Hello and welcome! This is the Pompous Ass Words site, a place dedicated to identifying words that shouldn't be used on the grounds that doing so makes you sound like a pompous ass. It was partly inspired by the American Heritage College Dictionary's list of "100 Words Every High School Graduate and Their Parents Should Know." When I first saw it I thought, there have to be at least 100 words everyone should know about and never use. So I figured hey, let's start putting that list together.
Also on this site is a fabulous variety of commentary and unique items, including what I believe may be the world's first and only self-referencing hyperlink. So without further ado let's get started.
A Pompous Ass Word (PAW) is an uncommonly understood word that is synonymous with a commonly understood one. For example, tendentious is a PAW because it could be substituted with biased with no loss of meaning. On the other hand, ersatz isn't because it isn't synonymous with imitation - it implies a lesser quality as well. And while annoying words (proactive), logically incorrect words (irregardless) and trendy words (blog) are all worthy of censure, they aren't PAWs and so aren't eligible for the list. Finally, we all know every rule has its exception.
It also helps if the word is used in some prominent place. If it shows up in the New York Times or a popular novel that's better than a reference to your cousin's term paper. I prefer PAWs that get dropped in wide circulation for the whole world to see, though it's not necessary. Per user requests I've added an "M-W says" line to include a link to the Merriam-Webster entry and its first definition as a reference. I haven't backfilled earlier entries, though.
That's why I'm here, my friend. Send me an email to paw (at) pompousasswords dot com and let me know (mail may be quoted by name unless you say otherwise). I also have a StumbleUpon page since I've had lots of traffic from there. See the "My Blog" section for short posts during the week and feedback from email. (The reviews have been fabulous too.) My goal is to get to 100 PAWs and I'll need your help to do it. If you want to defend a word on the list please have a look at the why it's a PAW page to make sure you aren't recycling an argument I'm not persuaded by.
Word: calumny
Synonymous with: slander
M-W says: 1: a misrepresentation intended to harm another's reputation
Example: Paul Pottinger at http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/christopher-hitchens-not-left-nor-right-but-right-on/story-e6frezz0-1226232089581:
Here's cheers for railing against Islamo-fascism when others spoke of appeasement, for exposing the reality of Mother Theresa's mission (yes, her) and those grubby triangulations of William Jefferson Clinton. And much more besides ...
Most of all, however, huzzahs for copping calumny by not running with the comrades when the values they purport to represent were at stake or had been crushed. You know - equality, pluralism, liberal democracy, rule of law.
Word: fecund
Synonymous with: fertile
M-W says: 1: fruitful in offspring or vegetation : prolific 2: intellectually productive or inventive to a marked degree
Example: John Tamny at http://www.forbes.com/sites/johntamny/2011/10/30/a-flat-tax-would-be-fine-a-consumption-tax-true-perfection/:
Texas Governor Rick Perry seeks somewhat of a flat tax, and the positive implications of such a move would be quite something. Not only would this reduce the price of work for most Americans, but it would make tax preparation a snap such that a lot of fecund minds whose employment is a function of byzantine tax laws would be released into more productive lines of work;Sent in by Greg Westberry, who writes:
This is a cool word and is also used in a Camper Van Beethoven song called All Her Favorite Fruit on the album Key Lime Pie and it goes like this: We are rotting like a fruit beneath a rusting roof. We dream our dreams and sing our songs of the fecundity of life and love.
Word: inchoate
Synonymous with: incomplete or partial
M-W says: being only partly in existence or operation : incipient; especially : imperfectly formed or formulated : formless, incoherent
Example: Ross Douthat at http://rossdouthat.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/07/the_presidents_unconscious.php:
It was more a diffuse collection of observations, anecdotes and arguments than a tightly-focused narrative. But even in inchoate form, the morning left me with the distinct impression that this book has the potential to catapult Brooks into Thomas Friedman or Malcolm Gladwell territory - except that unlike, say, Blink it'll actually be good as well.
Word: outré
Synonymous with: strange
M-W says: violating convention or propriety : bizarre
Example: Michelle Goldberg at http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/14/dominionism-michele-bachmann-and-rick-perry-s-dangerous-religious-bond.html:
Put simply, Dominionism means that Christians have a God-given right to rule all earthly institutions. Originating among some of America's most radical theocrats, it’s long had an influence on religious-right education and political organizing. But because it seems so outré, getting ordinary people to take it seriously can be difficult.
Word: diaspora
Word: jocose
Word: coruscating
Synonymous with: diaspora
M-W says: 1 (capitalized) a : the settling of scattered colonies of Jews outside Palestine after the Babylonian exile. b : the area outside Palestine settled by Jews. c : the Jews living outside Palestine or modern Israel. 2 a : the movement, migration, or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland.
Example: George Vecsey at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/11/sports/all-star-game-2011-protests-yes-but-no-boycott.html:
Why should Sheriff Joe change now, just because fans all over the baseball diaspora will have their eyes on Phoenix for a couple of days?
Sent in by Kenneth D'Amica, who notes "people have a tendency to use it as a fancy word for dispersion or scattering, which is when, I think, it becomes a PAW."
Synonymous with: humorous
M-W says: given to joking
Example: John Boland at http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/john-boland-the-day-barack-supped-with-a-star-called-henry-2829478.html:
The makers sought to counter this problem by opting for a jauntily jocose tone, but they appeared uncertain how far to take it and they weren't helped by a script, narrated by Tom Hickey, that occasionally seemed eager to take surreal flight but instead remained nervously earthbound.
Sent in by Devin Mullins.
Synonymous with: brilliant
M-W says: 1 : to give off or reflect light in bright beams or flashes : sparkle 2: to be brilliant or showy in technique or style
Example: Robert Cumberford at http://www.automobilemag.com/features/by_design/1104_by_design_ford_vertek/index.html:
I don't know if Alan Mulally's "One Ford" idea is as coruscating as Ford PR says, but it does make sense not to build two completely different vehicles for exactly the same market niche.
Sent Bob Wright, who writes: "A non-pompous ass would have used 'sparkling' or 'brilliant' instead, and been instantly understood."
Word: guignol
Synonymous with: Sensational or dramatic.
M-W says: Guignol, it turns out, isn't in the free Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, where you just searched. However, it is available in our premium Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. To see that definition in the Unabridged Dictionary, start your FREE trial now.
Dictionary.com says: an entertainment with sensational or horrifying dramatic intent; also called Grand Guignol
Example: Sady Doyle at http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/08/mad-mens-very-modern-sexism-problem/60788/:
Of course the 1960s were sexist. But something about the show's Grand Guignol presentation of discrimination and contempt for women makes it feel unfamiliar: Our own lives, after all, are nowhere near this dramatic.Sent by James Cornelius.
Word: antediluvian
Synonymous with: old fashioned, antiquated or primitive
M-W says: 1 : of or relating to the period before the flood described in the Bible. 2 a : made, evolved, or developed a long time ago...b : extremely primitive or outmoded
Example: Gene Lyons at http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/07/14/lyons_washington_post_columnist/index.html:
I've always adhered to the quaint view that journalists should avoid disseminating false information, particularly on the opinion pages. An argument that can't be won without cheating should properly be lost.Word: protean
Contemporary political journalism, alas, has very little to do with such antediluvian values.
The Chinese protest surge that ended in bloodshed exactly 21 years ago today near central Beijing's Tiananmen Square continues to exert a powerful hold on Western thinking about China. The very term "Tiananmen" has taken on a powerful and protean life of its own in the realm of political analogy: Last July, for example, commentators wondered whether Tehran had experienced a "Tiananmen" moment when post-election protests erupted into violence in the Iranian capital, and the specter of a "Thai Tiananmen" was raised this year when thousands of anti-government protestors clashed with the military in central Bangkok. In spite of this notoriety and the fact that major events in the original Tiananmen played out on television screens around the world, much has been forgotten — and misremembered — about the demonstrations that took place in April and May of that year and the brutal crackdown that culminated in the June 4th massacre.
Word: equipoise
Synonymous with: balance or equilibrium
M-W says: 1 : a state of equilibrium ; 2 : counterbalance
Example: David Brooks at http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/the-calm-cool-and-collected-president/?hp:
Sometimes people fault Obama for being too cool. I can see their point 5 percent of the time, but 95 percent of the time, it's good to have a president with equipoise.
Word: surfeit
Synonymous with: excess
M-W says: 1 : an overabundant supply : excess
Example: Bill Gross at http://www.pimco.com/LeftNav/Featured+Market+Commentary/IO/2010/Lovin+Spoonful+-+May+2010+IO.htm:
There's a surfeit of instructionals on the secret to investing, ranging from Investing for Dummies to The Intelligent Investor.
Word: attenuate
Synonymous with: weaken
M-W says: 1 : reduced especially in thickness, density, or force. 2 : tapering gradually usually to a long slender point
Example: Marc Ambinder at http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/04/four-cheers-for-the-washington-post/38811/:
I've got no stake in the matter, but four cheers to the Washington Post for winning four Pulitzer Prizes. It's a needed shot in the arm for a publication that has lost considerable respect inside the Beltway over the past several years, as top correspondents have fled to other papers and as the editorial brain-trust allowed the paper's influential status as Washington's pace-setter to attenuate.
Word: legerdemain
Synonymous with: Deception (or sleight of hand).
M-W says: 1 : sleight of hand. 2 : a display of skill or adroitness
Example: Michael Barone's headline at http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/When-legerdemain-is-used-to-pass-an-unpopular-bill-8675305-79940422.html:
When legerdemain is used to pass an unpopular billHe uses it again in the article, just in case you thought he was done in by a headline writer.
Word: obstreperous
Word: percipience
Word: contretemps
Word: quiescent
Word: feckless
Word: scrofulous
Word: pertinacious
Word: nonce
Word: febrile
Word: mélange Word: desultory Zimmerman singled in his first two at-bats Tuesday as the
Nationals settled into what initially appeared to be another desultory evening. Word: vapid With due respect to Gen. Petraeus, this is just vapid. Word: assiduous Each and every individual there has to fulfill his or her part
of the loan-approval process in such a way that nobody will say to them one day,
"Why did you approve this deadbeat?" They solve this problem by becoming
assiduous. Word:
hagiolatry The companion to media demonisation of the 'bad guys' is the
hagiolatry of Western leaders and apologetics for their crimes. Evelyn Callahan sent it in and adds: "Meaning, the worship of
saints, from Greek hágios 'holy'. I can't think of an exact synonym, but surely
something along the lines of 'idolization' or 'deification' or 'glorification'
gets the point across without making you sound like a pompous ass."
One caveat, though - I think "hagiography" belongs in any well developed
vocabulary, and if you know the definition of that you can probably infer
hagiolatry. Having said that, use "deification" instead! Word: nullipara As a nullipara, I have no personal stake in questions of whether
breast really is best, how long one should breast-feed, whether it's appropriate
to do so in public, etc. The adjective childless can easily substitute for the
noun nullipara. In the example above, replace "Being childless" with "As
a nullipara" and it works just fine. Word: cupidity Do you hurry past with a blend of guilt and irritation, aware of
your cupidity but annoyed by the unbidden demand on your time and your wallet? Word: elide This is odd but somehow not surprising, because movies about
revolutions do tend to give pride of place to the fighting and to elide the
duller, often grimmer business of actually governing in a revolutionary way. Word: antipodal 1: of or relating to the antipodes
; specifically : situated at the opposite side of the earth or moon <an
antipodal meridian> <an antipodal continent> Example: Publishers
Weekly at
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6619813.html?industryid=47159: Alison, a plucky, boyish, observant child, set out to win Paul's
admiration by her accomplishments, and when she finally saw her biological
father again in 1973, it became clear that Alison and her antipodal sister,
Jenny, were each harboring the "mass of fantasy, jealousy, and longing that was
crucial and would define us." Lots of uses as a synonym for Australian, which is not pompous
so much as precious. Word: nugatory As we have seen, the bravery of the assassins does not count as
a virtue, and any minor virtues that they might have had - that they were good
to their mothers, for example, or that they were considerate brothers - are
nugatory by comparison with the evil they have wrought. For some reason it also makes me think of Willy Wonka.
Sent in by Evelyn Callahan, who on another matter writes: "Per se
may not be a PAW per se, but its widespread misuse as some kind of
softening qualifier is annoying and wrong. It's a favorite of pretentious
teenagers (a recent episode of South Park poked fun at this) but even otherwise
literate and intelligent people often get it incorrect. I misused it for years
before learning, with considerable embarrassment, of its actual definition.
Blame the lack of compulsory Latin education, I guess." Word: propinquity On last Thursday's CBS Evening News, facing the mild-as-milk
questioning of Katie Couric, the thriller from Wasilla should have been relieved
when the topics stopped being about the Bush doctrine or the thorny matter of
Russian-Alaskan propinquity and could be refocused instead on Sen. Barack Obama's weakness. Sent in by asbestos (the pseudonym, not the hazardous material). Word: pluvious The word is 'pluvious'. which is to say that it was raining
(both cats and dogs), sodden, soaked, drenched, awash, dripping, and even
pouring; in other words, very wet. "Aquarela do Brasil" ("Watercolor of Brazil"), also known in
English-speaking countries simply as "Brazil", is one of the most popular
Brazilian songs of all time, written by Ary Barroso on a pluvious night in 1939. Even though I am a staunch defender of the writer's right to
creative use and abuse of language -- at the risk of being tagged as a Pompous
Ass myself -- I find this one very hard to accept. Wikipedia, one imagines,
ought to be pretty utilitarian in its use of language; its purpose is to serve
readers with information. Zalmoxsis has sent in multiple examples and been a regular
correspondent. I started the PAW site before blogging software existed in
its present form, but if I had the ability to easily add contributors Zalmoxsis
would be one. So would
clemencedane. They both get it. A side note, since I just mentioned blogging. When I
railed against "trendy words (blog)" at the top I
was referring to the then-current practice of people starting what amounted to
public diaries and dumping into them whatever indulgent crap popped into the
writers' heads ("and then for lunch I had..."). Since
then new features like multiple authors, RSS feeds, comments and a few other
content management/publishing features have made the concept of a blog something
(potentially) distinctive and useful. In that sense it is no longer
trendy. (One of the reasons I've kept my name off the site is the
ego-mortifying belief that the Internet did not need another Web page all about
- me!) Word: lacuna This lack of full integration leaves some astonishing gaps in
IPS-1 management. If you want to generate a report summarizing data out of
IPS-1, it's your responsibility to set up your own reporting tool, such as
Crystal Reports, to work against the built-in database, or send events to an
external database for full control of archiving and retention. Another critical
lacuna is the lack of shared objects between firewall and IPS policies. Sent in by Jeff Fisher (who also sent in
sesquipedalian). Word: chrysostomatic The word is also used in what may be the most pompous paragraph
I have ever read (published by a major newspaper): The Divine Comedy, says Mandelstam, "in its most densely
foliated aspect is oriented toward authority, it is most densely rustling, most
concertante just when it is caressed by dogma, by canon, by the firm
chrysostomatic word. But the whole trouble is that in authority - or, to put it
more precisely, in authoritarianism - we see only insurance against error, and
we fail to perceive anything in that grandiose music of trustfulness, of trust,
in the nuances - delicate as an alpine rainbow - of probability and conviction,
which Dante has at his command." The syntax and absurdly ridiculous vocabulary make this
paragraph barely intelligible. Also, "Alpine Rainbow" sounds like a heavy metal band. Or the
organization name for gay marmots. Word: puissant Clinging to one another like leeches, Federer and the puissant
lefty, 22-year-old Nadal, traveled the longest of Wimbledon finals over so many
bumps that the audience was limp with suspense. I am, however, granting a dispensation for the
Manual of Puissant Skill at Arms. Word: amanuensis The artists begin with blank walls and, under close guidance
from members of the LeWitt atelier, the paints or pencil marks are applied with
strict precision, according to typed instructions left by the artist. While the
directions are specific, they sometimes allow for some marginal discretion by
the amanuensis. Clemencedane
and I had an extended correspondence on this one. She writes that my
example is "the more specialized definition. Usually it just means someone who
takes dictation. But in that meaning they are more like an interpreter of
written instructions. But it is still used as a fancy word for secretary in some
contexts." I looked around a little and here is the only example I found
where the "interpreter" definition is used -
http://www.abu.nb.ca/courses/NTIntro/2Pet.htm: Jerome explains the literary differences between 1 & 2 Peter by
postulating Peter's use of a different "interpreter" (interpres) or what we
would now call amanuenses, for each letter (Ep. Hedib. 120 Quaest. 11). The other examples I found make a distinction between
interpreter and transcriber. I think of transcribing as more or less automatic
repeating of exactly what you see/hear and associate it within a language, while
interpretation is across it. Under those circumstances the example reflects at
best an extremely rare and archaic use of the word. As always your
feedback is welcome1.
Zalmoxsis had the gall to take
me up on my offer and his thoughts are here. Word: atelier Word: niggardly David Howard, a top aide to D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams,
resigned last month after being criticized for saying the word "niggardly"
during a meeting with two city employees. Howard's resignation, and Williams's
decision to accept it, raised questions about whether the mayor acted too
hastily and fueled discussions across the nation about appropriate word usage. A
look at the key dates in the Howard situation: I first saw this as a candidate for the list in relation to a
scathing review of my site (see the "Reviews" section for the link). I
didn't especially want to publicize such a negative critique but I feel somewhat
obligated now. You see, once I added it people started going to it, and it
became popular in its own right on Stumble Upon - so much so that people started
stumbling upon it independently in large numbers. Since it links to my
site he has unknowingly driven thousands of people here and I certainly
appreciate the extra traffic. Consider this my "thank you" to him.
As an added humor bonus, the review in question is over a year and a half old
and well off his front page. As far as I know he is completely unaware of
the newfound popularity of his site; someone will probably alert him now but as
of mid-July 2008 the most recent item on the site is a thoroughly misanthropic
diatribe concerning the current Playboy Playmate of the Year. From May. As for the niggardly controversy, I don't have much sympathy for
Mr. Howard. Yes he used the word properly in context but it strikes me as
disingenuous to act surprised when as a white man he uses a word around African
Americans with such a strong resemblance to "nigger". People might not
pause and go to the reference section in the middle of a city budget meeting if
they hear a new word - they might just go with what they think they heard.
Considering how easily it could be confused with such an explosive epithet I
think it's reasonable to expect your average person's racial tripwire to trigger
and say "hey, maybe I should think of another word lest what I say be confused
with the n-word!" He shouldn't have lost his job over it nor should he
have been censured but I don't think the proper response is some kind of
haughty-but-defensive "well I'm sorry I have such a big vocabulary" attitude.
Under the circumstances his usage of the word ind
Synonymous with: unruly
M-W says: 1 : marked by unruly or aggressive noisiness : clamorous
Example: Chicago Tribune editorial board at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-pelosi-20100304,0,4493358.story:
The Rangel affair should have been a moment for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to show she won't tolerate unethical behavior in Washington. She should have been leading the parade to make Rangel step aside at Ways and Means. But she didn't lead; she was led.
She defended Rangel, even as he grew more obstreperous, even as he blamed his staff - and the ethics committee - for his troubles.
Synonymous with: perception
M-W says: perception
Example: Martin Rees at http://timesonline.typepad.com/science/2010/01/how-is-the-internet-changing-the-way-you-think.html:
Srinivasa Ramanujan, a clerk in Bombay, mailed long screeds of of mathematical formulae to G H Hardy, a professor at Trinity College, Cambridge. Fortunately, Hardy had the
percipience to recognise that Ramanujan was not the typical green-ink scribbler who finds numerical patterns in the bible or the pyramids, but that his writings betrayed preternatural insight.
Synonymous with: dispute or fight
M-W says: 1 : an inopportune or embarrassing occurrence or situation. 2 : dispute, argument
Example: Ruth Sunderland at http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/17/google-china-hacking-censorship:
Underlying the issues of hacking and censorship is unease over the inexorable increase in China's business clout and whether its ambition to become an economic superpower is compatible with its political system.
In the past few weeks alone there has been a string of contretemps with the west, including the execution of Briton Akmail Shaikh, the imprisonment of dissident Liu Xiaobo and ill-feeling over China's behaviour at the Copenhagen climate change summit, where it appeared to snub Barack Obama.
Synonymous with: quiet or inactive
M-W says: marked by inactivity or repose : tranquilly at rest
Example: Jerry Jordan at http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/10/28/business/econwatch/entry5439301.shtml:
Historically, commodity prices have remained quiescent during the initial period of an economic upturn.
Synonymous with: ineffective
M-W says: 1 : weak, ineffective. 2 : worthless, irresponsible
Example: Gene Lyons at http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/10/15/fox_news/:
As feckless and cowardly as the so-called “mainstream” media have grown in the face of conservative propaganda about “liberal media bias,” this strikes me as very good news.
Synonymous with: immoral
M-W says: 1 : of, relating to, or affected with scrofula. 2 a : having a diseased run-down appearance b : morally contaminated
Example: Andrew Sullivan at http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/09/one-small-moment-of-actual-dissent.html:
Fox's agenda has always been to suppress actual conservative dissent, and to reiterate the GOP talking points of the day against Potemkin "liberals" who, when they don't seem positively
scrofulous, tend to look like beauty queens.
Synonymous with: obstinate
M-W says: 1 a : adhering resolutely to an opinion, purpose, or design b : perversely persistent. 2 : stubbornly tenacious
Example: Yoani Sanchez: at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yoani-sanchez/raised-at-fidels-knees-a_b_278481.html:
The person who all this happened to was, in turn, an amusing hedonist, born conversationalist, tolerant,
pertinacious and the worst guerrilla one could imagine.
Synonymous with: now
M-W says: 1 : the one, particular, or present occasion, purpose, or use
Example: Megan McArdle at http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/09/ant-abortion_protester_shot_an.php:
An anti-abortion activist has been shot and killed in Michigan. It seems to be linked to another homicide in the area, so this seems more like a lone lunatic than a political killing, at least for the
nonce.
Synonymous with: feverish
M-W says:
marked or caused by fever : feverish
Example: Kevin Drum at http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2009/08/afpak-dominos:
Nothing is impossible, but at its core this is just a sophisticated version of the same domino theory that dominated U.S. thinking in Southeast Asia in the 50s and 60s. That led us into a disastrous war then, and it could do the same now if the Obama administration starts getting too wrapped up in
febrile thinking like this.
Synonymous with: mixture or hodgepodge
M-W says:
a mixture often of incongruous elements
Example: Rich Ernst sent in this Publishers Weekly review of The Cloudspotter's Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds (Paperback) at http://www.amazon.com/dp/0399533451?tag=fw-book-su-20:
The result is an amusing and remarkably informative jaunt through the heavenly vapors that draws on classical poetry, physics, geekery and pop culture. Despite this improbable
mélange, Pretor-Pinney succeeds in fleshing out subtleties and making difficult concepts like convection, advection, condensation and atmospheric optics comprehensible to almost any reader.
Synonymous with: chaotic, disappointing or irregular
M-W says:
1 : marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, or purpose...2 : not connected
with the main subject 3 : disappointing in progress, performance, or quality
Example: Steve Fainaru at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/13/AR2009051303813.html:
Synonymous with: dull or tedious
M-W says:
lacking liveliness, tang, briskness, or force : flat, dull
Example: Andy McCarthy at
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NjFkMDM5NWMzODJhNGI3NjdlOGE0NjQ0Yjg0ZjZmMzg=:
Synonymous with: persistent, thorough or industrious
M-W says:
marked by careful unremitting attention or persistent application
Example: Stanley Bing at
http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/03/magazines/fortune/stress_test_bing.fortune/?postversion=2009060410:
Synonymous with: idolatry
M-W says:
hagiolatry can be found at Merriam-WebsterUnabridged.com. Click here to start
your free trial!
dictionary.com says:
the worship of saints.
Example: David Edwards and
David Cromwell in the book GUARDIANS OF POWER, excerpted at
http://www.medialens.org/bookshop/extract_of_chapter_11.php:
Synonymous with: a childless woman
M-W says:
nullipara can be found at Merriam-WebsterUnabridged.com. Click here to start
your free trial!
dictionary.com says:
a woman who has never borne a child.
Example: Kate Harding at
http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2009/01/12/breastfeeding_101/index.html:
Synonymous with: greed
M-W says:
1: inordinate desire for wealth: avarice, greed 2: strong desire: lust
Example: Gene Weingarten
at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html:
Synonymous with: omit
M-W says:
1 a: to suppress or alter (as a vowel or syllable) by elision b: to strike out
(as a written word). 2 a: to leave out of consideration : omit b: curtail ,
abridge
Example: Terrence Rafferty at
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/movies/07raff.html:
Synonymous with: opposite
M-W says:
2: diametrically opposite <an antipodal point on a sphere>
3: entirely opposed <a system antipodal to democracy>
Synonymous with: trivial
M-W says:
of little or no consequence
Example: Theodore Dalrymple at
http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/13921/sec_id/13921:
Synonymous with: kinship or proximity
M-W says:
1 : nearness of blood : kinship. 2 : nearness in place or time : proximity
Example: Christopher
Hitchens at
http://www.slate.com/id/2201130/:
Synonymous with: rainy
M-W says:
pluvious can be found at Merriam-WebsterUnabridged.com. Click here to start your
free trial!
Dictionary.com says:
of or pertaining to rain; rainy.
Example:
Zalmoxsis sent in the following:
I was doing a little research to find out who wrote and sang the song 'Brazil'
(as in the movie, and the VISA commercial), and happened on Wikipedia's entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarela_do_Brasil:
Fortunately, my half-remembered French and Latin told me that 'pluvious' had
something to do with rain, so I wasn't completely in the dark; but it seems to
me that a writer may not assume readers to understand any language other than
that in which they are supposed to be writing. Foreign words ought to be used
sparingly: either when no other word or phrase comes close to their meaning, or
when the foreign word has been adopted into English, or is at least familiar to
most intelligent general readers.
Synonymous with: gap or deficiency
M-W says:
1: a blank space or a missing part : gap <the evident lacunae in his story —
Shirley Hazzard>; also : deficiency 1 <despite all these lacunae, those reforms
were a vast improvement — New Republic>
Example: Joel Snyder at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/06/AR2008080602148.html:
Synonymous with: eloquent
M-W says:
The word you've entered isn't in the dictionary. (Super bonus awesome PAW
points!)
Example: Arieh Smith sends the
following from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/jul/16/classics.dantealighieri and adds
Synonymous with: powerful
M-W says:
powerful
Example: From
http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/tennis/articles/2008/07/07/nadal_ascends_in_historic_fashion?mode=PF:
Synonymous with: secretary
M-W says:
one employed to write from dictation or to copy manuscript
Example: From
http://www.nysun.com/arts/got-to-paint-the-lewitts/80896/:
Synonymous with: workshop
M-W says:
1 : an artist's or designer's studio or workroom
Example: See previous entry.
Synonymous with: miserly
M-W says:
grudgingly mean about
spending or granting
Example: The infamous
David Howard incident:
Jan. 15 [1999]: In a discussion of how little money his office would have to
serve residents, Howard, the head of the mayor's constituent services office,
tells two associates that he'll have to be "niggardly" with his agency's budget.
Niggardly, meaning miserly, has no racial connotation, but soon rumors begin
spreading among some city workers that Howard had used the "N-word."