A Frame of Reference
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Updated 2011/01/17 A Frame of Reference
| Abraid [v.] To awake; to arouse; to stir or start up; also, to shout out. |
| Abraiding [pp] The present participle of abraid |
| Absolve [v.] To let off the hook |
| Abstraction [n.] The general concept formed by extracting general concepts by abstracting or extracting common properties of instances, examples |
| Agrarian [adj.] Relating to rural matters |
| Agrestic [adj.] Characteristic of the fields or country |
| Algophobia [n.] A fear of pain |
| Amorist [n.] One dedicated to love and lovemaking especially one who writes about love |
| Amorous [adj.] Expressive of or exciting love or romance |
| Annals [n.] A chronological account of events in successive years |
| Aphrodisiacal [adj.] Exciting sexual desire |
| Assail [v.] To attack in speech or writing |
| Assumption [n.] An unproven hypothesis that is taken for granted |
| Auspices [n.] Kindly endorsement and guidance |
| Autocratic [adj.] Offensively self-assured or given to exercising characteristics of an absolute ruler or absolute sovereignty |
| Autonomous [adj.] A person(s); free from external control and constraint in e.g. action and judgment existing as an independent entity |
| Aversion [n.] A feeling of intense dislike |
| Bemock [v.] Treat with contempt |
| Bombastic [adj.] Ostentatiously lofty in style |
| Bon vivant [n. BAWN vee-VAHN] A bon vivant is a person who is devoted to the finer things in life, especially good food and drink |
| Bouffant [adj.] Being puffed out; used of hair style or clothing |
| Bourette [n.] A yarn; usually heavy weight with bits of extraneous materials occurring in it. |
| Bowdlerize [v. BOHD-luh-rise or BAUD-luh-rise] To bowdlerize something is to condense it or edit it by omitting or modifying the parts that are considered vulgar, indecent, or unsuitable |
| Brevity [n.] The attribute of being brief or fleeting |
| Bumpkin [n.] Not very intelligent or interested in culture |
| Capricious [adj.] Determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason |
| Catatonia [n.] A form of schizophrenia characterized by a tendency to remain in a fixed stuporous state for long periods; the catatonia may give way to short periods of extreme excitement |
| Cognitions [n.] The psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning |
| Communion [n.] Sharing thoughts and feelings |
| Conjecturally [adv.] Of the nature of or involving or based on conjecture |
| Conjoin [v.] Make contact or come together |
| Contrariwise [adv.] Contrary to expectations or with the order reversed |
| Convenient [adj.] Suited to your comfort or purpose or needs |
| Convoluted [adj.] Rolled or coiled together |
| Craven [adj. or n. KRAYVEN] Lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful |
| Diatribe [n.] A thunderous verbal attack |
| Didactic [adj.] Instructive |
| Din [n.] A loud harsh or strident noise |
| Diurnal [adj.] Having a daily cycle or occurring every day |
| Divagate [v] Lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking |
| Do [v.] To carry out or perform an action |
| Doggy Style [adv.] A sexual position whereby the female is on all fours and the male enters from behind |
| Dolor [n.] Painful grief |
| Dominatrix [n.] A dominating individual (especially one who plays that role in a sadomasochistic sexual relationship) |
| Dudgeon [n. DUH-jun] Dudgeon is a feeling of resentment or anger Near synonyms include offense and indignation |
| Edifice [n.] A structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place |
| Egocentric [adj.] Limited to or caring only about yourself and your own needs |
| Egocentric [n.] A self-centered person with little regard for others |
| Elicitation [n.] Stimulation that calls up (draws forth) particular behaviors |
| Elusive [adj.] Be difficult to detect or grasp by the mind |
| Enponderment [n.] A deep and reflective exercise of the mind or one’s power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments |
| Enshrouded [v.] To cover as if with a shroud |
| Ephemeral [adj.] Enduring a very short time |
| Errant [adj.] Straying from the right course or from accepted standards in an irregular or unpredictable manner |
| Ethereal [adj.] Characterized by heaven or the spirit and/or lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air |
| Extrapolate [v.] Draw from specific cases for more general cases |
| Fastidious [adj.] Giving and careful attention to detail; hard to please; excessively concerned with cleanliness |
| Febrile [adj.] Of or relating to or characterized by fever |
| Ferocity [n.] The property of being wild or turbulent |
| Flourish [n.] A showy gesture of display of ornamental speech or language |
| Flue [n.] A conduit to carry off smoke |
| Fluid [adj.] Characteristic of a fluid; capable of flowing and easily changing shape |
| Flurry [n.] Something that is or resembles a light brief snowfall in a gust of wind |
| Fodder [n.] Readily available, typically raw, material used to supply a heavy demand |
| Fosse [n.] A ditch dug as a fortification and usually filled with water |
| Frivolities [n.] Something of little value or significance |
| Frolicsomeness [n.] Lively high-spirited playfulness |
| Gist [n.] The choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience |
| Goad [v.] Prod or urge as if with a log stick |
| Grandiose [adj.] Impressive because of unnecessary largeness or grandeur; used to show disapproval |
| Hifalutin [adj.] of a display that is tawdry or vulgar |
| Highfalutin [adj.] affectedly genteel |
| Hobnailed [adj.] Marked by the wearing of heavy boots studded with hobnails |
| Homily [n.] A sermon on a moral or religious topic |
| Hominian [adj.] Characterizing the family Hominidae, which includes Homosapiens as well as extinct species of manlike creatures |
| Hominids [n. or adj.] A primate or characterizing the family Hominidae, which includes Homosapiens as well as extinct species of manlike creatures |
| Hurl [n.] The ejected the contents of the stomach through the mouth |
| Hurl [v.] To utter with force; to |
| Idiosyncrasies [n.] A behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual |
| Idyllic [adj.] Suggesting of an idyll; charmingly simple and serene |
| Idyllically [adv.] In an idyllic manner |
| Illustrious [adj.] Widely known and esteemed |
| Immanent [adj.] Of a mental act performed entirely within the mind |
| Immolation [n.] Killing or offering as a sacrifice |
| Incisive [adj.] Very penetrating and clear and sharp in operation |
| Innate [adj.] Not established by conditioning or learning, present at birth but not necessarily hereditary; acquired during fetal development |
| Interdependency [n.] A reciprocal relation between interdependent entities |
| Intuitive [adj.] Obtained through instinctive knowing rather than from reasoning or observation |
| Inure [v.] Cause to accept or become hardened to; habituate |
| Invective [adj.] Abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will |
| Logophile [n. law-guh-fahyl, log-uh-] A word lover |
| Lover [n.] An ardent follower, admirer, or person who loves or is loved |
| Lust [v.] Have a craving, appetite, or great desire for |
| Malefic [adj.] Having or exerting a malignant influence |
| Masochism [n.] Pleasure, typically sexual in nature, obtained from receiving punishment (physical or psychological) |
| Masochistic [adj.] Deriving pleasure or sexual gratification from being abused or dominated |
| Maudlin [adj.] Effusively or insincerely emotional |
| Mawkish [adj.] extravagantly demonstrative or insincerely emotional |
| Modulation [n.] A musical passage moving from one key to another |
| Muse [n.] I in ancient Greek mythology any of 9 daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne; protector of an art or science |
| Muse [v.] To reflect deeply on a subject |
| Myriad [n.] The cardinal number that is the product of ten and one thousand |
| Nether [adj.] Located below or beneath something else |
| Onanism [n.] Manual stimulation of the genital organs for temporal sexual pleasure |
| Osculation [n.] A contact of two curves (or surfaces) at which they have a common tangent; the act of caressing with the lips |
| Oxymoron [n.] Conjoining contradictory terms (as in `deafening silence’) |
| Passion [n.] 1) Something that is desired intensely 2) The suffering of Jesus at the crucifixion |
| Pasturage [n.] Succulent herbaceous vegetation of pasture land |
| Pen [v.] To produce a literary work |
| Penchant [adj.) A strong, almost innate, liking or fondness |
| Peripatetic [adj. or n. pehr-uh-puh-TET-ick] Peripatetic may sound like something you don’t want to catch, but it actually refers to someone who moves around a lot |
| Pervade [v.] Spread or diffuse through |
| Philanderies [n.] This is a noun form of the verb meaning to talk or behave amorously or flirtatiously |
| Philistine [n. or adj. FIl-ih-steen] A Philistine is a person who is disdainful of intellectual or artistic pursuits or it can also be someone who is ignorant or uncultured |
| Pithy [n. PIH-thee] Describes speech or writing that is short, direct, and memorable. Examples of pithy slogans are “Save the whales” and “Don’t worry, be happy” |
| Presumption [n.] An inference of the truth of a fact from other facts proved or admitted |
| Prig [n.] A person regarded as arrogant and annoying |
| Prolific [adj.] Intellectually productive |
| Prostatic [adj.] Relating to the prostate gland |
| Purport [v.] Propose or intend |
| Reciprocal [adj.] Concerning each of two or more persons or things; especially given or done in return Of or relating to the multiplicative inverse of a quantity or function Of or relating to or suggestive of complementation |
| Redeem [v.] To pay off as in loans or promissory notes or to buy back; under threat |
| Refrain [n.] The part of a song where a soloist is joined by a group of singers or [v.] Not do something |
| Repose [v. Or n.] Lean in a comfortable resting position, the absence of mental stress or anxiety |
| Resplendent [adj.] Having great beauty and splendor; richly and brilliantly colorful |
| Reveler [n.] A celebrant who shares in a noisy party |
| Sadism [n.] Pleasure, typically sexual in nature, obtained by inflicting harm (physical or psychological) on others |
| Sadomasochism [n.] Sadism and masochism combined in one person |
| Sadomasochistic [adj.] Of or relating to sadomasochism |
| Scads [n.] A large number or amount |
| Schadenfreude [n. SHAW-den-froy-duh] Taking malicious satisfaction in another person’s troubles is schadenfreude |
| Self-Immolate [v.] A deliberate and willing sacrifice of oneself often by fire |
| Sense Datum [n.] Also called sensum Psychology the basic unit of an experience resulting from the stimulation of a sense organ; a stimulus or an object of perception or sensation |
| Sensorial [adj.] Involving or derived from the senses |
| Spurious [adj.] Plausible but false; intended to deceive |
| Staunch [adj.] Firm and dependable especially in loyalty |
| Stepford [adj.] Servility or blind conformity |
| Stilted [adj.] Artificially formal |
| Stuporous [adj.] Stunned or confused and slow to react (as from blows or drunkenness or exhaustion |
| Stylist [n.] An artist who is a master of a particular style or medium |
| Subjugation [n.] Forced submission to control by others through cruelty in an act of conquering |
| Succumb [n.] consent reluctantly |
| Suffuse [v.] To cause to spread or flush or flood through, over, or across |
| Terpsichorean [adj. turp-si-kah-RE-an or turp-si-KOR-e-an] The namesake of the adjective terpsichorean is the Greek muse Terpsichore. Terpsichore was one of the nine muses of Greek mythology Often shown dancing and holding a lyre, she presided over the arts and sciences |
| Terra Firma [n.] The solid part of the earth’s surface |
| Timorous [adj.] Timid by nature or revealing timidity |
| Unbeknownst [adv.] Without someone’s knowledge |
| Uncouth [adj.] Lacking refinement or cultivation or taste |
| Unelaborated [adj.] Giving only major points; lacking completeness |
| Unfettered [adj.] Not bound by shackles or chains |
| Vector See Why: The Terpsichorean Vector |
| Verbiage [n.] The manner in which something is expressed in words |
| Verve [n.] Life or an energetic style |
| Vitiate [v.] Take away the legal force of or render ineffective through the moral corruption or by intemperance or sensuality |
| Warble [v.] To sing by changing register; sing by yodeling |
| Wee [adj.] (Used informally) very small |
| Wrangling [n.] To herd and care for |
| Yahoo [n.] One of a race of brutes resembling men |
| Yokel [n.] One who is not marked by intelligence or culture |
| Yon [adv.] At or in an indicated place (usually distant but within sight) (yon is archaic and dialectal) |
Blog: The Terpsichorean Vector
