Circumspect

Circumspect (adj.)   

todays definition is from vocabulary.com

Definition: unwilling to act without first weighing the risks or consequences
Synonyms: prudent, cautious, watchful, guarded, wary
Antonyms: audacious, foolhardy, careless, heedless


Tips: Circumspect is derived from the Latin circumspicere, “to look around,” from specere, “to look.” Think of looking around (inspecting) suspiciously and carefully before making a decision or taking action. For a memory trick, note how circumspect sounds "like search and inspect." Before making a decision, a person who is circumspect will "search and inspect" carefully. Circumspect is synonymous with prudent and wary. See a detailed analysis at prudent and at wary.



Sentence:  I spent a lot of money the last time I went into New York City to shop, so when I go in next week, I will be more circumspect. (cautious, prudent)

...have a great Wednesday everyone....now I'm off for a hike with my hiking group!

Fastidious

 today's definition is from http://www.yourdictionary.com/


fas·tid·i·ous (fă-stĭdˈē-əs, fə-)
adjective

1. Possessing or displaying careful, meticulous attention to detail.
2. Difficult to please; exacting.
3. Excessively scrupulous or sensitive, especially in matters of taste or propriety. See Synonyms at meticulous.
4. Microbiology Having complicated nutritional requirements.

Origin: Middle English, squeamish, particular, haughty, from Old French fastidieux, from Latin fastīdiōsus, from fastīdium, squeamishness, haughtiness, probably from fastus, disdain.

...my daughter suggested this as "the word for today...."

I use the word fastidious often, but until today, only in the context of definition #1, I was rather unaware of #2, #3 and #4. I had no idea that if someone was fastidious, they were squeamish or oversensitive.

.....refined in a too dainty or oversensitive way, so as to be easily disgusted (also from yourdictionary)

Sentence:  She was fastidious in her preparations; she wanted her first Thanksgiving turkey to be as close to perfect as possible.

Soliloquy

so·lil·o·quy

noun \sə-ˈli-lə-kwē\

plural so·lil·o·quies

Definition of SOLILOQUY  (Mirriam-Webster)

1: the act of talking to oneself

2: a dramatic monologue that represents a series of unspoken reflections


Okay....I love this word! I hear it often and I thought it was a type of rambling conversation, but I really wasn't sure until I looked it up today. Last night I heard it on one of my favorite TV shows, "Brothers and Sisters".....and I thought, Okay, I must look that up...  (and then I actually remembered the word without writing it down!)

Probably the most famous example of a soliloquy is Hamlet's:

"To be or not to be-that is the question

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer"...blah blah blah..

(no disrespect to William... it's just that it goes on and on and on)

I soliloquize often. At least now when my daughter shakes her head, rolls her eyes and looks at me half amused; half pathetically as she catches me soliloquizing yet once more (that day...)  -- I can hold my head up with pride and say to her, 

"What are you looking at?  Haven't you ever seen a soliloquist before?"

Pedantic

Pedantic (adj): pə-dănˈtĭk

1)   overly concerned with details, especially regarding book learning
2)   making an inappropriate display of learning
3)   being overly fastidious and /or pretentious about language

...related to the word pedant, which typically has a negative association and is generally a person who is overly concerned with, and overrates the importance of learning and formal rules.

Obsessive-compulsive behavior is an example of pedantry.


Sentence: My sister's pedantic behavior is characterized by the way she frequently brings words to my attention that I use or pronounce incorrectly.  

not my sister of course!(?)

Use the word pedantic  three times today. But be careful so as not to seem pedantic in your delivery. Have a fantastic weekend....see you Monday. Sentences anyone??

Exacerbate

Exacerbate (verb):

1)   to aggravate or increase the severity of something.
2)   to exasperate or irritate

in plain English.........to make worse!

Sentence: My irritation was exacerbated by the fact that I couldn't go outside and rake leaves because it was raining...okay-- maybe it's not the greatest sentence in the word, but at least it's my own. It is raining here and the leaves are too icky and too heavy to move. Well, at least it's not snowing!

Do you think you can come up with a better sentence? 

Postulate

Postulate....the first known use of this word according to Mirriam-Webster was in 1593.

Definition of Postulate (Mirriam-Webster)

1: demand, claim

2a : to assume or claim as true, existent, or necessary : depend upon or start from the postulate of b : to assume as a postulate or axiom (as in logic or mathematics)

— pos·tu·la·tion\ˌpäs-chə-ˈlā-shən\ noun

— pos·tu·la·tion·al\-shnəl, -shə-n^əl\ adjective

Sentence: When your children are teenagers and they come home two hours past curfew, don't postulate that everything they tell you is necessarily the truth.

...thanks for visiting - have a great day!

Inaugural

INAUGURAL....the first known use of this word was in 1689.

Definition of INAUGURAL (Mirriam-Webster)

1 : of or relating to an inauguration

2: marking a beginning : first in a projected series

Synonyms: earliest, foremost, headmost, first, initial, leadoff, maiden, original, pioneer, premier, virgin

Antonyms: final, last, latest, latter, terminal, terminating, ultimate

Sentence: Welcome to my inaugural post!

I am so happy to present my very first "word for today." Unlike many word of the day websites, I want to incorporate words on this blog that are commonly heard and are useful. I don't know about you, but I don't use words like, "bedaub" or "comtumacious" and I don't plan to. However, I would like to get more familiar with words that are a little more common, but that I might hesitate to use such as, "circumspect" or "taciturn." I invite everyone....my kids, my relatives, my friends and hopefully even people I don't know to visit often and increase their word power.

 I challenge you to use my chosen word for each day at least three times that day and I would love comments below using the words in a sentence or a story about that word.


Happy Voting Americans!!