Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024

Hauteur (noun)
hau·teur [hoh-tur; French oh-tœr]

noun
1. haughty manner or spirit; arrogance.

Related Words
condescension, self-importance

See synonyms for Hauteur on Thesaurus.com

Origin: 1620-30; < French, equivalent to haut high ( haughty ) + -eur -or

Example SentencesSwinton has an especially good command of vampire ( Read more... )

Hyperpyrexia - noun.

Your Wednesday wordsmith has been trying hard to stay cool, which prompted a search for heat-related words, such as hyperpyrexia. It's a serious medical condition where one's body temperature rises above 106.7 F or 41.5 C. Basically, it's a high-grade fever not caused by sunstroke or heat exhaustion, but by changes in the ( Read more... )

Hellbender - noun.

Despite it's name, hellbenders are completely harmless salamanders who are both predator and prey! The salamanders, sometimes called snot otters are a vulnerable species found in Eastern US streams and rivers.

The name is thought to be derived from its striking appearance, as if it emerged from hell.


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highfalutin, highfalutin' [hahy-fuh-loot-n]

adjective:
(informal) seeming or trying to seem superior, important, etc; pompous; pretentious

Examples:

When you study English Literature you're given this highfalutin poetry that you really have to get into - that once you understand, you can really appreciate. But actually getting to that point ( Read more... )

Hunky-peroodlum - adjective.

This intriguing Valentine's Day word was preceded by hunky-dory (1860s) and succeeded by hunky-dunky in the 1950s. Popular around the beginning of the 20th century, describing someone as hunky-peroodlum was to notice their attractive and possibly sexually inviting nature.


via GIPHY

humdinger [huhm-ding-er]

noun:
a person, thing, action, or statement of remarkable excellence or effect; a striking or extraordinary person or thing

Examples:

Do you prefer biographies? Neil Baldwin's Martha Graham: When Dance Became Modern is a real humdinger. (Kristofer Collins, Pittsburgh Lit: What We're Reading in December, The ( Read more... )

hangry [hang-gree]

adjective:
feeling irritable or irrationally angry as a result of being hungry

Examples:

If you've ever felt hangry, consider this: Brown bears in Alaska woke up this spring after not eating for about 6 months. And no, 'hangry' might not be a technical term. But in this case, it's apt. (Bill Chappell, Fat Bear Week would ( Read more... )

habiliment [huh-bil-uh-muhnt]

noun:
1a clothes or clothing.
1b clothes as worn in a particular profession, way of life, etc.
2 habiliments, accouterments or trappings.

Examples:

Women in America and England acquired a new viewpoint on this subject. They came to feel that they should not withdraw entirely from active life, except for a ( Read more... )

Halloumi - noun.

We tried halloumi last night at a Nando's and I dunno...I expected more than tough sticks of cheese made from goat and sheep's milk. Halloumi has a high melting point, which makes it ideal for frying or grilling.


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Hardihood - noun

Some days picking a weekly word is easy; other times it's difficult and yesterday I found myself in a bit of analysis paralysis trying to find unique words to share.

I finally settled on hardihood, a word from the 1600s. If you had a hardihood personality, you have plenty of courage and fortitude, or maybe some innate robustness ( Read more... )