execrate – verb -noun – pronounced“ECK sah crate”. Also execrated or execrating
To declare to be evil or detestable. To denounce. To utterly detest.
“She came to execrate the hypocritical values of her upper-class upbringing.”
This week, as a super bonus, you are getting a bonus word as execrate makes an interesting adjective: execrable “ECK sah CURB uhl”. Defined as very bad. “The execrable hotel food”.
Pronunciation is especially important for this adjective. To hear it pronounced correctly, copy and paste the following: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/execrable
I recently ran across this word in the book “Emerald Mile – The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon.”
“Litton has by now assembled a corps of about twenty guides, a dozen of whom were regulars, and each of them loved everything about their job except for the execrable pay and …..”
Here is a word that you can easily work into your communication to make you appear smarter than you actually are.
Quote of the week:
As we promised in last week’s edition, our Word of the Week publisher wanted me to write a little something more on the concept of freedom. There are opposing, competing forces at work such as totalitarianism or anarchy.
Herman Melville gave this subject a great deal of thought as he traveled the globe on whaling voyages. He wrote about the concept of freedom in what is considered by many to be the great American novel ….”Moby Dick”
In that novel we run into a seaman, Bulkington, who has just returned from a three-year voyage and is now in-line to depart on another. “Land is fire to his feet.”
“Know ye now Bulkington? Glimpses do ye seem to see of the mortally intolerable truth.
Now stop for a moment and think. After years at sea what did Melville regard as the mortally intolerable truth. Here is what he thought:
“That all deep earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea, while the wildest winds of haven and earth conspire to cast her on the treacherous, slavish shore.”
So, for my grandsons, for the rest of your life you will be seeking your freedom while fighting forces that wish to throw you onto the treacherous, slavish shore. Be cautious.
More on the concept of freedom in next weeks edition.
Below is another photo to perhaps put a smile on your face.
Until next Saturday,
Gramps
Thirty-nine 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 he 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.” “She came to execrate their hypocritical values.”
