aggrandizement
noun [ U ] formal disapproving (UK usually aggrandisement)
uk /əˈɡræn.dɪz.mənt/ us /əˈɡræn.dɪz.mənt/
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an increase in power or importance:
He gives a lot of money to charity, but personal aggrandizement is his motive.
We believe she is merely working for her own aggrandizement.
This is not a war of conquest or national aggrandizement.
Words and their Definitions
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deliquesce
verb|del-ih-KWESS
What It Means
Deliquesce can mean "to dissolve or melt away" or, in reference to some fungal structures (such as mushroom gills), "to become soft or liquid with age or maturity."
// The mushrooms deliquesced into an inky fluid.
verb|del-ih-KWESS
What It Means
Deliquesce can mean "to dissolve or melt away" or, in reference to some fungal structures (such as mushroom gills), "to become soft or liquid with age or maturity."
// The mushrooms deliquesced into an inky fluid.
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truculent
adjective|TRUCK-yuh-lunt
What It Means
Truculent describes a person who is easily annoyed and eager to argue or fight. It can also describe the mood or attitude of such a person.
// The approach of multiple deadlines had put me in a truculent mood, and I could tell my colleagues were avoiding me.
adjective|TRUCK-yuh-lunt
What It Means
Truculent describes a person who is easily annoyed and eager to argue or fight. It can also describe the mood or attitude of such a person.
// The approach of multiple deadlines had put me in a truculent mood, and I could tell my colleagues were avoiding me.
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hobgoblin
noun|HAHB-gahb-lin
What It Means
A hobgoblin is a mischievous goblin that plays tricks in children’s stories. When used figuratively, hobgoblin refers to something that causes fear or worry.
// This Halloween we were greeted at our door by werewolves, mummies, and a wide assortment of sweet-toothed hobgoblins.
noun|HAHB-gahb-lin
What It Means
A hobgoblin is a mischievous goblin that plays tricks in children’s stories. When used figuratively, hobgoblin refers to something that causes fear or worry.
// This Halloween we were greeted at our door by werewolves, mummies, and a wide assortment of sweet-toothed hobgoblins.
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ostracize
verb|AH-struh-syze
What It Means
To ostracize someone is to exclude them from a group by the agreement of the group's members.
// She was ostracized by her community after refusing to sign the petition.
verb|AH-struh-syze
What It Means
To ostracize someone is to exclude them from a group by the agreement of the group's members.
// She was ostracized by her community after refusing to sign the petition.
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fidelity
noun|fuh-DELL-uh-tee
What It Means
Fidelity is the quality or state of being faithful to a person, such as a partner or spouse, or a thing, such as one’s country. Fidelity can also refer to accuracy or exactness in details, or the degree to which an electronic device (such as a television) accurately reproduces its effect (such as sound or picture).
// After almost three decades on the job, no one can doubt their fidelity to the company.
// The movie’s director insisted on total fidelity to the book.
noun|fuh-DELL-uh-tee
What It Means
Fidelity is the quality or state of being faithful to a person, such as a partner or spouse, or a thing, such as one’s country. Fidelity can also refer to accuracy or exactness in details, or the degree to which an electronic device (such as a television) accurately reproduces its effect (such as sound or picture).
// After almost three decades on the job, no one can doubt their fidelity to the company.
// The movie’s director insisted on total fidelity to the book.
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The kukri (English: /ˈkʊkri/)[2] or khukuri (Nepali: खुकुरी, pronounced [kʰukuri]) is a type of knife or short sword with a distinct recurve in its blade that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting/chopping tool throughout most of South Asia. The kukri, khukri, and kukkri spellings are of Nepali English origin.[3][better source needed]
The kukri is the national weapon of Nepal, traditionally serving the role of a basic utility knife for the Nepali-speaking Gurkhas, and consequently is a characteristic weapon of the Nepali Army.
The kukri is the national weapon of Nepal, traditionally serving the role of a basic utility knife for the Nepali-speaking Gurkhas, and consequently is a characteristic weapon of the Nepali Army.
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Zydeco (/ˈzaɪdɪˌkoʊ, -diː-/ ZY-dih-koh, -dee-; French: zarico) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by French speaking African Americans of Creole heritage. It incorporates blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles, such as la la and juré. The main instruments are accordion and rubboard (washboard) or vest frottoir
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despot
noun
Synonyms of despot
1
a
: a ruler with absolute power and authority
tyrannical despots
b
: one exercising power tyrannically : a person exercising absolute power in a brutal or oppressive way
regards the basketball coach as a despot
2
a
: a Byzantine emperor or prince
b
Christianity : a bishop or patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church
c
: an Italian hereditary prince or military leader during the Renaissance
noun
Synonyms of despot
1
a
: a ruler with absolute power and authority
tyrannical despots
b
: one exercising power tyrannically : a person exercising absolute power in a brutal or oppressive way
regards the basketball coach as a despot
2
a
: a Byzantine emperor or prince
b
Christianity : a bishop or patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church
c
: an Italian hereditary prince or military leader during the Renaissance
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lout
noun|LOUT
What It Means
A lout is an awkward brutish person.
// It was difficult for us to focus on the movie due to the noise coming from the group of louts seated in front of us.
noun|LOUT
What It Means
A lout is an awkward brutish person.
// It was difficult for us to focus on the movie due to the noise coming from the group of louts seated in front of us.
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A gorget (/ˈɡɔːrdʒɪt/ GOR-jit; from Old French gorge 'throat') is a band of linen that was wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon hood.[2][3] The term later described a steel or leather collar to protect the throat, a set of pieces of plate armour, or a single piece of plate armour hanging from the neck and covering the throat and chest. Later, particularly from the 18th century, the gorget became primarily ornamental, serving as a symbolic accessory on military uniforms, a use which has survived in some armies
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bromide
noun|BROH-myde
What It Means
A bromide is a statement intended to make someone feel happier or calmer, but too dull and unoriginal to be effective.
// Their speech had nothing more to offer than the usual bromides about how everyone needs to work together.
noun|BROH-myde
What It Means
A bromide is a statement intended to make someone feel happier or calmer, but too dull and unoriginal to be effective.
// Their speech had nothing more to offer than the usual bromides about how everyone needs to work together.
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Agelast
A person that never laughs
A person that never laughs
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peremptory
adjective|puh-REMP-tuh-ree
What It Means
Peremptory is a formal word used especially in legal contexts to describe an order, command, etc., that requires immediate compliance with no opportunity to show why one should not comply. It is also used disapprovingly to describe someone with an arrogant attitude, or something indicative of such an attitude.
// The soldiers were given a peremptory order to abandon the mission.
// The company’s president tends to adopt a peremptory manner especially at the negotiating table.
adjective|puh-REMP-tuh-ree
What It Means
Peremptory is a formal word used especially in legal contexts to describe an order, command, etc., that requires immediate compliance with no opportunity to show why one should not comply. It is also used disapprovingly to describe someone with an arrogant attitude, or something indicative of such an attitude.
// The soldiers were given a peremptory order to abandon the mission.
// The company’s president tends to adopt a peremptory manner especially at the negotiating table.