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' ...Read More

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 ...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 ...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 ...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, ...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 ...Read More