introspection \in-truh-SPEK-shuhn\ (noun) - The act or process of self-examination; contemplation of one's own thoughts and feelings; a looking inward.

"One could argue that most of the trouble in the world is caused by introspection. I'm not thinking of things like war, famine, disease, or violent crime -- not that sort of trouble." -- Nick ...Read more

aggress \uh-GRES\ (intransitive verb) - To commit the first act of hostility or offense; to make an attack.

"No, sir. We know they exist, of course, because we trade with them for chairs and bottles, and we know there are tmes we face away from certain places because they might be there and if we don't see them, we won't aggress because we have...Read more

osculation \os-kyuh-LAY-shuhn\ (noun) - The act of kissing; also: a kiss.

"Within a week fifty thousand women in forty counties had pictured to themselves this osculation of intellects, and shrugged their shoulders, and decided once more that men were incomprehensible." -- Arnold Bennett, 'The Old Wives' Tale'

Osculation comes from osculatio, ...Read more

mores \MOR-ayz; -eez\ (plural noun) - 1 : The fixed customs of a particular group that are morally binding upon all members of the group. 2 : Moral attitudes. 3 : Customs; habits; ways.

"After him I love
More than I love these eyes, more than my life,
More, by all mores,than e'er I shall love wife.
If I do feign, you ...Read more

chimerical \ky-MER-ih-kuhl; -MIR-; kih-\ (adjective) - 1 : Merely imaginary; produced by or as if by a wildly fanciful imagination; fantastic; improbable or unrealistic. 2 : Given to or indulging in unrealistic fantasies or fantastic schemes.

"They never overtook the chimerical friend, yet Andrea frequently inquired of walking passers and at ...Read more

upbraid \uhp-BRAYD\ (transitive verb) - To scold or criticize harshly.

"Verily, I have taken from you a hundred formulae and your virtue's favourite playthings; and now ye upbraid me, as children upbraid." -- Friedrich Nietzsche, 'Thus Spake Zarathustra'

Upbraid is from Middle English upbreiden, from Old English upbregdan, "to twist up, hence ...Read more

peregrination \pehr-uh-gruh-NAY-shun\ (noun) - A traveling from place to place; a wandering.

"In the meane season I frequented the sacrifices of Serapis, which were done in the night, which thing gave me great comfort to my peregrination, and ministred unto me more plentifull living, considering I gained some money in haunting the court, by ...Read more

disconcert \dis-kuhn-SURT\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To disturb the composure of. 2 : To throw into disorder or confusion; as, "the emperor disconcerted the plans of his enemy."

"In Natasha Prince Andrew was conscious of a strange world completely alient to him and brimful of joys unknown to him, a different world that in the Otradnoe avenue and ...Read more

apostasy \uh-POS-tuh-see\ (noun) - Total desertion or departure from one's faith, principles, or party.

"I understand apostasy, in the sense of abandonment of established policy or of doctrine -- and I must tell you that I cannot see how anyone could Pelagius or abandoning Christianity or its teachings -- but I don't understand the meaning of ...Read more

lineament \LIN-ee-uh-muhnt\ (noun) - 1 : One of the outlines, exterior features, or distinctive marks of a body or figure, particularly of the face. 2 : A distinguishing or characteristic feature; -- usually in the plural.

"Over the years Hardin had taken on the lineaments of evil. You would sometimes see him on a Saturday streetcorner, the ...Read more

refulgent \rih-FUL-juhnt\ (adjective) - Shining brightly; radiant; brilliant; resplendent.

"For an instant, refulgent in his halo of media lights, the camerlengo looked celestial, like some kind of modern deity." -- Dan Brown, 'Angels and Demons'

Refulgent comes from the present participle of Latin refulgere, "to flash back, to shine brightly,...Read more

cynosure \SY-nuh-shoor; SIN-uh-shoor\ (noun) - 1 : Anything to which attention is strongly turned; a center of attraction. 2 : That which serves to guide or direct. 3 : [Capitalized]. The northern constellation Ursa Minor, which contains the North Star; also, the North Star itself.

"She had been, of course, for some time the cynosure of many ...Read more

excoriate \ek-SKOR-ee-ayt\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To express strong disapproval of; to denounce. 2 : To tear or wear off the skin of.

"Besides which there stirred not the least breath of wind, and flies and gadflies did swarm in prodigious quantity, which, settling upon her excoriate flesh, stung her so shrewdly that 'twas as if she received ...Read more

flippant \FLIP-uhnt\ (adjective) - Lacking proper seriousness or respect; showing inappropriate levity; pert.

"Ann is flippant where I'm serious, and I'm flippant where Ann is serious." -- John Cowper Powys, 'Wolf Solent'

Flippant probably comes from flip. The noun form is flippancy.

officious \uh-FISH-uhs\ (adjective) - Marked by excessive eagerness in offering services or advice where they are neither requested nor needed; meddlesome.

"You are too officious
In her behalf that scorns your services.
Let her alone: speak not of Helena,
Take not her part; for if thou dost intend
Never so little show ...Read more

congeries \KON-juh-reez\ (noun) - A collection; an aggregation.

"But if the congeries of past events, if congeries it was, could be separated from its usual partnership with sentiment, it cannot have been too much to cheer Lolita on in her wholehearted attempt." -- Gilbert Sorrentino, 'Pack of Lies'

Congeries is from Latin congeries, "a heap, ...Read more

felicitous \fuh-LIS-uh-tuhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Suitably applied or expressed; appropriate; apt. 2 : Happy; delightful; marked by good fortune.

"His end fell well on the feast of Felix, for he was felicitous in all things ; felicitous in endowing the church, felicitous in ordering more clearly the divine offices, felicitous in the administration...Read more

expunge \ik-SPUNJ\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To strike out, erase, or mark for deletion; to obliterate; as, "to expunge words, lines, or sentences." 2 : To wipe out or destroy; to annihilate.

"When you talk you can't stop to polish a phrase, to search for precisely the right word, nor can you go back and expunge a word, a phrase, a whole ...Read more

The Word Guy Blooper Patrol has plucked the ripest, juiciest mistakes from newspapers and magazines. Can you find the lemons?

1. "Palettes of new furniture were hoisted off trucks." Colorful items, no doubt. 2. "...the biggest selection of fabrics available for dying" Are they funeral shrouds? 3. "...more than 75 chandeliers and scones." ...Read more

contretemps \KAHN-truh-tahn\ (noun) plural contretemps \-tahnz\ - An inopportune or embarrassing situation or event; a hitch.

"On the card nest to them was written, 'With my most humble apologies for the contretemps of this afternoon. I hope I may be allowed to invite you for dinner after an appropriate period of penance. Josh Hillman.'" -- ...Read more