“Contrary to the fevered imaginings of MAGA partisans… editors, reporters and anchors don’t sit around concocting progressive talking points… It’s more organic than that.”

I recently read that sentence (I forget which publication) and became curious as to the meaning of the word “organic” in that particular context.

I think we all understand the definition of organic as relating to or derived from living matter. However, in this context it means something quite different.  I know because I looked it up.

Used in this manner it is an adjective, and means naturally occurring, something that develops on its own through shared behavior and culture rather than by design.

“The idea spread in an organic way, from the ground up through many conversations, not by design.”

Organically is the adverb.

“The movement grew organically”

“Sometimes the most powerful forces in society aren’t designed at all; they emerge organically through millions of small choices.”

Examples….

·  A crowd starts clapping in rhythm without anyone telling them.

·  Journalists gravitate toward similar story angles due to shared training, culture, and incentives

The opposite of organic is “designed”, meaning intentionally planned, coordinated or constructed.

Used in this context, organic makes a great addition to your growing vocabulary.   Proper use will make you appear intelligent but not pretentious.

This cartoon can be interpreted in a couple of ways.  Organic as a parody of its over-usage in food, etc, or that the music developed naturally through common origins.

The American Revolution….

We have been watching Ken Burns’ new documentary, “The American Revolution”. 

I bring this up because the Revolution began organically, as more and more colonists became frustrated and angry with the tightening grip of British taxes, trade restrictions, and political disregard.

Later, over time, that organic energy matured into something “designed”….a deliberate coordination by the Continental Congress and a strategic plan.

This documentary is much more that just a war story. It provides the backdrop of the many years leading to the conflict, explores the underlying causes and confronts the hypocrisy of declaring that “all men are created equal” while so many of the founders held slaves.  In 1776 our population  was approximately 2.5 million of which 500,000 were slaves.

Slavery might be seen as our nation’s birth defect — a profound contradiction between our ideals and our beginnings.

The documentary “The American Revolution” is remarkable.  Watch it.

A turning point in the war….the Battle of Trenton, led by George Washington himself, crossing the icy Delaware River on Christman night.  I’m not sure that the depiction of Santa Claus is accurate….but who knows?

Quote of the Week…..

“We have it in our power to begin the world all over again.”

And they did.

Thomas Payne, from the motivational pamphlet “Common Sense” published in 1776.

Word of the Week Revisited….#166 –  enervate

enervate – can be either an adjective or a verb and defined as to cause someone to feel drained of energy or vitality; weaken. “The election process has enervated us all.”

Caption Contest…….the national winner

“It comes when summoned”

I liked ours better.

Our New Contest looking for a caption.  Send me your best

Final Thoughts…..

Final, Final Thought….Happy Thanksgiving

Until next week…

Don “Gramps” Cummins
You may send comments (compliments only) or you may join the thousands of happy readers already on our mailing list….write to our publisher at cmmns@administrator

203 Great Words…
1 –   exacerbate – to make worse “Your input just exacerbates an already difficult situation.”
2-   assuage – to make a situation or feeling less intense. “I pray our Heavenly Father may assuage you of the anguish of your grief.”
3 –   force majeure’ –  unforeseeable circumstance that prevents someone from fulfilling a contract. “The tenant will not be required to pay rent due to the force majeure’ clause.
4 –   sanguine – optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation. “I’m trying to be sanguine about this, but I see a major roadblock”
5 –   segue – (seg way) proceed to what follows without pause.  “She has the skill to easily segue from political conversations into subjects less controversial.”
6 –   bifurcate – to cause to divide into two branches or parts. “We have decided to bifurcate this large project.”
7 –   indolent – habitually lazy – “His failure in life may stem from his indolent ways as a youth”.
8 –   ameliorate – to make better or more tolerable –  “this drug should ameliorate your pain”
9 –  truncate – to shorten by or as if by cutting off – “A truncated version of this report is on the web.”
10 – nascent – coming or having recently come into existence  “His nascent idea for a business turned into a goldmine”
11 – béchamel – a rich white sauce – “He made a lump-free béchamel for her, and, in return, she gave him her love.”
12 – anarchy –  absence of government – “The revolution began when anarchy took root in just one city”.
13 – rhetorical question – a question not intended to require an answer. “Is this a beautiful day or what?”
14 – milieu – the physical or social setting in which something occurs or develops.- “His discipline is a result of growing up as part of the military milieu”
15 – nadir – the lowest point – “The stock market reached its current nadir in March”
16 – black swan event – comes as a surprise and has a major effect. “This pandemic is considered by many to be a black swan event.”
17 – myopic – narrow in perspective and without concern for broader implications.  “Your myopic view of this project is disturbing”.
18 – quixotic – foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals – “His quixotic pursuit for her affection was quite simply foolish
19 – prescience – human anticipation of the course of events – foresight.  “His intuitive prescience helped to make him a success”
20 – laconic and laconic riposte – use of a minimum of words, and a short clever response to an insult or challenge. In response to a demand to immediately surrender the general sent back the following: “Nuts”
21 – protean – ability to change, versatile.  “The coronavirus is protean in its ability to either make you sick or not.”
22 – ephemeral – lasting a very short time or perhaps only one day. “Custer was chasing an ephemeral Indian city.”
23 – catch-22 – a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.  From the novel “Catch-22”.
24 – arrogate – to take or claim something without justification. “In order to accomplish his dream he arrogated to himself controversial powers”.
25 – obtuse – difficult to understand, lacking intellect.  “The responses to his remarks this week were even more obtuse.” 
26 – purloin – to appropriate wrongfully (steal), often pertaining to a theft that is a breach of trust.  “When she opened her new office she purloined one of my listings”.
27 – salience – the quality of being particularly noticeable or important.  “It is not clear that raising the electoral salience of the Supreme Court will work to the president’s advantage.
28 – confabulate – to talk normally or to hold a discussion.  “He likes to confabulate.”
29 – animus – a usually prejudiced and often spiteful or malevolent ill will. “I have no animus or agenda for the Affordable Care Act.”
30 – puerile – to act or communicate in a juvenile, silly or childish manner. “His puerile ways are giving a poor impression at his job interviews”.
31 – regnant – having the greatest influence – “The regnant belief”.
32 – roil – to be agitated or chaotic – “the politics of slavery was roiling the United States”.
33 – sonder – The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.
34 – inculcate – To instill or teach someone an attitude, idea, or habit by persistent instruction. “They will try to inculcate you with a respect for culture.”
35 – mendacity – untruthfulness, lying. “He blew the whistle on the mendacity of the politician.”
36 – pejorative – Expressing contempt or disapproval.  Having negative connotations.   “Permissiveness is often used a pejorative term”.
37 – dystopian – A world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized fearful lives, often associated with a totalitarian government or an environmentally degraded world. “The dystopian future of a society bereft of reason”.
38 – Occam’s razor – The simplest answer may be the preferred answer.
39 – execrate or execrable – very bad – “The execrable hotel food.”
40 – immutable – unchangeable – “Do not make the mistake of assuming that public opinion is immutable. ” 
41 – prurient – having or encouraging an excessive or unwholesome interest in matters of sex. “She’d been the subject of much prurient curiosity”.
42 – obsequious – exhibiting fawning attentiveness. Exaggerated deference of manner.  “Waiters who are obsequious in the presence of celebrities.”
43 – iconoclast –  a person who attacks settled beliefs or institutions “He was a prolific writer with a reputation for iconoclastic insight and irreverent prose.”
44 – oblique – something not parallel nor at a right angle to a specified or implied line – slanting. “We sat on the settee oblique to the fireplace.” Or something done in an indirect way such as “He issued an oblique attack on the president”.
45 – profligate – wasteful – wildly extravagant.  “He has always been a profligate spender, which is why he is broke.”
46 – raconteur – a good teller of stories.  “We always invite her to dinner because she is a fine raconteur”.
47 – taciturn – a person who is reserved or uncommunicative in speech…saying little.  It usually connotes unsociability. “Nothing bothered the taciturn Hogan more that excessive praise.”
48 – fungible – capable of mutual substitution: interchangeable.  “The court’s postulate is that male and female jurors must be regarded as fungible.”
49 – filibuster – The use of tactics in an attempt to delay or prevent action especially in a legislative assembly. This currently requires a 60 vote Senate majority. “They stopped the bill from coming to a vote by the use of a filibuster”.
50 – hegemony – preponderant influence or authority over others: Domination. “They battled for hegemony in Asia.”
51 – de facto – being such in effect though not formally recognized or contrary to established law “a de facto state of war” for a war that has not been officially declared.
52 – blockchain – an open, distributed leger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.
53 – bête noire – A person or thing one particularly dislikes or is strongly detested. “The abuse of women was a bête noire for Lincoln.”
54 – evince -to constitute outward evidence of….to display clearly: reveal. “He evinced a depraved mind.”
55 – virago – a loud overbearing woman.  Domineering, violent, or bad tempered. “Democrats, on the other hand, saw Jessie as a Republican virago.”
56 – metonym –  a name, or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated. “Washington is a metonym for the federal government of the US.”
57 – felicitous is an adjective defined as  well chosen or suited to the circumstances such as “a felicitous phrase”.
58 – ennui – a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement. “He succumbed to ennui and despair”
59 – imprimatur – a noun meaning sanction or approval. “He gave the book his imprimatur.”
60 – fiat – A command or act of will that creates something without further effort.  An authoritative determination. “He runs the company by fiat.”
61 – salient – meaning most notable or important.  Of notable significance. “It succinctly covered all the salient points of the case.”
62 – meme – an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.  “The band encouraged fans to make memes to advertise the U.S. release of their EP.”
63 –  delectation – delight or enjoyment. “Here are some chocolates for your delectation.”
64 – feckless – acting in an irresponsible, weak, or cowardly manner. Inept, incompetent. “feckless leadership.”
65 – ignominious – deserving or causing public disgrace or shame. despicable, “His was an ignominious withdrawal.”
66 – mollify – to soothe in temper or disposition. “He mollified his staff with promises of future raises.”
67 – prosaic – dull, unimaginative, commonplace. “prosaic advice.”
68 – diaspora – a noun meaning the dispersion of any people from their original homeland. “A diaspora of thousands of Afghans has arrived in the United States.”
69 – tête-à-tête – a private conversation between two people. “They had a tête-à-tête last night over a quiet dinner.“
70 – fatuous – silly and pointless. inanely foolish, “A fatuous comment.”
71 – ineffable – indescribable. “ineffable joy”
72 – putative -generally considered or reputed to be.  Assumed to exist or to have existed. “His putative conversation had a big impact on the events of my life.”
73 – ineluctable – unable to be resisted or avoided.  inescapable.  “the ineluctable facts of history.” 
74 – redolent – exuding fragrance, aromatic, scented. “The air is redolent of seaweed.” – or evocative, suggestive. strongly reminiscent of.  “names redolent of history and tradition.”
75 – excoriate – a verb that means to censure or severely criticize.  “The papers that had been excoriating him were now lauding him.”
76 – straw-man – an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent’s real argument. A weak or imaginary opposition (such as an argument or adversary) set up only to be easily confuted.
77 – élan or elan – a noun defined as vigorous spirit or enthusiasm. style, energy. “Big and muscular, he exuded a natural elan.”
78 – repartee – a conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies, amusing. light sparring with words.“ He had a quick mind and a splendid gift for repartee.”
79 – louche is an adjective meaning disreputable or sordid often in a rakish or appealing way. “The louche world of the theater.”
80 – transgender – an adjective meaning of, relating to, or being a person whose gender identity differs from the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth. “A transgender American”.
81 – shambolic – an adjective meaning obviously chaotic, disorganized, confused or mismanaged.  “The department’s shambolic accounting department.”
82 – minion – a noun defined as a follower or underling of a powerful person, especially a servile or unimportant one. A subordinate or petty official.  “He’s one of the boss’ minions.”
83 – militia – a noun meaning a military force that is raised from the civilian population to supplement a regular army in an emergency. “Creating a militia was no answer to the army’s manpower problem.”
84 – evince – a verb meaning revealing the presence of (a quality or feeling)”  To constitute outward evidence of or to display clearly. “His letters evince the excitement he felt at undertaking this journey.”
85 – egregious – outstandingly bad, shocking, flagrantly bad, conspicuously bad. Putin’s egregious war on Ukraine.
86 – sycophant – a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage. A servile self-seeking flatterer. “She mistook sycophants for true friends.”
87 – desultory is an adjective defined as lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm. “Another desultory day of shopping.”
88 – misanthrope – a person that hates or distrusts humankind, human behavior, or human nature.  One who avoids human society. “A streak of misanthropy is in his nature”
89 – euphemism – a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. “My mother passed away”
90 – insouciance –  lighthearted unconcern, nonchalance. “She wanderedinto the meeting with complete insouciance to the fact that she was late.”
92 – erudite –  It is an adjective used to describe someone who has or shows great knowledge or learning. “Ken could turn any conversation into an erudite discussion,”
93 – ostensibly – purported to be true but not necessarily true.  “His series is ostensibly about a single family tearing itself apart.“
94 – exigency (or often the plural exigencies) means a state of affairs that makes urgent demands or needs. “They better be quick in responding to the exigencies of a hurricane.”
95 – inexorable or inexorably meaning impossible to stop, unrelenting “The seemingly inexorable march of new technology“.
96 – torpor is a noun meaning “a state of physical and mental inactivity. Lethargy, apathy, dullness.” “They veered between apathetic torpor and hysterical fanaticism.”
97 – existential – of, or relating to, or affirming existence. “An existential threat to control of Congress.
98 – non-sequitur is a response that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said. “We were talking about the new restaurant when she threw in some non sequitur about her dog.”
99 – endemic is an adjective meaning a disease or condition regularly found among particular people or in a certain area. “Complacency is endemic in industry today”.
100 – bespoke is an adjective meaning custom-made articles. “He always wore a bespoke suit”.
101 – omnibus – an omnibus bill is a law that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics, or a book containing a collection of works by one author or several authors, often related by a common theme.
102- archetype is a typical example of. “He is the archetype of a successful business man”
103 – alacrity denotes physical quickness coupled with eagerness or enthusiasm. “She accepted the invitation with alacrity”.
104 – aberration is a noun defined as “a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, typically one that is unwelcome.” “They described the outbreak of violence as an aberration”.
105 – rectitude – a noun that means moral integrity, the quality or state of being correct in judgment or procedure. “The governor’s rectitude allowed him to makedifficult decisions.”
106 – occidental – an adjective meaning countries of the west. “There is an Asian challenge to the occidental dominance”
107 – banal – an adjective meaning dull, boring. “The presentation was banal and way too long.“
108 – conjointly – an adverb meaning being together or in collaboration with another person or thing. “The project was completed conjointly between two teams.”
109 – nexus – a noun that refers to a connection or link between two or more things. It can also refer to a central point or junction where things come together. The bookstore has become something of a nexus for the downtown neighborhood.”
110 – incurious – an adjective meaning without curiosity. “The politician’s incurious nature was troubling.”
111 – invidious – an adjective defined as an action or situation likely to arouse or incur resentment of anger in others.  “She put herself in an invidious position.”
112 – meme – noun, pronounced meem. It is an image or phrase, that is spread virally from one person to another through the internet and social media platforms. YOLO is an example.
113 – trope – a noun defined as a commonly used theme or device in literature, art, or other forms of media.
114 – anodyne – an adjective that refers to something that is not likely to provoke disagreement or offense. “They tried to ease the tension by engaging in anodyne conversation, avoiding controversial topics.“
115 – sagacious – an adjective used to describe someone who possesses keen discernment and sound judgment. “Her sagacious insights into human nature allowed her to give excellent advice to her friends.”
116- invective – used to describe strong, abusive, or severely critical language that expresses blame, anger, or disapproval. “As the election nears, political ad campaigns are increasingly utilizing invective to vilify their opponents.
117 – malfeasance – a noun, is a legal term that refers to the commission of an illegal or wrongful act, especially by someone holding public office or a position of trust. “The politician’s malfeasance finally came to light.”
118 – doyenne is a noun that refers to a woman who is the most experienced, respected, or prominent person in her field. “As the doyenne of modern architecture, her legacy continues to influence urban design “
119 – Pyrrhic is an adjective most commonly used in the phrase “Pyrrhic victory”, which refers to a victory or success that comes at such a great cost that it essentially equals defeat. “He won the battle but that eventually proved to be a Pyrrhic victory, as he lost the war.”
120 – vignette is a noun defined as a brief incident or scene in a play, movie or conversation. ““The article on environmental conservation dons a vignette of stunning wildlife photography.”
121 – supine is an adjective meaning either lying on one’s back “The patient was in a supine position”, or a condition of being inactive, passive, or indifferent. “The worker’s supine attitude was not helpful”.
122 – nominal – an adjective meaning either a small price to play or a role that exists in name only. The person does not have a legitimate title. “He is the nominal head of his party.”
123 – adjudicate – a verb that means to make a formal decision or judgment in a dispute. “The Supreme Court is set to adjudicate on the election dispute.”
124 – sartorial – an adjective that relates to tailoring, clothes or style of dress.  “sartorial elegance“.
125 – halcyon – an adjective typically referring to a period of peace, tranquility, and prosperity. “The halcyon days of youth.”
126 – inchoate – an adjective that suggests a state of incompleteness, uncertainty, or potentiality. “The startup presented an inchoate business model that needed further refinement.”
127 – nefarious – an adjective used to describe someone or something that is extremely wicked, villainous, or evil in nature. “Hamas was condemned for its nefarious terror attacks on civilians”
128 – euphonious – an adjective describing sounds that are pleasing, melodious, or pleasant to the ear. “She has a wonderful euphonious voice that is a pleasure to listen to.”
129 – glean or gleaned is a verb meaning to gather information, knowledge, or insights from various sources. “The police used old-fashioned detective work to glean his whereabouts.”
130 – fiduciary can be an adjective or noun meaning relating to, or involving a confidence or trust such as “a fiduciary relationship”.
131 – recompense can be a noun or verb – to make amends to someone for loss or harm suffered.  To compensate. “Offenders should recompense their victims.”
132 – inimical is an adjective meaning tending to obstruct or harm. “actions inimical or our interests.”
133 – abdicate is a verb used to describe someone avoiding responsibility by deliberately stepping aside or shirking their duties. “He abdicated his responsibility allowing him to blame others.”
134 – turpitude is a noun that refers to inherent baseness, vileness or depravity in a person’s character, actions or behavior. “He was found guilty of moral turpitude.”
135 – tropism is a noun defined as the turning of all or part of an organism in a particular direction in response to an external stimulus.  “He doesn’t have a tropism toward intellectual content….”
136 – lexicon is a noun, defined as the vocabulary of a language, an individual speaker or group of speakers, or a subject. The fabulous Word of the Week is developing a lexicon of useful words selected to make you appear intelligent (even if you are not), but not pretentious.”  
137 – sanctimonious is an adjective defined as making a show of being morally superior to other people. “What happened to all the sanctimonious talk about putting his family first?”
138 – Umbra is an adjective defined as the conical part of the shadow of a celestial body. “During a solar eclipse observers located within the umbra experience a complete blocking of the sun by the moon.”
139 – purchase – a verb with an alternate definition, an advantage (such as a firm hold or position) used in applying one’s power. “He clutched the steering wheel for more purchase.”
140 – effete is an adjective often us to describe someone who appears weak or lacking in vitality. “a good-humored, effete boy brought up by aunts.”
141- cudgel is a noun defined as a short club but is also often used to imply a forceful approach to argument or persuasion. “She used her quick wit as a cudgel to vanquish her opponents.”
142 – attenuate is a verb. To attenuate something is to diminish its intensity or strength. “The company implemented measures to attenuate the negative impact of the economic downturn.”
143 – averred is a verb and is the past tense of the verb “aver”.  It means to assert or affirm confidently; to declare or state positively. “He averred that he was innocent.“
144 – pedantic is an adjective (pedant the noun) that refers to a person who is overly concerned with minor details and rules and tends to show off their knowledge in a boastful or condescending manner.” The essays are long, dense, and too pedantic to hold great appeal.”
145 – diktat is a noun and is defined as an order or command that is given with the expectation of strict obedience. “His campaign immediately trashed the rule as a diktat that will force Americans….”
146 – conflate is a verb that means to combine or blend different elements into one entity. “The politician’s speech consistently conflated facts and opinions.”
147 – errant is an adjective that is used to describe someone or something that is wandering or straying from the correct or accepted path. “The teacher blamed the problem on errant students.”
148 – entropy is a noun defined as a process of degradation or a gradual decline into disorder.  “It isa marketplace where entropy reigns supreme.”
149 – internecine is an adjective that refers to conflict or warfare within a group or organization. “The party shrank from its responsibility in fear of internecine strife.”
150 – temporal is an adjective that refers to something relating to time as temporary or existing only for a certain period of time as opposed to eternity. “The temporal limitations of our physical bodies remind us of our mortality.”
151 – munificent is an adjective that refers to the quality or action of being extremely generous, often involving a considerable donation or gift. “The community center was built thanks to the munificence of a local benefactor.”
152 – circumscribe is a verb defined as to constrict the range of activity definitely and clearly.  “His role was carefully circumscribed.”
153- bereft is an adjective that means deprived or lacking something, especially a non-material asset or quality. “Her room was stark and bereft of color”.
154 – dialectic – a noun that means a method of examining and discussing opposing ideas in order to find the truth, or an intellectual exchange of ideas. “To make the dialectic between two families a fair fight, he has some theatrical heavy lifting to do.”
155 – polemic – a noun that is a strong written or spoken argument that is intended to criticize or refute a specific idea. “Her book is a fierce polemic against the inequalities in our society.”
156 – expiation – a noun defined as the act of making amends or reparation for guilt or wrongdoing – atonement. “His self-imposed suffering was an act of public expiation”
157 – venal – an adjective that describes someone that is corrupt, willing to do dishonest or unethical things in exchange for some form of reward. “He was a venal politician.”
158 – devoid – an adjective that means completely lacking or empty of a particular quality or substance. “Lisa kept her voice devoid of emotion”
159 – meritocracy – a noun defined as a system in which people are chosen and moved into positions based on their demonstrated abilities or quantifiable achievements. “The country was founded theoretically on principles of meritocracy”
160 – au contraire – borrowed from the French it is an adverb defined simply as “on the contrary”. “They claimed the film was boring; au contraire, it received rave reviews.“
161 – entreaty is a noun defined as a plea or earnest or humble request. “Please, I make this earnest entreaty ; stop the killing.”
162 – deign – a verb that means to do something that one considers to be beneath one’s dignity or status. “He deigned to come out from behind the counter”.
163 – discursive – a verb defined as moving from topic to topic without order : Rambling, unfocused. “He gave a discursive lecture.”
164 – ambient – either an adjective or a noun and defined as existing or present on all sides, encompassing. The bright ambient light of the room”.
165 – penury – a noun defined as extreme poverty; destitution. “He died in a state of virtual penury.”
166 – enervate – can be either an adjective or a verb and defined as to cause someone to feel drained of energy or vitality; weaken. “The election process has enervated us all.”
167 – parse – a verb defined as to examine in a minute way: to analyze critically; to carefully go through.  “Economists parsed the census data”.
168 – pogrom – a noun defined as an organized massacre of helpless people that is localized and spontaneous. “ Her mother had escaped from Russia as a toddler fleeing the pogroms”.
169- expiate – a verb meaning  to make amends for….to atone…. to extinguish guilt. “permission to expiate their offences by their assiduous labours.”—Francis Bacon
170 – perdition – a noun defined as eternal damnation.  It can also be used to describe utter destruction. “The path he is following is a path to perdition.”
171 – oligarchy – a noun defined as government by a few.  “A military oligarchy was established in the country.”
172 – brain rot – a noun meaning that consuming too much online content can harm a person’s mental state.  “Non-stop binge-watching left me with a bad case of  brain rot.”
173 – presage – either a noun or a verb defined as something that foreshadows or portends a future event. “The sight of the first robin is always a welcome presage of spring.”
174 – vestigial – an adjective defined as a very small remnant of something that was once much larger or more noticeable. “He felt a vestigial flicker of anger from last night.”
175 – abide – a verb that generally means to accept, tolerate, or endure something. It can also refer to remaining or staying in a particular condition. “That I cannot abide.” “We abide in peace”.
176 – extirpate – a verb meaning to completely remove or eradicate something. “The use of every legal measure to extirpate this horrible evil from the land”.
177- dilatory – an adjective that describes a tendency to delay or procrastinate. “He can’t be blamed for the agency’s dilatory response to problems at the plant.“
178- parse – a verb meaning to examine something in detail. “The Herald is parsing through the nearly two hours of footage and will report the contents.”
179- situationship – a romantic or sexual relationship whose members have not formally defined it or officially committed to it. “Sarah and the man she was in a situationship with had stayed at each other’s apartments.”
180 – gaslighting – a verb meaning psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time. “Her friends finally recognized the gaslighting she had been experiencing in her relationship.”
181 – inscrutable – an adjective defined as not readily interpreted or undeerstood: mysterious. “She has an inscrutable smile“
182 – dissonance – a noun that refers to a lack of harmony or agreement between elements. ““The vivid colors of the abstract painting created a beautiful dissonance.”
183 – riven – is an adjective and means to be split or torn apart, often violently or forcefully. “The nation is riven by discord.”
184 – hubris – a noun defined as exaggerated pride or self-confidence. “The ancient Greeks considered hubris to be a dangerous character flaw”.
185 – ineradicable is an adjective that describes something that cannot be eradicated, removed, or eliminated. “Her ineradicable belief in justice drove her to fight against corruption tirelessly.”
186 – clarion –an adjective that conveys a sense of urgency or importance. “The clarion call of the siren echoed through the night, signaling an urgent warning.”
187 – agentic is an adjective that describes someone or something capable of acting autonomously such as agentic AI. “The development of agentic AI poses significant risks.”
188- devolution is a noun that refers to a decline or deterioration in quality, effectiveness or function. “It was a gradual devolution that led from a thriving community to a drug-ridded slum.
189 – cajones is a Spanish slang term that, in a figurative sense, means “to have balls”. “It took a lot of cajones to give that order.”
190 – congenital is an adjective that refers to conditions or traits that are present at birth. “He suffered from congenital heart disease.”
191 – edify is a verb that means to instruct or improve someone morally or intellectually. “Artificial intelligence can edify society….”
192 – non sequitur is a noun defined as a statement that does not logically follow from the previous statement. “Calling debt ‘free money’ is a non sequitur.”
193 – anicdotal is an adjective defined as: “based on personal accounts, observation or stories rather than systematic research, facts or reliable evidence.”The doctor dismissed the treatment as anecdotal since no clinical studies supported it.”
194 – exact – a verb and means to demand and enforce payment, obedience or retribution. “The betrayed general exacted revenge on his rival by overthrowing him.”
195 – fascism – an authoritarian political ideology and system of government characterized by dictatorial power, suppression of opposition, suppression of democracy. “Nazism was a form of fascism.”
196 – antithetical – an adjective defined as directly opposed or contrasted; mutually incompatible, unequivocal opposition. “Freedom of speech is antithetical to censorship.”
197 – caprice – a noun defined as a sudden and unaccountable change of mood or behavior, whimsical. “the caprices of the electorate.”
198 – factotum – a noun defined as a person who does all kinds of work. “He was employed as the general factotum”
199- epigram –a noun defined as a concise poem dealing pointedly and often satirically with a single thought. “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealth and wise.”
200 – paradox –a noun defined as a statement that appears to contradict itself or common sense yet might still be true. “Less is more”.
201 – the Singularity – a noun defined as a time when our future will be determined by AI.“The Singularity is the moment when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence.”
202 –  Sentient is an adjective defined as capable of sensing or feeling. “We are sentient beings.”
203 – organic – an adjective defined as something that develops on its own through shared behavior and culture rather than by design. “The idea spread in an organic way, from the ground up through conversation.”