Word of the week

incandescent:  / ɪnkanˈdɛs(ə)nt /  (adjective) 

1. Glowing with a brilliant white light; emitting an intense light, especially as a result of being heated to a white-hot state.

2. Intensely bright, luminous.

3. Seared by strong emotion, passionate.

4. Extremely angry, incensed.

[From Latin incandescere, ‘grow hot, glow’, from candescere, ‘become white’]

Write.

Words are powerful.

Use them wisely, and well.

Tell the stories that matter.

Speak the truth that lies in your heart.

Find the words that you need to hear.

Receive them, and share them.

Be fearless.

Be kind.

Write.

Word of the week

unconditional:  /ˌʌn.kənˈdɪʃ.ən.əl / 

(adjective)  Complete or guaranteed, with no conditions, qualifications, or limitations attached, as with unconditional love, and unconditional positive regard.

Synonyms: absolute, complete, full, total, wholehearted, unequivocal, unlimited, unqualified, unreserved

[un- prefix, meaning ‘not’ or ‘opposite to’ + condition, French, from Latin: condicere  'agree upon, talk with', from dicere 'say']

Word of the week

acknowledgement:  / əkˈnɑː.lɪdʒ.mənt / 

  

(noun)  1. The action of showing that you know, admit or accept that something exists or is true; the acceptance of the truth, validity or existence of something; 2. a demonstration or statement of having noticed something or someone.  

(noun)  The action of expressing appreciation, praise or thanks for something or someone; an expression or display of gratitude or praise for someone’s contribution or effort.

(noun)  The section of book or article in which the author expresses their thanks to people who helped them; an author or creator’s statement of thanks, usually at the beginning or end of the work.  

Word of the week

reality: / riˈæl.ə.ti /

(noun) 1. The actual and absolute state of things; 2. a fact that is objective, observable, or verifiable; 3. actual existence or fact or state of being real, rather than idealised, imaginary or notional; 4. philos. the totality of all things that exist or are real in the world, independent of people’s perception or knowledge of them.

(Synonyms: actuality, fact, truth, verisimilitude, verity).

Words of the week

psychosis: / sʌɪˈkəʊsɪs /

(noun) 1. A major psychiatric disorder in which thoughts and emotions are so deeply impaired there is a loss of contact with external reality; 2. a clinically abnormal state of mind, characterised by distorted perceptions of reality, such as delusions, hallucinations, incoherence, or catatonia; 3. a severe form of mental affliction or disease, such a schizophrenia or mania. (adjective: psychotic)

psychoanalysis:  / ˌsʌɪkəʊəˈnalɪsɪs /

(noun)  1. A system of theories concerning the relation of conscious and unconscious psychological processes, based on theories originally developed by Sigmund Freud; 2. a method of treating mental and emotional disorders by analysing subjective material presented by the patient, in order to bring unconscious mental processes into conscious awareness. (adjective: psychoanalytical)

psyche:  /ˈsʌɪki /

(noun)  1. The human mind, as the centre of thought, behaviour and beliefs;  2.  the totality of the mind and its processes, both conscious and unconscious;  3.  the forces within a person that influence their behaviour and thoughts, and shape their personality.

Psyche:  /ˈsʌɪki /

(noun, proper)  1. myth The Greek goddess of the soul, who was the mortal lover and later, purified by her misfortune and rewarded for her passionate commitment, became the immortal wife of Eros, god of love; 2. allegory the personification of the human soul, or life force, as female, in relationship with Eros, the personification of love and desire as male.

[mid 17C, via Latin, from Greek: ψυχή (psūkhē) 'breath, soul, mind']

Words of the week

corrigendum: / ˌkɒrɪˈdʒɛndəm /

(noun) 1. An error, a thing that needs to be corrected. (cf.: errata, erratum).  

errata:  / ɛˈrɑːtə /

(noun, plural)  1. A list of corrections to errors noticed after broadcast or publication, appended to or published in a subsequent issue or edition. (singular: erratum).

addendum:  / əˈdɛndəm / 

(noun)  1.  An item of additional material, added at the end of a book or other publication, such as a postscript, afterword, or supplement.

um:  /əm /

(interjection)  1. An expression of hesitation, thought, or a pause in speech   2. the sound made when a person is thinking about what to say (eg, instead of impulsively blurting out something that needs to be corrected).  

Just in case you're wondering...

I'm totally going somewhere with the worm thing. Be patient, my darling denouementees. Be patient. 

Words of the Week

worm:  / wɜːm /

(noun)  1. Any of a number of invertebrates with a long cylindrical or flat soft body, typically annelids, nematodes or flatworms 2. plural worms intestinal or other internal parasites, or any disease or disorder that arises from their presence in the body 3. a contemptible, weak or devious person, especially who has an obsequious manner 4. computing a self-replicating program that propagates across a network.

(noun)  can of worms  colloquial  A difficult or complicated situation, which becomes more complex upon examination or when attempting to resolve it.

worm:  / wɜːm /

(verb)  To move slowly or with difficulty, by creeping, crawling, or slithering.  

(verb)  To obtain something, e.g. information, from someone using deceptive or underhand means.  

(verb)  To ingratiate or insinuate one’s way into the good graces of someone else.

wyrm:  / wɜːm / 

(noun)  poetic  A large snake, a serpent.

(noun)  archaic  A mythological serpent, or dragon.

[Middle English, Old English: wyrm ‘serpent’; cognate with Dutch worm, German Wurm, Icelandic ormr, akin to Latin vermis]

Potent

Words - - - 

Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them. 

~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

Unspeakable

We write to expose the unexposed. If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through, you must. Otherwise you’ll just be rearranging furniture in rooms you’ve already been in. Most human beings are dedicated to keeping that one door shut. But the writer’s job is to see what’s behind it, to see the bleak unspeakable stuff, and to turn the unspeakable into words. 

~ Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life 

Word of the week

martinet:  / ˌmɑːtɪˈnɛt  / 

Words of the week

reject:  / 'rɪ: dʒɛkt, rɪˈdʒɛkt /

(noun)  1. A person or thing that is refused as not meeting a required standard or is otherwise unsuitable or unacceptable   2. a product that is damaged or not perfect, an item sold cheaply because of minor flaws.  

(verb)  1. Refuse to accept, agree to, make use of or believe in someone or something   2. dismiss as inadequate, unacceptable or faulty   3.  rebuff, or behave in an unkind or unfriendly way towards someone   4. discard or throw something aside.

[From Latin reject- ‘thrown back’, from the verb reicere, from re- ‘back’ + jacere ‘throw’].

deject:  / dɪˈdʒɛkt / 

(verb)  archaic  To depress the spirits of; dispirit, dishearten.  

(adjective)  dejected   Disheartened, low-spirited, feeling or showing sadness and lack of hope, especially because of disappointment.

[Late 16C. archaic deject, from Latin dejectus ‘thrown down’, from deicere, ‘throw down’, from de- ‘down’ + jacere ‘throw’].

object:  / 'əb:dʒɛkt, əbˈdʒɛkt  /

(noun)  1. A thing that is visible or tangible or can be perceived with the senses   2.  a person or thing that is the focus of someone's attention or emotion (an object of curiosity)   3. an aim, goal or purpose, an end towards which effort is directed.

(verb)  To oppose or be averse to something, or to argue against or express opposition to something.

[From medieval Latin objectum ‘thing presented (to the mind/sight)’, from Latin obicere ‘throw in the way of, present’, from ob- ‘in the way’ + jacere ‘throw’].

Word of the week

fox:  /fɒks/ 

(noun)  A small carnivorous animal of the dog family, with a pointed muzzle, large ears and a long bushy tail, usually with reddish brown or silver-grey fur [Family: Canidae, Genus: Vulpes].

(noun)  A crafty, cunning or sly person.

(noun)  slang  A physically attractive or alluring man or woman.

(verb)  informal  1. To deceive or outwit somebody by means of slyness or trickery  2. to confuse or baffle someone  3. to keep an eye on someone without seeming to do so  4. to be too difficult for someone to understand or solve.

Word of the week

regard:  /rɪˈɡɑːd/ 

(verb)  To look at carefully; gaze at steadily; observe. 

(verb)  To consider (something) to be (a particular way).

(verb)  archaic  To take notice of; pay attention to; heed. 

regard:  /rɪˈɡɑːd/

 

(noun)  A long fixed look; a gaze.

(noun)  An attitude of admiration or respect; a feeling of friendship and esteem.

(noun)  Attention to, or thought and concern for something.  

[Middle English: from Old French regarder 'to watch', from re- 'back' (also expressing intensive force) + garder 'to guard']

NB rhymes with canard, charade, façade. 

Words of the week

Observer’s paradox: (in social sciences) Refers to a situation in which the phenomenon being observed is unwittingly influenced by the presence of the observer/investigator. 

Verisimilitude: /vɛrɪsɪˈmɪlɪtʲuːd/ (noun) The ‘lifelikeness’ or believability of a work of fiction. The word comes from Latin: verum meaning truth and similis meaning similar.

Subtext: /ˈsʌbtɛkst/ (noun) The content of a creative work which is not announced explicitly by characters or creator, but is implicit, or becomes understood as the work unfolds. The unspoken thoughts and motives of characters - what they really think and believe.

Perspicacious: /ˌpəːspɪˈkeɪʃəs/ (adj) Having a ready insight into and understanding of things.  (NB rhymes with curvaceous, sagacious, tenacious, and vivacious).  

Beautiful moment

That beautiful moment, when the word you need flows effortlessly onto the page.

The perfect irony, when that word is Sisyphean. 

Sisyphus by Jason Tamez @ Flickr