Vocabulary: Week 9

Week 9 is upon us. I don't know if I'm actually learning the definitions of these words, but I have attempted to use some in conversation... must make more of an effort!

In any case, the word I have chosen for the week of February 27 is:

"Febrile: marked or caused by fever; feverish."

I think I should be able to remember this one... :)

Vocabulary: Weeks 7 & 8

I wasn't able to get around to posting a new word last week because I was a bit frazzled over getting into a new routine at my new job(!!!).

So, for the week of February 13:

"Inherent: involved in the constitution or essential character of something: belonging by nature or habit: intense."

And for the week of February 20:

"Ubiquitous: existing or being everywhere at the same time: constantly encountered: widespread."

Inherent is a word I've heard, and possibly even used, without really knowing the definition, and in fact, what I thought it meant was a little bit off. As for ubiquitous, I've read it many times before and it seems to be a popular word to look up on Merriam-Webster online, but again, I didn't really know what it meant.


Here's to learning new words and doing new things and having new jobs!

Vocabulary: Week 6

Well, here we are, week 6 of 2011. So far we've learned curmudgeon, conflagration, Coptic, frisson, and bucolic.


The word I have chosen for this week (January 30) is an adjective:

"prodigious - 1a: obsolete: being an omen: portentous; 1b: resembling or befitting a prodigy: strange, unusual; 2: exciting amazement or wonder; 3: extraordinary in bulk, quantity, or degree: enormous"

An interesting word that I found while reading last week. I might have heard it before, but had no idea of the definition. Let's see if I can make use of it this week... :o)

Vocabulary: Week 5

I failed at using frisson in conversation this week. What can I say, I don't have that many conversations and I forgot the definitions when I do use a word. So you use the word in normal conversation and the person you're conversing with is all, "What does that mean?!" and you're all like, "Uh... I can't remember, but it works here, trust me."

Anyway, so the word for this week (January 30) is:

"Bucolic: 1) of or relating to shepherds or herdsmen: pastoral, 2a) relating to or typically of rural life, b) idyllic"

Hm...

Vocabulary: Week 4

Oh my! We are 4, almost 5, weeks into 2011 already!! Time sure flies...


I will admit that I didn't have much luck using curmudgeon, conflagration, or Coptic in the last week. However, I have read conflagration twice in the last 24 hours and had a renewed understanding of the word. And curmudgeon has become a bit of a family joke. I will probably never actually use Coptic in a normal sentence, but at least I know what it means. :)


The word for this week, January 23, which I did just choose last night, is:

"Frisson: a brief moment of emotional excitement: shudder, thrill."

And yes, it is pronounced with a French accent. ;)

C-words

Another part of my Resolutions for 2011, which I've decided to integrate into this blog, is that I intend to learn a new word every week. By this, I mean that every week, if I haven't heard an interesting word, I will choose a word which I do not know, or am unsure of, the definition. I will write down the definition of that word here, and then try to use it in it's proper context the following week to exercise my new knowledge and commit it to memory. I am hopeful that this will help me to broaden my vocabulary and also to gain a better understanding of my own language and the words I use and read.


The word for this week (January 16) is:

"Coptic (noun): an Afro-Asiatic language descended from ancient Egyptian and used as the liturgical language of the Coptic church.

Coptic (adjective): of or relating to the Copts, their liturgical language, or their church."

(I used both definitions as I'm not sure how I might use it in a normal sentence this week...)
Since I forgot to choose words the last couple weeks, I will also attempt to learn two other words this week. Coincidentally, they all start with "c"....


 For January 2:

"Conflagration (noun) 1: fire; especially, a large disastrous fire. 2: conflict, war."

For January 9:

"Curmudgeon (noun) 1: archaic: miser. 2: a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man."

 So, there you have it. The three C-words I randomly chose for my word-of-the-week exercise. I will check in next week with how well I'm doing at using my new words.