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Wordnik is billions of words, over a billion example sentences, 7,639,663 unique words, 245,198 comments, 191,912 tags, 121,650 pronunciations, 123,959 favorites and 1,480,218 words in 38,855 lists created by 109,618 Wordniks.

Latest Comments

  • whet;prune;preen;sharp ..to increase;

    May 23, 2013

  • whirlgigle,merrygo round,carousel mean same

    May 23, 2013


  • The Cincinnati tax-exempt determinations unit, which employees refer to as "determs," is considered by employees one of the less-attractive IRS posts.

    Division in Dispute Followed Own Course, May 16, 2013

    May 23, 2013

  • genethliac:
    ge·neth·li·ac juh-neth-lee-ak Show IPA
    adjective Astrology .
    of or pertaining to birthdays or to the position of the stars at one's birth.
    Origin:
    1575–85; < Latin genethliacus < Greek genethliakós, equivalent to genéthli ( os ) pertaining to one's birth (derivative of genéthlē birth) + -akos -ac
    http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/genethliac

    May 23, 2013


  • A thagomizer is the distinctive arrangement of four to ten spikes on the tails of stegosaurid dinosaurs. These spikes are believed to have been a defensive measure against predators.1 The name was coined by cartoonist Gary Larson in a 1982 comic strip, and has been used in research and education since then.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thagomizer

    May 23, 2013

  • "Myrmeconema neotropicum is a new genus and species of parasitic tetradonematid nematode that apparently induces fruit mimicry in the tropical ant Cephalotes atratus. Infected ants develop bright red gasters, tend to be more sluggish, and walk with their gasters in a conspicuous elevated position. These changes likely cause frugivorous birds to confuse the infected ants for berries and eat them. Parasite eggs passed in the bird's feces are subsequently collected by foraging Cephalotes atratus and are fed to their larvae, thus completing the life cycle of Myrmeconema neotropicum." (Wikipedia)

    May 23, 2013

  • flagitious is same as felon

    May 23, 2013

  • Turtling has another meaning in the sailing realm. When a boat "turns turtle, or turtles" it is fully inverted in the water with its mast pointed toward the bottom. This is a difficult situation from which to recover gracefully.

    May 23, 2013

  • zest is adding flavour,pique,interest

    May 23, 2013

  • important words

    May 23, 2013

  • this is one of those "there's a name for that" kind of words.
    (Is there an adjective that? Something that means "having a detailed meaning"?)

    May 22, 2013

  • ""I'll see a lion, a tiger, a jackal. I'll be attacked by a naja cobra, and a gharial. I'll rescue a child from the claws of a condor."
    My Beautiful Bus by Jacques Jouet, translated by Eric Lamb, p 83

    May 22, 2013

  • wacky is ludicrous,foolish,eccentric

    May 22, 2013

  • There's just so much insult potential in this poor animal: yellow-bellied + sap + sucker!

    May 22, 2013

  • "Then ask him if he wouldn't happen to have some glasswort, and if not than percebes, or goose barnacles, those little crustaceans like the ones you find in Galicia and the Madrilenian markets."
    My Beautiful Bus by Jacques Jouet, translated by Eric Lamb, p 45

    May 22, 2013

  • recidivism backslide, backsliding, decadence, declension, decline, degeneration, descent, deterioration, devolution, drop*, fall, recession, recidivation, regression, relapse, retrogradation, retrogression

    May 22, 2013

  • overweening,amour-propre, arrogance, complacence, complacency, consequence, immodesty, narcissism, outrecuidance, pomposity, pride, self-admiration, self-conceit, self-exaltation, self-importance, self-love, self-regard, smugness, snottiness, stuffiness, swagger, swelled head, vainglory, vainness, vanity

    May 22, 2013

  • asperity,abuse,virtriolic,vituperation,

    May 22, 2013

  • asperity,abuse,virtriolic,vituperation,

    May 22, 2013

  • demure;Affectedly shy, modest, or reserved,staid;

    May 22, 2013

  • dilatory,procrastination or delay; slow; tardy; not prompt;

    May 22, 2013

  • Longest Word EVER

    May 22, 2013

  • Seen on the Colbert Report - dilbit is Diluted Bitumen.

    May 22, 2013

  • Decry, Depreciate, Detract from, Derogate from, Disparage, run down, discredit.

    May 22, 2013

  • demure is affectedly sober

    May 22, 2013

  • corroborate means to attest or vouch

    May 22, 2013

  • contrite,regretful,penitent

    May 22, 2013


  • an undulating generally treeless upland with sparse soil — usually used in plural
    b :plural and often capitalized: treeless chalk uplands along the south and southeast coast of England
    2 :often capitalized : a sheep of any breed originating in the downs of southern England
    --A Word A Day

    May 22, 2013

  • cogent ,potent,forcefully persuasive

    May 22, 2013

  • wary,cautious,careful,shy mean the same

    May 22, 2013

  • censure,formal condemnation and disapprobriation

    May 22, 2013

  • How can we stage a resurrection of this word?

    May 21, 2013

  • abvreviation for Road Traffic Collision.

    Seen in a news story where a driver ran over a cyclist then tweeted about it.
    http://jalopnik.com/woman-brags-about-hitting-cyclist-discovers-police-als-509059331

    May 21, 2013

  • abbreviation for Dead F'ing Last. To show up last in a race.

    May 21, 2013

  • rope out:
    As referenced by numerous meteorologists; the diminution of a tornado funnel,

    May 21, 2013

  • Of or relating to poetry. After Mount Parnassus, a mountain in Greece, considered sacred to Apollo, the Greek god of music and poetry, and the Muses. Earliest documented use: 1565.--A Word A Day

    May 21, 2013

  • From Peter Nichols' A Voyage for Madmen (p. 36; ISBN: 978-0-06-095703-2): "Elsewhere in the paper, Chichester, the paterfamilias seadog, was quoted: 'Some of these chaps don't know what they are letting themselves in for. If any of them succeed in getting round it will be remarkable. By comparison the Atlantic is about on the level of a canoe trip across the Serpentine.' "

    May 21, 2013

  • pasquinade \pas-kwuh-NEYD\, noun:

    1. a satire or lampoon, especially one posted in a public place.

    verb:
    1. to assail in a pasquinade or pasquinades.

    On the outer wall of the building, there was a vicious pasquinade of the deposed despot.
    -- D.V. Bernard, Intimate Relations with Strangers, 2007
    In the course of his career, Dosoo had written fourteen books that included political commentaries on India, a slight obloquy on New York, an autobiography, and a pasquinade of Bombay society.
    -- Leila Hadley, Give Me the World, 2003
    In Rome in 1501 a sculpture was disinterred and placed in Palazzo Orsini. The sculpture was nicknamed Pasquino, and once a year Romans posted humorous verses to the sculpture. Over time these satirical poems became named pasquinades because of the name of the statue. The statue is still in Rome with pasquinades on its base.

    May 21, 2013

  • Michael Scott Racist:
    A Michael Scott Racist is a generally well-intentioned person who tries so hard to be politically correct and to demonstrate that they are not racist that they show themselves to actually be racist. Named for Steve Carell's character on The Office who made a habit of being this.
    Oscar: Both my parents were born in Mexico. And they moved to the United States a year before I was born. So I grew up in the United States. My parents were Mexican.
    Michael Scott: Wow. Wow. That is... That is a great story. That's the American dream right there, right? Um, let me ask you, is there a term besides "Mexican" that you prefer? Something less offensive?

    Kate: I'm not racist. I love all races, but especially Asians because although they're not great drivers, they really know how to run a buffet.
    John: You're a Michael Scott Racist.
    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Michael%20Scott%20Racist&defid=7058085

    May 21, 2013

  • i dont know
    i only to start at study english

    May 21, 2013

  • i dont know
    i only to start at study english

    May 21, 2013

  • This list makes me happy.

    May 21, 2013

  • Sounds a bit different to the Rift Valley.

    May 21, 2013

  • dolan pls

    May 21, 2013

  • a form of "u mad" or"you mad"
    look up the "you mad bro" meme

    May 21, 2013

  • "you mad"?

    May 21, 2013

  • alternate of pls which is short for please

    May 21, 2013

  • someone who 'pwns'

    May 21, 2013

  • annoying version of pls, which is short for 'please'


    from the examples : "get me a cute lil puppy plox??""

    May 21, 2013

  • "English" English for a fender on a bike.

    May 20, 2013

  • Aphorism, Axiom, Maxim, Precept, Dictum, Apothegm, Saying, Adage, Proverb, Truism, Byword, Saw mean same for aphorism

    May 20, 2013

  • a generic , and slightly demeaning reference to, a slab shaped computing tablet.

    May 20, 2013

  • seen slabs used to refer to those flat rectangular smart phones in general.

    May 20, 2013

  • Someone who uses a fondleslab.
    seen at The Register.
    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/20/model_footage_ipad/

    May 20, 2013

  • thanks for the addition, danama.

    May 20, 2013

  • Hear that, Jethro?

    May 20, 2013

  • Normally I would not consider joining any clamouring masses, but the Eurovision contest is over and I am looking for something new to amuse me. Shall we begin?

    May 20, 2013

  • hi bilby so it seems we had a y2k-type error in our all-time comments total, we're missing a place at the end. :-) It's on the fixit list.

    May 20, 2013

  • Put not youre handes in youre hosen youre codware for to clawe.
    —wise advice; source given by the OED as:
    a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 135

    May 20, 2013

  • cool list!

    May 20, 2013

  • I don't understand why the scoreboard on the community page says this user has listed 9335 words (in the past week) while here it says his/her all-time total is 6726.

    May 20, 2013


  • UN, United Nations, UNO, United Nations Organization
    The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims include promoting and facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, political freedoms, democracy, and the achievement of lasting world peace.

    UN.org
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN

    May 20, 2013


  • UN, United Nations, UNO, United Nations Organization
    The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims include promoting and facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, political freedoms, democracy, and the achievement of lasting world peace.

    UN.org
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN

    May 20, 2013


  • UN, United Nations, UNO, United Nations Organization
    The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims include promoting and facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, political freedoms, democracy, and the achievement of lasting world peace.

    UN.org
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN

    May 20, 2013

  • Trophus is a masticatory apparatus in Rotifera.

    May 19, 2013

  • Ran into "Goo goo g'joob" on the net.

    May 19, 2013


  • UN, United Nations, UNO, United Nations Organization
    The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims include promoting and facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, political freedoms, democracy, and the achievement of lasting world peace.

    UN.org
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN

    May 19, 2013


  • UNESCO
    abbr. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations. Its purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom proclaimed in the UN Charter.

    UNESCO.org
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO

    May 19, 2013


  • PG, Persian Gulf
    abbr. The Persian Gulf (PG) is located in Western Asia between Iran (Persia) and the Arabian Peninsula. It is an extension of the Indian Ocean. Historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf or The Gulf by most Arab states, although neither of the latter two terms are recognized internationally. The name Gulf of Iran (Persian Gulf) is used by the International Hydrographic Organization. The Persian Gulf has many good fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters.

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Gulf

    May 19, 2013

  • SPAM

    May 19, 2013

  • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    For the springtail appendage, see Furcula (Collembola).


    This stylised bird skeleton highlights the furcula
    The furcula ("little fork" in Latin) or wishbone is a forked bone found in birds and some other animals, and is formed by the fusion of the two clavicles. In birds, its primary function is in the strengthening of the thoracic skeleton to withstand the rigors of flight.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furcula

    May 19, 2013

  • bezan;
    bezzant , bezzant or byzant
    noun
    1.
    Also, bezzant. the gold solidus of the Byzantine Empire, widely circulated in the Middle Ages.
    2.
    Also, byzant. (in Romanesque architecture) any of a number of disklike ornaments, similar in form to the classical patera, used especially on the faces of archivolts.
    http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bezant?s=t

    May 19, 2013

  • I arrived by way of Reddit (BentNotBroken) and the word veldt.

    May 18, 2013

  • From Charles Dickens aka 'Boz'
    http://books.google.ca/books?id=QTYYAAAAYAAJ 1837 "Put the Kye-bosh on her, Mary" p. 85

    according to this book
    http://books.google.ca/books?id=K18XAAAAYAAJ page 220, in the footnotes,
    it comes from the name of an Irish Weapon
    "Put the Gai- Bolga on him" they think it's an Americanism, but it's really from a Dickens book.


    Wiki article about the Belly impaling weapon. Gae-Bolga
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A1e_Bulg

    May 18, 2013

  • After thinking about it, I think I got it. It conveys the feeling of slapstick comedy within a nightmare inspired in some people by the sight of a gay parade...
    From Tom Burke as quoted by David Skinner
    Don’t misunderstand, they aren’t your traditional Hilton rubes, this Pasadena burgher and the little woman, they have viewed with compassion the Louds and wouldn’t be caught dead in New York in madras shorts or cameras on straps like talismans, but this, this, it does give them pause and they freeze at the curb like Lot’s wives, hit full-face by the nightmare custard pie of it . . . .

    May 18, 2013

  • Given kibosh's early-19th c. entry into English, I wager its provenance from Arabic's kurbash - whip, riding crop, lash. Heritage gives the following as well: '1836, kye-bosk, in slang phrase put the kibosh on, of unknown origin, despite intense speculation. Looks Yiddish, but origin in early 19c. English slang seems to argue against this. One candidate is Ir. caip bháis, caipín báis "cap of death," sometimes said to be the black cap a judge would don when pronouncing a death sentence, but in other sources identified as a gruesome method of execution "employed by Brit. forces against 1798 insurgents" Bernard Share, "Slanguage, A Dictionary of Irish Slang".'

    May 18, 2013

  • For shame, oroboros! You’ll have us all turning scarlett.

    May 18, 2013

  • Turkish: Cheers! (lit.: “honor”)

    May 18, 2013

  • Building an MLM business takes work. You've got to fill your pipeline with new leads from every available channel and we deliver paying customers.
    www.mlmleadsstink.com

    May 18, 2013

  • Hanky panky at the old ancestral home?

    May 18, 2013

  • Seems to be conflation with spiv.

    May 18, 2013

  • Team Fortress 2 used the phrase 'achievement unlocked' since c. 2008.
    I think Portal was one of the earliest games that used this.

    May 17, 2013

  • I just started adding a bunch of words then realized the scope of my undertaking. *ule *ular *ute etc. return a plethora of words that could be added to this list...

    May 17, 2013

  • much better than two beeps

    May 17, 2013

  • thanks for contributing on my 'solutions' list http://www.wordnik.com/lists/solutions

    May 17, 2013

  • Lewis and Clark shortened "starboard" to "Stard."

    May 17, 2013

  • a meme-ish phrase used when one has reached a milestone or accomplished something noteworthy. Derived from video games in which the player works through a hierarchical sequence or tree of goals; "unlocking" one allows further progress through the game, access to more difficult achievements, and often new powers, abilities, etc.

    May 17, 2013

  • Duke is fine in my dialect (Australian).

    May 17, 2013

  • Accepted with grace.

    May 17, 2013

  • Hi Ru2013! Some of these words have the "y" sound in some dialects but not in others. In my American dialect, "duke" does not have the "y" sound, but in a British dialect, it does. See the comments below for more. :-)

    May 16, 2013

  • A belated thanks to fbharjo for ramification.

    May 16, 2013

  • difference between elusiveness and mysteriousness is mysterious is higher form of elusiveness

    May 16, 2013

  • difference b/w trenchant and poignant

    May 16, 2013

  • Hello, my name is Marco Antonio.
    I'm Brazilian.
    nice to meet you.

    May 16, 2013

  • I really appreciate the existence of this list! You have no idea. However, some of these words are not long u pronounced yu, but are instead the variant vowel sound long oo as in flute or rude. Duke for instance doesn't have the y when pronounced.

    May 16, 2013

  • I was looking on the long u word list pronounced yu and I noticed some words that are actually long oo; such as duke. One does not hear the y after a d. It's my 2 cents.

    Thanks
    R.

    May 16, 2013

  • Here's a usage (final paragraph): http://scientopia.org/blogs/proflikesubstance/2013/05/16/on-review-repetition/

    There it's being used as per: http://www.wordspy.com/words/anecdata.asp

    "Anecdotal evidence used as data in an attempt to prove a hypothesis or make a forecast."

    May 16, 2013

  • A person who is a scatterbrain.

    May 16, 2013