[Word Powers] Daily Words - July 2009

Scythe (sahyth) (verb): cut with a blade or mower ; Second seed Roger Federer continued to scythe through the men's draw with a 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 fourth-round victory over Sweden's Robin Soderling in Wimbledon.

Smart (smahrt) (verb): To feel a sharp, usually superficial, stinging pain; Smarting from the embarrassing eight-wicket loss to West Indies, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his batsmen failed to gauge the wicket and didn't give enough respect to the rival bowlers.

Emollient(i-mol-yuhnt) (noun): a cream or lotion that softens the skin and interior; Emollients can be applied at any time of the day, particularly after a bath or shower, and can also be used as a soap substitute for cleansing.

Vilify(vil-uh-fahy) (verb): To make vicious and defamatory statements about. In the 2008 tour of Australia, Harbhajan Singh was accused of racially vilifying Andrew Symonds.

Oxymoron (ok-si-mawr-on) (noun): A rhetorical device in which two seemingly contradictory words are used together for effect Plastic glass is an example of oxymoron.

Onomatopoeia (on-uh-mat-uh-pee-uh) (noun): the use of imitative and naturally suggestive words for rhetorical effect The buzz of bees; the hiss of a goose; the crackle of fire are examples of onomatopoeia expressions.

Scalpel (skal-puh) (noun): A small, light, usually straight knife used in surgical and anatomical operations and dissections. I would prefer that the surgeon wielding the scalpel on me be highly skilled.

Scalp (skalp) (noun): Any token of victory; Argentine player Gisela Dulko claimed a major scalp at Wimbledon when she beat former champion Maria Sharapova in the second round.

Fiscal (fis-kuhl) (Adj): Of or relating to government expenditures, revenues, and debts. Expressing concern at the rising fiscal deficit, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in his Budget speech that the government will come back to the path of fiscal consolidation at the earliest.

Legacy(leg-uh-see) (noun): Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past. Michael Jackson, The King of Pop, leaves behind a legacy of music and style that changed the world of entertainment.

Ululate (uhl-yuh-leyt) (verb): To howl, wail, or lament loudly. The woods ululate with many kinds of birds.

Requiem (rek-wee-uhm) (noun): A hymn, composition, or service for the dead. Perhaps the most famous and frequently performed requiem is an unfinished masterpiece composed by Mozart in 1791 towards the tragic end of his very short life.

Contrite (kon-trahyt) (Adj): 1. Feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for a sin or shortcoming. 2. Filled with a sense of guilt and the desire for atonement; penitent: A contrite sinner. They do not have a broken spirit or a contrite heart.

Corral (kuh-ral): 1. (noun) An enclosure or pen for horses, cattle, etc. Fish Corrals were primarily designed in size and shape for fishes, but are suitable for many kinds of mobile aquatic animals. 2. (verb) To collect, gather, or garner: to corral votes. It is difficult for congressional leadership to corral a majority of votes.

Smirk (smurk): 1. (verb) to smile in an affected, often offensively self-satisfied manner. 2. (noun) the facial expression of a person who smirks. "I told you it would end in disaster, " said Polly with a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

Cogent (KOH-juhnt) (adj): 1. convincing or believable by virtue of forcible, clear, or incisive presentation; telling. 2. to the point; relevant; pertinent. In this assessment, there isn't always a perfect answer for the given problem, so cogently defend your proposed answer to an examiner.

Quotidian (kwoh-TID-ee-uhn) (adj): 1. usual or customary; everyday 2. ordinary; commonplace Television has become part of our quotidian existence.

Detriment (DE-truh-muhnt) (noun): 1. loss, damage, disadvantage, or injury. 2. a cause of loss or damage. Are you sure that I can follow this diet without detriment to my health?

Furrow (fuhr-oh) (noun): A deep wrinkle in the skin, as on the forehead. Deep lines, a furrowed forehead, and sagging eyebrows can make you look very old, tired and unhappy.

Furore(fyoor-awr) (noun): A very angry or excited reaction by people to something. Salman Rushdie’s work “The Satanic Verses” caused a furore and was burnt publicly for its alleged slur on the Islamic faith.

Sedition (si-dish-uhn) (Noun): 1. incitement of discontent or rebellion against a government. 2. any action, esp. in speech or writing, promoting such discontent or rebellion. Rene Buelen, a Dutch National, who was standing trial on a sedition charge, was last Friday convicted and sentenced.

Sentient (sen-shuhnt) (Adj): Having the power of perception by the senses; conscious. Human beings are sentient. Rocks are not.

Intrepid (in-trep-id) (Adj) : Resolutely fearless; dauntless: An intrepid explorer. An intrepid explorer and brilliant naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace co-published the theory of evolution by natural selection with Charles Darwin.

Renegade (ren-i-geyd) (noun): 1. (noun) A person who abandons a party, movement, etc. and goes over to the other side; traitor; turncoat. 2. (Adj) Of or like a renegade; disloyal China considers Taiwan a renegade province that must be united with the mainland by force if necessary.

Dour (DOU-er) (adj): 1. sullen; gloomy The normally dour Mr James was photographed smiling and joking with friends. 2. severe; stern His dour criticism made us regret having undertaken the job.

Slapstick (SLAP-stik) (noun): 1. Broad comedy characterized by boisterous action, as the throwing of pies in actors' faces, mugging, and obvious farcical situations and jokes. 2. A paddle designed to produce a loud whacking sound, used by clowns Charlie Chaplin’s slapstick acrobatics made him famous, but the subtleties of his acting made him great.

Leitmotif (LAHYT-moh-teef) (noun): A theme associated throughout a music drama ( or any other work of art) with a particular person, situation, or idea. Revenge and reincarnation are the leitmotifs of the movie “Karan Arjun”.

Mire (mahyuhr) (noun): 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation We must not be drawn into the mire of civil war.

Succinct (suhk-singkt) (Adj): 1. expressed in few words; concise; terse. 2. compressed into a small area, scope, or compass. Given little room to write on examination, we kept our essays succinct.

Surfeit (sur-fit) (Noun): Excess or overindulgence in eating or drinking. Thanksgiving meals are usually a surfeit for everyone involved.

Internecine (in-ter-nee-seen) (Adj): mutually destructive There seems to be no end to the internecine Ambani war. Even four years after splitting the Reliance empire, they still seem to be washing dirty linen in public: the latest battle is over gas pricing.

Colossus (kuh-los-uhs) (noun): Something likened to a huge statue, as in size or importance. The irresistible force of Flintoff’s pace and precision smashed Australia’s resistance and finally wrote the name of the colossus on the board of English bowlers who have claimed five Test wickets in an innings at Lord's.

Doyen (doi-uhn) (noun) : 1. The senior member of a body or group. 2. One who is knowledgeable or uniquely skilled as a result of long experience in some field of endeavor. Christian Dior, doyen of fashion, introduced the new Look for women, with long flowing skirts and a strong emphasis on non-practical femininity.

Paladin (pal-uh-din) (noun): 1) A knight-errant; a distinguished champion of a medieval king or prince; as, the paladins of Charlemagne. 2) A champion of a cause. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, that great paladin for justice, took up Slater's case and the arguments continued for nineteen years.

Languish (lang-gwish) (verb): 1. To be or become weak or feeble; droop; fad 2. To be subjected to delay or disregard; be ignored. The boats languished on the beach for a year.

Zeitgeist (tsahyt-gahyst) (noun): The general set of ideas, beliefs, feelings etc. which is typical of a particular period in history. By the 1970s, the 1960s zeitgeist that had spawned “Hippie” culture started to fade away.

Noetic (noh-ET-ik) (adj): 1. of or pertaining to the mind and intellect. 2. originating in or apprehended by the reason. As we grow old, we all experience a decline in our noetic abilities.

Conflate (kuhn-FLEYT) (verb): To fuse into one entity; merge We should conflate our dissenting voices into one protest against the offenders.

Repast (ri-past) (noun): A meal. Lentil soup with a combination plate of aloo chole & matar paneer with Basmati Rice, poori, vegetable samosa, pappadam, raita, desert and tea make a perfect Indian repast.

Gravitas (grav-i-tas) (noun): Seriousness, as of conduct or speech, substance, weightiness. American news anchor Cronkite's reputation was built on a certain gravitas, the rich baritone giving a sense of comfort to millions of viewers.

Sycophant (sik-uh-fuhnt, -fant, sahy-kuh-) (noun): A self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite. The French class seemed to be full of sycophants; the students were always bringing apples to the teacher and telling her how nice she looked.

Surrogate (sur-uh-geyt, -git, suhr-) (Adj): Appointed to act for another; deputy A surrogate mother is a woman who bears a child for someone else.