"Ultimate"

The ultimate vacation spot probably doesn't exist. Cranky travelers will find something to complain about in any locale.

Official Definition

"Tacit"

Seeing me arrive at the writing group on time, my mother gave me a tacit look of approval.

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"Sacrilege"

It was unintentional sacrilege when my mother accidentally blurted out the "f" word as we were returning home from a Christmas service at church 12 years ago.

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"Ramble"

I love to ramble: when driving near my home (weather permitting), I often take backroads to see where they go (and if my camera is with me, all the better); in social situations, once my initial shyness wears off, I can talk and talk about apparently random things. And I can do this as long as I have an audience--sometimes longer ;)

A twofer!

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"Qualify"

I'm still trying to think of a story that would qualify for this week's Sunday Scribblings post.

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"Paltry"

Today's leftovers seem paltry in comparison to the feast we consumed last night.

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"Oblique"

When I received a navy blue hoodie for Christmas Eve, I couldn't resist making an oblique reference to my moment of shame at Lady Chadwick's soiree.

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Merry Christmas to all who celebrate :)

"Narcissism"

After telling me that she is a lonely person, I realized that Lady Chadwick's narcissism is a coping mechanism for her.

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"Macrobiotic"

I have no idea why Lady Chadwick decided to go on a macrobiotic diet the week of Christmas. Hopefully her hors d'oeuvres taste better than they look!

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"Laggard"

I am generally something of a laggard on Monday mornings, but today I'm feeling quite energetic.

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"Kibbutz"

By working together on the kibbutz, the community became close-knit; however, tensions did arise from people living and working in such close proximity to one another. For instance, after hearing the news of the commotion at one Lady Chadwick's soiree, some of the workers found Princess Amelia's behavior to be reprehensible, while others hailed her as a revolutionary.

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"Jaded"

The epicurean in me overindulged last Christmas, leaving me feeling bloated and jaded. I think I'll try to go easy on the feasting this year!

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"Iambic"

I find it a bit ironic that the word "iambic" is in three syllables; maybe it's just me...

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"Hackneyed"

Ah, the holidays are upon us. The one time of the year that we must endure our relatives' hackneyed jokes and stories with a smile on our faces.

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"Gaffe"

I thought wearing a hoodie to Lady Chadwick's soiree was a gaffe, but not receiving an updated word of the day until early evening is just as bad!

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"Fabricate"

"Did Gillian fabricate the story about her affair with Russ, or did it really happen?" Stacy asked Linda at the water cooler yesterday.

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"Ecclesiastical"

The choir donned their ecclesiastical robes for a warm-up of their rendition of "Amazing Grace."

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"Dastard"

*I'm going to take some liberties and use a form of the word*

Alisa feels that the inventor of word verification committed a dastardly deed in creating it.

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"Cached"

While digging a garden, the new homeowners found some jewelry cached in the backyard.

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"Beatific"

The well-wishers sent beatific greetings to Rhonda at her retirement party.

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"Ablaut"

The bell's ablaut pattern is: ring, rang, rung.

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"Homologous"

Lady Chadwick and Princess Amelia may be homologous in social stature, but they differ in the way they carry themselves.

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"Elocution"

Lady Chadwick's elocution was elegant and refined; Princess Amelia's was casual and laid-back.

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"Sepulcher"

They say that the sepulchers of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs are bedecked in gold and jewels. This adds to the mystery and intrigue of Egypt.

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"Sequacious"

The nonconformist in me found wearing an overpriced gown to Lady Chadwick's soiree to be a sequacious act.

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"Sentinel"

My cat Peyser, is my sentinel until he hears a knocking at the door; at this point, he dashes underneath a chair to hide!

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"Dissever"

I'm so glad that BJ found out my true identity. I was afraid that my removal from the soiree might dissever our friendship.

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"Curio"

My favorite curio is a clay bowl I made in 6th grade art class. I got a B+ on it, but I think it's pretty artsy, myself.

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"Caitiff"

After my embarrassing presence at Lady Chadwick's soiree, the aristocrats have branded me a caitiff; I don't know if I'll ever find myself in their good graces again.

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"Bulwark"

When I was a child, I once tried to build a snow fort; however, it proved useless as a bulwark.

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"Valediction"

Saying my valedictions to BJ and Alisa, I allowed the guards to escort me out of Lady Chadwick's soiree.

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"Incursion"

I was just beginning to enjoy myself at Lady Chadwick's soiree when the guards' incursion spoiled my evening.

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"Balustrade"

I was able to catch a glimpse of Lady Chadwick just as she was preparing to descend the stairs and was poised with her left hand resting elegantly on the balustrade.

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"Eminent"

Lady Chadwick is an eminent noblewoman. To be invited to her soiree was the chance of a lifetime. And that reprobate in me ruined it!

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"Cadence"

The steady cadence of my typing lulled my mother to sleep in the recliner.

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"Emollient"

The lotion I put on my hands every night is a soothing emollient, but it can hardly protect my hands from the harshness of the winter winds.

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"Reprobate"

Okay, I understand that my fashion sense at the soiree was terrible, but when some of the ladies resorted to calling me a reprobate, well, I thought that was a bit much.

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"Guerdon"

The man was offended that his guerdon was not what he expected. Yes, he did help the police catch the criminal, but he didn't realize that the reward offer was voided to criminals who turned themselves in.

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"Escutcheon"

I need to buy a new escutcheon for my light switch. The cheap hardware store variety doesn't look good with my new remodeling.

Official Definition (Note: I used definition #2 for this sentence)

"Nabob"

I really hate it that I got kicked out of the soiree. And here I was hoping to meet at least one nabob in the flesh. Oh well. Maybe next year I'll have BJ help me choose more appropriate attire for the occasion.

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"Lucullan"

The soiree from which I was escorted out was truly a Lucullan affair.

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"Amatory"

The girls giggled with embarrassment and delight when they were caught casting amatory looks toward the new math teacher.

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"Eminence Grise"

Chelle appeared to be the leader of the high school clique, but she was actually a puppet of the eminence grise, Gloria.

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"Affectation"

The students displayed only an affectation for literature, in that when it came time for discussion, it was obvious that they cared more about socializing with one another than interpreting Milton.

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"Adulterate"

When I was younger, my mom couldn't believe that I wanted to adulterate my mac & cheese with green food coloring. I tried to explain to her that it was St. Patrick's Day, but she wasn't having it!

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"Adduce"

My friend tried to adduce evidence of her innocence, but there was no doubt about it--the dent in the family's car occurred during the time she was driving it.

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"Frowzy"

I always dreaded opening up my high school gym bag at the end of the week to find my frowzy clothes in desperate need of a wash.

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"Ensconced"

I had a hard time getting up this morning. I awoke to find myself ensconced in a warm fluffy blanket. I could have stayed like that all day.

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"Obsequies"

One of the saddest events I ever attended was the obsequies for a professor of mine who committed suicide.

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"Soiree"

I didn't last long at the soiree. Someone noticed my hoodie and jeans, and I was escorted out before cocktail hour!

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"Sidereal"

I'm glad we don't use sidereal days, because I don't feel that there are even enough minutes in the solar day!

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"Intimation"

I heard some subtle intimations that today is Sunshine's birthday.

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"Horripilation"

With the sudden change in temperature, I have begun noticing the horripilation on my arms.

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"Resplendent"

Though the photos I took in the Midwest were pretty, I missed the resplendent colors of the American Southwest.

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"Olfactory"

The spicy smell of pumpkin pie baking in the oven wafted through the house, permeating Sunshine's olfactory system. Fall was indeed here, and now she longed for some of that pie.

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"Mot Juste"

I spent hours looking for the mot juste to complete my poem. Then, it occurred to me that "mot juste" was the right word.

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"Footless"

The allegations of her ineptitude were based on footless claims. The woman was actually remarkably qualified for her job.

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"Epicure"

I have heard that B.J.'s husband is quite the epicure because his soups are delicious!

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"Aquiline"

The principal's aquiline nose gave him the appearance of being stern. All of the children feared being sent to his office.

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"Addle"

All the frenzy of Halloween addled my brain this weekend. Hopefully I'll be back to "normal" on Monday!

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"Abate"

Folks in my neck of the woods are grateful to see the price of fuel abating. It's been a long time coming!

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"Gloaming"

The vampires and princesses will start appearing tonight at gloaming, demanding candy of me. Of course, I will provide. Happy Halloween!

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"Hubris"

I would tell you how awesome I am, but I am afraid that my hubris would come back to haunt me. They do say that "Pride goes before a fall."

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"Bivouac"

After his parents kicked him out of the house, Joe spent the chilly night at a makeshift bivouac by the river.

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"Execrable"

My first painting was execrable, so I splashed and splattered other colors over it. By the time I was done, it looked modern and quite tolerable.

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"Corroborate"

I thought I knew what this word meant, but dictionary.com's corroboration with my own definition validated my assumption.

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"Genuflect"

In an act of genuine penitence, a young man came forward to the altar and genuflected. The pastor bowed to pray with him for a while, and then the young man left his position of prayer to return to his pew.

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"Quandary"

I was in a quandary regarding a blog topic until I visited dictionary.com and looked at the word of the day. Then I knew what to write about!

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"Limn"

Her painting of cottony cumulus clouds from the view of an airplane window limned the surreal scene to her daughter, who had not yet flown.

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Welcome to Word of the Day!

Hey everybody, I have created a brand-new blog that revolves around dictionary.com's word of the day (hence the name). The plan is that I will use dictionary.com's word of the day in a short post (hopefully correctly). It should be a fun little vocabulary-building exercise!

Dictionary.com's Website