languor \LANG-guhr; LANG-uhr\ (noun) - 1 : Mental or physical weariness or fatigue. 2 : Listless indolence, especially the indolence of one who is satiated by a life of luxury or pleasure. 3 : A heaviness or oppressive stillness of the air.

"She had been particularly unwell, however, suffering from headache to a degree, which made her aunt ...Read more

gewgaw \G(Y)OO-gaw\ (noun) - A showy trifle; a trinket; a bauble.

"Many in the office felt that new secretary's tendency to be festooned with gewgaws, as well as her gaudy makeup, reflected poorly on the company's image."

The origin of gewgaw is uncertain.

recrudescent \ree-kroo-DES-uhnt\ (adjective) - Breaking out again after temporary abatement or suppression; as, a recrudescent epidemic.

"Jenna's recrudescent acne had a tendency to make its appearance at the most inconvenient of times, such as when she had a date or public appearance."

Recrudescent derives from the present participle of Latin...Read more

corybantic \kor-i-BAN-tik\ (adjective) - Wild; frenzied; uncontrolled.

"Harold felt that the radio show was worse than merely 'bad,' thinking that it penetrated the mind, filling it with a babble of distractions, blasts of corybantic or sentimental music, and continually repeated doses of drama that brought no catharsis."

After Corybant, an ...Read more

mephitic \muh-FIT-ik\ (adjective) - 1 : Offensive to the smell; as, mephitic odors. 2 : Poisonous; noxious.

"The mephitic stench from the bilge became overpowering." -- Richard Holmes, Coleridge: Darker Reflections, 1804-1834

Mephitic is the adjective form of mephitis, "a foul-smelling or noxious exhalation from the earth; a stench from any ...Read more

contumely \kon-TYOO-muh-lee; -TOO-; KON-tyoo-mee-lee; -too-; KON-tum-lee\ (noun) - 1 : Rudeness or rough treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt; scornful insolence. 2 : An instance of contemptuousness in act or speech.

"But surely it would be desperate unkindness to add contumely to our self-protection, unless, indeed, we believe that ...Read more

tete-a-tete \TAYT-uh-TAYT; TET-uh-TET\ (adjective) - Private; confidential; familiar.

(noun) - 1 : A private conversation between two people. 2 : A short sofa intended to accommodate two persons.

"There was a phone in her office, but she wasn't near brave enough to hang around having a tete-a- tete with a corpse while she waited for the police...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

benignant \bih-NIG-nuhnt\ (adjective) - 1 : Kind; gracious. 2 : Beneficial; favorable.

"Bruce's benignant behavior in financially supporting the homeless shelter's programs were rather at odds with his image as a grouchy skinflint."

Benignant comes from the present participle of Late Latin benignare, from Latin benignus, "kind, friendly."

winsome \WIN-suhm\ (adjective) - 1 : Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted. 2 : Causing joy or pleasure; agreeable; pleasant.

"Above all, it was winsome, devastatingly winsome. For a pretty face to be winsome is normal enough and very winsome it can be, but it is a tepid thing..." -- Mervyn Peake, 'The Gormenghast Novels'

Winsome is from Old ...Read more

daedal \DEE-duhl\ (adjective) - 1 : Complex or ingenious in form or function; intricate. 2 : Skillful; artistic; ingenious. 3 : Rich; adorned with many things.

"As a Web-site designer, Susan realized that large image maps and daedal layouts were to be avoided, and she reacted to users' objections to highly graphical, slow sites by using ...Read more

supererogatory \soo-puhr-ih-ROG-uh-tor-ee\ (adjective) - 1 : Going beyond what is required or expected. 2 : Superfluous; unnecessary.

"He was close to her doors: his standing was sufficient: his qualities were even supererogatory." -- Thomas Hardy, 'Far From the Madding Crowd'

Supererogatory comes from Latin supererogare, "to spend over and ...Read more

hardscrabble \HARD-skrab-uhl\ (adjective) - 1 : Yielding a bare or meager living with great labor or difficulty. 2 : Marked by poverty.

"The hardscrabble land was such that few wanted to come and live in the area in spite of the government's incentives."

Hardscrabble is formed from hard (from Old English heard) + scrabble (from Dutch ...Read more

paragon \PAIR-uh-gon; -guhn\ (noun) - A model of excellence or perfection; as, "a paragon of beauty; a paragon of eloquence."

"Old Roland, that paragon of acceptable standards, viewed the world with a thoroughly jaundiced, nearly blind eye." -- Samara Al-Darraji , 'Eclipse'

Paragon comes from Middle French, from Old Italian paragone, literally...Read more

camarilla \kam-uh-RIL-uh; -REE-yuh\ (noun) - A group of secret and often scheming advisers, as of a king; a cabal or clique.

"Few faulted the president for the problems during his tenure, instead choosing to blame the camarilla of closely held advisors which were a holdover from his days as a senator."

Camarilla comes from Spanish, literally, ...Read more

landloper \LAND-lo-puhr\ (noun) - A wanderer; vagabond; vagrant ; also landlouper and landleaper

"Through a series of games and dreamlike fantasies, the dynamic of the lead character's struggle between good and evil established him as both an intellectual landloper and a truth-seeker."

From Dutch landlooper (landrunner), from land + lopen ...Read more

iota \eye-OH-tuh\ (noun) - 1 : The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding to the English i. 2 : A very small quantity or degree; a jot; a bit.

"A brilliant negotiator, James had not moderated his demands one iota in seven years."

Iota is the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet. The word jot also derives from iota.

inveigle \in-VAY-guhl; -VEE-\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To persuade by ingenuity or flattery; to entice. 2 : To obtain by ingenuity or flattery.

"Once a soft touch for those who inveigled her into sparing them her change, Jhenna began to cross the road, begging for some change in her circumstances."

Inveigle comes from Anglo-French enveogler, ...Read more

redivivus \red-uh-VY-vuhs; -VEE-\ (adjective) - Living again; brought back to life; revived; restored.

"'He can't be redivivus if he's never died,' Diotallevi said. 'Sure he's not Ahasuerus, the wandering Jew?'" -- Umberto Eco, 'Foccault's Pendulum'

Redivivus comes from Latin, from the prefix red-, re-, "again" + vivus, "alive."