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

"A woman does not thrill, blush, equivocate, and faint for nothing; especially such a woman as Miss Leavenworth." -- Anna Katharine Green, 'The Leavenworth Case'

To equivocate is ...Read more

benefaction \BEN-uh-fak-shuhn; ben-uh-FAK-shuhn\ (noun) - 1 : The act of conferring a benefit. 2 : A benefit conferred; especially, a charitable donation.

"On my side, I could have cursed the kindness that conferred upon me this benefaction, but I kept my vexation under the surface for policy's sake, and did with I could to let on to be glad." ...Read more

malcontent \mal-kuhn-TENT; MAL-kuhn-tent\ (noun) - 1 : One who is discontented or dissatisfied. 2 : A discontented subject of a government; one who opposes an established order.

(adjective) - Discontented; uneasy; dissatisfied.

"I was excited, but something, the malcontent perhaps, was keeping me from displaying my enthusiasm." -- Chuck ...Read more

plangent \PLAN-juhnt\ (adjective) - 1 : Beating with a loud or deep sound, as, "the plangent wave." 2 : Expressing sadness; plaintive.

"He let the plangent memory of the music fill his head and flow down his arms and fill his fingers." -- Terry Pratchet, 'Soul Music'

Plangent derives from the present participle of Latin plangere, to beat, to ...Read more

superannuated \soo-pur-AN-yoo-ay-tid\ (adjective) - 1 : Discharged or disqualified on account of old age; retired from service, especially with a pension. 2 : Old; no longer in use; no longer valid; outmoded.

"The worthy man was hale and hearty, not exceeding three score and seven, and had never dreamt of being superannuated." -- John Galt, '...Read more

pablum \PAB-luhm\ (noun) - Something (as writing or speech) that is trite, insipid, or simplistic.

"'It's not all pablum for the masses, you know!' I let out my breath. He was probably just embarrassed to be caught enjoying the pablum of the masses." -- Jacqueline Girdner, 'Murder Most Mellow'

Pablum is derived from Pablum, a trademarked ...Read more

puerile \PYOO-uhr-uhl; PYOOR-uhl\ (adjective) - Displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity; juvenile; childish.

"Hal cleared his throat to out-spit Leroy, then swallowed hard, laughing at his puerile urge." - Evelyn Cole, 'For The Sake Of All Others'

Puerile comes from Latin puerilis, from puer, "child, boy."

effulgence \i-FUL-juhn(t)s\ (noun) - The state of being bright and radiant; splendor; brilliance.

"The moment Sri Caitanya appeared, His beauty and effulgence transfixed everyone." -- N. S. Narasimha, 'The Way of the Vaisnava sages'

From Latin ex, "out of, from" + fulgere, "to shine." The adjective form of the word is effulgent.

quondam \KWAHN-duhm; KWAHN-dam\ (adjective) - Having been formerly; former; sometime.

"It is time for me to speak of Patrick Quilly, my quondam catamite, cook and general housekeeper." -- John Banville, 'The Untouchable'

Quondam comes from the Latin quondam, "formerly," from quom, "when."

sesquipedalian \ses-kwuh-puh-DAYL-yuhn\ (adjective) - 1 : Given to or characterized by the use of long words. 2 : Long and ponderous; having many syllables.

(noun) - A long word.

"Because my father was a professor, I early picked up a sesquipedalian way of speaking." -- Damon Knight, 'A Science Fiction Argosy'

Sesquipedalian comes from Latin ...Read more

capricious \kuh-PRISH-us; -PREE-shus\ (adjective) - Apt to change suddenly; whimsical; changeable.

"Perhaps the ancients were right, and we mortals are merely playthings of a capricious fate." -- Tom Harper, ' Knights of the Cross'

Capricious comes, via French, from Italian capriccio, a shivering, a shudder, finally (influenced by Italian ...Read more

epigone \EP-uh-gohn\ (noun) - An inferior imitator, especially of some distinguished writer, artist, musician, or philosopher.

"He was a conscious epigone, even in the l9th century preferring the powdered wig and ruffles of an earlier age." -- Andre Norton, 'Leopard in Exile'

Epigone derives from Greek epigonos, from epigignesthai, to be born ...Read more

ineffable \in-EF-uh-buhl\ (adjective) - 1 : Incapable of being expressed in words; unspeakable; unutterable; indescribable. 2 : Not to be uttered; taboo.

"In the light of the pyre, I saw in her face an ineffable sadness, even a longing, as she gazed down at the burial party tending to the dead mothers..." -- Michael Curtis Ford, 'The Ten ...Read more

flippant \FLIP-uhnt\ (adjective) - Lacking proper seriousness or respect; showing inappropriate levity; pert.

"Betty made some flippant rejoinder, but as she watched him, she was not gay." -- Humphry Ward, 'Sir George Tressady'

Flippant probably comes from flip. The noun form is flippancy.

consanguineous \kon-san(g)-GWIN-ee-us\ (adjective) - Of the same blood; related by birth; descended from the same parent or ancestor.

"...Descent in the royal house to which she belongs had always been confused by substitutions and adoptions; the effects of consanguineous marriage having been fortunately mitigated by impotence on the part of ...Read more

spoony \SPOO-nee\ (adjective) - 1 : Foolish; silly; excessively sentimental. 2 : Foolishly or sentimentally in love.

"There is no doubt whatever that I was a lackadaisical young spoony; but there was a purity of heart in all this, that prevents my having quite a contemptuous recollection of it, let me laugh as I may." -- Charles Dickens, 'David...Read more

ephemeron \ih-FEM-uh-ron\ (noun) plural ephemera \ih-FEM-uh-ruh\ - 1 : Something short-lived or of no lasting significance. 2 : ephemera: Items, especially printed matter (as posters, broadsides, pamphlets, etc.), intended to be of use or importance for only a short time but preserved by collectors.

"She had seen that the finger of Death was ...Read more

desultory \DES-uhl-tor-ee\ (adjective) - 1 : Jumping or passing from one thing or subject to another without order or rational connection; disconnected; aimless. 2 : By the way; as a digression; not connected with the subject. 3 : Coming disconnectedly or occurring haphazardly; random. 4 : Disappointing in performance or progress.

"He felt as ...Read more

provender \PROV-uhn-duhr\ (noun) - 1 : Dry food for domestic animals, such as hay, straw, corn, oats, or a mixture of ground grain; feed. 2 : Food or provisions.

"It may be long ere we find any other provender now that we are leaving the auspices of the Tree Dwellers." -- Cecelia Dart-Thornton, 'The Battle of Evernight'

Provender comes from ...Read more

A recent editorial in the Washington Examiner included this clause: "Say you're one of those who is concerned about Trump's actions in the weeks following the 2020 election..."

Paul Johnson of Alexandria, Virginia, emailed me to ask whether the clause should have read, "Say you're one of those who ARE concerned about Trump's actions."

In ...Read more