Advanced English Vocabulary

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peristeronic

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Adjective

peristeronic (not comparable)

1. Of or pertaining to pigeons

from Ancient Greek περιστερά (“pigeon, dove”) + English -onic

/pəˈɹɪstəˈɹɒnɪk/

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florid

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Adjective

1. having a rosy or pale red colour; ruddy
2. elaborately ornate; flowery

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odious

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Adjective

odious (comparative more odious, superlative most odious)

1. Arousing or meriting strong dislike, aversion, or intense displeasure.

Scrubbing the toilet is an odious task.

 [quotations ▼]
* 1903 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist”, in The Return of Sherlock HolmesWikisource:

"He was a dreadful person, a bully to everyone else, but to me something infinitely worse. He made odious love to me, boasted of his wealth, said that if I married him I would have the finest diamonds in London, and finally, when I would have nothing to do with him, he seized me in his arms one day after dinner -- he was hideously strong -- and he swore that he would not let me go until I had kissed him."

[edit] Synonyms

* detestable, hated, reviled, unsavory

Via French odieux, "odious", from Latin odiosus, from odium, "hate", -osus, "-ous", from odisse, "to hate".

IPA: /ˈoʊ.di.əs/
Rhymes: -əʊdiəs

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lurid

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From Latin lūridus (“pale yellow, wan”)

/ˈlʊrɪd/

Adjective
1. Shocking, horrifying.
2. Melodramatic.
3. Ghastly, pale, wan in appearance.
4. Being of a light yellow hue.

(comparative more lurid, superlative most lurid)

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torpid

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1. unmoving, dormant or hibernating
2. lazy, lethargic or apathetic

Synonyms
lethargic

comparative: more torpid
superlative: most torpid

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numen

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Latin term for the power of a deity or a spirit that is present in places and objects.

adj. numinous
pl. numina

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numenous

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Adjective

1. Related to a numen; indicating the presence of a divinity
2. Awe-inspiring; evoking a sense of the transcendent, mystical or sublime.

All quests are concerned with a numinous object, e.g. the Holy Grail

c 1650, from Latin numen (“nod, divine sway, divinity”) +‎ -ous

/ˈnuːmɪnəs/, /ˈnjuːmɪnəs/


numinous (comparative more numinous, superlative most numinous)

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fecundity

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Noun

fecundity (usually uncountable; plural fecundities)

1. the ability to produce offspring
2. the ability to cause growth
3. the number, rate, or capacity of offspring production
4. the rate of production of young by a female

Synonyms
fertility

From Latin fēcunditās (“fruitfulness, fertility”) < fēcundus.

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lagomorph

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Noun

lagomorph (plural lagomorphs)

1. A member of the mammalian taxonomic order, Lagomorpha, which includes hares, rabbits, and pikas.

From New Latin Lagomorpha.

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inveterate

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Adjective

inveterate (comparative more inveterate, superlative most inveterate)

1. Old; long-established.
2. Firmly established by long continuance; obstinate; deep-rooted; of long standing; as, an inveterate disease; an inveterate abuse.
3. Having habits fixed by long continuance; confirmed; habitual; as, an inveterate idler or smoker.
4. Malignant; virulent; spiteful.

Verb

to inveterate (third-person singular simple present inveterates, present participle inveterating, simple past and past participle inveterated)

1. (obsolete) To fix and settle by long continuance; to entrench.

Derived terms

* inveteration

From Latin inveteratus (“of long standing, chronic”), form of inveterare, from in- (“in, into”) + veterare (“to age”), from vetus, form of veteris (“old”); latter ancestor to veteran.

Antonyms
casual

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indigent

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Adjective

1. Poor; destitute; in need.  
1974, Guy Davenport, Tatlin!
I had since my introduction to the prince been sensitive to the fact that he must think an obviously indigent soldier of fortune will sooner or later open the subject of a subscription to the Greek Cause.

Synonyms
“impoverished” in the sense of “financially poor”.
poor; destitute

Noun

indigent (plural indigents)

1. A person in need, or in poverty

* 1975: I liked the streets best, so I walked and stared, and slept in a Salvation Army hostel for indigents. But I was no indigent; I was rich in feeling, and that was a luxury I had rarely known. — Robertson Davies, World of Wonders

[edit] Translations
[show ▼]a person in need or in poverty

* Finnish: köyhä





*

Add translation : More

masc. fem. neuter common gender plural
Transliteration: (e.g. ázbuka for азбука)

Page name: (e.g. amo for amō)

Qualifier: (e.g. literally, formally, slang)

Script template: (e.g. Cyrl for Cyrillic, Latn for Latin)

Nesting: (e.g. Norwegian/Nynorsk)

[edit] Related terms

* indigence

Etymology

c. 1400, Middle French, from Latin indigentem, form of indigere (“to need”) from indu (“in, within”) + egere (“be in need, want”).[1][2]

Only relation to antonym affluent is common Latinate suffix +‎ -ent.
[edit] Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈɪndɪʤənt/

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psychopomp

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Noun

1. One who assists the souls of the dead to the afterlife.

From Ancient Greek ψυχοπομπός.

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surfeit

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Noun

surfeit (countable and uncountable; plural surfeits)

1. (countable) An excessive amount of something.

A surfeit of wheat is driving down the price.

2. (uncountable) Overindulgence in either food or drink; overeating.
3. (countable) A sickness or condition caused by overindulgence.

King Henry I is said to have died of a surfeit of lampreys.

Synonyms

* (excessive amount of something): excess, glut, overabundance, superfluity, surplus
* (overindulgence in food or drink): gluttony, overeating, overindulgence

Verb

to surfeit (third-person singular simple present surfeits, present participle surfeiting, simple past and past participle surfeited)

1. (transitive) To fill to excess.
2. (transitive) To feed someone to excess.

She surfeited her children on sweets.

3. (intransitive, reflexive) To overeat or feed to excess.
4. (intransitive, reflexive) To sicken from overindulgence.

Synonyms

* (to fill to excess): fill, stuff
* (to feed someone to excess): overfeed, satiate, stuff
* (to overeat or feed to excess): indulge, overeat, overfeed, revel, satiate
* (to sicken from overindulgence): sicken

From Old French surfaire (“to augment, exaggerate, exceed”) < sur- + faire (“to do”).
/ˈsɝː.fɪt/

* Rhymes: -ɜː(r)fɪt

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inveigh

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/ɪnˈveɪ/

Verb
to inveigh (third-person singular simple present inveighs, present participle inveighing, simple past and past participle inveighed)

1. (intransitive) To declaim or rail (against some person or thing); to utter censorious and bitter language; to attack with harsh criticism or reproach, either spoken or written; to use invectives;
2. (with "against") as, to inveigh against character, conduct, manners, customs, morals, a law; an abuse.

All men inveighed against him; all men, except court vassals, opposed him. — John Milton.
The artificial life against which we inveighed. —Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Quotations

A reader assures me, following the recent assault on my behavior that warned me about the Bible inveighing against being "judgmental," that I've nothing to fear in the way of divine wrath: ...
—James Randi in his August 22, 2003 newsletter

From Latin invectīvus, from invectus, perfect passive participle of invehō (“bring in”) from in + vehō (“carry”). See vehicle, and compare with invective

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inveigle

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/ɪnˈveɪ.ɡəl/, /ɪnˈviː.ɡəl/

Verb
to inveigle (third-person singular simple present inveigles, present participle inveigling, simple past and past participle inveigled)

1. (transitive) to convert, convince or win over with flattery or wiles  [quotations ▼]
* 1835 William Gilmore Simms, The Partisan, Harper, Chapter XVIII, page 228:

Say he's been misguided by the rebels, and how they've inveigled him, till he's turned rebel himself; and how he's now out with Marion's men, in Major Singleton's squad.

2. (transitive) to obtain through guile or cunning

Early corruption of French aveugler (“to blind, to delude”), from aveugle (“blind”), from the Old French avugle (“without eyes”), from Latin ab + oculus (“eye”). The in- might be from other a-/en- variations found in Middle English, which was then latinised into in-.

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tussock

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A tuft or clump of green grass or similar verdure, forming a small hillock.

/ˈtʌs.ək/
pl. tussocks

Possibly related to tusk, or Scottish Gaelic dosag (“little tuft”).

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hillock

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a small hill
From hill +‎ -ock.
pl. hillocks