When your opinions are in conflict… discordant If you believe that movies should entertain, but your friend insists that movies should inspire, then the two of you hold discordant views on the purpose of movies. That means your opinions are in conflict. You can see the word discord in discordant. Discord is tension felt between people who strongly disagree about…
To spend time or hang out with someone, especially at a social event. hobnob To hobnob is to spend time or hang out with someone, especially at a social event. When you’re invited to a fancy benefit party at a museum, you might get to hobnob with socialites and minor celebrities. When you…
Something that requires a lot of hard work laborious Laborious describes something that requires a lot of hard work, such as Victor Frankenstein’s laborious undertaking of digging graves to find monster parts. Laborious comes from the familiar word for work, labor, which doesn’t veer far from its roots in Old French meaning “exertion of the…
Embarrassed or distressed… chagrin Chagrin is a noun that represents an emotion or feeling and it’s an uncomfortable one. If you feel chagrin, it means that you are embarrassed or distressed as a result of a failure. The word chagrin, a noun, comes from the French word of the same spelling and…
Something exceptional… prodigious Something exceptional, substantial, or great is prodigious. A blizzard includes prodigious wind and snow. A prodigiouswriter is one who can write a lot and do it well. Prodigious is a word for things that are impressive. If you have prodigious strength, you’re very strong. If your cat had a prodigious litter of kittens,…
A side-by-side contrast juxtaposition If a waiter served you a whole fish and a scoop of chocolate ice cream on the same plate, your surprise might be caused by the juxtaposition, or the side-by-side contrast, of the two foods. Any time unlike things bump up against each other, you can describe it as…
Lasting forever… perpetuity The word perpetuity means the property of being perpetual, or lasting forever. The perpetuity of an eternal flame means that it will burn forever, while an ordinary candle flame will eventually extinguish. First appearing in the 15th century, the noun perpetuity derives from the Latin word perpetuus meaning “continuing throughout.” It can mean the quality of being perpetual,…