Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Wondrous Words Wednesday - Feb 24, 2016


It’s Wednesday and that means it’s time to learn some new words! Wondrous Words Wednesday, hosted by Kathy at Bermuda Onion, is a meme which encourages us to share words we have learned while reading. The words I share will sometimes be completely new to me, and other times they will be words I am familiar with, and maybe even use correctly, but when I think about how to explain the meaning, I’m lost — I have to look it up. It’s all about expanding my vocabulary!

This week my first words are from The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.

stultifying - cause to lose enthusiasm and initiative
“Although their poverty was traditional and stultifying, it was not unique.”

dissipation - squandering of money, resources, or energy
“Except for the father, Cholly, whose ugliness (the result of despair, dissipation, and violence directed toward petty things and weak people) was behavior,...”


These next words are from The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton.

kinematic - the branch of science concerned with the motion of objects without reference to the forces that cause motion.
“As a physicist, she knew the kinematic equations for an objuct plummeting from a height,...”  

balaclava - a close-fitting garment covering the whole head and neck, except for parts of the face typically made from wool.
“She took a breath and this time the air warmed between the balaclava and her skin before she breathed it in and the air reached her lungs.”

juddered - shook and vibrated rapidly and with force.  
“There was a sharp scrape, metal on metal, and the rig juddered, but somehow the truck passed them.”


What new-to-you words have you discovered this week?

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4 comments:

  1. I had the definition of dissipation totally wrong - thanks for clearing that up for me. Judder is new and it sounds just like its meaning.

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  2. Wow, you found lots of new words this week! I only knew dissipation. Kinematic sounds like some interesting.

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  3. All new for me today,good words.

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  4. Good words! At some point, I knew all of those except juddered -- that one's completely new. Although, it means what it sounds like to me. I'm glad to be reminded of stultify and kinematic.

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