Can You Use July’s Words of the Day in a Sentence?

Wednesday, August 22 min read

Are you a Word Genius? If you learned last month's words of the day, you'll know that an uroboros is a depiction of a snake swallowing its own tail, often symbolizing unity. You'll also remember that "pother" means "bother," and "deedy" describes being as busy as a bee. These were the top 10 words in July — see how many of them you remember.

Realia

noun

Latin, 19th century

  1. Objects and material from everyday life, especially when used as teaching aids.
  2. Real things or actual facts, especially as distinct from theories about or reactions to them.

In science class, Daria learned best from lessons involving realia, such as demonstrations of dramatic chemical reactions.

Jocoserious

adjective

English, 17th century

  1. Simultaneously jocular and serious; mixing mirth with serious matters.

It can be hard to strike a jocoserious tone in a TV show, but the recent hits "Succession" and "Barry" are enormously popular examples of it done well.

Bunburying

verb

British English, 19th century

  1. (Humorous) Avoiding one's duties and responsibilities by claiming to have appointments to see a fictitious person.

My boss had a habit of Bunburying out of his obligation to meet the CEO each time she visited our office.

Ossified

verb

Latin, early 18th century

  1. Having turned into bone or bony tissue.
  2. Having become rigid or fixed in attitude or position.

Bone is formed from cartilage that has ossified.

Risible

adjective

Latin, mid-16th century

  1. Such as to provoke laughter.
  2. (Of a person) Having the faculty or power of laughing; inclined to laugh.

I was in a grumpy mood, but the risible new cartoon show turned it around.

Adroit

adjective

French, 17th century

  1. Clever or skillful in using the hands or mind.

When the wedding caterer canceled at the last minute, the adroit mother of the bride quickly organized a replacement.

Eirenicon

noun

Greek, 17th century

  1. A proposal to resolve disputes and reconcile differences in order to advance peace, strengthen or establish unity, or foster solidarity.

My mother eased the standoff between my sisters by making an eirenicon for everyone to wait an hour before coming back to the dinner table to resolve their differences with cooler heads.

Effulgent

adjective

Latin, mid-18th century

  1. Shining brightly; radiant.
  2. (Of a person or their expression) Emanating joy or goodness.

The spotlight shot its effulgent beam right to the middle of the stage.

Panacea

noun

Greek, 16th century

  1. A solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases.

Even with the advancements of modern medicine, some people hope to find a panacea to cure all illnesses.

Absquatulate

verb

American English, mid-19th century

  1. Leave abruptly.

When the back porch light turned on, the sneaky raccoons absquatulated.

Featured image credit: SeventyFour/ iStock

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