive talkativeness or wordiness.

lucubration \loo-kyoo-BRAY-shun; loo-kuh-\, noun:
   1. The act of studying by candlelight; nocturnal study; meditation.
   2. That which is composed by night; that which is produced by meditation in retirement; hence (loosely) any literary composition

monomania \mah-nuh-MAY-nee-uh; -nyuh\, noun:
   Pathological obsession with single subject only; also, excessive concentration of interest upon one particular subject or train of ideas.

mawkish \MOCK-ish\, adjective:
   1. Sickly or excessively sentimental.
   2. Insipid in taste; nauseous; disgusting.

megalomania \meg-uh-lo-MAY-nee-ah; -nyuh\, noun:
   1. A mania for grandiose or extravagant things or actions.
   2. A mental disorder characterized by delusions of grandeur.

meretricious \mer-ih-TRISH-us\, adjective:
   1. Of or pertaining to prostitutes; having to do with prostitutes.
   2. Alluring by false show; gaudily and deceitfully ornamental; tawdry; as, meretricious dress or ornaments.

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palaver \puh-LAV-ur; puh-LAH-vur\, noun:
   1. Talk; conversation; especially:
        a. idle talk
        b. talk intended to [1]beguile or deceive.
   2. A [2]parley usually between persons of different backgrounds or cultures or levels of sophistication; a talk; hence, a public conference and deliberation.

palpable:*
   Capable of being touched.

perspicacity:
   Clearness of understanding or insight; penetration, discernment.

phallogocentricism:**
   Male-centredness combined with rationalistic forms of binary logic.

philomath \FY-luh-math\, noun:
   A lover of learning; a scholar.

pleth·o·ra (plthr-) noun:
   1.A superabundance; an excess. 
   2.An excess of blood in the circulatory system or in one organ or area. 

prestidigitation \pres-tih-dij-ih-TAY-shuhn\, noun:
   Manual dexterity in the execution of tricks; sleight of hand; [1]legerdemain.

quiddity:
   The essence, nature, or distinctive peculiarity of a thing.

quondam \KWON-dum; KWON-dam\, adjective:
   Having been formerly; former; sometime.

ratiocination \rash-ee-oss-i-NAY-shun; rash-ee-oh-suh-NAY-shun\, noun:
   The process of reasoning, or deducing conclusions from premises; deductive reasoning.

robust:
   Resistant to change.

ruminate \ROO-muh-nayt\, intransitive verb:
   1. To chew the cud; to chew again what has been slightly chewed and swallowed.
   2. To think again and again; to muse; to meditate; to ponder; to reflect.

sang-froid \sang-FRWAH\, noun:
   Calmness.

sardonic:
   Derisive, mocking, scornful, bitterly sarcastic.

scapegrace \SKAYP-grayss\, noun:
   A graceless, unprincipled person; one who is wild and reckless.

segue \SEG-way; SAYG-way\, verb:
   To proceed without interruption; to make a smooth transition.

sempiternal \sem-pih-TUR-nul\, adjective:
   Of never ending duration; everlasting; endless; having beginning, but no end.

sesquipedalian \ses-kwi-pi-DAYL-yun\, adjective:
   1. Given to the overuse of long words; "sesquipedalian orators"
   2. (Of words) long and ponderous; having many syllables; as, "sesquipedalian technical terms"
--sesquipedalian, noun:
   A very long word (a foot and a half long)

sinecure \SY-ni-kyoor; SIN-i-kyoor\, noun:
   Any office or position which requires or involves little or no responsibility, labor, or active service.

sobriquet:
   Nickname.

soliloquise:
   To talk to oneself.

somniferous \som-NIF-er-us\, adjective:
   Causing or inducing sleep

somnolent:
   Sleepy, drowsy.

supererogatory \soop-ur-i-ROG-uh-tor-ee\, adjective:
   More than is needed or required.

supernal \soo-PUR-nul\, adjective:
   1. Being in a higher place or region; locally higher; as, supernal regions.
   2. Relating or belonging to things above; celestial; heavenly; as, supernal grace.

supernumerary \soo-pur-NOO-muh-rer-ee; -NYOO-\, adjective:
   1. Exceeding the number stated or prescribed; as, a supernumerary officer in a regiment.
   2. Exceeding a necessary, usual, or required number or quality; superfluous; as, supernumerary addresses; supernumerary expense.
-- supernumerary noun:
   1. A person or thing beyond the number stated.
   2. A person or thing beyond what is necessary or usual; especially, a person employed not for regular service, but only to fill the place of another in case of need; specifically, in theaters, a person who is not a regular actor, but is employed to appear in a stage spectacle.

tchotchke \CHOTCH-kuh\, noun [Colloquial]:
   A trinket; a knickknack; a [1]gewgaw.

termagant \TUR-muh-gunt\, noun:
   A scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman; a shrew.

titivate \TIT-uh-vayt\, verb (transitive and intransitive):
   To smarten up; to spruce (up).

truckle \TRUK-ul\, intransitive verb:
   To yield or bend obsequiously to the will of another; to act in a subservient manner.

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ubiquitous \yoo-BIK-wih-tuhs\, adjective:
   Existing or being everywhere, or in all places, at the same time; [1]omnipresent.

ululate \UL-yuh-layt; YOOL-\, intransitive verb:
   To howl, as a dog or a wolf; to wail; as, ululating jackals.

uxorious \uk-SOR-ee-us; ug-ZOR-\, adjective:
   Excessively fond of, or submissive to, a wife; being a dependent husband.

vainglory \VAYN-glor-ee; vayn-GLOR-ee\, noun:
   Excessive vanity excited by one's own performances; empty pride; undue elation of mind; vain show; boastfulness.

verbose \vur-BOHS\, adjective:
   Abounding in words; using or containing more words than are necessary; tedious by an excess of words; wordy; as, a verbose speaker; a verbose argument.

vicissitude \vih-SIS-ih-tood; -tyood\, noun:
   1. Regular change or succession from one thing to another; alternation; mutual succession; interchange.
   2. Irregular change; revolution; mutation.
   3. A change in condition or fortune; an instance of mutability in life or nature (especially successive alternation from one condition to another).

vituperate:*
   To abuse with words.

vivify \VIV-uh-fy\, transitive verb:
   1. To endue with life; to make to be living; to animate.
   2. To make more lively or intense.

wastrel \WAY-strul\, noun:
   1. A person who wastes, especially one who squanders money; a spendthrift.
   2. An idler; a loafer; a good-for-nothing.

wunderkind \VOON-dur-kint\, noun, plural wunderkinder \-kin-dur\:
   A child prodigy; one who achieves great success or acclaim at an early age.

Want to add an interesting and unique word?  Post it on my Add-A-Tack Page and I'll choose which ones I like the best and post them here.
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* - Words found in books that I looked up out of curiousity as to what they meant.
** - Make-believe words.

All other words discovered through http://www.dictionary.com Word of the Day subscription list.
 

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