Here are a few interesting and perhaps useful words or definitions you may not know. Where a word has multiple meanings, only one (or some) of the meanings will be listed. I’ll be adding new words to this list from time to time. Definitions are taken from the Oxford English Dictionary and occasionally slightly modified for further clarity without changing the meaning.
ad hominem
Directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.
Latin: literally “to the person”
affable
Friendly, good-natured, or easy to talk to.
allegory
A story, poem, picture, music, etc. that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
anomie
Absence of the usual social or ethical standards of belief and conduct in an individual or group; (later also) a state of alienation from mainstream society characterized by feelings of hopelessness, loss of purpose, and isolation.
apocryphal
Of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true.
apologist
A person who offers an argument in defense of something controversial.
appellation
A designation, name, or title given to someone or something.
aptronym
A name regarded as (humorously) appropriate to a person’s profession or personal characteristics.
Arcadian
Ideally rural or rustic.
Arcadia is a mountainous district in the Peloponnese of southern Greece. In poetic fantasy it represents a pastoral paradise and in Greek mythology it is the home of Pan.
arcane
Understood by few; mysterious or secret.
augury
A sign of what will happen in the future; an omen.
auspicious
Conducive to success; favorable. Giving or being a sign of future success.
austere
1. Severe or strict in manner or attitude.
2. Having no comforts or luxuries.
3. Having a plain and unadorned appearance.
4. Of land, terrain, etc.: rugged, forbidding; harsh; bleak.
avuncular
Kind and friendly towards a younger or less experienced person.
bohemian
A person, especially one involved in the arts, who disregards or flouts social convention, and usually associates with others who have a similarly unorthodox lifestyle.
brooding
1. Engaged in or showing deep thought about something that makes one sad, angry, or worried.
2. Appearing darkly menacing.
cantabile
In a smooth flowing style, such as would be suited for singing.
capacious
Having a lot of space inside; roomy.
catharsis
The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.
coda
A concluding event, remark, or section.
collectivist
Relating to the practice or principle of giving a group priority over each individual in it.
complaisant
Willing to please others or to accept what they do or say without protest.
(Note: complaisant does not have the same meaning as complacent)
conflate
Combine (two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, etc.) into one.
contronym
A word with two opposite or contradictory meanings.
For example, sanction can mean both “a penalty for disobeying a law” and “official permission or approval for an action”.
cosseted
Cared for and protected in an overindulgent way; pampered.
declamation
A speech expressing strong feeling and addressed to the passions of the hearers.
deism
Belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe.
demagogue
A political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument.
diffident
Modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence.
doctrinaire
Seeking to impose a doctrine in all circumstances without regard to practical considerations.
dolorous
Feeling or expressing great sorrow or distress.
doyen
The most respected or prominent person in a particular field.
effulgent
Shining forth brilliantly; sending forth intense light; resplendent, radiant.
élan
Energy, style, enthusiasm.
elegiac
Wistfully mournful.
entente
A friendly understanding or informal alliance between states or factions.
epistolary
Of or relating to letters or letter-writing.
eponymous
A person giving their name to something, or something named after a particular person or group.
equivocation
The use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself.
erudite
Having or showing great knowledge or learning.
esoteric
Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.
euphemism
A word or expression of comparatively favorable implication or less unpleasant associations substituted instead of a harsher or more offensive one that would be more accurate.
euphoric
Characterized by or feeling intense excitement and happiness.
ex nihilo
Out of nothing.
excoriate
To criticize someone severely.
exhortation
An address or communication emphatically urging someone to do something.
exiguous
Very small in size or amount; diminutive, minute; (also) very few in number, scanty, scarce.
existential
Involving or relating to the existence of a thing.
expropriation
The action by the state or an authority of taking property from its owner for public use or benefit.
fastidious
Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail.
fervent
Of persons, their passions, dispositions, or actions: Ardent, intensely earnest; displaying a passionate intensity.
foil
A person or thing that contrasts with and so emphasizes and enhances the qualities of another.
furore
An outbreak of public anger or excitement.
guileless
Devoid of guile; innocent and without deception.
hagiography
A biography that treats its subject with undue reverence.
heuristic
Involving or enabling discovery or problem-solving through methods such as experimentation, evaluation, and trial and error.
histrionic, histrionics
1. Excessively theatrical or dramatic in character or style.
2. Melodramatic or hysterical behavior, typically intended to attract attention.
iconoclastic
Criticizing or attacking cherished beliefs or institutions.
idiom
1. The specific character or individuality of a language; the manner of expression considered natural to or distinctive of a language; a language’s distinctive phraseology.
2. A language, especially a person or people’s own language; the distinctive form of speech of a particular people or country.
3. In a narrower sense: a dialect or variety of a language; a form of a language limited to or distinctive of a particular area, category of people, period of time, or context.
4. A form of expression, grammatical construction, phrase, etc., used in a distinctive way in a particular language, dialect, or language variety; specifically, a group of words established by usage as having meaning not deducible from the meanings of the individual words.
5. A distinctive style or convention in music, art, architecture, writing, etc.; the characteristic mode of expression of a composer, artist, author, etc.
imperious
Arrogant and domineering.
inchoate
1. Just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary.
2. Confused or incoherent.
incunabula
1. The earliest stages of first traces in the development of anything.
2. An early printed book, especially one printed before 1501.
Singular: incunabulum
indolence
Avoidance of activity or exertion; laziness.
ineffable
That cannot be expressed or described in language; too great for words; transcending expression; unspeakable, unutterable, inexpressible.
ineluctable
Unable to be resisted or avoided; inescapable.
inexorable
1. Impossible to stop or prevent.
2. (of a person) Impossible to persuade; unrelenting.
innocuous
Not harmful or offensive.
innuendo
An allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one.
insidiously
In a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects.
insolent
Showing a rude and arrogant lack of respect.
insouciant
Showing a casual lack of concern.
intelligentsia
Intellectuals or highly educated people as a group, especially when regarded as possessing culture and political influence.
intemperate
Characterized by or given to excessive indulgence in a passion or appetite.
invective
Insulting, abusive, or highly critical language.
itinerant
Traveling from place to place; a person who travels from place to place.
kakistocracy
Government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state.
languor
1. Weariness of body, mind, or faculties; tiredness, fatigue; torpor, lethargy.
2. Drowsiness or inactivity, especially when pleasurable.
2. An oppressive stillness of the air.
leitmotif
A recurrent theme through a musical or literary composition, associated with a particular person, idea, or situation.
liminal
1. Occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold.
2. Relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process.
longueur
A lengthy or tedious passage of writing, music, etc.; a tedious stretch of time.
luxuriate
Enjoy something as as a luxury; take self-indulgent delight in.
manqué
Having failed to become what one might have been.
mellifluous
1. Of speech, words, music, etc.: sweet, honeyed; pleasant-sounding, flowing, musical.
2. Of a speaker, writer, etc.: sweet-sounding; fluent; smoothly eloquent, charmingly persuasive.
memento
A reminder of a past event or condition, of an absent person, or of something that once existed; an object kept in memory of some person or event, a souvenir.
meritocracy
Government or the holding of power by people chosen on the basis of merit and competency (as opposed to wealth, social class, political party, ideology, etc.).
metonym
A word, name, or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated.
milieu
1. An environment; surroundings, especially social surroundings.
2. A group of people with a shared cultural outlook.
mimesis
1. Imitative representation of the real world in art, music, literature, etc.
2. The deliberate imitation of the behavior of one group of people by another (usually less advantaged) as a factor in social change.
moot
1. Subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty.
2. Having little or no practical relevance, typically because the subject is too uncertain to allow a decision.
nihilism
1. Total rejection of prevailing religious beliefs, moral principles, laws, etc., often from a sense of despair and the belief that life is devoid of any meaning.
2. More generally: negativity, destructiveness, hostility to accepted beliefs or established institutions.
orthodoxy
1. Belief in or agreement with doctrines, opinions, or practices currently held to be right or correct, especially in religious matters.
2. The body of opinions, doctrines, or beliefs held to be orthodox by a particular religion, society, or group.
pabulum or pablum
Bland intellectual fare, pap; an insipid or undemanding diet of words, entertainment, etc.
pantheism
A belief or philosophical theory that God identical with the universe; the doctrine that God is everything and everything is God. Frequently with implications of nature worship or love of nature.
pantheon
The group of people or things most revered by an individual, nation, profession, etc.; a group of people particularly respected, famous, or otherwise significant in some capacity; a set of things having acknowledged value or importance.
pareidolia
The perception of apparently significant patterns or recognizable images, especially faces, in random or accidental arrangements of shapes and lines.
patronizing
Apparently kind or helpful but betraying an attitude of superiority or condescension.
perfidious
Deceitful and untrustworthy.
pernicious
Having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.
peroration
The concluding part of a speech, typically intended to inspire enthusiasm in the audience.
perverse
1. Of a person, action, etc.: going against or disposed to go against what is reasonable, logical, expected, or required; contrary, fickle, irrational.
2. Contrary to what is morally right or good; wicked, evil, debased.
3. Contrary to an accepted standard or practice; incorrect, mistaken, wrong; (of an argument, interpretation, etc.) unjustifiable, contradictory, distorted.
4. Obstinate, stubborn, or persistent in what is unreasonable, foolish, or wrong; remaining set in a course of action in spite of the consequences.
philistine
A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts.
piquancy
The quality of being pleasantly stimulating or exciting.
polemical
Expressing or constituting a strongly critical attack on or controversial opinion about someone or something.
presentiment
An intuitive feeling about the future, especially one of foreboding.
prevarication
1. Deviation from a course thought to be right or proper; transgression of a law or code; an instance of this.
2. Departure from a rule, principle, or normal state; perversion or violation of a law, code of conduct, etc.; deviation from truth or correctness, error; an instance of this.
3. Divergence from a straight line or course.
4. Breach of duty or violation of trust in the exercise of an office; corrupt action, especially in a court of law.
5. Avoidance of straightforward statement of the truth; equivocation, evasiveness, misrepresentation; deceit; and instance of this.
6. Stalling or playing for time by means of evasion or indecisiveness; procrastination, hesitation.
probity
The quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency.
profligacy
Reckless extravagance or wastefulness in the use of resources.
prolepsis
1. The action of anticipating a possible objection or counter-argument in order to answer or discount it, or to deprive it of force.
2. A presupposition; something assumed to exist in advance.
propitious
Giving or indicating a good chance of success; favorable.
proselytize
1. Convert or attempt to convert someone from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.
2. Advocate or promote a belief or course of action.
protean
1. Adopting or existing in various shapes, variable in form; variously manifested or expressed; changing, unpredictable.
2. A person who or thing which changes form, character, nature, role, etc., rapidly or frequently.
provenance
1. The place of origin or earliest know history of something
2. The beginning of something’s existence; something’s origin.
3. A record of ownership of a work of art or an antique, used as a guide to authenticity or quality.
puerile
Childishly silly and immature.
pugnacious
Eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight.
pyrrhic
A victory won at too great a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor.
quaint
Attractively unusual or old-fashioned.
qualia
A quality of property as perceived or experienced by a person.
recapitulate
Summarize and state again the main points.
recension
A revised edition of a text.
recondite
1. Especially of a subject of study or discussion: little known or understood; abstruse, obscure; profound.
2. Of a writer: using abstruse or obscure allusions or references.
3. Of a thing: removed or hidden from view; kept out of sight.
redolent
Strongly reminiscent of suggestive of.
reductionism
The practice of analyzing and describing a complex phenomenon in terms of its simple or fundamental constituents, especially when this is said to provide a sufficient explanation.
restive
Unable to remain still, silent, or submissive, especially because of boredom or dissatisfaction.
salient
Most noticeable or important; prominent; conspicuous
scion
A descendant, especially one belonging to a wealthy or noble family; an heir.
sobriquet
A person’s nickname.
solicitous
1. Characterized by or showing interest or concern.
2. Eager or anxious to do something.
somnambulant
Resembling or characteristic of a sleepwalker; sluggish.
sophistry
1. The use of clever but false arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving.
2. A fallacious argument.
straw man
1. An intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent’s real argument.
2. A person regarded as having no substance or integrity.
supine
Failing to act or protest as a result of moral weakness or indolence.
sycophant
A person who acts with ready compliance or eagerness to serve or please towards someone important or having power in order to gain personal advantage.
tautology
The saying of the same thing twice in the same sentence using different words, generally considered to be a fault of style; a phrase or expression in which the same thing is said twice in different words.
teleological
Relating to or involving the explanation of phenomena in terms of the purpose they serve rather than of the cause by which they arise.
tetchy
Irritable and bad-tempered.
trenchant
Vigorous or incisive in expression or style.
tripe
Nonsense; rubbish.
triptych
A set of three associated artistic, literary, or musical works intended to be appreciated together.
truculent
Quick to argue or oppose; aggressively defiant.
tyro
A beginner or novice.
Umwelt
The world as it is experienced by a particular organism.
unassuming
Not pretentious or arrogant; modest.
universalist
A person advocating loyalty to and concern for others without regard to national or other allegiances.
unpretentious
Not attempting to impress others with an appearance of greater importance, talent, or culture than is actually possessed.
vapid
Offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging; bland
verboten
Forbidden; not allowed.
viridescent
Greenish or becoming green.
wheedling
Using flattery or coaxing in order to persuade someone to do something or give one something.
All words to live by Dave.