airhead

From air + head, in the sense of having one’s head filled with air instead of a brain; compare empty-headed.

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-airhead.wav

Sometimes people tell you directly that you aren't very smart, but most of the time they ignore your attempts to display your intelligence, or they kid you about being a "space case" or an "airhead." After a while you are bound to see yourself as not very intelligent, particularly if the people who have been sending you those messages about yourself are important to you.

1989, Lynne Kelly, Arden K. Watson, “The Process of Communication”, in Speaking with Confidence and Skill (Speech Communication Series), Lanham, Md., London: University Press of America, →ISBN, page 11:

Yeah. Well, Tammi is a bit of an airhead, I guess, but I feel sorry for her.

1996, Mary Ann Scott, chapter 4, in Doris Cowan, editor, Ear-witness: A Jessica March Mystery, Toronto, Ont., Oxford, Oxfordshire: Boardwalk Books, Dundurn Group, →ISBN, page 24:

He would be thrust into the invidious position of subordinate host, welcoming all the dorks and dweebs and airheads that he saw far too much of in school.

2000, Brian McNaughton, chapter 4, in Downward to Darkness, Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Wildside Press, →ISBN, page 37:

So, just why couldn't I be an oblivious airhead with absolutely no patience and piles of fury, just so I could fit in and rush everything in order to cause who knows what?

2015 March 9, John Friesen, Six Bosnian Marks: The Oppressive Price of Pondering & Pontification, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 262:

(originally US, informal, derogatory) A foolish, silly, or unintelligent person.


happy-go-lucky

en-adj

happy-go-lucky (comparative happy-go-luckier, superlative happy-go-luckiest)

happy-go-luckier (comparative)
happy-go-luckiest (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-happy-go-lucky.wav

Hill says the shows began to morph from happy-go-lucky, fun series to production-line star-makers, which subconsciously changed the tone of the series: "Reality talent shows made it easier and quicker for audiences to pay to vote for the winner and loser, and to comment positively and negatively on contestants in social media."

2021 September 15, Laura Martin, “How talent shows became TV's most bizarre programmes”, in BBC:


unyielding

unyielding (comparative more unyielding, superlative most unyielding)

more unyielding (comparative)
most unyielding (superlative)


sleazy

sleazy (comparative sleazier, superlative sleaziest)

sleazier (comparative)
sleaziest (superlative)

Origin obscure. Possibly a corruption of Silesia, through a word meaning “Silesian cloth”. Silesia used to be the most important location of Germany’s weaving industry.

unk

Origin obscure

Al bought my furniture at ten percent of its value and Jim drove me to a sleazy side-avenue hotel, where I obtained a room at a low rate.

2014, Louis V. Rohr, The President's Hero, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 3:

Marked by low quality; inferior; inadequate.

مُهَلْهَل

marked by low quality; inferior; inadequate


boisterous

en-adj

boisterous (comparative more boisterous, superlative most boisterous)

more boisterous (comparative)
most boisterous (superlative)

/ˈbɔɪstəɹəs/

From Middle English boistres, an alteration of Middle English boistous, from Anglo-Norman bustous (“rough”), perhaps from Old French boitous (“noisy”).

ſtaggering like a quiuering Aſpen leafe,
Fearing the force of Boreas boiſtrous blaſts.

c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iv:

A new and elegant dress had been provided by Lady Anne for the second day, but it was of less costly material, and, by the same rule, considerably slighter; so that Fanchette suggested the idea of substituting a slip to make it equally warm, as the weather had set in cold and boisterous.

1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLI, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 219:

Characterized by violence and agitation; wild; stormy.

бурен

characterized by violence and agitation; wild; stormy


prickly

prickly (comparative pricklier, superlative prickliest)

pricklier (comparative)
prickliest (superlative)

He has a prickly personality. He doesn't get along with people because he is easily set off.


inquisitive

inquisitive (comparative more inquisitive, superlative most inquisitive)

more inquisitive (comparative)
most inquisitive (superlative)

Late 14th century, from Old French inquisitif, from Late Latin inquisitivus, from Latin inquisitus, past participle of inquirere. See also inquire.

A wiſe man is not inquiſitive about things impertinent; […]

1725, Homer, “Book XI”, in [Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume III, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC, footnote, page 75:

Huddled together in loathsome files, they squat there over night, or until an inquisitive policeman breaks up the congregation with his club, which in Mulberry Street has always free swing.

1890, Jacob A[ugust] Riis, “A Raid on the Stale-beer Dives”, in How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 77:

No, no, Bertha; we must not give them reason to say that their neighbours are inquisitive.

1892, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “[Beyond the City] The New-comers”, in The Great Shadow and Beyond the City, Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith, […]; London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., →OCLC, page 157:

― Everybody gets their own ration of luck, they say. Now you mention it his face was familiar to me. But leaving that for the moment, how much did you part with, he queried, if I am not too inquisitive?

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 16: Eumaeus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 575:


engaging

engaging (comparative more engaging, superlative most engaging)

more engaging (comparative)
most engaging (superlative)

boring

antonym(s) of “that engages the attention”

/ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒɪŋ/

/ɪŋˈɡeɪd͡ʒɪŋ/

Beauty, of course, and a bright, engaging personality — or at least the ability to fake one — are prerequisites for entering the Miss World competition.

Charming; attractive, especially of a manner or behaviour.


preppy

preppy (comparative preppier or more preppy, superlative preppiest or most preppy)

preppier (comparative)
more preppy (comparative)
preppiest (superlative)
most preppy (superlative)

I'll pick you up after the party. Let's see, there'll be all that deep preppy conversation, preppy dancing, piles of preppy fun. Party starts at nine, I'll pick you up at nine fifteen.

1983, Alan Eisenstock, Larry Mintz, High School U.S.A. (motion picture), spoken by Jay-Jay Manners (Michael J. Fox):

So, Jam, who did your wardrobe, Tad the preppie sailboat captain?

1999, Carl V. Dupré, Detroit Rock City (motion picture), spoken by Trip (James DeBello):

(US, often derogatory) Being or relating to something (such as clothing) that is typical of students at prep schools.


snappy

snappy (comparative snappier, superlative snappiest)

snappier (comparative)
snappiest (superlative)

You're snappy this morning; did you not sleep well?

Here he is, looking snappy in his brand-new suit.

The niftiest, snappiest slacks you ever saw!

1933, Stella Blum, Everyday Fashion of the Thirties as pictured in Sears Catalogs, published 1986, page 56:

a snappy motto


soumis

fr-adj

soumis (feminine soumise, masculine plural soumis, feminine plural soumises)

soumise (feminine)
soumis (masculine plural)
soumises (feminine plural)


soumis

fr-noun

soumis m (plural soumis, feminine soumise)

(BDSM) masochist, bottom, submissive, sub


perceptive

en-adj

perceptive (comparative more perceptive, superlative most perceptive)

more perceptive (comparative)
most perceptive (superlative)

He is so perceptive when it comes to other people's feelings.

Having or showing keenness or sharpness of perception, insight, understanding, or intuition.

възприемчив

having or showing keenness of perception, insight, understanding, or intuition


naïf

fr-adj

naïf (feminine naïve, masculine plural naïfs, feminine plural naïves)

naïve (feminine)
naïfs (masculine plural)
naïves (feminine plural)

→ Dutch: naïef

→ English: naïf

→ Greek: ναΐφ (naḯf)

→ Italian: naïf

→ Malay: naif

→ Portuguese: naïf

→ Spanish: naif

→ Turkish: naif

Inherited from Old French naïf, inherited from Latin nātīvus. Doublet of natif. Semantical shift from "original; natural; simple" to "simple-minded".

Il est vraiment naïf, il a gobé tout ce qu’ils lui ont raconté.

He is really naive; he swallowed everything that they told him.

Habituellement, on déteste ce qui nous est semblable, et nos propres défauts vus du dehors nous exaspèrent. Combien plus encore quand quelqu’un qui a passé l’âge où on les exprime naïvement et qui, par exemple, s’est fait dans les moments les plus brûlants un visage de glace, exècre-t-il les mêmes défauts, si c’est un autre, plus jeune, ou plus naïf, ou plus sot, qui les exprime !

1923, Marcel Proust, translated by Charles Kenneth Scott Moncrieff, La prisonnière:

As a general rule, we detest what resembles ourself, and our own faults when observed in another person infuriate us. How much the more does a man who has passed the age at which we instinctively display them, a man who, for instance, has gone through the most burning moments with an icy countenance, execrate those same faults, if it is another man, younger or simpler or stupider, that is displaying them.


rebellious

en-adj

rebellious (comparative more rebellious, superlative most rebellious)

more rebellious (comparative)
most rebellious (superlative)

From Middle English rebellious; equivalent to rebel + -ious.

"Tedd's feeling a bit rebellious." "I'm not rebelling! I'm self actualizing! By rebelling."

2014 April 17, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Thursday, Apr 17, 2014:


priggish

priggish (comparative more priggish, superlative most priggish)

more priggish (comparative)
most priggish (superlative)

To ride; to dance; she had adored all that. Or going long walks in the country, talking, about books, what to do with one’s life, for young people were amazingly priggish—oh, the things one had said!

1923, Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street:

When the Voice of Britain is heard at nine o'clock, better far and infinitely less ludicrous to hear aitches honestly dropped than the present priggish, inflated, inhibited, school-ma'amish arch braying of blameless bashful mewing maidens!

1946, George Orwell, quoting Letter in Tribune, Politics and the English Language:

Great ancient columns and rich marbles inspired him with respect, apart from their beauty; and this proprietary human esteem for the arts was a good corrective to the priggish aestheticism of my English-speaking artistic friends.

1952 May, George Santayana, “I Like to Be a Stranger”, in The Atlantic:

With the advantage of hindsight, [Jess] Stein may seem priggish. But dictionary editors throughout history would sympathize. Figuring out how to put sex in the dictionary—which terms to include and how to define them—is actually one of the most challenging tasks we face.

2009 October 1, Jesse Sheidlower, “Why it's so hard to put sex in the dictionary.”, in Slate Magazine:


insecure

insecure (comparative more insecure, superlative most insecure)

more insecure (comparative)
most insecure (superlative)

confident

antonym(s) of “not comfortable or confident”

From in- + secure, or from Medieval Latin insēcūrus, itself from in- (“in-, un-, non-”) + sēcūrus (“safe, certain”). Piecewise doublet of unsecure and unsure.

piecewise doublet

He's a nice guy and all, but seems to be rather insecure around other people.

Imagine being so insecure that you make it against the law for folks to dislike you.

The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. […] The bed was the most extravagant piece. Its graceful cane halftester rose high towards the cornice and was so festooned in carved white wood that the effect was positively insecure, as if the great couch were trimmed with icing sugar.

1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

When you're knee-deep in these insecure feelings, it can be hard to see clearly.

2021, Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan, “What is... jealousy?”, in Let's Talk About It, →ISBN, page 191:

Not comfortable or confident in oneself or in certain situations.


Mut

de-noun

Mut m (strong, genitive Mutes or Muts, no plural, diminutive Mütchen n or Mütlein n)

Mutes (genitive)
Muts (genitive)
Mütchen (diminutive neuter)
Mütlein (diminutive neuter)
Mut (nominative singular)
Mutes (genitive singular)
Muts (genitive singular)
Mut (dative singular)
Mute (dative singular)
Mut (accusative singular)

From Middle High German muot, from Old High German muot, from Proto-West Germanic *mōd, from Proto-Germanic *mōdaz. Cognate with Dutch moed, English mood.

(now chiefly in compounds or with adjective) mood; emotional state


nutty

en-adj

nutty (comparative nuttier, superlative nuttiest)

nuttier (comparative)
nuttiest (superlative)

Skinner's friendship with his nutty pals seemed to have come to a sudden end.

1932, Frank Richards, “The Complete Outsider”, in The Magnet:

(UK, Ireland, dated) Extravagantly fashionable.


bossy

bossy (comparative more bossy, superlative most bossy)

more bossy (comparative)
most bossy (superlative)


debonair

debonair (comparative more debonair, superlative most debonair)

more debonair (comparative)
most debonair (superlative)

From Old French debonaire, from the phrase de bon aire (“of good stock, noble”).

Let be that Ladie debonaire, / Thou recreant knight, and soone thy selfe prepaire / To battell […].

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

She was a New York City person. Sacco is nervy and sassy and sort of debonair.

2015 February 12, Jon Ronson, “How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

The hard launch of what appeared to be the hottest new relationship in town – Billanna? Winty? – at the 2023 Met Gala saw Vogue supremo Wintour, who has hosted the Met Gala for 30 years, walk the red carpet arm in arm with the dashing and debonair Love Actually star, a man Clive James named “the nation’s leading male sexpot”.

2023 May 2, Samuel Fishwick, “The ‘secret romance’ that got everybody talking at the Met Gala”, in The Independent:

(especially of men) Charming, confident, and carefully dressed.

liebenswürdig

Charming, confident and carefully dressed


good-time Charlie

en-noun

good-time Charlie (plural good-time Charlies)

Coordinate term: good-time girl

just a good-time Charlie, borrowing two bucks here and five bucks there

a. 1956, Walter Karig, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

I couldn't be a good-time Charlie ... when I was a kid I was taught not to talk or joke or laugh at the table

1956, A. J. Liebling, The Sweet Science: Boxing and Boxiana:

You listen to me, you find yourself a nice, substantial man—a widower maybe—and settle down—instead of nashing all those sleeping pills—for what, for whom? – for some Good Time Charlie?

An affable or happy-go-lucky carefree convivial man.


empathic

en-adj

empathic (comparative more empathic, superlative most empathic)

more empathic (comparative)
most empathic (superlative)

(science fiction) Of, pertaining to, or being an empath: of or having the capability of sensing the emotions of others.


discourteous

discourteous (comparative more discourteous, superlative most discourteous)

more discourteous (comparative)
most discourteous (superlative)

Kirk, who succeeded Drumright, had an unusually short tour of duty in Taipei—only about a year. Despite the shortness of his duty, he left the impression of being an old sea captain who would have felt more at home barking his orders from the bridge than heading an important diplomatic mission. There was nothing civil or gentle about him, and even in talking to President Chiang, he sounded gruff and blunt. I could see that the President really didn't enjoy the envoy's company, but he remained unperturbed and discussed in a calm and friendly manner whatever had prompted the Ambassador to seek the audience. Once I heard him remark half to himself: "How could anyone be so discourteous?"

1983, James C. H. Shen, “Rejoining the Government”, in Robert Myers, editor, The U.S. & Free China: How the U.S. Sold Out Its Ally, Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books Ltd., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 32:

impolite; lacking consideration for others


insensitive

insensitive (comparative more insensitive, superlative most insensitive)

more insensitive (comparative)
most insensitive (superlative)

Expressing or feeling little or no concern, care, compassion, or consideration for the feelings, emotions, sentiments, or concerns of other people; inconsiderate or incompassionate.

It is something like the way dame Nature gathers round a foreign body an envelope of some insensitive tissue which can protect from evil that which it would otherwise harm by contact.

1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC:

1895, Grant Allen, The British Barbarians
Somehow, when Bertram Ingledew let it once be felt he did not wish to be questioned on any particular point, even women managed to restrain their curiosity: and he would have been either a very bold or a very insensitive man who would have ventured to continue questioning him any further.

Oh I really should have known by the time you drove me home, / By the vagueness in your eyes, your casual good-byes, / By the chill in your embrace and the expression on your face, / That told me you might have some advice to give / On how to be insensitive.

Not expressing normal emotional feelings; cold; tactless; undiplomatic.

безчувствен

not having normal emotional feelings, cold, tactless, undiplomatic


splenetic

splenetic (comparative more splenetic, superlative most splenetic)

more splenetic (comparative)
most splenetic (superlative)

The adjective form of spleen, borrowed from Late Latin spleneticus, from Latin splen. Anger was traditionally believed to originate from the fluids of the spleen.

A sect, whose chief devotion lies / In odd perverse antipathies; / […] / More peevish, cross, and splenetick, / Than dog distract, or monkey sick.

1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC:

Horace seems to have purg'd himself from those Splenetick Reflections in those Odes and Epodes, before he undertook the Noble Work of Satires; which were properly so call'd.

1692, John Dryden, “A Discourse Concerning the Original and Progress of Satire,”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis:

[…] here were no Gibers, Cenſurers, Backbiters, Pick-pockets, Highwaymen, Houſebreakers, Attorneys, Bawds, Buffoons, Gameſters, Politicians, Wits, ſplenetick tedious Talkers, Controvertiſts, Raviſhers, Murderers, Robbers, Virtuoſo's; […]

1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author’s Oeconomy and Happy Life among the Houyhnhnms. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part IV (A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms), page 301:

Laura was at a loss to account for her cousin’s sulky behaviour, and ignorant in what she had offended him; however, she was not angry in her turn at Pen’s splenetic mood, for she was the most good-natured and forgiving of women, and besides, an exhibition of jealousy on a man’s part is not always disagreeable to a lady.

1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 27, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

In fact, Gwendolen, not intending it, but intending the contrary, had offended her hostess, who, though not a splenetic or vindictive woman, had her susceptibilities.

1876, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], Daniel Deronda, volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC:

In 1979 he published Contre le cinéma situationniste, néo-nazi (Against Neo-Nazi Situationist Cinema), a pamphlet on Hurlements and Debord's later films so splenetic that Isou was unable to bring himself to mention Debord by name; […]

1989, Greil Marcus, “The Attack on Charlie Chaplin”, in Lipstick Traces, Faber & Faber, published 2009:

Bad-tempered, irritable, peevish, spiteful, habitually angry.


space cadet

From the title of the 1948 science fiction novel Space Cadet, by Robert A. Heinlein.

(originally) A person in training to be a (generally military) astronaut, especially in science fiction.

(slang, derogatory) One who deals with reality in a way consistent with being under the influence of (or "spaced out on") drugs.

(slang, derogatory) One who forgets, daydreams, or otherwise is distracted from reality more often than most.


trepid

trepid (comparative more trepid, superlative most trepid)

more trepid (comparative)
most trepid (superlative)

the trepid mouse


spineless

spineless (comparative more spineless, superlative most spineless)

more spineless (comparative)
most spineless (superlative)

If this results in a society which MacIntyre has criticized as being the province of the manager, the aesthete and the analyst, types almost sinister in their philosophical lightmindedness, superficiality, programmed uninterestingness, and their depressingly spineless willingness to grant the presence of 'despicable types' for the sake of political freedom, then so be it.

2006, Robin Holt, Wittgenstein, Politics and Human Rights, →ISBN:

Killership requires a person to become brave and polite. It is not deal of weakwilled and spineless people. This deal likes neither cheating nor foolishness.

2012, Vagif Sultanly, Iraj Ismaely, Modern Azerbaijanian Prose:

Cowardly, uncourageous; lacking character.


wimpy

wimpy (comparative wimpier, superlative wimpiest)

wimpier (comparative)
wimpiest (superlative)

I used to think it as wimpy or a cop-out to say "mixed class" or "lower middle class." But at this point it seems like the most accurate label.

1990 February 4, Margy Dowzer, Mary Frances Platt, Aviva Shmuckler, “Disability And Accessibility Cost Money!”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 13:

You don't want to waste your time fighting wimpy enemies, do you?

1995, HAL Laboratory, EarthBound, Nintendo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System:

(informal, often derogatory) Having the characteristics of a wimp; feeble, indecisive, cowardly.


matter-of-fact

matter-of-fact (comparative more matter-of-fact, superlative most matter-of-fact)

more matter-of-fact (comparative)
most matter-of-fact (superlative)

The students appreciated the health teacher for her matter-of-fact way of talking about sex.

Straightforward, blunt, frank; treating the situation as normal; not embarrassed, coy, or dramatic.


conformist

Someone who tries to conform to the mainstream.


conformist

conformist (comparative more conformist, superlative most conformist)

more conformist (comparative)
most conformist (superlative)


gutless

No, you lied to me. You lied to me because you're gutless. You're a gutless drunken loser.

1996, Eric Bogosian, SubUrbia (motion picture), spoken by Jeff (Giovanni Ribisi):

(informal) Cowardly; lacking courage or morals.


combative

combative (comparative more combative, superlative most combative)

more combative (comparative)
most combative (superlative)

Their combative conduct leads to many problems.

He finds, not “demigods” but “a combative group of exhausted, drunken, broken, petty, partisan, scheming, squabbling, bloviating, sensory-deprived, underoxygenated, fed-up, talked-out, overheated delegates so distraught they threatened violence, secession.

2013, The Ultimate Daily Show and Philosophy:

Salvation arrived - as it so often has in this nerve-shredding campaign - through Dykes, the combative striker.

2021 October 12, Jamie Lyall, “Faroe Islands 0-1 Scotland”, in BBC Sport:

Given to fighting; disposed to engage in combat; pugnacious.


conciliatory

conciliatory (comparative more conciliatory, superlative most conciliatory)

more conciliatory (comparative)
most conciliatory (superlative)

Lady Anne checked herself, for she heard a carriage stop at the door, and her daughters enter the house; and she had not made up her mind as to the turn she should give to their conciliatory visit.

1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 218:

Shaken by the biggest challenge to their authority in years, Brazil’s leaders made conciliatory gestures on Tuesday to try to defuse the protests engulfing the nation’s cities.

2013 June 18, Simon Romero, “Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-06-21:

Willing to conciliate, or to make concessions.


workaholic

workaholic (comparative more workaholic, superlative most workaholic)

more workaholic (comparative)
most workaholic (superlative)

In the nature or manner of a workaholic.


perfectionist

I have read in some of our perfectionists enough to make a better man than myself either run into madness or despair about the grace you mention […].

1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter CXVI”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; […], →OCLC:

(philosophy, now rare) Someone who thinks that religious or moral perfection can be attained in this life.


likable

likable (comparative more likable, superlative most likable)

more likable (comparative)
most likable (superlative)

She's a naturally likable person, with lots of friends.

(of a person) Having qualities tending to result in being liked; friendly, personable.

приятен

having qualities tending to result in being liked; friendly, personable


lighthearted

lighthearted (comparative more lighthearted, superlative most lighthearted)

more lighthearted (comparative)
most lighthearted (superlative)

From Middle English lyght hertyd, liȝt-hertid, from light (adjective) + herted, hertid (“having a disposition”, adjective) (equivalent to light + hearted), from the noun herte. See more at light, heart, -ed.

The lighthearted young lovers ran over the hills.

On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” and in a lighthearted moment, explained — as she did during the last presidential election cycle — that in her blended family, her stepchildren affectionately call her Momala.

2024 May 1, Charles M. Blow, “Kamala Harris Isn’t Americans’ ‘Momala.’ She’s Our Vice President.”, in The New York Times:

Joyful, glad, taking pleasure in being alive; not depressed or sad.

His lighthearted banjo performance was appreciated because it relieved the tension in tight situations.

Enjoyably lacking of seriousness, not grave.


integrous

integrous (comparative more integrous, superlative most integrous)

more integrous (comparative)
most integrous (superlative)

Integr- (the root of integr(ity)) + -ous (adjectival suffix: “full of, characterised by, possessing”).

No doubt hard, no doubt proud, unpleasant in self-esteem, and singularly blind to much of what was going on, and yet such a high-minded and integrous woman, […]

1899, Arthur Christopher Benson, The Life of Edward White Benson, Sometime Archbishop of Canterbury, Macmillan, page 435:

And Smiths of Policie shall invent,
To cast new Molds of Government;
While vulgar Birds, of weakest wing,
Grow stout against the Eagle King,
Whose just integrous heart shall prove
The Adamant of Subjects love.

1968, Joseph Frank, Hobbled Pegasus: A Descriptive Bibliography of Minor English Poetry, 1641-1660, University of New Mexico Press, page 221:

He concluded by writing that ‘Hillsong is the most integrous church in the country, and its leadership is above reproach’.

2007, Tanya Levin, People in Glass Houses: An Insider’s Story of a Life in and Out of Hillsong, Black Inc., →ISBN, pages 266–267, →ISBN:

(rare) Having or characterized by integrity.


amical

fr-adj

amical (feminine amicale, masculine plural amicaux, feminine plural amicales)

amicale (feminine)
amicaux (masculine plural)
amicales (feminine plural)

À la suite de mes rapports sexuels avec un condisciple et ami de longue date, rapports qui n’ont commencé que pendant notre séjour à l’Université et après sept ans de relations amicales, le penchant pour les satisfactions anormales du libido s’est renforcé en moi.

1895, R. von Krafft-Ebing, Psychopathia Sexualis:

After I had sexual relations with a longstanding friend and fellow student, relations which only began during our time at university and after seven years of friendship [friendly relations], my penchant for satisfying my libido in abnormal ways grew.


rakish

en-adj

rakish (comparative more rakish, superlative most rakish)

more rakish (comparative)
most rakish (superlative)

From rake (“man habituated to immoral conduct”) + -ish.

suffix

I did not catch what was going on at first, and was, therefore, extremely surprised at noticing George hurriedly smooth out his trousers, ruffle up his hair, and stick his cap on in a rakish manner at the back of his head, and then, assuming an expression of mingled affability and sadness, sit down in a graceful attitude, and try to hide his feet.

1889, Jerome K. Jerome, chapter 18, in Three Men in a Boat […] :

A little later a rakish young workman, with a goatee beard and a swagger, lit his clay pipe at the lamp before descending into the street.

1904 March 26, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC:

[…]Anne, who had dropped into her seat, gasping for breath, with a forgotten lily wreath hanging askew over one ear and giving her a particularly rakish and disheveled appearance.

1908 June, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, Boston, Mass.: L[ouis] C[oues] Page & Company, published August 1909 (11th printing), →OCLC:

[…] the rakish Dennis Quaid, a Houston native who is moving to Texas in a couple of years and wants it to become "the new Hollywood."

Jarvis Cocker and Russell Brand have both found fame as rakish British iconoclasts.

2009 August 4, Dan Martin, “Jarvis Cocker writes songs for Russell Brand”, in The Guardian:

Harold Gould as Kid Twist (with a great mustache) wore the best Homburg in recent memory, and Redford always kept his fedora atilt at just the right, rakish angle.

2020 August 28, Thomas Vinciguerra, “Comfort Viewing: 3 Reasons I Love ‘The Sting’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Dashingly, carelessly, or sportingly unconventional or stylish; jaunty; characterized by a devil-may-care unconventionality; having a somewhat disreputable quality or appearance.


indulgent

fr-adj

indulgent (feminine indulgente, masculine plural indulgents, feminine plural indulgentes)

indulgente (feminine)
indulgents (masculine plural)
indulgentes (feminine plural)


forbearing

en-adj

forbearing (comparative more forbearing, superlative most forbearing)

more forbearing (comparative)
most forbearing (superlative)

a forbearing temper

Characterized by patience and indulgence; long-suffering


pia

eo-head

pia (accusative singular pian, plural piaj, accusative plural piajn)

pian (accusative singular)
piaj (plural)
piajn (accusative plural)

From Italian pio, French pieux, English pious, all from Latin pius (“pious, devout”). Compare Spanish pío, Romanian pios.


indecisive

en-adj

indecisive (comparative more indecisive, superlative most indecisive)

more indecisive (comparative)
most indecisive (superlative)

They were all being very indecisive about what to wear to the party.

(of a person) Not decisive; not marked by promptness or decision.


boastful

boastful (comparative more boastful, superlative most boastful)

more boastful (comparative)
most boastful (superlative)

From Middle English bostful, equivalent to boast + -ful.

He wrote a boastful autobiography, recording all his great deeds.

It makes one's blood boil, yet heart tremble, to think that we Englishmen and our American descendants, with their boastful cry of liberty, have been and are so guilty

1839, Robert FitzRoy, Phillip Parker King, Charles Darwin, Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty’s Ships Adventure and Beagle, between the Years 1826 and 1836, […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC:


mouthy

mouthy (comparative mouthier, superlative mouthiest)

mouthier (comparative)
mouthiest (superlative)

(slang, derogatory) Overly talkative, insolent, and loud.


flirtatious

flirtatious (comparative more flirtatious, superlative most flirtatious)

more flirtatious (comparative)
most flirtatious (superlative)

(of a person) Having a tendency to flirt often.


feliz

es-adj

feliz m or f (masculine and feminine plural felices)

Borrowed from Latin fēlīcem. Compare Catalan feliç.

Él es un tipo feliz en general.

una ocasión feliz


siker

head

siker (plural and weak singular sikere, comparative sikerer, superlative sikerest)

sikere (plural)
sikere (singular weak)
sikerer (comparative)
sikerest (superlative)

English: sicker (obsolete, dialectal)

Scots: sicker, siccar

→ Welsh: sicr

Inherited from Old English sicor, from Proto-West Germanic *sikur, from Latin sēcūrus. Doublet of sure.

safe, secure (not harmful or dangerous):

reliable, long-lasting, of good quality:

reliable, dependable, trustworthy, useful


habile

From Latin habilis (“suitable; apt”), from habeō (“to handle”).


maladroit

en-adj

maladroit (comparative more maladroit, superlative most maladroit)

more maladroit (comparative)
most maladroit (superlative)

/ˌmæl.əˈdɹɔɪt/

From French maladroit, from mal- (“bad, badly”) + adroit (“skilful”).

Like the maladroit boy himself, the director does not believe in warming his audience up with narrative foreplay, and it's the same story when we cut to the family home of Julio's girlfriend, whose parents allow him into her bedroom to help her look for her passport, and she gleefully wrenches her tracksuit bottoms down.

2002 April 12, Peter Bradshaw, “Three go mad in Mexico”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Do you know someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and maladroit at small talk? Who has to be dragged to parties and then needs the rest of the day to recuperate?

2003 March, Jonathan Rauch, “Caring for Your Introvert”, in The Atlantic Monthly, archived from the original on 2010-03-15:


maladroit

fr-adj

maladroit (feminine maladroite, masculine plural maladroits, feminine plural maladroites)

maladroite (feminine)
maladroits (masculine plural)
maladroites (feminine plural)

English: maladroit

Une revanche très maladroite et inopportune puisque les élus brillent par leur absence et les ingénieurs, informaticiens, physiciens et autres ne déméritent aucunement.

2004 January 16, “Éditorial : Un cautère sur une jambe de bois”, in Aujourd'hui:


gluttonous

en-adj

gluttonous (comparative more gluttonous, superlative most gluttonous)

more gluttonous (comparative)
most gluttonous (superlative)

From Middle English glotenose, glotenouse, glotonos, glotonous, glotounius, glotynous, from Middle French glotonos; equivalent to glutton + -ous.

Then they could smile and fawn upon his debts, / And take down the interest into their gluttonous maws.

c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:

["]The voracious caterpillar when transformed into a butterfly," … "and the gluttonous maggot when become a fly," content themselves with a drop or two of honey or some other sweet liquid.

1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Higher Laws”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 231:

Do the feasters gluttonous feast? / Do the corpulent sleepers sleep? have they lock'd and bolted doors? / Still be ours the diet hard, and the blanket on the ground, / Pioneers! O pioneers!

1865 October 28, Walt Whitman, “Pioneers! O Pioneers!”, in Walt Whitman’s Drum-Taps, New York, N.Y.: […] [Peter Eckler], →OCLC, stanza 24, page 29:

Look your last on your dearest ones, / Brothers and husbands, fathers, sons: / Swift they go to the ravenous guns, / The gluttonous guns of War.

One day the mail-man found no village there, / Nor were its folk or houses seen again; / People came out from Aylesbury to stare – / Yet they all told the mail-man it was plain / That he was mad for saying he had spied / The great hill's gluttonous eyes, and jaws stretched wide.

1929, H.P. Lovecraft, Fungi from Yuggoth:


caring

caring (comparative more caring, superlative most caring)

more caring (comparative)
most caring (superlative)

From care + -ing. The adjective follows from the verb.

She's a very caring person; she always has a kind word for everyone.

(of a person) Kind, sensitive, or empathetic.


whiny

whiny (comparative whinier, superlative whiniest)

whinier (comparative)
whiniest (superlative)

Emily is very whiny; she keeps complaining about trivial things.

Mrs. Strakosh is played with a whinier accent than Mrs. Brice.

1981 October 5, Haskel Frankel, “ROSALIND HARRIS IN 'FUNNY GIRL'”, in The New York Times:

But everyone else seems to have phoned in the film, including Mr. Grodin at his whiniest and Arthur Hiller, the veteran director of films as funny as The In-Laws and as unspeakable as Love Story.

1990 August 17, Caryn James, “Review/Film; An Adman, His Filofax And a Thief”, in The New York Times:

It takes nerve for a singer to dig out a whiny teenage lament from the early days of rock 'n' roll and transform it into a sexy, slow-burning torch song for adults.

2000 January 24, Stephen Holden, “MUSIC IN REVIEW: CABARET; Turning 1960's Innocence Into 90's Toughness”, in The New York Times:


coquettish

coquettish (comparative more coquettish, superlative most coquettish)

more coquettish (comparative)
most coquettish (superlative)

Of or relating to a young, flirtatious girl.


gentlemanly

en-adv

gentlemanly (comparative more gentlemanly, superlative most gentlemanly)

more gentlemanly (comparative)
most gentlemanly (superlative)

From Middle English gentilmanly; equivalent to gentleman + -ly (adverbial suffix).

He went gentlemanly dressed in East Virginia style, wore a high-top silk hat, as had lawyer Park, and sported a gold headed walking cane.

1938, Charles A. Johnson, A Narrative History of Wise County, Virginia, page 165:

In the manner or with the behavior of a gentleman; with social grace, politely.


equanimous

en-adj

equanimous (comparative more equanimous, superlative most equanimous)

more equanimous (comparative)
most equanimous (superlative)

From Latin aequus (“equal”) with animus (“mind”).

Calm and composed; of stable disposition.


calidus

la-adj

calidus (feminine calida, neuter calidum, comparative calidior, superlative calidissimus); first/second-declension adjective

calida (feminine)
calidum (neuter)
calidior (comparative)
calidissimus (superlative)
calidus (masculine nominative singular)
calida (feminine nominative singular)
calidum (neuter nominative singular)
calidī (masculine nominative singular)
calidae (feminine nominative plural)
calida (neuter nominative plural)
calidī (genitive masculine singular)
calidae (feminine genitive singular)
calidī (genitive neuter singular)
calidōrum (genitive masculine singular)
calidārum (feminine genitive plural)
calidōrum (genitive neuter plural)
calidō (dative masculine singular)
calidae (dative feminine singular)
calidō (dative neuter singular)
calidīs (dative feminine masculine neuter)
calidum (accusative masculine singular)
calidam (accusative feminine singular)
calidum (accusative neuter singular)
calidōs (accusative masculine singular)
calidās (accusative feminine plural)
calida (accusative neuter plural)
calidō (ablative masculine singular)
calidā (ablative feminine singular)
calidō (ablative neuter singular)
calidīs (ablative feminine masculine neuter)
calide (masculine singular vocative)
calida (feminine singular vocative)
calidum (neuter singular vocative)
calidī (masculine singular vocative)
calidae (feminine plural vocative)
calida (neuter plural vocative)

Balkan Romance:

Aromanian: caldu, cald

Istro-Romanian: cåd, cǫd

Megleno-Romanian: cald

Romanian: cald

Dalmatian:

cuolt

Italo-Romance:

Corsican: caldu

Italian: caldo

desc

Sicilian: caudu, càvudu, cauru, càvuru, callu

North Italian:

Friulian: cjalt

Ligurian: câdo

Lombard: cald

Piedmontese: càud

Romansch: chaud

Venetan: calt, caldo

Gallo-Romance:

Catalan: cald

Franco-Provençal: chôd

Old French: chaut (see there for further descendants)

Occitan: caud, cald, chaud (Limousin)

Ibero-Romance:

Asturian: caldu

Old Galician-Portuguese: caldo

Galician: caldo

Portuguese: caldo

→ Indonesian: kaldu

Spanish: caldo

Insular Romance:

Sardinian: caldu, calidu

⇒ Vulgar Latin: (see there for further descendants)

*calidizāre

*caldūra

*incalidīre

Borrowings:

→ Asturian: cálidu

→ Italian: calido

→ Portuguese: cálido

→ Spanish: cálido

[ˈkälʲɪd̪ʊs̠]


fiel

es-adj

fiel m or f (masculine and feminine plural fieles, superlative fidelísimo)

fieles (feminine masculine plural)
fidelísimo (superlative)

Inherited from Old Spanish fiel, from Latin fidēlis.

Irene siempre ha sido fiel a su marido.

Irene has always been faithful to her husband.

Sé fiel a quien eres.

Los perros son fieles.


cabezón

cabezón (feminine cabezona, masculine plural cabezones, feminine plural cabezonas)

cabezona (feminine)
cabezones (masculine plural)
cabezonas (feminine plural)

From cabeza (“head”) + -ón (augmentative suffix). Compare Portuguese cabeção.


distrait

fr-adj

distrait (feminine distraite, masculine plural distraits, feminine plural distraites)

distraite (feminine)
distraits (masculine plural)
distraites (feminine plural)

From Old French destrait, past participle of destraire (modern distraire), from Latin distrahō (“to distract”).


duteous

en-adj

duteous (comparative more duteous, superlative most duteous)

more duteous (comparative)
most duteous (superlative)

a duteous son

It will be evident, that whatever had been the vexation experienced on this occasion by Lady Anne, she had taken care to give her duteous and unoffending daughters much more than she had received, and which only arose from her own conduct.

1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXXVIII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 188:

I know thee well. A ſeruiceable Villaine,
As duteous to the vices of thy Miſtris,
As badneſſe would deſire.

c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […], published 1608, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vi]:

O Lord, the awful Lord of will! though late,
Even yet renew this soul with duteous breath:
That when the peace is garnered in from strife,
The work retrieved, the will regenerate,
This soul may see thy face, O Lord of death!

1881, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Heart of the Night, lines 10–14:

(archaic) Obsequious; submissively obedient.


carefree

carefree (comparative more carefree, superlative most carefree)

more carefree (comparative)
most carefree (superlative)

→ Cantonese: 茄哩啡 (ke1 le1 fe1)

He left his cell phone behind and enjoyed a carefree summer day at the beach.

You know: sometimes, baby, I'm so carefree / With a joy that's hard to hide

1964, Sol Marcus, Gloria Caldwell, Bennie Benjamin (lyrics and music), “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, performed by Nina Simone:

Without cares or worries; free of concern or worries; without difficulty.


fussbudget

/ˈfʌsˌbʌd͡ʒɪt/

Their three-year-old daughter can be quite a fussbudget, but she's cute.

The nation's 50 million smokers remain at liberty to vote en bloc for a fussbudget-free Congress. Are the polls ready to accommodate smokers?

2010, Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway, quoting Russell Seitz, chapter 5, in Merchants of Doubt:

(colloquial, derogatory, Canada, US) One who complains or fusses a great deal, especially about unimportant matters; a fusspot.

мрънкало

One who complains a great deal, especially about unimportant matters


glouton

fr-adj

glouton (feminine gloutonne, masculine plural gloutons, feminine plural gloutonnes)

gloutonne (feminine)
gloutons (masculine plural)
gloutonnes (feminine plural)

Inherited from Old French glouton, from Late Latin gluttōnem.

Cet enfant a toujours été glouton.

Le loup est un animal glouton.

(of a man or animal) gluttonous; devouring or engulfing one's food greedily

Avec de prodigieuse vitesse de réaction, certaines enzymes sont gloutonnes en substrat.

With an extaordianry reaction rate, certain enzymes are gluttonous of their substrate.

(figuratively) gluttonous; having a great greed toward something


glouton

fr-noun

glouton m (plural gloutons, feminine gloutonne)

Le glouton est un animal solitaire.

glutton or wolverine, a mammalian carnivore of the Arctic regions resembling a small bear with a hairy tail

Ce glouton se jette sur son assiette.

This glutton throws himself onto his plate.

glutton; a person or animal who eats his food greedily


melankolisk

head

melankolisk (comparative mer melankolisk, superlative mest melankolisk)

mer melankolisk (comparative)
mest melankolisk (superlative)
melankolisk (indefinite positive)
mer melankolisk (comparative indefinite)
mest melankolisk (indefinite superlative)
melankoliskt (indefinite neuter positive singular)
mer melankoliskt (comparative indefinite neuter singular)
mest melankoliskt (indefinite neuter singular superlative)
melankoliska (indefinite plural positive)
mer melankoliska (comparative indefinite plural)
mest melankoliska (indefinite plural superlative)
melankoliske (archaic indefinite masculine plural positive)
mer melankoliska (archaic comparative indefinite masculine plural)
mest melankoliska (archaic indefinite masculine plural superlative)
melankoliske (definite masculine positive singular)
mer melankoliske (comparative definite masculine singular)
mest melankoliske (definite masculine singular superlative)
melankoliska (definite positive)
mer melankoliska (comparative definite)
mest melankoliska (definite superlative)

melankoli + -isk, from Ancient Greek μελαγχολία (melankholía).


amoroso

es-adj

amoroso (feminine amorosa, masculine plural amorosos, feminine plural amorosas)

amorosa (feminine)
amorosos (masculine plural)
amorosas (feminine plural)

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *amōrōsus, derived from Latin amōrem (“love”). By surface analysis, amor + -oso.


workhorse

From Middle English werkehorse, equivalent to work + horse.

Those old machines are not very glamorous, but even 20 years after their introduction, they are still the workhorses of the industry.

Captain Harry Kane was the workhorse and creator, while Sterling and Rashford provided the finishing flourishes that put England in dreamland at the interval.

2018 October 15, Phil McNulty, “Spain 2-3 England”, in BBC Sport:

"Class 08s have been the workhorses of ports, distribution centres and depots across Britain's railway for more than 60 years," said Positive Traction Director Alistair Gregory.

2023 November 1, “Network News: Strong industry interest as Positive Traction launches '08e'”, in RAIL, number 995, page 18:

(by extension) Someone or something that does a lot of work; something or someone who works consistently or regularly.


soft-spoken

en-adj

soft-spoken (comparative more soft-spoken, superlative most soft-spoken)

more soft-spoken (comparative)
most soft-spoken (superlative)

He was a soft-spoken fellow who loved children and dogs.

My uncle was a lovely man, and soft-spoken with his delightful Manx accent.

[S]he was one of your ſoft ſpoken, canting, whining hypocrites, who with a truly jeſuitical art, could wreſt evil out of the moſt inoffenſive thought, word, look or action; […]

1765, Catherine Jemmat, The Memoirs of Mrs. Catherine Jemmat, Daughter of the Late Admiral Yeo, of Plymouth. Written by Herself, 2nd edition, volume I, London: Printed for the author, at Charing-Cross, →OCLC, page 145:

With no great disparity between them in point of years, they were, in every other respect, as unlike and far removed from each other as two men could well be. The one was soft-spoken, delicately made, precise, and elegant; the other, a burly square-built man, negligently dressed, rough and abrupt in manner, stern, and, in his present mood, forbidding both in look and speech.

1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 12.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume II, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 301:

In fact, this educator, lawyer, editor, composer, author, poet, and diplomat [James Weldon Johnson] would become a sturdy fulcrum for black America's transition in 1916 from the softspoken conformity and accommodation of the Booker T. Washington era to a vigorous militant idealism that targeted no less than full equality.

1991, Gene M. Burnett, “Black Star out of Jacksonville: Native Son Achiever James Weldon Johnson was Lawyer, Educator, Composer, Author, Diplomat, and National Black Leader”, in Florida’s Past: People and Events that Shaped the State, volume 3, Sarasota, Fla.: Pineapple Press, →OCLC, section I (Achievers and Pioneers), pages 62–63:

We were driving to the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre, south of Bitung, to meet with Harry Hilser, program manager for the nonprofit Selamatkan Yaki—which works to save Sulawesi's crested black macaques—and the rescue center's manager, Simon Purser, a soft-spoken Brit who seems to carry the weight of the world on his slim frame.

2017 March, Jennifer S. Holland, “For These Monkeys, It’s a Fight for Survival”, in National Geographic, archived from the original on 2017-05-03:

Having a pleasant, gentle, mild manner of speech; speaking gently or quietly.

having a pleasant, gentle, mild manner of speech; speaking gently or quietly

mit sanfter und leiser Stimme (postpositioned)


cultured

cultured (comparative more cultured, superlative most cultured)

more cultured (comparative)
most cultured (superlative)

Learned in the ways of civilized society; civilized; refined.


psychopathic

psychopathic (comparative more psychopathic, superlative most psychopathic)

more psychopathic (comparative)
most psychopathic (superlative)

/ˈsaɪkəˈpæθɪk/

A psychopathic killer is on the loose.

[T]he psychopathic temperament, whatever be the intellect with which it finds itself paired, often brings with it ardor and excitability of character.

1902, William James, “Lecture I”, in The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature […] , New York, N.Y.; London: Longmans, Green, and Co. […], →OCLC:

Exhibiting the behaviors and personality traits of a psychopath.


ingenuous

ingenuous (comparative more ingenuous, superlative most ingenuous)

more ingenuous (comparative)
most ingenuous (superlative)

Learned borrowing from Latin ingenuus (“of noble character, frank”). Doublet of ingenu.

lbor

[H]is Grace’s Man at his club, in company doubtless with other Men of equal social rank, talks over his master’s character and affairs with the ingenuous truthfulness which befits gentlemen who are met together in confidence.

1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 37, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:


irresponsible

en-adj

irresponsible (comparative more irresponsible, superlative most irresponsible)

more irresponsible (comparative)
most irresponsible (superlative)

They left the crown what, in the eye and estimation of law, it had ever been, perfectly irresponsible.

1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, Oxford, published 2009, page 28:

(now rare) Not responsible; exempt from legal responsibility, not to be held accountable.

urag-uragon

not responsible; not subject to responsibility


drama queen

If he is thwarted in his effort to enjoy them, he may either go to the dogs or the drama queens, become short-tempered, sullen, grouchy and eventually feel that, in a way he is a failure.

I’ve known quite a few drama queens in my time, and I always have the same thought: She reminds me of junior high. Most girls are drama queens at that age.

2009, Mark Atteberry, So Much More Than Sexy, Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing, →ISBN, page 145:

(idiomatic, informal, derogatory) An overly or exaggeratedly dramatic person, especially a woman or a girl.


class clown

He was always the class clown, constantly telling jokes and attracting everyone's attention in school.

(idiomatic) A student who frequently makes jokes or pokes fun; a wiseacre.


hotheaded

hotheaded (comparative more hotheaded, superlative most hotheaded)

more hotheaded (comparative)
most hotheaded (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hotheaded.wav

Such an opportunity can hardly again occur to an ancient and grey-haired man; and to see it lost by the madcap spleen of a hot-headed boy!

1816, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 1, in The Antiquary—Volume II:

"But I am!" flashed the young man, as if he had been misunderstood.
"Listen. You're like all boys—hot-headed an' hasty. Let me talk a little," resumed Anderson.

1919, Zane Grey, chapter 18, in The Desert of Wheat:

Hungry for fame and the approval of rare-animal collector Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton), Darwin deceives the Captain and his crew into believing they can get enough booty to win the pirate competition by entering Polly in a science fair. So the pirates journey to London in cheerful, blinkered defiance of the Queen, a hotheaded schemer whose royal crest reads simply “I hate pirates.”

2012 April 26, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits :”, in The Onion AV Club:

Pertaining to or characteristic of a hothead or hotheadedness; (of a person) easily excited or angered.

буен

pertaining to or characteristic of a hothead; easily excited or angered


calculating

calculating (comparative more calculating, superlative most calculating)

more calculating (comparative)
most calculating (superlative)

Following the sentencing, Knutton said: "What sort of person does something so cold and calculating? I did not expect her to go to jail for it. I am just glad it is now all over."

2011 December 14, Steven Morris, “Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave”, in Guardian:

(especially of a person) Serving one's own interests in an unemotional, analytical manner.

пресметлив

serving one's own interests in an unemotional, analytical manner


spendthrift

spendthrift (comparative more spendthrift, superlative most spendthrift)

more spendthrift (comparative)
most spendthrift (superlative)

From spend + thrift (“(archaic) savings; profits; wealth”).

compound

Wel, go to wild oats, ſpend thrift prodigal, / Ile croſſe thy name quight from my reckning booke: / For theſe accounts, faith it ſhall ſcath thee ſome what, / I will not ſay what, ſomewhat it ſhall be.

1621, attributed to Thomas Heywood or John Cooke, A Pleasant Conceited Comedy, wherein is Shewed, how a Man may Choose a Good Wife from a Bad. As It hath been Sundry Times Acted by the Earle of Worcesters Seruants, London: Printed [by Thomas Purfoot] for Mathew Law, and are to be sold at his shop in Paules church yard, neere vnto S. Augustines gate, at the signe of the Foxe, →OCLC:

He was now esteemed quite worthy to address the daughter of a foolish, spendthrift baronet, who had not had principle or sense enough to maintain himself in the situation in which Providence had placed him, and who could give his daughter at present but a small part of the share of ten thousand pounds which must be hers hereafter.

1817 (date written), [Jane Austen], chapter XII, in Persuasion; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume IV, London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817 (indicated as 1818), →OCLC, page 299:

Powerful feelings and generous designs are, alas! too like the inheritance of a miser in the hands of some spendthrift heir—lavished away on trifles in our early years, and needed, but not posessed, in our riper age.

1831, [George Payne Rainsford James], chapter II, in Philip Augustus; or, The Brothers in Arms. … In Three Volumes, volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street, →OCLC, page 33:

Billie Burke's career and life often twined together in this manner – so many of her roles called on her to play parts that were fragments of her real life: the sought-after young stage beauty, the wronged wife, the spendthrift matriarch of bankrupt wealth, the woman too old to be acting so young.

2009, Grant Hayter-Menzies, “Preface”, in Mrs. Ziegfield: The Public and Private Lives of Billie Burke, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 3:


joli

fr-adj

joli (feminine jolie, masculine plural jolis, feminine plural jolies)

jolie (feminine)
jolis (masculine plural)
jolies (feminine plural)

Inherited from Middle French joly (“considerable, ingenious, agreeable, pretty”), from Old French joli, jolif (“pretty, smart, joyful, merry”), possibly from Old Norse jól (midwinter festival), from Proto-Germanic *jehwlą, *jeulō (“Yule, Yule month, December”) (more at yule); alternatively from Vulgar Latin *gaudivus (from Latin gaudeō, more at joy).

inh+

(Louisiana) jolly, nice, pleasant, agreeable


alegre

es-adj

alegre m or f (masculine and feminine plural alegres)

Inherited from Latin alacrem, possibly through a Vulgar Latin root *alicer, alecrem.


waspish

en-adj

waspish (comparative more waspish, superlative most waspish)

more waspish (comparative)
most waspish (superlative)

Svveet Hony-Comb, don't be ſo VVaſpiſh: […]

1702, [Colley] Cibber, She Wou’d, and She Wou’d Not, or The Kind Impostor. A Comedy. […], London: […] William Turner […], and John Nutt, […], published 1703, →OCLC, Act III, page 30:

Always, he radiated an air of soigné self-confidence: he could be amiable in his opinions or waspish, but he never betrayed a flicker of doubt about what he thought.

1997, Henry Louis Gates Jr., “The Passing of Anatole Broyard”, in Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man, New York: Random House, page 181:


rough around the edges

rough around the edges (comparative rougher around the edges, superlative roughest around the edges)

rougher around the edges (comparative)
roughest around the edges (superlative)

While rough around the edges, the church is really a wonderful place to be.

The north side of town is a less expensive, rougher round the edges choice for a young family.

His writing is appealing, but a bit rough around the edges.

(idiomatic) In need of refinement; unsophisticated.


censorious

censorious (comparative more censorious, superlative most censorious)

more censorious (comparative)
most censorious (superlative)

From Latin cēnsōrius. In sense 3 ("tending to engage in or support censorship"), reanalyzed as censor + -ious.

Be not too rigidly Cenſorious, / A ſtring may jarr in the beſt Maſters hand, / And the moſt skilfull Archer miſs his aim; / But in a Poem elegantly writ, / I will not quarrel with a ſlight miſtake, / Such as our Natures frailty may excuſe; […]

1680, Horace, translated by Earl of Roscommon [i.e., Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon], Horace’s Art of Poetry. […], London: […] Henry Herringman […], →OCLC, page 24:

[S]he remembered the Countess of Rotheles's advice, and she well knew the very pointed words and looks Lady Allerton could assume when it suited her humour to be censorious, and was well aware that every particular of the evening's entertainment would be transmitted with a jaundiced tint to Rotheles Castle for the amusement and animadversion of her invalid brother.

1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 223:

But, my dear David, this world is a censorious place—as who should know it better than myself, who have lived ever since the days of my late departed father, God sain him! in a perfect spate of calumnies?

1892, Robert Louis Stevenson, “A Twosome”, in Catriona, London; Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson & Sons, →OCLC, page 331:

But I'm guessing the girls didn't push for molestation charges because they were censorious prudes who would grow into knowing how to take such behaviour on the chin – they felt genuinely threatened, they took their concerns to court, and they deserved more than being told that they'd misread the situation all along.

2013 September 20, Holly Baxter, “Is masturbating in public a laughing matter?”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-01-29:

Thanks to a censorious judge, the vile behaviour of the duke, a series of photographs showing the duchess performing fellatio on an unidentified man and her own altruistic, if high-handed, refusal to defend herself, the sexual ins and outs of this separation are a matter of incredibly detailed historical record.

2021 December 17, Zoe Williams, “‘I like sex and am extremely good at it’ – the real crime of the ‘fellatio duchess’ in A Very British Scandal”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-04-01:

Addicted to censure and scolding; apt to blame or condemn; severe in making remarks on others, or on their writings or manners.

censorious remarks

Chick-Fil-A^([sic]) has survived and thrived because they served everyone AND refused to cater to the cancel culture. Now they’ve caved at the behest of the censorious Left. This is a terrible move and just the latest indicator that the center cannot hold.

2019 November 19, Josh Milton, quoting Ben Shapiro, “Ben Shapiro and his alt-right rabble are mourning the loss of homophobic chicken”, in PinkNews, archived from the original on 2023-07-17:

Is there something in the California water that makes Silicon Valley's censorious dweebs so damned shameless?

2021 May 27, Sohrab Ahmari, “Facebook’s lab-leak censors owe The Post, and America, an apology”, in New York Post, New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-04-25:

Pushed by militantly conservative activists — and heeding the demands of an increasingly censorious group of conservative voters — Republican lawmakers are, in states across the country, introducing bills that suppress debate and stifle discussion in favor of the rote memorization of approved facts.

2022 February 18, Jamelle Bouie, “Opinion: You Just Can’t Tell the Truth About America Anymore”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-05-02:

Only seven new gag order bills have become law so far this year, but these include some of the most censorious laws to date. Nineteen states, home to 122 million Americans, now have some sort of educational gag order on the books. The entire year can be summarized in a single word: escalation.

2022 September 12, Jeremy C. Young, “A Lot More Censorship Is Coming to a School Near You”, in The Daily Beast, archived from the original on 2023-07-05:

(proscribed) Tending to engage in or support censorship.


charmant

fr-adj

charmant (feminine charmante, masculine plural charmants, feminine plural charmantes)

charmante (feminine)
charmants (masculine plural)
charmantes (feminine plural)


self-righteous

en-adj

self-righteous (comparative more self-righteous, superlative most self-righteous)

more self-righteous (comparative)
most self-righteous (superlative)

“God's blood, Thomas, self-righteous prickery is not the preserve of the English!”

Piously self-assured and smugly moralistic.

самоуве́рен

piously self-assured and smugly moralistic


voyant

fr-noun

voyant m (plural voyants, feminine voyante)


murri

ca-adj

murri (feminine múrria, masculine plural murris, feminine plural múrries)

múrria (feminine)
murris (masculine plural)
múrries (feminine plural)


rosse

From Middle French rosse, from Old French roche, *rosse (“bad horse”), from Old Frankish *hross (“horse”), from Proto-Germanic *hrussą (“horse, steed”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”). Cognate with Old High German hros, ros (“horse, steed”), Old English hors (“horse”). More at horse.

(derogatory, of a man) a bastard or asshole


fretful

en-adj

fretful (comparative more fretful, superlative most fretful)

more fretful (comparative)
most fretful (superlative)

I could a Tale vnfold, vvhoſe lighteſt vvord / VVould harrovv vp thy ſoule, freeze thy young blood, / Make thy tvvo eyes like Starres, ſtart from their Spheres, / Thy knotty and combined locks to part, / And each particular haire to ſtand an end, / Like Quilles vpon the fretfull Porpentine: […]

c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v], page 257, column 2:

It was another cry, but not quite like the one she had heard last night; it was only a short one, a fretful, childish whine muffled by passing through walls.

1910 November – 1911 August, Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden, New York, N.Y.: Frederick A[bbott] Stokes Company, published 1911, →OCLC:

Irritable, bad-tempered, grumpy or peevish.


fun-loving

How different is the young, fun-loving, comical, quizzing, gallanting Captain Arthur Wellesley, when residing in his shooting lodge between Summerhill and Dangan, from the stern, cautious, careworn Fabius of the Peninsular war[.]

1840 February 7, The Sydney Herald, page 2, column 5:

A few months later I went to see Meg at a local folk club […] where she played to a small audience of about 150. As always, she was vibrant, giving, funloving, but the political content was diminished and hopelessly subtle.

1981 December 5, Cindy Rizzo, “Meg: A Warrior at Rest”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 20, page 7:

That enjoys the pleasures of life; that seeks out and revels in fun.


harebrained

harebrained (comparative more harebrained, superlative most harebrained)

more harebrained (comparative)
most harebrained (superlative)

“Now why do I get the feeling we're not talking about the harebrained plan you came up with?” “It wasn't harebrained.” “Did it have you going within twenty feet of a whorehouse at night, unchaperoned?” He knew darn well it did.

2008, Sarah McCarty, Promises Reveal, Penguin, →ISBN:

(of an idea or plan etc) Absurd, foolish or stupid.

Her getting a parcel from a hare-brained wench at the coaches in St. John Street; her booty made at the fire, and again at Harwich, all give us excelle

1722, Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders, The Author's Preface:

(of a person) Frivolous and silly; featherbrained or scatterbrained; stupid.


hot-tempered

hot-tempered (comparative more hot-tempered, superlative most hot-tempered)

more hot-tempered (comparative)
most hot-tempered (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-hot-tempered.wav

Becoming very vocal or even violent when angered or frustrated.


poised

poised (comparative more poised, superlative most poised)

more poised (comparative)
most poised (superlative)

Possessing poise, having self-confidence.

itsevarma

possessing poise, having self-confidence


self-assured

self-assured (comparative more self-assured, superlative most self-assured)

more self-assured (comparative)
most self-assured (superlative)


idealistic

idealistic (comparative more idealistic, superlative most idealistic)

more idealistic (comparative)
most idealistic (superlative)

Of or pertaining to an idealist or to idealism.

idealista

of or pertaining to an idealist or to idealism


calme

desctree

Dutch: kalm, (obsolete) calm
Negerhollands: kalm
→ Caribbean Javanese: kalem
→ Javanese: ꦏꦊꦩ꧀ (kalem)
→ Indonesian: kalem

Inherited from Middle French calme, probably borrowed from Italian calma, from Ancient Greek καῦμα (kaûma) (or alternatively through the intermediate of an Iberian language as opposed to Italian).


cooperative

en-adj

cooperative (comparative more cooperative, superlative most cooperative)

more cooperative (comparative)
most cooperative (superlative)

The patient was rarely cooperative, and tended to refuse treatment.

Santorum, in a comment regarding Senator John McCain's repudiation of torture, stated, "He doesn't understand how enhanced interrogation works. I mean, you break somebody, and after they've broken they become cooperative" (Summers 2011).

2015 November 30, Shane O'Mara, Why Torture Doesn’t Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 12:

Ready to work with another person or in a team; ready to cooperate.


bullheaded

bullheaded (comparative more bullheaded, superlative most bullheaded)

more bullheaded (comparative)
most bullheaded (superlative)

John was so bullheaded that he kept driving and refused to stop for directions, even after getting hopelessly lost.

“I know, my dear. I’ve lived with these bullheaded Sartorises for eighty years, and I’ll never give a single ghost of ’em the satisfaction of shedding a tear over him. What did Horace’s message say?”

1964 [1929], William Faulkner, Sartoris (The Collected Works of William Faulkner), London: Chatto & Windus, page 23:


imbécile

→ German: imbezil
→ Polish: imbecyl

→ Turkish: embesil

stupid, foolish, acting like an imbecile


dutiful

dutiful (comparative more dutiful, superlative most dutiful)

more dutiful (comparative)
most dutiful (superlative)

Ralph was a dutiful child, and took the trash out without being told.

Accepting of one's legal or moral obligations and willing to do them well, and without complaint.


snooty

snooty (comparative snootier, superlative snootiest)

snootier (comparative)
snootiest (superlative)

Her parties were snooty affairs; custom-designed cocktail dresses that cost more than a decent luxury car were de rigueur.


dingue

Probably derived from dinguer (“fall, strike”) or divaguer (“wander, blather”).

La célébrité me faisait mener une existence de dingue.

Fame was leading me to a crazy existence.


sérieux

fr-adj

sérieux (feminine sérieuse, masculine plural sérieux, feminine plural sérieuses)

sérieuse (feminine)
sérieux (masculine plural)
sérieuses (feminine plural)

Louisiana Creole: sériyé

Borrowed from Late Latin sēriōsus, from Classical Latin sērius (“grave, earnest, serious”).


fidèle

Borrowed from Latin fidēlis (“loyal”), replaced the inherited Old French fedel, fëel (cf. French féal).

Le chien était toujours fidèle à son maître.

Irène est fidèle à son mari.

une traduction fidèle


brusco

es-adj

brusco (feminine brusca, masculine plural bruscos, feminine plural bruscas)

brusca (feminine)
bruscos (masculine plural)
bruscas (feminine plural)


contemplative

en-adj

contemplative (comparative more contemplative, superlative most contemplative)

more contemplative (comparative)
most contemplative (superlative)

From Middle English contemplatyve, contemplatyf, from Old French contemplatif, from the participle stem of Latin contemplāre.

Whether the nuns of yore, being of a submissive rather than a stiff-necked generation, habitually bent their contemplative heads to avoid collision with the beams in the low ceilings of the many chambers of their House [...] may be matters of interest to its haunting ghosts (if any), but constitute no item in Miss Twinkleton's half-yearly accounts.

1870 April–September, Charles Dickens, “'”, in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1870, →OCLC:

Pertaining to a religious contemplative, or a contemplative religious orders, especially the Roman Catholic varieties.

bogomyślny

pertaining to a religious contemplative, or a contemplative religious orders


stiff-necked

stiff-necked (comparative more stiff-necked, superlative most stiff-necked)

more stiff-necked (comparative)
most stiff-necked (superlative)

From stiff + neck + -ed.
(figurative): Calque of Hebrew קשה ערף (Exodus 33). A biblical term similar to Swedish styvnackad, Ancient Greek σκληροτράχηλος (sklērotrákhēlos), Russian жестоковыйный (žestokovyjnyj), German halsstarrig etc.

cog

σκληροτράχηλος

жестоковыйный

For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 33:5:


snotty

en-adj

snotty (comparative snottier, superlative snottiest)

snottier (comparative)
snottiest (superlative)

"None of your business," she said. She can be very snotty sometimes. She can be quite snotty. "I suppose you failed in every single subject again," she said—very snotty. It was sort of funny, too, in a way. She sounds like a goddam schoolteacher sometimes, and she's only a little child.

1951, J. D. Salinger, chapter 22, in The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC:

The people there where mostly white, and mostly poor. There wasn't much of a middle class, except for a few well-educated folk trying hard not to be snotty so their kids wouldn't get beat up at school.

2006, Matt Wray, Not Quite White, page ix:

Becky had been trying to move out of the society pages and into stories of more substance in recent months, a major shift for her. When I worked for the Herald, she was kind of a mincy, snotty little thing who dressed in heels and blouses […]

2016, Meg O'Brien, A Bright Flamingo Shroud:

(informal) Ill-tempered or impertinent in an arrogant, conceited manner.


oafish

oafish (comparative more oafish, superlative most oafish)

more oafish (comparative)
most oafish (superlative)

Characteristic of or resembling an oaf; clumsy, stupid.

слабоумен

characteristic of or resembling an oaf; clumsy, stupid


cocksure

cocksure (comparative more cocksure, superlative most cocksure)

more cocksure (comparative)
most cocksure (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cocksure.wav

Probably from cock + sure, early 16th c.

I thought myself cocksure of his horse, which he readily promis'd me.

1716, Alexander Pope, letter to the Earl of Burlington:

The persistence of the Past is one of those tragicomic blessings which each new age denies, coming cocksure on to the stage to mouth its claim to a perfect novelty.

1906, John Galsworthy, “preface”, in The Man of Property:

These crack specialists, the young scientific fellows, they're so cocksure and so wrapped up in their laboratories that they miss the human element.

1920, Sinclair Lewis, “XXIII”, in Main Street:

Cocksure certainty is the source of much that is worst in our present world, and it is something of which the contemplation of history ought to cure us, not only or chiefly because there were wise men in the past, but because so much that was thought wisdom turned out to be folly – which suggests that much of our own supposed wisdom is no better. I do not mean to maintain that we should lapse into a lazy scepticism. We should hold our beliefs, and hold them strongly. Nothing great is achieved without passion, but underneath the passion there should always be that large impersonal survey which sets limits to actions that our passions inspire.

1954, Bertrand Russell, History as an Art, page 197:

“What's this? You sending the little guy to private school?” “Yeah, we're thinking about it.” “Oh. Well, you better add Helen Country Day School to the list 'cause you're talking to an HCD grad right here.” “Really? Well, there you go. That's where the boy shall go.” “Yeah, I can help you with that. I happen to be very tight with the headmaster.” “Don't you think that's a rather hasty decision?” “Sean went there, and look how he's turned out.” “Right.” “Tuck his trousers in and everything. No, I've never been more cocksure of any decision in my life.”

2022 August 9, Ayo Edebiri & Shana Gohd, “Private School” (7:15 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 4, episode 5, spoken by Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry):

(informal) Too confident; overconfident.


gamin

fr-adj

gamin (feminine gamine, masculine plural gamins, feminine plural gamines)

gamine (feminine)
gamins (masculine plural)
gamines (feminine plural)


well-rounded

en-adj

well-rounded (comparative more well-rounded, superlative most well-rounded)

more well-rounded (comparative)
most well-rounded (superlative)

Of a person's body shape, being plump, shapely or curvaceous.


forgiving

forgiving (comparative more forgiving, superlative most forgiving)

more forgiving (comparative)
most forgiving (superlative)

A good WebApp interface is understandable and forgiving, providing the user with a sense of control. […] Work is carefully and continuously saved, with full option for the user to undo any activity at any time.

2010, Roger S. Pressman, Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach, page 336:

(computing) User-friendly, such that harmful mistakes are not easily made.


généreux

fr-adj

généreux (feminine généreuse, masculine plural généreux, feminine plural généreuses)

généreuse (feminine)
généreux (masculine plural)
généreuses (feminine plural)

→ Dutch: genereus

Inherited from Middle French genereux, from Latin generōsus.


raisonnable

Inherited from Old French resnable, from Late Latin ratiōnābilis, from Latin ratiō. Equivalent to raison + -able.

reasonable, just, fair, consistent, sensible


sportive

en-adj

sportive (comparative more sportive, superlative most sportive)

more sportive (comparative)
most sportive (superlative)

Is it I
 That drive thee from the sportive court?

c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:


valorous

valorous (comparative more valorous, superlative most valorous)

more valorous (comparative)
most valorous (superlative)

c. 1490, William Caxton (translator), The Boke of Eneydos, Westminster, Preface,
this present booke compyled by virgyle ryght subtyl and Ingenyous oratour & poete Intytuled Eneydos hath be translated oute of latyn in to comyn langage In whiche may alle valyaunt prynces and other nobles see many valorous fayttes of armes.

[…] he esteems himself happy that he hath fallen into the hands of one, as he thinks, the most brave, valorous, and thrice-worthy signieur of England.

1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:

[…] I shall be at York—at the head of my daring and valorous fellows, as ready to support any bold design as thy policy can be to form one.

1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:

He held up the glass. “To your valorous wounds. To the silver medal.”

1929, Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, New York: Scribner, Book I, Chapter 10, p. 70:

There are many valorous stories told of her, which enthral grown men as well as children.

2004, Andrea Levy, chapter 12, in Small Island, London: Review, page 139:


paisible

Inherited from Old French peisible. By surface analysis, pais (“peace”) + -ible.


vulgaire

→ Danish: vulgær

→ Dutch: vulgair

→ German: vulgär

→ Norwegian Bokmål: vulgær

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: vulgær

→ Turkish: vülger

Borrowed from Latin vulgāris. Compare also Old and Middle French vulgal, inherited from a Vulgar Latin form *vulgālis.


timide

→ Louisiana Creole: timid

From Middle French timide, from Latin timidus.


osé

fr-adj

osé (feminine osée, masculine plural osés, feminine plural osées)

osée (feminine)
osés (masculine plural)
osées (feminine plural)


level-headed

en-adj

level-headed (comparative more level-headed, superlative most level-headed)

more level-headed (comparative)
most level-headed (superlative)

I urge you to weigh calmly, deliberately, as cool, level-headed Canadians, the evidence produced by the prosecution.

1909, Ralph Connor, The Foreigner, chapter 7:

(idiomatic) Sensible; rational; possessing sound judgment.


tenace

Learned borrowing from Latin tenāx. Compare inherited Old French tenais.


méchant

fr-noun

méchant m (plural méchants, feminine méchante)

From the present participle of the Old French verb mescheoir, from *mé- + cheoir (choir). Compare also mauvais.


high-maintenance

en-adj

high-maintenance (comparative more high-maintenance, superlative most high-maintenance)

more high-maintenance (comparative)
most high-maintenance (superlative)

According to the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, the figurative sense was popularized by the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally....

He has this incredibly high-maintenance girlfriend; if he doesn't tell her that he loves her every five minutes, she tends to break down into hysterical depressive weepy fits.

There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance.

1989, Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally... (motion picture), spoken by Harry Burns (Billy Crystal):

(figuratively, derogatory, of a person) Requiring a lot of attention or reassurance; emotionally needy

sok odafigyelést/törődést igénylő

(of a person) requiring a lot of attention or reassurance; emotionally needy


snippy

snippy (comparative snippier, superlative snippiest)

snippier (comparative)
snippiest (superlative)

From snip + -y. Compare Saterland Frisian snippig, snippich (“short, brief, blunt”), Dutch snippig (“snippy, shrill”), German Low German snippig (“snippy, snappy”), German schnippisch (“snippy, snappy”).


prenant

fr-adj

prenant (feminine prenante, masculine plural prenants, feminine plural prenantes)

prenante (feminine)
prenants (masculine plural)
prenantes (feminine plural)


venturesome

en-adj

venturesome (comparative more venturesome, superlative most venturesome)

more venturesome (comparative)
most venturesome (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-venturesome.wav

Bold; willing to take risks; adventurous.


patronizing

patronizing (comparative more patronizing, superlative most patronizing)

more patronizing (comparative)
most patronizing (superlative)


klutzy

klutzy (comparative klutzier, superlative klutziest)

klutzier (comparative)
klutziest (superlative)

Life is a high wire act and there's no net. And most of us are klutzy, so watch out, here comes another splat.

1983 April 1, 'Fran C. Schlepper', “They Are Everywhere”, in Gay Community News, page 3:


narrow-minded

narrow-minded (comparative more narrow-minded, superlative most narrow-minded)

more narrow-minded (comparative)
most narrow-minded (superlative)

Even Mr. Wilson's speech, excellent as it was, could only condemn the Government's narrow-minded approach for the reasons we have outlined, [...].

1963 June, “Second thoughts on Beeching”, in Modern Railways, page 362:

Having restricted or rigid views, and being unreceptive to new ideas.

абмежаваны

having restricted or rigid views, and being unreceptive to new ideas

What GCN has done for prisoners is an act of love, all the more precious because it's done despite the many voices of the narrow-minded who refuse to admit that our humanity remains, even past the prison gates.

1987 December 27, Vernon Maulsby, “Our Humanity Remains”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 24, page 4:


maduro

es-adj

maduro (feminine madura, masculine plural maduros, feminine plural maduras)

madura (feminine)
maduros (masculine plural)
maduras (feminine plural)

Inherited from Old Spanish maduro, from Latin mātūrus, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂- (“to ripen, mature”).

der

mature, of relatively old age (said of people)


preste

Borrowed from Italian presto. Doublet of prêt.

avoir des gestes prestes


motivado

es-adj

motivado (feminine motivada, masculine plural motivados, feminine plural motivadas)

motivada (feminine)
motivados (masculine plural)
motivadas (feminine plural)


reservado

reservado (feminine reservada, masculine plural reservados, feminine plural reservadas)

reservada (feminine)
reservados (masculine plural)
reservadas (feminine plural)


agréable

Near-synonym: plaisant


aimable

→ English: aimable

Inherited from Middle French aimable, amable, from Old French amable, from Latin amābilis. By surface analysis, aimer + -able. Doublet of amabile.

C’est très aimable de ta part de m’avoir invité ce soir.

It's very kind of you to have invited me here this evening.


excitable

en-adj

excitable (comparative more excitable, superlative most excitable)

more excitable (comparative)
most excitable (superlative)

The excitable puppy jumped all over the furniture.


lugn

head

lugn (comparative lugnare, superlative lugnast)

lugnare (comparative)
lugnast (superlative)
lugn (indefinite positive)
lugnare (comparative indefinite)
lugnast (indefinite superlative)
lugnt (indefinite neuter positive singular)
lugnare (comparative indefinite neuter singular)
lugnast (indefinite neuter singular superlative)
lugna (indefinite plural positive)
lugnare (comparative indefinite plural)
lugnast (indefinite plural superlative)
lugne (archaic indefinite masculine plural positive)
lugnare (archaic comparative indefinite masculine plural)
lugnast (archaic indefinite masculine plural superlative)
lugne (definite masculine positive singular)
lugnare (comparative definite masculine singular)
lugnaste (definite masculine singular superlative)
lugna (definite positive)
lugnare (comparative definite)
lugnaste (definite superlative)

From Old Swedish lugn or lygn (“calm lake surface”), from Old Norse lygn. Compare Norwegian logn (“calm (without wind)”), and Icelandic lón (“calm water”).

Jag är en lugn person med takt och ton. Måttfull och balanserad. Jag är tyst och still och det ska mycket till, innan jag blir exalterad. Men jag har en last som håller mig fast, i ett järngrepp varje vinter. När året är slut och snön ligger djup, och slädarnas medar slinter.

1982, Adolphson & Falk (lyrics and music), “Mer jul [More Christmas]”, in Eldorado. Stjärnornas musik. [compilation album] [Eldorado. The music of the stars.]:

I am a peaceful [calm] person, with tact and tone [tactful, well-mannered – idiomatic]. Moderate and balanced. I am quiet and still and it will take a lot, before I get excited. But I have a vice [bad habit] that seizes me [holds me fast (fixed)] in an iron grip every winter. When the year is over and the snow lies deep, and the sleighs' runners slip.

calm, tranquil (of a person, weather, mood, situation, etc.)


thrill-seeker

A person who enjoys thrilling situations, or who engages in dangerous sports


asocial

en-adj

asocial (comparative more asocial, superlative most asocial)

more asocial (comparative)
most asocial (superlative)

From a- + social; in the sense of “antisocial” and as a noun, appears to be a calque of German asozial / Asozialer.

Mrs Alphen, from her deck chair, would call at him brightly, “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself, being so selfish and neglecting us ladies and all!” and she would gesture at the deck chair beside her, but he would only smile and scuttle away, realizing that he was asocial and a scoundrel.

1938, Sinclair Lewis, chapter 36, in The Prodigal Parents, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran, page 268:

In a nation which increasingly appears to prize social virtues, Howard Hughes remains not merely antisocial but grandly, brilliantly, surpassingly, asocial. He is the last private man, the dream we no longer admit.

1967, Joan Didion, “7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38”, in Slouching Towards Bethlehem, New York: Dell, published 1968, page 72:

She herself was already asocial at the age of six months and stiffened in her mother’s arms at this time, and such reactions, common in autism, she also finds inexplicable in terms of theory of mind.

1995, Oliver Sacks, An Anthropologist on Mars, New York: Knopf, page 291:

And it’s maybe because of math’s absolute, wholly abstract Truth that so many people still view the discipline as dry or passionless and its practitioners as asocial dweebs.

2000, David Foster Wallace, “Rhetoric and the Math Melodrama”, in Both Flesh and Not, Boston: Little, Brown, published 2012:

Not sociable; having minimal social connections with others; not inclined to connect with others socially.

Contrasting with the complete haphazardness with which the inmates are selected are the categories, meaningless in themselves but useful from the standpoint of organization, into which they are usually divided on their arrival. In the German camps there were criminals, politicals, asocial elements, religious offenders, and Jews, all distinguished by insignia.

1951, Hannah Arendt, “Totalitarianism in Power”, in The Origins of Totalitarianism (A Harvest/HBJ Book), new edition, San Diego, Calif., New York, N.Y.: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, published 1973, →ISBN, part 3 (Totalitarianism), page 449:

The social worker speaks of asocial behavior. The term is familiar to the young criminal. The social worker is able to explain the causes of this asocial behavior. But the delinquent could do it too, and in the very same terms.

1977, Saul Bellow, “The Jefferson Lectures”, in It All Adds Up, New York: Viking, published 1994, page 130:


asocial

“Remember, there was no on-paper legislation against blacks, so they were often admitted to work camps on trumped-up charges and under various crimes. Some were interned as Communists, or as immigrants, who wore the blue badge. Or as homosexuals, who wore the pink badge, or as repeat criminals, who wore the green badge, or asocials, who wore the black badge.”

2011, Esi Edugyan, Half-Blood Blues, Toronto: HarperCollins, published 2013, Part 2, pp. 49-50:

A person considered to be antisocial or to exhibit antisocial behaviour, especially as a classification used by the Nazi regime in Germany.


asocial

fr-adj

asocial (feminine asociale, masculine plural asociaux, feminine plural asociales)

asociale (feminine)
asociaux (masculine plural)
asociales (feminine plural)


wimpish

en-adj

wimpish (comparative more wimpish, superlative most wimpish)

more wimpish (comparative)
most wimpish (superlative)


worrywart

/ˈwʌɹ.ɪˌwɔːt/

From worry + wart, apparently chosen for alliteration. Presumably related to earlier worryguts. Attested 1956, but earlier examples are found in newspapers of the 1930s and 1940s.

It doesn't mean you're a worrywart, a nervous wreck or in need of heavy medication.

2005, Hal Edward Runkel, Screamfree Parenting: Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool, →ISBN, page 31:

On vacation, I'm a worrywart for fretting about third-degree burns and puncture wounds.

2008 August 17, Nicole L.V. Mullis, “Vacation renders kids, adult males impervious to danger”, in Battle Creek Enquirer:

When Biden takes the presidential oath in January, many will write articles scolding those who expressed concern about a coup as worrywarts, or as people misusing terminology.

2020 December 7, Zeynep Tufekci, “‘This Must Be Your First’”, in The Atlantic:

(originally US) A person who worries excessively, especially about unimportant matters.


câlin

fr-adj

câlin (feminine câline, masculine plural câlins, feminine plural câlines)

câline (feminine)
câlins (masculine plural)
câlines (feminine plural)


habillé

habillé (feminine habillée, masculine plural habillés, feminine plural habillées)

habillée (feminine)
habillés (masculine plural)
habillées (feminine plural)

→ Greek: αμπιγέ (ampigé)


rumormonger

Near-synonyms: gossipmonger, newsmonger, scandalmonger; blabbermouth, talebearer, telltale; gossip, gossiper; see also Thesaurus:gossiper

Then the Seventh moved to Fort Ord and practiced—although without full equipment—amphibious landings. The hot poop of the rumor mongers became, “Southwest Pacific for us, fellows.” But when the convoy sailed from San Francisco on April twenty-fourth, the ships turned north.

1947, Murray Morgan, Bridge To Russia: Those Amazing Aleutians, New York: E. P. Dutton & Company, page 161:

(American spelling) A person who spreads rumors.


high-spirited

en-adj

high-spirited (comparative more high-spirited, superlative most high-spirited)

more high-spirited (comparative)
most high-spirited (superlative)

Their poor mother was, I believe, naturally a lighthearted, sociable, high-spirited little creature; and her gay and childish nature pined in the isolation and gloom of her lot.

1861, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, chapter 1, in Ultor De Lacy: A Legend of Cappercullen:

Though she was nineteen she gave the effect of a high-spirited precocious child, and in the present glow of her youth and beauty all the men and women she had known were but driftwood on the ripples of her temperament.

1920 May 27, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, “The Offshore Pirate”, in Flappers and Philosophers, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published September 1920, →OCLC, part III, page 16:

Last week a group of four high-spirited folksters known as the Weavers had succeeded in shouting, twanging and crooning folk singing out of its cloistered corner.

1950 September 25, “Music: Out of the Corner”, in Time:


untroubled

untroubled (comparative more untroubled, superlative most untroubled)

more untroubled (comparative)
most untroubled (superlative)

Once the exams were over, she enjoyed untroubled sleep once more.


bad-tempered

bad-tempered (comparative worse-tempered or more bad-tempered, superlative worst-tempered or most bad-tempered)

worse-tempered (comparative)
more bad-tempered (comparative)
worst-tempered (superlative)
most bad-tempered (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-bad-tempered.wav

His bad-tempered outburst caught his friends by surprise.

Jack is the most bad-tempered and violent man I know.

Of or pertaining to bad temper; showing anger easily or customarily.


ill-mannered

ill-mannered (comparative more ill-mannered, superlative most ill-mannered)

more ill-mannered (comparative)
most ill-mannered (superlative)

He was extremely ill-mannered and caused offence wherever he went.


bad-mannered

bad-mannered (comparative more bad-mannered, superlative most bad-mannered)

more bad-mannered (comparative)
most bad-mannered (superlative)

He was extremely bad-mannered and caused offence wherever he went.


easygoing

easygoing (comparative more easygoing, superlative most easygoing)

more easygoing (comparative)
most easygoing (superlative)

He dropped gradually back into his old frivolous and easy-going ways and conditions of feeling and manner of speech, and no familiar of his could have detected anything in him that differentiated him from the weak and careless Tom of other days.

1897, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “[Pudd’nhead Wilson] Chapter X”, in The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson: And the Comedy Those Extraordinary Twins, Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 126:

He might, indeed, resent her behaviour too deeply to seek to see her at once; but his easygoing modern attitude toward conduct and convictions made that improbable. She had an idea that what he had most minded was her dropping so unceremoniously out of the Embassy Dinner.

1922, Edith Wharton, chapter XXIII, in The Glimpses of the Moon, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton and Company:

(of a person) Calm, relaxed, casual and informal.


even-tempered

even-tempered (comparative more even-tempered, superlative most even-tempered)

more even-tempered (comparative)
most even-tempered (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-even-tempered.wav

Who has not known some even-tempered old man or woman who seemed to have drunk of the fountain of youth?

1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars:

If you just want to hear beautiful music, this album is delightful. It is in the same general style of the Paul Winter Consort and the albums from Windham Hill, being lovely, even-tempered but not dispassionate music which stimulates relaxation and thoughtfulness.

1984 December 15, Maida Tilchen, “Women's Music Goes Global”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 22, page 8:

Remaining calm even in situations that would cause many others to become angry, frustrated, panicky, etc.


Spock

en-proper noun

Spock (countable and uncountable, plural Spocks)

Alternative form: Mr. Spock

This caricature called economic man was not only completely self-centered, he was also entirely rational in all his decisions, whether consuming or investing—a veritable Mr. Spock.

2010, William McDonald Wallace, The Decline and Fall of the U.S. Economy: How Liberals and Conservatives Both Got It Wrong, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, page 48:

Phelps's calorie intake may seem superhuman, and his 6' 4", 185-pound body may recall Greek statuary, but fans are also drawn to him by a goofy grin and oversized ears that led to his being called Spock on the school bus.

2008 December 2, “Sportsman of the Year: Michael Phelps”, in Sports Illustrated:

(science fiction) In Star Trek, a Starfleet commander and science officer of the USS Enterprise, especially known for his Vulcan logic, reason, and stoicism and his distinctive pointed ears.

Ellipsis of Mr. Spock. An asteroid in the main belt, Solar System.


Spock

(popular psychology) A person or character like a Star Trek Vulcan; someone resembling Star Trek's character Spock.


empathetic

en-adj

empathetic (comparative more empathetic, superlative most empathetic)

more empathetic (comparative)
most empathetic (superlative)

Derived from empathic, modified to sound more similar to sympathetic.

Showing empathy for others, and recognizing their feelings; empathic.