credenza Definition: (noun) A buffet, sideboard, or bookcase, especially one without legs. Synonyms: credence Usage: There was no room on the dining table, so they placed the desserts on the nearby credenza and encouraged their guests to help themselves to […]

terse Definition: (adjective) Brief and to the point; effectively concise. Synonyms: laconic, curt Usage: The officer’s orders were terse, but everyone understood his instructions.

magnanimous Definition: (adjective) Courageously noble in mind and heart. Synonyms: greathearted Usage: Then he imagined how, after the attack, Bogdanich would come up to him as he lay wounded and would magnanimously extend the hand of reconciliation.

erratum Definition: (noun) An error in printing or writing, especially such an error noted in a list of corrections and bound into a book. Synonyms: misprint, typo Usage: Subsequent printings of the book contained an index of the errata that […]

tremulous Definition: (adjective) Marked by trembling, quivering, or shaking. Synonyms: quavering Usage: The moonlight on the lawn was tremulous, as if the sward were a rippling sea.

concordat Definition: (noun) A signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action. Synonyms: compact, covenant Usage: The two nations were bitter enemies, but the signing of a concordat showed progress.

pedicab Definition: (noun) A tricycle (usually propelled by pedaling); used in the Orient for transporting passengers for hire. Synonyms: cycle, rickshaw Usage: Boys who once pulled rickshaws now pedal pedicabs.

subterfuge Definition: (noun) Something intended to misrepresent the true nature of an activity. Synonyms: blind Usage: The manner in which he said this made Ned feel sure that Tom had had other thoughts, and that he had used a little […]

abridgment Definition: (noun) A shortened version of a written work. Synonyms: condensation, capsule Usage: In a word, I gave him an abridgment of this whole history; I gave him a picture of my conduct for fifty years in miniature.

contraption Definition: (noun) A device that is very useful for a particular job. Synonyms: gizmo, appliance Usage: He turned the contraption around and around in his hands, not believing that such simple, small thing could save lives.

complaisance Definition: (noun) A disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others. Synonyms: deference, compliancy Usage: He complied with her request, and answered her challenge in a large wine-cup; she then proceeded with her story, as if appeased […]

effigy Definition: (noun) A likeness or image, especially of a person. Synonyms: simulacrum, image Usage: The penny bears an effigy of Lincoln.

The majority of people spoil their lives by an unhealthy and exaggerated altruism. Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

husbandman Definition: (noun) A person who operates a farm. Synonyms: farmer, granger Usage: The husbandman will not make his own plough or mattock, or other implements of agriculture, if they are to be good for anything.

passementarie Definition: (noun) Ornamental trimming for a garment, as braid, lace, or metallic beads. Synonyms: equal Usage: The passementerie on her hat was so elaborate that it made the brim droop.