ter·gi·ver·sate
-[tur-ji-ver-seyt]-
to
change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to
a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate;
to turn renegade.
http://dictionary.reference.com/
Is the dictionary your friend? When reading, do you come across words that make you wonder?
Submit your mystery
words to the library. Please include your word and the book where it ambushed
you. Selected words will appear here.
Test your vocabulary skills and donate rice to feed the hungry through the United Nations at http://www.freerice.com/index.php
April 22, 2008
The great city of Axekami loured in its own miasma.
The exhalations of the Weavers’ construction had a strange weight to them, a persistency unlike that of smoke. The main bulk of it rose above the city in a roiling cap, slanted by the breeze across the plains so that it leaned eastward; but it also sank to mist the earth, and to spread outward along the ground. At its edges it was a diffuse haze, but still it appeared to permeate the air from horizon to horizon, a suspicion of something amiss that was too subtle for the eye to define. There were always clouds around Axekami now, which was unusual for winter when the skies were traditionally clear. Occasionally they unleashed a brown rain which smelt powerfully of rotten eggs.
From The Braided Path by Chris Wooding
lour –[lou-er]-verb (used without object), To look angry, sullen, or threatening. To appear dark or threatening, as the sky. Noun - A threatening, sullen, or angry look. A dark and ominous look
miasma - [mahy-az-muh] –noun, noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere, a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere.
exhalation -
[eks-huh-ley-shuh
n]- noun, the act of
exhaling, something that is exhaled; vapor; emanation
persistency
- [per-sis-tuhns-
zi-]- noun,
the quality of being
persistent, continued existence or occurrence
roil - [roil] – verb (used without object)- to move or proceed turbulently verb (used with object) to disturb or disquiet; irritate; vex
diffuse - [v. di-fyooz; adj. di-fyoos] - verb, to spread or scatter widely or thinly adjective widely spread or scattered; dispersed
permeate - [pur-mee-eyt] –verb, to pass into or through every part of
amiss - [uh-mis] –adjective, improper; wrong; faulty
March 24, 2008
A whisper seemed to run around the chamber, a susurrus of hissing. From The Weavers of Saramyr by Chris Wooding.
su·sur·rus
-
[soo-sur-uhs] –
noun
-
a soft
murmuring or rustling sound; whisper.
Februay 12, 2008
From “Startled by his furry shorts” by Louise Rennison
“Well, so be it. If she chooses Tom above me; that is her lookout.
I will be eschewing her with a firm hand.
A LOT.
Like I am eschewing Robbie."
es·chew -[es-choo] verb (used with object) - to abstain or keep away from; shun; avoid: to eschew evil.
January 8, 2008
From "The Mysterious Adventures of Pauline Bovary" by Edeet Ravel
The narrator, Pauline, has read a book on becoming an author that suggests using lots of descriptive words. Pauline has a thesaurus and uses it freely.
"I brought two shopping bags full of junk to the rummage sale, and I sat with Genevieve behind a small wobbly table. We had a good time watching people pick up objects and stare at them with indecision, vacillation and tergiversation."
vac·il·la·tion - [vas-uh-ley-shuhn] -a state of indecision or irresolution; unsteady movement; fluctuation.
December 11, 2007
From “Tiger, Tiger” by Lynn Reid Banks
diaphanous -
[dahy-af-uh-nuhs] -
very sheer and
light; almost completely transparent or translucent.
Caesar's
daughter wore a diaphanous gown.
blasphemy - [blas-fuh-mee] - impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things
submitted by Alex Zinck
December 4, 2007
“Glaciers of tipping
spume and avalanches of tumbling froth. Towering gray-green peaks and yawning
fuliginous valleys.
Look that one up, my friend, but not right now. Now there’s an
angry mountain range marching toward me heart-stoppingly quickly. Ka-thump,
ka-thump.”
Jack Danielson, the narrator of Firestorm by David Klass often
uses large obscure words. It’s difficult to take time to look them up during the
non-stop action.
fu·lig·i·nous
- [fyoo-lij-uh-nuhs]
–
1. sooty; smoky: the fuliginous air hanging over an industrial city.
2. of the color of soot, as dark gray, dull brown, black, etc.
November 28, 2007
One author I read had a fondness for the word ‘chiaroscuro’. Oddly, it was not a story that involved art. Another phrase that piqued my interest was “The lady Sarah crossed the tessellated floor.”
A quick visit to http://dictionary.reference.com/ gives us the solutions.
chi·a·ro·scu·ro
-
[kee-ahr-uh-skyoor-oh]
-
the
distribution of light and shade in a picture.
tes·sel·late - [tes-uh-leyt] - to form of small squares or blocks, as floors or pavements; form or arrange in a checkered or mosaic pattern.