If you're a regular blog reader & participant, you know that the Merriam Webster website has lots of great resources, including the Word of the Day feature. Let's visit the archive. Once there, pick any word listed in the section for December or January (which you may need to scroll down to see). Click on the word and review the information given. Please come back to the blog, post the date the word was originally used, the word you picked, definition, and the example sentence that was given. Be sure to check back often to see what other words were picked by fellow bloggers!
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/wodcalendar.pl
I'll start!
---
December 11, 2009
namby-pamby
1.) lacking in character or substance : insipid
2.) weak, indecisive
Example sentence: The candidate criticized her opponent during the debate, calling him a namby-pamby flip-flopper who could not stand up for what he believed in.
20 comments:
DATE: December 26, 2009
WORD: Two-bit
MEANING: 1 : of the value of two bits
2 : cheap or trivial of its kind : petty, small-time
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Eliana had only a two-bit role in the musical, but her enchanting voice and beauty magnified her presence on stage.
Lia Muth
The word of the day of January 2, 2010.
Word: Embargo
Meaning: 1.)An order of a government prohibiting the departure of commerical ships from its ports.
2.)A legal prohibition on commerice.
3.) Stoppage, impediment; especially prohibition.
Eample Sentence: Because of the trade embargo against Cuba, certain items, such as Cuban cigars, are illegal in the United States.
April S.
December 4,2009
Word:Leviathan
1] The political state:especially:a
totalitarian state having a vast bureaucracy.
2}something large or formidable.
Example Sentence:
Towering leviathans of the forest these giant sequoias often reach heights of more than 200 feet.
Dorothea M.
Dec. 5, 2009
Cheapfallen
Meaning: 1. Having the lower jaw hanging loosely.
2. Cast down in spirit: depressed.
The team's failure to make it to the playoffs yet again was another disappointment, but hardly a surprise, for the cheapfallen and long-seffering fans.
Deidra W
December 24, 2009
malleable
1 : capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer or by the pressure of rollers
2 a : capable of being altered or controlled by outside forces or influencesb : having a capacity for adaptive change.
Example Sentence:
Grandma took the cookie dough out of the refrigerator and allowed it to soften to a consistency that was firm yet malleable.
MelissaLobsinger
Word--Chapfallen 12-05-09
Definition:1-having the lower jaw hanging loosely
2-cast down in spirit-depressed
Sentence-the team's failure to make it to the playoff yet again another disappointment, but hardly a suprise, for its chapfallen and long-suffering fans.
Mianta durand
December 17, 2009
Word: Intransigent
Example: Ms. Baxter was intransigent about her most famous rule: no gum or candy in her classroom unless you'd brought enough to share with everybody.
January 14, 2010
Roxana Alvarez
January 8, 2001
Wushu
Meaning: Chinese martial arts.
Example Sentence: Before becoming a martial arts film star, Jet Li was well known as a champion in the chinese sport of wushu.
Deidra W
Sandra H
Myrmidon
Meaning- a loyal follower; a subordinate who executes orders unquestioningly or unscrupulously
The boss was more likely to offer her myrmidons hanto those workers who occasionally questioned her tactics or proposed alternate solutions.
December 23
baptism of fire • \BAP-tiz-um-uv-FYRE\ • noun
*1 : an introductory or initial experience that is a severe ordeal; especially : a soldier's first exposure to enemy fire
2 : a spiritual baptism by a gift of the Holy Spirit
Example Sentence:
Sandra got her baptism of fire as a babysitter when she spent the weekend taking care of her sister’s three rambunctious children.
Date: January 4, 2010
Word: Triskaidekaphobia
Meaning: Fear of the Number 13
Sentence: Billy Hart suffers absolutely no triskaidekaphobia. The Salem Avalanche infielder has worn No. 13 for six years.
Deidra W.
Testing
Lourdes
December 30, 2009
Canaille
1.rabble,riffraft
2.proletarian
"I am not going to write the [the New York Weekly] --like all other papers that pay one spendidly, it circulates among stupid people & the canaille." (Mark Twain, letter, June 1, 1867)
SHENEA WALKER
Date:January 21,2010
Word:bibelot
(bee-buh-loh)
noun- a small decorative object without practical utility; a trinket.
Quote:An inveterate collector, Feldman purchased paintings and bibelots in quantity, often sight unseen.
-Marilyn Monroe, Barbara Leaming
Maria C. Torres
January 23, 2010
Word:Veritable
(VER-ih-tuh-bul)
adjective- Agreeable to truth or to fact;real;true;genuine
Example sentence: The rain fell in torrents, the streets turned into rushing rivers and veritable cascades. No one dared to go out.
Maria C. Torres
DATE: January 23, 2010
WORD: Funicular
MEANING: a cable railway ascending a mountain, especially: one in which an ascending car conter-balances a descending car.
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Situated in a gated community, reachable by funicular, the resort's 181 guest rooms come with flat-screen TVs, nightly turndown service, and in suites, even a butler.
Deidra W.
January 24,2010
Refurbish:to brighten or freshen up:renovate
Example Sentence:Bill and Marie brought the historic house with the intent of refurbishing.
Dorothea M.
Date: January 21, 2010
Word: Colubrine
Meaning: 1. of relating to, or resembling a snake
2. of or relating to a large cosmopolitan family (Colubrinae) of chiefly nonvenomous snakes.
Example sentence: By the time the music starts throbbing at 9, there will be a colubrine line slithering down Mass Ave.
KelliB
January 27,2010
Word: Martinet
Meaning:
1:A strict disciplinarian
2:A person who stresses a rigid adherence to the details of forms and methods.
Example Sentence: From my principal being an army veteran he is such a martinet towards us.
Angela Richardson
I wrote the comment about martinet.I forgot to put my name at the bottom.
Post a Comment