The Vocabulary Builder Thread

[squibber]

I am oner of those people that like $50 words. I think Bob in PA also does. List your favorite $50 words here.  I'll start first.

Desultory:

1
Lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm; (of conversation or speech) going constantly from one subject to another in a halfhearted way; unfocused.
2
Occurring randomly or occasionally.



Examples of Desultory in a sentence

"The conversation at the party became more desultory as the night wore on."

"Evelyn had a desultory habit of popping in on her friends unexpectedly."

[squibber]

Exonym:
A name for a place or group of people that is only used outside that place or group.

Examples of Exonym in a sentence

"China is an exonym used by English speakers."

"Ho Chi Minh City is a prime example of an exonym."

[squibber]

Estival:
1
(Technical) Belonging to or appearing in summer.



Examples of Estival in a sentence

"These are strictly estival flowers."

"Sara and Jim embarked on a whirlwind, estival romance."

[squibber]

Fartlek:
A system of training for distance runners in which the terrain and pace are continually varied to eliminate boredom and enhance psychological aspects of conditioning.

Examples of Fartlek in a sentence

"As the marathon approached, Angie switched to fartlek training to prepare herself for the extended distance."

"Eric does long fartlek runs on Sundays to keep his training routine varied."

[squibber]

Hippocrene:
Used to refer to poetic or literary inspiration.

Examples of Hippocrene in a sentence

"Charles wrote poetry in the morning, using the early light as his hippocrene."

"Full of hippocrene, Vanmala sat down to write what she hoped was a masterpiece."

[squibber]

Telic:
1
(Of an action or attitude) directed or tending to a definite end.
2
[Linguistics] (of a verb, conjunction, or clause) expressing goal, result, or purpose.



Examples of Telic in a sentence

"The task force had a concrete, telic goal."

"The support group did not have a telic purpose; it was meant to provide comfort."

[squibber]

Conspectus:
A summary or overview of a subject.



Examples of Conspectus in a sentence

"Professor Wells posted the course conspectus online."

"The paper was a good conspectus of the impact of social media on larger society."

[Ed Vette]

Tintinnabulation- ringing of bells. Hells Bells.
Onomatopoeia- cuckoo!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ozzie]

I like this topic. I'm always interested in vocabulary and learning new words and phrases.
When I am reading or just listening to something and I come across a word that's new or interesting to me I write it down and keep a list.
Here are few from the list:

Quisling - a traitor. or one who collaborates with an enemy.
Hanging his head in shame, the spineless quisling was exiled from his country for treason.

Hegemony - influence over others
The principal enjoyed his hegemony over the staff of the school.

Frisson - a sudden strong feeling of excitement or fear; a thrill.
Mr Jones felt a frisson of fear descend his spine

Quotidian - Mundane
The man began his quotidian schedule by getting stuck in traffic on his way to work.

And I don't think it's necessary to use this one in a sentence, but I never knew the tip of a shoelace is called an Aglet!

[LennG]

gamophobia

Fear of marriage or commitment

It is characterized by feelings of excessive and persistent fear of being in a relationship, making a commitment, or getting married. It can make it difficult to form relationships with other people and interfere with a person's ability to function normally in their daily life.

[ozzie]

Here's one I just heard today in reference to a hockey game last night:
Celerity - Swiftness of motion
He moved up the ice with staggering celerity.

[squibber]

vapid:

lacking flavor, zest, interest, animation, or spirit : FLAT, DULL
a gossipy, vapid woman, obsessed by her own elegance

[Jolly Blue Giant]

I don't use a lot of big words except in engineering conversations involve math and statistics....BORING!!! 

Who in their right mind wants to hear about a Gaussian distribution or multi-linear regression analysis or Coaxiality, Coplanarity vs. Concentricity, but as usual, I digress

One of the most famous lines from a movie that always makes me laugh came from Pirates of the Caribbean when Elizabeth Swann (played by Keira Knightley) confronted Capt. Barbossa...a dirty ole pirate in charge of the ship when Elizabeth (knowing pirates are uneducated and stupid) told Barbossa to leave and not come back...

He replied with a pleonasm (look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls) as such, "I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request...means NO"...LMAO

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Speaking of pleonasms, George Carlin did a stand up routine called (I shall underline each pleonasm in his sketch even the title is a pleonasm):

"Count the Superfluous Redundant Pleonastic Tautologies":

"I needed a new beginning, so I decided to pay a social visit to a personal friend with whom I share the same mutual objectives and who is one of the most unique individuals I have ever personally met. The end result was an un

[squibber]

Extemporize:
Compose or perform something such as music or a speech without preparation; improvise.

Examples of Extemporize in a sentence

"Amelia had to extemporize her work at the poetry slam."

"Joining an improv group is a great way to learn how to extemporize."