Stolid

stol·id....thanks to Mirriam-Webster

adj \ˈstä-ləd\

Definition of STOLID

: having or expressing little or no sensibility : unemotional

— sto·lid·i·ty\stä-ˈli-də-tē, stə-\ noun

— stol·id·ly\ˈstä-ləd-lē\ adverb

Examples of STOLID

1. She remained stolid during the trial.
2. <the butler responded to the duchess's constant demands with stolid indifference>

Origin of STOLID

Latin stolidus dull, stupid

First Known Use: circa 1600

Related to STOLID

Synonyms: catatonic, deadpan, empty, expressionless, impassive, inexpressive, numb, blank, vacant

Antonyms: demonstrative, expressive 

...because there are two examples included of stolid in a sentence, I will just add my two cents instead. This word is often confused with the word "solid" and it's easy to see why. Instead of mixing them up, I suggest that if you didn't know the meaning of the word "stolid" before today....use the word "solid" to help you remember what it means. I'm going to think of "stolid" as an emotional "solid."

My dog Murphy can be very stolid.

Reticent

ret·i·cent  (rt-snt) .....today's definition from thefreedictionary.com 

adj.

 

 

1. Inclined to keep one's thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself. See Synonyms at silent.

2. Restrained or reserved in style.

3. Reluctant; unwilling.

 

 

Adj.

1.

reticent - temperamentally disinclined to talk untalkative taciturn - habitually reserved and uncommunicative

 

2.	reticent - cool and formal in manner             restrained, unemotional undemonstrative - not given to open expression of emotion

 

3.	reticent - reluctant to draw attention to yourself self-effacing, retiring unassertive - inclined to timidity or lack of self-confidence; "a shy unassertive person"

 

 

Her reticent behavior, most unusual for her; made me think she must be up to something.

Placate

pla·cate....dictionary.com

[pley-keyt, plak-eyt]

–verb (used with object), -cat·ed, -cat·ing.

 

to appease or pacify, esp. by concessions or conciliatory gestures: to placate an outraged citizenry.

 

 

and from yourdictionary.com

 

 

pla·cate (plā′kāt′, plā kāt′; also plak′āt′)

transitive verb placated -·cat′ed, placating -·cat′·ing

to stop from being angry; appease

 

 

 

 

sentence:  When Kendra took the inappropriate bottle opener away from baby Jackson, he got upset. She tried to placate him by distracting him with one of his toys.

 

 

.....today's sentence was based on a true story!

Acrimonious

ac·ri·mo·ni·ous...Mirriam-Webster

  [ak-ruh-moh-nee-uhs]

–adjective

caustic, stinging, or bitter in nature, speech, behavior, etc.: an acrimonious answer; an acrimonious dispute.

After enjoying our lovely meal out, I was tempted to indulge in the chocolate torte. The little devil on my left shoulder said, "go ahead Nancy....you only live once...you know you want it!"  The little angel on my right side said, "do you really think you should?  I mean it's not as if you're still hungry..." 

I flicked that little angel off my shoulder and acrimoniously whispered, "...come back later when you can tell me what I want to hear!"

Then I ordered the torte.

Amorphous

Definition of AMORPHOUS....thanks to Mirriam-Webster

[uh-mawr-fuhs

1a : having no definite form : shapeless <an amorphous cloud mass> b : being without definite character or nature : unclassifiable <an amorphous segment of society> c : lacking organization or unity <an amorphous style of writing>

2: having no real or apparent crystalline form <an amorphous mineral>

— amor·phous·ly adverb

— amor·phous·ness noun

I'm pretty sure that after Thursday my shape will be more amorphous than ever thanks to turkey, stuffing and pie.  Urp!

turkey....by roadfun.

Serendipity

a very interesting word with an interesting background.

the definition according to thefreedictionary.com

ser·en·dip·i·ty

n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties

1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.

2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.

3. An instance of making such a discovery.

seren·dipi·tous·ly adv.

Word History: We are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of January 28, 1754, Walpole says that "this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word." Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of "a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of...."

my sentence:  When my friend, Nancy and I visited New York City last December, it was serendipitous that we had an early dinner at the restaurant located adjacent to the ice rink at Rockefeller Center, because during our meal, we struck up a conversation with our waiter who informed us that we simply had to go sample the frozen hot chocolate at "Serendipity", a famous NYC restaurant.



inside Serendipity 3




Nancy enjoying her fffffrozen hot chocolate



me enjoying my frozen peanut butter hot chocolate at Serendipity. I'd like to say there were two other people for the two other straws.....but there weren't.  Of course I didn't drink all of it!! 
.....I left at least 4 tablespoons.

 ...and one last tidbit of interesting trivia about the word, serendipity. In 2004, it was voted by a British translation company as one of the 10 most difficult English words to translate!

Altruism

al·tru·ism

   /ˈæltruˌɪzəm/ Show Spelled[al-troo-iz-uhm] Show IPA

–noun

1.the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others ( opposed to egoism).

2.Animal Behavior . behavior by an animal that may be to its disadvantage but that benefits others of its kind, as a warning cry that reveals the location of the caller to a predator.



aww....isn't it nice that we can learn to be altruistic from our selfless animal friends?

and now for Friday's ah HAHA Moment......

The Washington Post published a contest for readers in which they were asked to supply alternate meanings for various words. This is one of the entries…. 

Flatulence

(n.), the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

Intrepid

intrepid (adjective).....from vocabulary.com

Definition: not vulnerable to fear or intimidation

Synonyms: fearless, undaunted, perseverant, persistent, brave, courageous, bold, daring, heroic

today is a "two for one" special....also check out "trepidation" ...

A related word, which has the same root as intrepid, is trepidation. Trepidation means "fear or apprehension." When you add the negative prefix in-, "not" to trepid, intrepid means "having no trepidation; bold and fearless." You will often hear journalists, who are out in the field, covering wars and other dangerous stories, characterized as "intrepid."


Usage Examples for intrepid:

Achilles was a brilliant and intrepid warrior. (brave, heroic, daring)

The intrepid reporter did not let fear of retribution stand in the way of delivering a story she believed would improve people's lives. (courageous, bold)

After the market crash, only a handful of intrepid investors put money in tech-stocks. (undaunted, bold)

The intrepid journalist often reported from deep in the war zone, but never seemed afraid for her life. (fearless, perseverant)


thanks for visiting........Nancy

Terse

definition of TERSE....from Mirriam-Webster

1: smoothly elegant : polished

2: using few words : devoid of superfluity <a terse summary>; also : short, brusque <dismissed me with a terse “no”>

— terse·ly adverb

— terse·ness noun

(....hmmmm ~ I always thought that if someone gave a terse reply, that they were a bit put out or angry. I guess that's sometimes true but not always.)

Sentence: She ushered the Hollywood hopefuls into the waiting area, gave them a few terse instructions and then went back to her desk to paint her fingernails.

Copious

Copious....the definition today from Mirriam-Webster

co·pi·ous

adj \ˈkō-pē-əs\

Definition of COPIOUS

 

1a : yielding something abundantly <a copious harvest> <copious springs> b : plentiful in number <copious references to other writers>

2a : full of thought, information, or matter b : profuse or exuberant in words, expression, or style <a copious talker>

3: present in large quantity : taking place on a large scale <copious weeping> <copious food and drink>

— co·pi·ous·ly adverb

— co·pi·ous·ness noun

sentence:  I did a copious amount of research before booking our airfare and hotel accomodation.

Apathetic

Apathetic: the definition thanks to yourdictionary.com

apa·thetic (ap′ə t̸het′ik)

adjective

1. feeling little or no emotion; unmoved
2. not interested; indifferent; listless

Origin: < apathy, modeled on pathetic

Related Forms:

• apathetically ap′a·thet′i·cally adverb

ap·a·thet·ic (ăpˌə-thĕtˈĭk) also ap·a·thet·i·cal (-ĭ-kəl)

adjective

1. Feeling or showing a lack of interest or concern; indifferent.
2. Feeling or showing little or no emotion; unresponsive.

Origin: From apathy, on the model of pathetic.

Related Forms:

• apathetically apˌa·thetˈi·cal·ly adverb

the sentence for today is:

 When she bounded into the office and declared, "Good morning everyone! Can you believe it's Monday already!?" She was somewhat surprised at the apathetic response.

Mundane

Mundane....according to dictionary.com

mun·dane

   /mʌnˈdeɪn, ˈmʌndeɪn/ Show Spelled[muhn-deyn, muhn-deyn] Show IPA

–adjective

1. of or pertaining to this world or earth as contrasted with heaven; worldly; earthly: mundane affairs.

2. common; ordinary; banal; unimaginative.

3. of or pertaining to the world, universe, or earth.

Trying to think of new words for the week was getting rather mundane, so she asked her daughter for a suggestion.

...just kidding, I love choosing the words each day, though admittedly, my daughter did give me her two cents worth when asked today.  Happy Friday .....have a safe weekend. Love your families; be thankful and I hope I see you Monday!

Poignant

poign·ant....the definition from dictionary.com

   /ˈpɔɪnyənt, ˈpɔɪnənt/ Show Spelled[poin-yuhnt, poi-nuhnt] Show IPA

–adjective

1. keenly distressing to the feelings: poignant regret.

2. keen or strong in mental appeal: a subject of poignant interest.

3. affecting or moving the emotions: a poignant scene.

4. pungent to the smell: poignant cooking odors.

Use poignant in a Sentence

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Origin:
1350–1400; ME poynaunt  < MF poignant,  prp. of poindre  < L pungere  to prick, pierce. See pungent, -ant

—Related forms

poign·ant·ly, adverb

un·poign·ant, adjective

un·poign·ant·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 1. intense, sincere, heartfelt. 4.  piquant, sharp.

—Antonyms 1, 2.  mild.


sentence:  November 11th is an especially poignant day for many Canadians and Americans alike....lest we forget.

photo by hlkljgk

...don't forget to remember!