Chicago Writer: Words for Writers

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	Publisher's Note: The idea for a Words for Writers link began when, while browsing through a used-book store, I came across a volume of The Superior Person's Book of Words by Peter Bowler. This wonderful book is a logophile's dream and it led me to thinking that it's been a long time since vocabulary class and a good writer can always use a superior word...
	aegis	n. Protection. Sponsorship; patronage.
	afflatus	n. A creative impulse; inspiration.
	antipode	n. A direct or diametrical opposite.
	avuncular	adj. Of or pertaining to an uncle, esp. in benevolence.
	badinage	n. Light, playful banter.
	belesprit	n. A cultivated person with a fine intellect.
	biogenesis	n. The doctrine that living organisms develop only from other living organisms and not from nonliving matter.
	boondoggle	n. Pointless, unnecessary, and wasteful work.
	canard	n. An unfounded or false, deliberately misleading story.
	chimera	n. A creation of the imagination; an impossible and foolish fancy.
	coruscate	v. To give forth flashes of light; sparkle; glitter.
	cynosure	n. An object that serves as a focal point of attention and admiration.
	dactylogram	n. A fingerprint.
	decoction	n. Anything created by boiling to extract the flavor. A concentration or boiling down.
	desuetude	n. State or condition of disuse.
	draconian	adj. Pertaining to a law or code of extreme severity.
	egregious	adj. Exceptionally bad; flagrant.
	ephetic	adj. Habitually suspending judgment; given to skepticism.
	eponymous	adj. Relating to something where a person's name is thought to be the source.
	etiolated	adj. Pale and drawn as if deprived of sunlight.
	exigent	adj. Requiring immediate attention or remedy; urgent.
	facinorous	adj. Exceedingly wicked.
	fandangle	n. Silly behavior; fooling around.
	formicate	v. To swarm, as ants.
	fustian	adj. Ridiculously pretentious or pompous; usually referring to language or style.
	galoot	n. Loutish, clumsy oaf.
	gelogenic	adj. Laughter-provoking.
	gnosis	n. Knowledge of spiritual truth and of the deeper wisdom that is concealed from those without the necessary faith or insight.
	groak	n. One who stands around while others eat, in the hope that he will be invited to join in.
	hebetate	v. To grow or to make dull or stupid.
	heuristic	adj. Serving to promote discovery.
	highfalutin	adj. High-flown, pretentious (of language).
	hinny	n. The offspring of a female donkey and a male horse. Less common than a mule (offspring of a male donkey and a female horse).
	idiotropic	adj. Turned in upon oneself, introspective.
	ineffable	adj. Beyond description; unutterable or unspeakable.
	inspissate	v. To thicken, especially a liquid, by boiling or evaporation; to condense.
	interminable	adj. Apparently incapable of being brought to an end; protracted.
	jackanapes	n. A silly, impertinent monkey of a fellow.
	jactation	n. Boasting, bragging.
	jawboning	v. Making use of the government's authority and prestige to persuade business and labor to moderate their demands in the national interest.
	jejune	adj. Short on worthwhile content.
	kakistocracy	n. Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens.
	kedogenous	adj. Brought about by worry or anxiety.
	kinkajou	n. An arboreal mammal with a prehensile tail.
	kundalini	n. Spiritual energy that lies dormant at the base of the spine until it is activated and channeled upward to the brain to produce enlightenment.
	labile	adj. Unstable, constantly undergoing or liable to change.
	lethologica	n. A state of inability to recall the right word.
	lexiphanic	adj. Given to the use of pretentious terminology.
	logomachy	n. A dispute over or about words.
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	macrology	n. A long and tiresome talk.
	manqu�	adj. Having not achieved a condition pretended to, desired, or deemed suited for.
	miasma	n. Noxious atmosphere or emanations.
	mountebank	n. A spectacular charlatan.
	nefandous	adj. Unspeakable, unutterable.
	nidification	n. The act of building a nest.
	noisome	adj. Noxious, smelly, nasty to the point of arousing disgust.
	nympholepsy	n. A passionate longing for something unattainable.
	oenemel	n. A beverage made of wine and honey. Something combining strength with sweetness.
	oniomania	n. An irresistible urge to buy things.
	otiose	adj. Serving no useful purpose. Leisurely, idle, indolent.
	oubliette	n. A dungeon, often in the form of a deep, narrow well, designed for permanent incarceration of those whom it is desired to forget.
	paradigm	n. Model, pattern, or example.
	pecksniffery	n. A state of hypocritical and unctuous benevolence or high moral principles.
	pilgarlic	n. A poor, wretched, bald-headed man who presents a sorry spectacle.
	pusillanimity	n. Faint-heartedness.
	quidnunc	n. A gossip; a stickybeak; one who is forever anxious to know about everything that is going on.
	quiescent	adj. At rest for the time being; dormant; currently inactive or motionless.
	quotidian	adj. Everyday; occurring daily; ordinary; commonplace.
	QWERTY	adj. Pertaining to a keyboard having the keys in traditional typewriter arrangement.
	rampallion	n. A bold, forward, rampant, or wanton woman.
	recidivism	n. Repeated or habitual relapse into criminal or other antisocial behavior.
	recusant	adj. Refusing staunchly to comply with some generally accepted rule or custom.
	rodomontade	n. Empty boasting and blustering; arrogant ranting, braggadocio.
	sapid	adj. Flavorsome, lively, interesting; palatable.
	sciolism	n. Superficial knowledge; a show of learning without any substantial foundation.
	sesquipedalian	adj. Given to using long words; containing many syllables.
	susurrant	adj. Gently whispering and rustling; softly murmuring.
	taxonomy	n. In biology, the systematic classification of all organisms.
	tetragram	n. A word with four letters. Note that the phrase "four-letter word" is pejorative, but tetragram is not.
	thurification	n. The act of burning incense, or of filling a room with the fumes of burning incense.
	trilemma	n. A problem situation in which there are not two, but three possible courses of action, each having its own advantages and disadvantages.
	uliginous	adj. Growing in muddy, oozy, or swampy places.
	ultracrepidarian	adj. Going too far; overstepping the mark; presumptuous; intruding in someone else's business.
	ululation	n. A howling or wailing.
	uxorious	adj. Overly fond of one's wife.
	varlet	n. Low, menial scoundrel.
	vellicate	v. To twitch; or cause to twitch.
	virago	n. A fierce, bad-tempered woman; a termagant.
	vouchsafe	v. Deign to grant or offer; to guarantee.
	whippersnapper	n. An intrusive young upstart.
	witling	n. A mere pretender to wit; a petty smart aleck.
	wonky	adj. Unsteady; unreliable; stupid, boring, or unattractive.
	wrick	n. A wrench or strain usually caused by an abrupt movement.
	xanthippe	n. A shrewish, peevish, bad-tempered wife.
	xanthodontous	adj. Having yellow teeth.
	xenomania	n. An obsessive mania for foreign customs, traditions, and manners.
	xylophage	n. An insect that eats wood.
	yclept	v. Called or named.
	yirn	v. To whine; to pout or show petulance by facial grimaces.
	ylem	n. The initial substance of the universe from which all matter is said to be derived.
	ytterbium	n. A rare metallic element.
	zaftig	adj. Desirably plump and curvaceous.
	zazen	n. Meditation in a prescribed, cross-legged posture.
	zinger	n. A quick, witty, or pointed remark or retort.
	zoanthropy	n. A pathological conviction on the part of a human that he or she is an animal.

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