Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025

Askance (adverb)
askance [ uh-skans ]

adverb
1. with suspicion, mistrust, or disapproval: He looked askance at my offer.
2. with a side glance; sidewise; obliquely.

Idioms and Phrases
see look askance.

Related Words
skeptically, suspiciously

See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
Synonyms
1. suspiciously, skeptically

Origin: ( Read more... )

augury [aw-gyuh-ree]

noun:
1 the art or practice of an augur; divination
2 the rite or ceremony of an augur
3 an omen, token, or indication

Examples:

"First sale of the day," said Guna brightly; in India, a day's first sale is often taken as a bright augury. (Guy Trebay, Finding Peace (and Quiet) in India's Tamil Nadu, Condé Nast ( Read more... )

anchorite [ang-kuh-rahyt]

adjective:
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion; a hermit

Examples:

But Hardulph would not have been a hermit in the colloquial sense; he would have been an anchorite, meaning that he would have been anchored to the church and may have had disciples, Simons explained. (Lindsey ( Read more... )

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024 Affable

Affable (adjective)
af·fa·ble [af-uh-buhl]

adjective
1. pleasantly easy to approach and to talk to; friendly; cordial; warmly polite: an affable and courteous gentleman.
2. showing warmth and friendliness; benign; pleasant: an affable smile.

Other Words Fromaf·fa·bil·i·ty [af-, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], af·fa·ble·ness ( Read more... )

aegis [ee-jis]

noun:
1 (classical mythology) the shield or breastplate of Zeus or Athena, bearing at its center the head of the Gorgon
2 protection, support
3 under the imperial aegis
4 sponsorship, auspices

Examples:

The International Dota 2 tournament is set up to be an incredible match between the two very best teams in the world ( Read more... )

Tuesday, Sep. 10, 2024

Antitype (noun)
an·ti·type [an-ti-tahyp]

noun
1. something that is foreshadowed by a type or symbol, as a new testament event prefigured in the Old Testament.

Other Words From
an·ti·typ·ic [an-ti-, tip, -ik], an?ti·typ?i·cal adjective
an ti·typ i·cal·ly adverb

Origin: 1605-15; < Medieval Latin antitypus < Late Greek ( Read more... )

appurtenance, appurtenances [uh-pur-tn-uhns, uh-pur-tn-uhns-uhz]

noun1 something associated with, accompanying, or belonging to another thing; accessory ( Read more... )

atavistic [at-uh-vis-tik]

adjective:
reverting to or suggesting the characteristics of a remote ancestor or primitive type.

Examples:

As I see it, the real pleasure of the taxi whistle is its outmodedness; the core of its charm is atavistic. In a world where virtually everything we do is mediated by technology, taxi-whistling is old-fashioned ( Read more... )

Tuesday, Jun. 11, 2024

Autodidact (noun)
au·to·di·dact [aw-toh-dahy-dakt, -dahy-dakt]

noun
1. a person who has learned a subject without the benefit of a teacher or formal education; a self-taught person.

Other Words From
au·to·di·dac·tic [aw-toh-dahy-, dak, -tik], adjective

Origin: First recorded in 1525-35; from Greek autodídaktos “self- ( Read more... )

Tuesday, Apr. 23, 2024

Adamant (adjective, noun)
ad·a·mant [ad-uh-muhnt, -mant]

adjective
1. utterly unyielding in attitude or opinion in spite of all appeals, urgings, etc.
2. too hard to cut, break, or pierce.

Synonyms
1. inflexible, rigid, uncompromising.

Antonyms
1. flexible, easygoing, yielding.

noun3. any impenetrably or unyieldingly ( Read more... )