“The aspens had just begun to turn, and the air was redolent with all the smells I associate with fall: incense, dirt, the start of decay. ― from “You Have Arrived at Your Destination (Forward collection)” Amor Towles
Redolent….another great word for the fabulous Word of the Week. It is simple, easy to pronounce, in fairly common usage, and, if used properly, will make you appear intelligent, even if you are not.
In the above example it means “exuding fragrance, aromatic, scented.” “The air is redolent of seaweed.”
It is pronounced exactly as one might expect.
“My grandmother’s house always seemed to be redolent with the aroma of baking bread.” Yum!
“Some burst with juniper flavor, while others are redolent with the aroma of rose petals”.— Bon Appétit
But wait….there’s more!
Redolent can also be defined as “evocative, suggestive. strongly reminiscent of.” “names redolent of history and tradition.”
“A city redolent of antiquity”.
“But while their observations are interesting, their presence in the film seem more redolent of star power than insightful historical commentary.”— The Hollywood Reporter.
There you have it. One word with two definitions. This is a word you can use in normal situations. Using it properly just might make you appear intelligent (even if you are not) but not pretentious.
To learn more about this great word and to hear the proper pronunciation go to:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redolent.
Previous “Word of the Week” revisited – roil
roil – to be agitated or chaotic – “the politics of slavery was roiling the United States”.
Quote of the Week:
I have been following the HBO series “Succession”. It is about a large, publicly traded media conglomerate that is run by the founder, played wonderfully by Brian Cox, who has four children, three males and a female. One of the sons has a quixotic (Word of the Week #18) goal to become president of the U.S. The other three adult children are vying to become the successor. It gets ugly.
In my career I have sold hundreds of family businesses, and the one quote that I think best describes what should happen was written in 1854 by Henry David Thoreau in his famous “Walden”.
“I have seen young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, houses, barns, cattle, and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired than got rid of. Better if they had been born in the open pasture and suckled by a wolf, that they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to toil in.”
I believe all of the “adult” children would have been better off if they had been born in an open pasture and suckled by a wolf.
Watch the series…I think it is one of the best.
Brian Cox – Born in 1946 in Dundee, Scotland is an actor who has won or been nominated to over 50 awards.
He has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre . A winner of two Olivier Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, Cox has also been nominated for a British Academy Television Award and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. – Wikipedia
He has an amazing bio…..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_(actor)
Until next Saturday,
Gramps
74 Weeks of 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 not done in a direct 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 hegemonyin 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 and is 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 is 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 point 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.”