uppity

uppity (comparative uppitier, superlative uppitiest)

uppitier (comparative)
uppitiest (superlative)

From earlier uppedy, equivalent to up + -ed + -y; compare blackity, biggity, and hippity (and possibly also persnickety, pernickety). First attested around 1880 in Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris to describe Jack Sparrer (Jack Sparrow), who tattled on Br'er Rabbit (see quotations below). Compare uppish.

"Hit wuz wunner dese yer uppity little Jack Sparrers, I speck," said the old man; "dey wuz allers bodder'n' longer udder fokes's bizness

1881, Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings; the Folk-lore of the Old Plantation:

Presumptuous, above oneself, self-important; arrogant, snobbish, haughty.


stable

From Middle English stable, borrowed from Anglo-Norman stable, singular derived from the plural Latin stab(u)la (“dwellings, stables”).

close the stable door after the horse has been stolen

close the stable door after the horse has bolted

lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen

lock the stable door after the horse has bolted

shut the stable door after the horse has bolted

(metonymically) All the racehorses of a particular stable, i.e. belonging to a given owner.

(sumo) An organization of sumo wrestlers who live and train together.

Paul, who signed with WWE in late June, appeared in a segment with Reigns' stable, the Bloodline, on Friday's episode of SmackDown after making comments earlier in the week regarding a potential match with the Tribal Chief.

2022 September 17, Thomas Kika, “WWE's Logan Paul Confronts Roman Reigns Amid Rumors of Major Title Bout”, in Newsweek:

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(professional wrestling) A group of wrestlers who support each other within a wrestling storyline.

A group of people who are looked after, mentored, or trained in one place or for a particular purpose or profession.


stable

en-adj

stable (comparative stabler or more stable, superlative stablest or most stable)

stabler (comparative)
more stable (comparative)
stablest (superlative)
most stable (superlative)

From Middle English stable, from Anglo-Norman stable, stabel, from Latin stabilis (“firm, steadfast”) (itself from stare (“stand”) + -abilis (“able”)). Displaced native Old English staþolfæst.

He was in a stable relationship.

a stable government

In this region of chance, […] where nothing ws stable.

a. 1729, John Rogers, The Greatness of the Gospel Salvation:

And to whoever that cry hath ever come he must needs follow and follow, leaving all stable things; only to be always with Slid in all the moods of Slid, to find no rest until he reaches the sea.

1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC, page 16:

Relatively unchanging, steady, permanent; firmly fixed or established; consistent; not easily moved, altered, or destroyed.


overweening

overweening (comparative more overweening, superlative most overweening)

more overweening (comparative)
most overweening (superlative)

From Middle English overweninge, equivalent to overween + -ing. Cognate with obsolete Dutch overwanig, overwaand (“presumptuous; cocky; conceited”).

/əʊvəˈwiːnɪŋ/

She wins one modeling contest in Montana and suddenly she’s overweening.

Heere's an ouer-weening rogue.

c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene v], page 263, column 2:

The offer freely given was freely accepted, this gentleman already standing high in their opinion from his conduct to the Count; nor could they doubt that Lady Anne had lost herself many years of pleasant, and probably profitable intercourse with him, from her own acrimony of temper and overweening pride of manners;[…]

1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter LXIII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 175:

No success rendered him overweening and no disaster was ever known to stagger his firmness.

1870, Carl Schurz, George H. Thomas Eulogy:

The Senate was displaying an overweening hauteur as if it were the government.

1908, Frederic Bancroft, William A. Dunning, A Sketch of Carl Schurz’s Political Career:

The Valley prizes overweening ambition but expects it to be “rifle-focussed” on making the world’s best houseboat-rental platform or Cognac-delivery service.

2016 October 3, Tad Friend, “Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny”, in The New Yorker:

While they ultimately came to the same conclusion, the pre-emptive tweet made it harder to rebut the court's judgment that they were “supine servants of an overweening master”.

2024 May 18, Tabby Kinder, Stephen Morris, “Tesla chair on Musk: ‘I might wake up to a tweet. I don't wake up to a strategy shift’”, in FT Weekend, page 15:


gentle

en-verb

gentle (third-person singular simple present gentles, present participle gentling, simple past and past participle gentled)

gentles (present singular third-person)
gentling (participle present)
gentled (participle past)
gentled (past)

[ˈd͡ʒɛ̃ɾ̃l̩]

From Middle English gentil (“courteous, noble”), from Old French gentil (“high-born, noble”), from Latin gentilis (“of the same family or clan”), from gens (“[Roman] clan”). Doublet of gentile, genteel, and jaunty.

der

A hornist, his playing gentled by perspective, is out of sight within the woods, but his notes are heard through or over the murmuring mix of bird song and breeze in leaves.

1996, William C. Loring, An American Romantic-realist Abroad: Templeton Strong and His Music, Scarecrow Press, →ISBN, page 201:

(transitive) To soothe; to calm; to make gentle.


obdurate

en-adj

obdurate (comparative more obdurate, superlative most obdurate)

more obdurate (comparative)
most obdurate (superlative)

Mid-15th century, from Latin obduratus (“hardened”), form of obdūrō (“harden”), from ob- (“against”) + dūrō (“harden, render hard”), from durus (“hard”). Compare durable, endure.

[…] sometimes the very custom of evil making the heart obdurate against whatsoever instructions to the contrary […]

1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

Art thou obdurate, flintie, hard as ſteele? / Nay more then flint, for ſtone at raine relenteth: […]

1594, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC, [verse 34], lines [199–200]:

[…] round he throws his baleful eyes
That witness'd huge affliction and dismay
Mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate:

1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 56–58:

But custom maketh blind and obdurate
The loftiest hearts.

1818, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “(please specify the page)”, in The Revolt of Islam; […], London: […] [F]or C[harles] and J[ames] Ollier, […]; by B[uchanan] M‘Millan, […], →OCLC, stanza 9:

An injury-time goal from Nikola Zigic against an obdurate Stoke side gave Birmingham back-to back Premier League wins for the first time in 14 months.

2011 February 12, Les Roopanarine, “Birmingham 1 - 0 Stoke”, in BBC:

What Tharoor dismisses as mere ‘positive by-products’ Lalvani sees as central to the India the British left behind: the botanic gardens, the forest conservancies, the Archaeological Survey of India (brainchild of the otherwise obdurate Curzon) and the free press.

2017 September 7, Ferdinand Mount, “Umbrageousness”, in London Review of Books:

Stubbornly persistent, generally in wrongdoing; refusing to reform or repent.


ambivert

Etymology tree
English ambiversion
English extrovertinflu.
English introvertinflu.
English ambivert
From ambiversion, modelled after extrovert and introvert. By surface analysis, ambi- + -vert.

etymon

Many there are, as I have already shown, whose life can not be readily described by either the definitions of extroversion or introversion. [...] It is these I have called ambiverts. With them, extroversion or introversion are but passing states of mind, whereas with the extrovert extroversion is the dominant condition and with the introvert introversion is the dominant condition.

1923 January–March, Edmund S. Conklin, “The Definition of Introversion, Extroversion and Allied Concepts”, in Morton Prince, Floyd H[enry] Allport, editors, The Journal of Abnormal Psychology and Social Psychology, volume XVII, number 4, Albany, N.Y.: Published by Boyd Printing Company, Inc. […], →OCLC, page 377:

[‘]We are not in the same class, in more ways than one’ (laughing), ‘she's a little genius, I'm a plain American ambivert, but we are enrolled in the same Advanced French group [...].’

1969, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 27, in Ada, or, Ardor: A Family Chronicle, Harmondsworth, London: Penguin Books, published 1970, →ISBN, part 1, page 132:

Whenever parents are successful in this process of building a balanced personality from an introvert or an extrovert, we call the finished product an ambivert. An ambivert can move into a social situation and be a hearty, outgoing, gregarious participant. Or he can pick up a book and start the mental processes going like a regular introvert.

1995, W[illard] Cleon Skousen, “The Problem of Building Balanced Personalities”, in So You Want to Raise a Boy?, Orem, Ut.: Ensign Pub., published 2016, →ISBN, pages 297–298:

Ambiverts use even fewer colloquial words than the introverts, but the extraverts use clearly more of these words than the two other groups. [...] The global image that emerges is that differences are limited between ambiverts and introverts but that the extraverts stand out. They use many more colloquial words which could be the result of their lower levels of foreign language anxiety, less inhibition, and less fear of punishment.

2004, Jean-Marc Dewaele, “Individual Differences in the Use of Colloquial Vocabulary: The Effects of Sociobiographical and Psychological Factors”, in Paul Bogaards, Batia Laufer, editors, Vocabulary in a Second Language: Selection, Acquisition, and Testing (Language Learning & Language Teaching), Amsterdam, Philadelphia, Pa.: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 144:

[A] bright (high fluid intelligent), stable ambivert from a middle-class home that provides and values education may be encouraged to develop a deep approach to learning and an analytic, or Type I, intellectual style.

2012, Adrian Furnham, “Intelligence and Intellectual Styles”, in Li-fang Zhang, Robert J. Sternberg, Stephen Rayner, editors, Handbook of Intellectual Styles: Preferences in Cognition, Learning, and Thinking, New York, N.Y.: Springer Publishing Company, →ISBN, part IV (Intellectual Styles in Relation to Allied Constructs), page 187:

Selling of any sort—whether traditional sales or non-sales selling—requires a delicate balance of inspecting and responding. Ambiverts can find that balance. They know when to speak up and when to shut up. Their wider repertoires allow them to achieve harmony with a broader range of people and a more varied set of circumstances. Ambiverts are the best movers because they're the most skilled attuners.

2013, Daniel H. Pink, “Attunement”, in To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth about Persuading, Convincing and Influencing Others, Edinburgh: Canongate Books, →ISBN:

(psychology) A person who is neither clearly extroverted nor introverted, but has characteristics of each.


poser

Even as a child, she was a habitual poser of difficult questions.

Someone who asks a question or sets a problem.

Fragender

someone who asks a question or sets a problem

Someone who, or something which, poses; a person who sets their body in a fixed position, such as for photography or painting.

pozisto

someone who, or something which, poses; with their body in a fixed position

"My boyfriend, or I should say, ex-boyfriend, used to be all dark and brooding with long, black hair, but now?!" [...] "Um, I'm pretty sure uniforms don't work that way. I think your ex might just be a big poser." "A fact I would be blissfully unaware of if not for these damn uniforms!"

2008 July 9, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008:

(derogatory, slang) A poseur; someone who affects some behaviour, style, attitude or other condition, often to impress or influence others.


refined

en-adj

refined (comparative more refined, superlative most refined)

more refined (comparative)
most refined (superlative)

The argument, while not persuasive, is quite refined.

Precise, freed from imprecision, particularly:

(of thought) Subtle, scrupulous, carefully thought out.

In the British Isles, Oxbridge is considered refined; Geordie somewhat less so.

Cultured, freed from vulgarity, particularly:

Cultured, freed from vulgarity
Elevated and polished.

Don Draper was a man of refined tastes.

"Jesus Christ! Was my folks refined. My mam she wouldn't think-a lettin' us young'uns call a pee pot a pee pot. A chamber's what she called it... And by God! Us young'uns had ter call the pee pot a chamber or git our God damn necks wrang."

1946, Elizabeth Metzger Howard, Before the Sun Goes Down, page 31:

(of people) Elegant, sometimes (derogatory) affected, prissy, or bloodless.


laid-back

laid-back (comparative more laid-back, superlative most laid-back)

more laid-back (comparative)
most laid-back (superlative)

From U.S. slang (circa 1950s).
Presumably originally a metaphor — literally, "sitting in a tilted-back chair", a relaxed posture.

The V-2's directional system was notoriously erratic. In May 1947, a V-2 launched from White Sands Proving Ground headed south instead of north, missing downtown Juarez, Mexico, by 3 miles. The Mexican government's response to the American bombing was admirably laid back. General Enrique Diaz Gonzales and Consul General Raul Michel met with United States officials, who issued apologies and an invitation to come to "the next rocket shoot" at White Sands. […

2010, Mary Roach, “You Go First: The Alarming Prospect of Life Without Gravity”, in Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 90:

Relaxed and easy-going; demonstrating an absence of stress or worry.


authentic

authentic (comparative more authentic, superlative most authentic)

more authentic (comparative)
most authentic (superlative)

non-authentic

antonym(s) of “not of the claimed origin”

From Middle English authentik, from Old French autentique, from Latin authenticus, from Ancient Greek αὐθεντικός (authentikós, “principal, genuine”), from Ancient Greek αὐθέντης (authéntēs, “lord, master”). Doublet of effendi.

der

The experts confirmed it was an authentic signature.

an authentic writer; an authentic portrait; authentic information

The report was completely authentic.

Conforming to reality and therefore worthy of trust, reliance, or belief.

достове́рен

conforming to reality and therefore worthy of trust, reliance, or belief


submissive

en-adj

submissive (comparative more submissive, superlative most submissive)

more submissive (comparative)
most submissive (superlative)

The powerful managers for government were not sufficiently submissive to the pleasure of the possessors of immediate and personal favour, sometimes from a confidence in their own strength natural and acquired; sometimes from a fear of offending their friends, and weakening that lead in the country, which gave them a consideration independent of the court.

1756, Edmund Burke, The Works of the Right Honorable Edmund Burke, G. Bell & sons, page 314:

If the human being who answers these tendencies assumes a submissive behavior, in essence a lowering of head and shoulders, wavering glance, absence of all preparations for attack, general weakening of muscle tonus, and hesitancy in movement, the movements of attempt at mastery become modified into attempts at the more obvious swagger, strut and glare of triumph.

1913, Edward Lee Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Teachers college, Columbia university, page 92

Once oppression has been internalised, little force is needed to keep us submissive.

2007, Brian Watermeyer, Disability and Social Change: A South African Agenda, HSRC Press, page 269:


funny

Chic Young, who created his funny funny, “Blondie,” in 1930, and kept it the most popular comic strip in the world right through the unfunny generation, was quick to see the difference between the innocent funnies and the new generation of comics that started after the Second World War:

1974, The New York Times Magazine, page cliv:

The artist gave priority to “Mark Trail,” usually spending at least eight hours a day on it, then working at night on “The Ryatts,” a funny that featured the foibles of a family much like his own, which included four children.

2014 March 9, Johnny Vardeman, “Drawn into history: Gainesville cartoonist to continue legacy of Mark Trail comic”, in Gainesville Times:

His father was more likely to listen to the radio, although he would read the Sunday funnies, and his grandmother would only read the Italian language paper she picked up at the corner candy store.

2009, R. P. Moffa, The Vaulted Sky, page 343:


funny

Dem nuh waan nuh honey, dem only waan di money. Dat’s how me know seh dem bwoy deh all a move funny.

2002, Sean Paul, “Like Glue”, in Dutty Rock (album title):

Nuff boy move funny just fi get money.

(Jamaica, offensive, derogatory) In a manner seen as being typical of a homosexual, or indicating homosexuality


funny

Perhaps a jocular use of funny. See above.

I myself recollect the funnies at Eton, which were certain little boats, capable of containing one person only, who, like an Indian in his canoe, was constantly obliged to balance himself, with such critical nicety, that the least mistake was certain of producing a ducking.

1810, Letters from a Nobleman to His Son, During the Period of His Education at Eton and Oxford, volume 1, pages 63–64:

As I do not belong to the boat-club, I always row by myself in a funny […] or at least go in a two-oared boat, with some friend with whom I should otherwise be walking.

1841 December 12, William Thomson, “[Letter to father]”, in Silvanus P. Thompson, The Life of William Thomson, Baron Kelvin of Largs, volume 1, published 1910, page 33:

We were going to have a go in one of the double scull ‘funnies’ that could be had from the Rowing Club in the harbour, but he is off up the line tomorrow to rejoin his old Battery.

1971, Julian Tyndale-Biscoe, Gunner Subaltern, page 144:

There was a great market for leisure boats, too: no wherries any longer, but whole fleets of punts, rowing gigs, funnies, skiffs, whiffs and randans […]

1999, Patrick Wright, The River: The Thames in Our Time, →ISBN, page 145:

(UK, Ireland, nautical, dated) A narrow, clinker-built double-ender for sculling.


gadfly

Harold North Fowler
Harvard University Press
Loeb Classical Library
Plato
Socrates

From gad (“(obsolete) sharp point, spike; (dialectal) sharp-pointed rod for driving cattle, horses, etc., goad”) + fly, in the sense of a fly which irritates cattle, etc., by biting them, similar to the prodding of a goad. Gad is derived from Middle English gad, gadde (“metal spike with a sharp point; stick with a sharp point for driving animals, goad; metal bar or rod, ingot; (by extension) lump of material; metal rod for measuring land; (by extension) unit of linear measure equal to about 10 to 16 feet”), borrowed from Old Norse gaddr (“spike; goad”), from Proto-Germanic *gazdaz (“spike; goad”), further etymology uncertain.
Sense 2.1.1 (“person who upsets the status quo”) may allude to the Apology by the Greek philosopher Plato (428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 B.C.E.), where he describes Socrates (c. 470 – 399 B.C.E.) acting as a goad to the Athenian political scene like a gadfly (Ancient Greek μῠ́ωψ (mŭ́ōps)) arousing a sluggish horse.

piikittelijä

There is a function for the gadfly who poses questions that many specialists would like to overlook. Polemics is healthy.

1977, Morris Kline, Why the Professor Can’t Teach: Mathematics and the Dilemma of University Education, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 238:

What was required now was the intervention of some men who were not gadflies. […] The logic of [Charles] Pearson's arguments was accepted, up to a point, by a consortium of businessmen. In August 1854, […] the consortium obtained royal assent for […] the Metropolitan Railway. […] In 1859, when it looked as though the Metropolitan Railway Company would be wound up with no line built, he [Pearson] wrote a pamphlet: A Twenty Minutes Letter to the Citizens of London in Favour of the Metropolitan Railway and City Station. Gadfly he may have been, but by this 'letter' he persuaded the Corporation of London to invest £200,000 in the line, a most unusual example of a public body investing in a Victorian railway.

2012, Andrew Martin, “The World of Charles Pearson”, in Underground Overground: A Passenger’s History of the Tube, London: Profile Books, →ISBN, pages 26–27:

Dr. [Carl] Hart, 54, the first tenured African-American science professor at Columbia, is a gadfly among drug researchers and a rock star among advocates for decriminalizing drugs.

2021 April 10, John Leland, “This heroin-using professor wants to change how we think about drugs”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-05-28:

A person or thing that irritates or instigates.

(specifically) A person who upsets the status quo by posing novel or upsetting questions, or attempts to stimulate innovation by being an irritant.


clever

en-adj

clever (comparative cleverer or more clever, superlative cleverest or most clever)

cleverer (comparative)
more clever (comparative)
cleverest (superlative)
most clever (superlative)

dull

antonym(s) of “smart, intelligent or witty”

ineffectual

antonym(s) of “resourceful, perhaps cunning”

→ German: clever

→ Limburgish: klevver

From East Anglian dialectal English cliver (“expert at seizing”), from Middle English cliver (“tenacious”).
* perhaps from Old English *clifer, clibbor (“clinging”);
* or perhaps from Dutch, Low German, or East/Saterland Frisian (compare kluftich (“clever, prudent”), probably derived from Proto-West Germanic *kleuban (“to cleave, split”));
* or dialectal Norwegian klover (“ready, skillful”), itself borrowed from Middle Low German klever, related to kleven (“to stick”), from Old Saxon klibōn, from Proto-West Germanic *klibēn, related to the Old English word above;
* possibly influenced by Old English clifer (“claw, hand”) (compare clawian (“to claw”)).
Related to cleave. Perhaps influenced by Welsh celfydd (“talented, dexterous, expert”).

cog

And so make life, death, and that vast forever / One grand, sweet song.

19th c, Charles Kingsley, A Farewell, Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever; Do noble things, not dream them all day long

Lord Macaulay has said of Bunyan: “though there were many clever men in England during the latter half of the seventeenth century, there were only two great creative minds. One of these minds produced ‘The Paradise Lost;’ the other, ‘The Pilgrim's Progress.’”

1860, John Timbs, School-Days of Eminent Men, page 177:

1912, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett (translator), The Brothers Karamazov, Book V, Chapter 7: "It's Always Worth While Speaking to a Clever Man",
I would have sent Alyosha, but what use is Alyosha in a thing like that? I send you just because you are a clever fellow. Do you suppose I don't see that? You know nothing about timber, but you've got an eye.

Smart, intelligent, or witty; mentally quick or sharp.


interesting

en-adj

interesting (comparative more interesting, superlative most interesting)

more interesting (comparative)
most interesting (superlative)

/ˈɪntɹəstɪŋ/

/ˈɪntɹɛstɪŋ/

/ˈɪntəɹəstɪŋ/

/ˈɪntɹɛstɪŋ/

/ˈɪntɹɪstɪŋ/

I found myself in a fair way of being a mother; and that I might be near my own relations, in such an interesting situation, I and my dear companion departed from H—n, not without great reluctance […].

1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:

Mrs Lenville (who, as has been before hinted, was in an interesting state) rushed from the rear rank of ladies, and uttering a piercing scream threw herself upon the body.

1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, →OCLC:

I’m afraid I seem to make heavy weather of my interesting condition.

1928, William Babington Maxwell, “Part II. Enid”, in We Forget Because We Must, A Story of Decades and Lustres, 1st edition, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran and Co., published 1928, →OCLC, page 45:

(euphemistic) Pregnant. (used with situation and condition)


pacific

pacific (comparative more pacific, superlative most pacific)

more pacific (comparative)
most pacific (superlative)

The policeman on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. […] Trying doors as he went, twirling his club with many intricate and artful movements, turning now and then to cast his watchful eye adown the pacific thoroughfare, the officer, with his stalwart form and slight swagger, made a fine picture of a guardian of the peace.

1906 April, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “After Twenty Years”, in The Four Million, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co, →OCLC, page 214:

խաղաղ

calm, peaceful — see also calm, peaceful


wilful

wilful (comparative more wilful or wilfuler or wilfuller, superlative most wilful or wilfulest or wilfullest)

more wilful (comparative)
wilfuler (comparative)
wilfuller (comparative)
most wilful (superlative)
wilfulest (superlative)
wilfullest (superlative)

From Middle English wilful; equivalent to will + -ful.

Troponyms: spiteful, malicious

Mary had taken the whim into her willful head, and Jane could not dissuade her.

1893, Edwin Caskoden, When Knighthood Was in Flower, page 110:

Let you not be taking it bad, Conchubor, but you’ll get little good seeing her this night, for with all my talking it’s wilfuler she’s growing these two months or three.

1909, John M[illington] Synge, “Act I”, in Deirdre of the Sorrows: A Play, Churchtown: Cuala Press, published 1910, page 5:

He was a youth to the end of his days, the heart of a boy with the head of a sage; the heart of a good boy, or a bad boy, but always a wilful boy, and wilfulest to show himself out at every time for just the boy he was.

1910, W[illiam] D[ean] Howells, chapter I, in My Mark Twain: Reminiscences and Criticisms, New York, N.Y., London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, part first (Memories), page 5:

"He's as willful as you," Rizpah said. "If you let him hurt himself again, so help me, I'll — "

1995, Francine Rivers, As Sure as the Dawn, page 232:

You had a pampered upbringing, and possessed enough of a willful streak that I wanted to slap you at times

2007, Roger K. Thomas, Kinshu: Autumn Brocade, translation of original by Teru Miyamoto, page 136:


vindictive

vindictive (comparative more vindictive, superlative most vindictive)

more vindictive (comparative)
most vindictive (superlative)

From Latin vindicta (“vengeance”) + -ive.

Lord Avonleigh was an angry rather than a vindictive man. Vindictiveness requires more energy of character than he possessed. Indeed, it may be questioned whether he would of himself have taken the violent measures of the preceding evening.

1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXXIX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 326:

The vindictive mockery in her voice made his brain quiver.

1920 November 9, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter XVIII, in Women in Love, New York, N.Y.: Privately printed [by Thomas Seltzer] for subscribers only, →OCLC:

The victors will exact vindictive penalties and the losers of course will undertake to pay, but none of them realizes that money is going to do the most extraordinary things to them when they begin upon that.

1933 September, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “Introduction: The Dream Book of Dr. Philip Raven”, in The Shape of Things to Come, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, page 5:

Having a tendency to seek revenge when wronged, vengeful.


poseur

He pretends he's an artist, but he's just a poseur.

She only dresses like that because she thinks she is getting the boys' attention; she's such a poseur.

But he was also, what seems almost incompatible with this ferocious truthfulness, excessively self-conscious and morally attitudinising, a thin-skinned poseur.

1884, Vernon Lee (pseudonym; Violet Paget), The Countess of Albany, published 1910, page 67:

I am a poseur and I don't care / I like to make people stare

1978, Poly Styrene (lyrics and music), “I Am a Poseur”, in Germ Free Adolescents, performed by X-Ray Spex:

One who affects some behaviour, style, attitude or other condition, often to impress or influence others.

позьор

one who affects some behaviour, style, attitude or other condition, often to impress or influence others


diligent

diligent (comparative more diligent, superlative most diligent)

more diligent (comparative)
most diligent (superlative)

From Middle English diligent, from Old French diligent, from Latin dīligēns (“careful, attentive, diligent”), present participle of dīligō (“to love, esteem much”, literally “to choose, select”), from dī-, dis- (“apart”) + legō (“to choose”); see elect and select.

der

Scientists are very diligent in their work.

Performing with industrious concentration; hard-working and focused.


diligent

fr-adj

diligent (feminine diligente, masculine plural diligents, feminine plural diligentes)

diligente (feminine)
diligents (masculine plural)
diligentes (feminine plural)

diligent (performing with intense concentration)


faithful

en-adj

faithful (comparative more faithful, superlative most faithful)

more faithful (comparative)
most faithful (superlative)

From Middle English feithful, equivalent to faith + -ful.

My dog is very faithful: he doesn't like to be petted by anybody else.

Loyal; adhering firmly to person or cause.

besnik

loyal; adhering firmly to person or cause

My servant is very faithful.

They had been faithful to each other all of their married life.

She wanted to be free to explore casual affairs, but her man had to be faithful.

Engaging in sexual relations only with one's spouse or long-term sexual partner.


faithful

Earlier this year, as the recession put a damper on ticket sales, Maxwell said the easy route would have been to go for the tried-and-true old faithfuls.

2009 September 30, Bruce DeMara, “Shaw's comedy gets teeth”, in Toronto Star:

Someone or something that is faithful or reliable.


blowhard

Essentially deverbal in nature, albeit not from a unitary phrasal verb; from blow hard.

The merchants are the most ultra Secessionists, one of the secret springs of action among this class being the heavy indebtedness owing to Eastern creditors. Some men of Northern origin were the most rabid. A "blow-hard," named JAMES PATTERSON, of Augusta, Jackson County, was originally from Pennsylvania. He stumped the county and was elected to the Convention, and cast his vote for secession.

1861 October 20, “Interesting from Arkansas. Correspondence of the Missouri Democrat.”, in The New York Times, page 2:

[T]he loud-mouthed blowhard seemed just the man to flinch when real danger confronted him; […]

1896, Robert Barr, “The Shadow of the Greenback”, in Revenge!, New York, N.Y., London: Frederick A. Stokes Company, →OCLC, page 182:

Oh, this bellowing, blatant, bellicose, belligerent, bombastic blowhard […]

1941 November 17, “Political Notes: Republican Rift?”, in Time, archived from the original on 2016-04-16:

In my profession, I have seen more than my share of blowhards who use volume to intimidate the weak, fool the feeble-minded, or control the insecure or lazy who would just as soon have someone do their thinking for them anyway.

1999, Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, Wendy Mazzarella, “Learning to Ask the Right Questions—and Listen to the Answers”, in Reading People: How to Understand People and Predict Their Behavior—Anytime, Anyplace, London: Vermilion, Ebury Press, →ISBN, page 109:

David Davis, Liam Fox, Boris Johnson and the other Brexit blowhards know they have no chance of achieving their stated aims, such as a £350m weekly NHS payback.

2017 March 27, “The Observer view on triggering article 50: As Britain hurtles towards the precipice, truth and democracy are in short supply”, in The Observer, London, archived from the original on 2017-08-30:

(Canada, US, derogatory) A person who talks too much or too loudly, especially in a boastful or self-important manner.


unconventional

unconventional (comparative more unconventional, superlative most unconventional)

more unconventional (comparative)
most unconventional (superlative)

Not adhering to custom, convention, or accepted standards.

оригинален

not adhering to custom, convention, or accepted standards


maverick

Named after Texan lawyer and politician Samuel Maverick (1803–1870), who refused to brand his cattle. For probable origin and meaning, see Maverick.
The poker noun sense (“a queen and a jack as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em”) may be from the theme song of the US Western television series Maverick (1957–1962), which says of the eponymous protagonist that “[g]amblin’ is his game” and that he is “livin’ on jacks and queens”.

named-after

As a voter, I'm a maverick, don't belong to any party. I believe that John Doe is the best available man for county commissioner, Richard Roe for sheriff, Joe Hicks for governor—but John is a Democrat, Dick is a Republican, and Joe is—well, something else.

1924 May 3, Collier’s, volume 73, Springfield, Oh.: Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 38:

The relative merits of the civils and the demerits of the electricals were extolled in the following challenge: “To the A.I.E.E. [American Institute of Electrical Engineers], hereinafter referred to as the mavericks of the engineering profession."

1926, “The Engineers’ Basketball Contest: Civils vs. Electricals”, in The Idaho Engineer, Boise, Ida.: Idaho Society of Professional Engineers, →OCLC, page 70:

If representation and recruitment is an objective, self-styled mavericks like Kelly and his Queensland sidekick George Christensen have some utility.

2021 February 2, Katharine Murphy, The Guardian:

(by extension) One who is unconventional or does not abide by rules.

nonkonformista

one who is unconventional or does not abide by rules

We then drift back into our old habits, glorify efficiency, and smile knowingly at the mavericks within the faculty who want the administration to take democracy seriously.

1947, Norman Burns, The Administration of Higher Institutions under Changing Conditions (Institute for Administrative Officers of Higher Institutions; Proceedings), Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, →OCLC, page 75:

Florence Nightingale would have been perceived as a maverick during her early career, because she was prioritizing hygiene when everybody else involved in healthcare was focused on other things, such as surgery and pills.

2008, Simon Singh, Edzard Ernst, “How Do You Determine the Truth?”, in Trick or Treatment?: Alternative Medicine on Trial, [London]: Transworld Publishers, →ISBN, pages 36–37:

(by extension) One who creates or uses controversial or unconventional ideas or practices.

nonkonformista

one who creates or uses controversial or unconventional ideas or practices


nonconformist

Someone who does not conform to accepted beliefs, customs or practices.

дисидент

someone who does not conform to accepted beliefs, customs or practices


sensible

en-adj

sensible (comparative more sensible, superlative most sensible or sensiblest)

more sensible (comparative)
most sensible (superlative)
sensiblest (superlative)

[ˈsɛn̥səbɫ̩]

From Latin sēnsibilis (“perceptible by the senses, having feeling, sensible”), from sentiō (“to feel, perceive”).

der

a sensible thermometer

with affection wondrous sensible

c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene viii]:

(archaic) Liable to external impression; easily affected; sensitive.


cheerful

en-adj

cheerful (comparative more cheerful, superlative most cheerful)

more cheerful (comparative)
most cheerful (superlative)

/ˈt͡ʃɪə(ɹ)fəl/

/ˈt͡ʃɪə(ɹ)fʊl/

/ˈt͡ʃɜː(ɹ)fəl/

/ˈt͡ʃɜː(ɹ)fʊl/

From Middle English chereful, cherful, equivalent to cheer + -ful.

They enjoyed a cheerful room.

At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors.[…]In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.

1892, Walter Besant, chapter III, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:


oleaginous

oleaginous (comparative more oleaginous, superlative most oleaginous)

more oleaginous (comparative)
most oleaginous (superlative)

/ˌəʊ.lɪˈæd͡ʒ.ɪ.nəs/

Borrowed from French oléagineux, borrowed from Medieval Latin oleāginōsus (“oily”), from olea (“the olive tree or its fruit”).

[…] the use of Linseed-oyl, Tar, or such oleaginous Matter, tends much to their Preservation and Duration.

1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:

Looking back, it seemed to me that a slight oleaginous mist was still hovering round the chair.

1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Disintegration Machine:

His once-black hair had faded to the color of used steel wool and now covered his bony skull in a peculiar oleaginous fuzz.

2000, Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde, page 677:


joyful

joyful (comparative joyfuller or more joyful, superlative joyfullest or most joyful)

joyfuller (comparative)
more joyful (comparative)
joyfullest (superlative)
most joyful (superlative)


vivacious

vivacious (comparative more vivacious, superlative most vivacious)

more vivacious (comparative)
most vivacious (superlative)

Borrowed from Latin vīvāx (“lively, vigorous”) (with the suffix -ious), from vīvere (“to live”).

bor+

Thus then society is not arranged in clans, but in tribes, united by the general sense of a common name, a common abode, a common history, a common religion, and a remote sense of a common tribal stock, without any sense of personal affinity in each individual case. Again, it is curious to observe that the xenial relation was not less vivacious than that of blood.

1858, W. E. Gladstone, Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, volume 2, Oxford University Press, pages 459–460:

Given the vivacious young redhead's attractiveness, some might have assumed he had more than simply professional reasons for sheepdogging her career, but they would have been wrong. He'd seen something in her ...

1999, David Weber, Echoes of Honor, Baen Publishing Enterprises, →ISBN:

Lively and animated; full of life and energy.


histrionic

en-adj

histrionic (comparative more histrionic, superlative most histrionic)

more histrionic (comparative)
most histrionic (superlative)

Borrowed from Late Latin histriōnicus (“pertaining to acting; scurrilous, shameful; wretched”), from Latin histriōnicus (“pertaining to acting and the theatre”), from histriō (“actor, player”) + -icus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). By surface analysis, histrion + -ic.

der

[F]oppiſh airs / And hiſtrionic mumm'ry, that let down / The pulpit to the level of the ſtage, / Drops from the lips a diſregarded thing.

1785, William Cowper, “Book II. The Time-piece.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 74:

[T]he mode and the expression of honour to literature in France has continued to this hour tainted with false and histrionic feeling, because originally it grew up from spurious roots, prospered unnaturally upon deep abuses in the system, and at this day (so far as it still lingers) memorialises the political bondage of the nation.

1848 May–August, [Thomas De Quincey], “Art VI.—The Life and Adventures of Oliver Goldsmith. A Biography. In Four Books. By John Forster. London, 1848. [book review]”, in The North British Review, volume IX, Edinburgh: W. P. Kennedy, […]; London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co.; Dublin: James M‘Glashan, →OCLC, page 208:

[Leon] Trotsky's vanity, unlike [Joseph] Stalin's, was, practically speaking, frivolous. There was something more histrionic about it. He had shown himself no less ruthless than Stalin. Indeed, at the time of the Civil War, he had ordered executions on a greater scale than Stalin or anyone else.

1990, Robert Conquest, “The Foreign Element”, in The Great Terror: A Reassessment, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN; 40th anniversary edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008, →ISBN, book II (The Yezhov Years), page 414:

In the dance, the obsessive-compulsive keeps his mate endlessly frustrated. She, in turn, becomes more histrionic, and as she projects her emotional dirty part into him, he becomes more anal and compulsive.

2008, Joan Lachkar, “The Obsessive-Compulsive Narcissist”, in How to Talk to a Narcissist, New York, N.Y., Abingdon, Oxon.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 72:

This lens (known as a carello ottico in Italian and a travelling optique in French) is used sparingly but effectively in General Della Rovere during the important bombardment scene inside the prison, which introduces [Vittorio] De Sica's most histrionic speech.

2009, Peter Bondanella, “Neorealism’s Legacy to a New Generation, and the Italian Political Film”, in A History of Italian Cinema, New York, N.Y.: Continuum International Publishing Group, →ISBN, part 3 (The Golden Age of Italian Cinema), pages 219–220:

A vicious circle may form in which the more rejected they feel the more histrionic they become, and the more histrionic they become the more rejected they feel.

2010, Neel Burton, “Personality Disorders”, in Psychiatry, 2nd edition, Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, →ISBN, part 2, page 138, column 2:

(by extension) Excessively dramatic or emotional, especially with the intention to draw attention.


cynic

en-adj

cynic (comparative more cynic, superlative most cynic)

more cynic (comparative)
most cynic (superlative)

From Middle English cynike, cynicke, from Middle French cynique, from Latin cynicus, from Ancient Greek κυνικός (kunikós), originally derived from the portico in Athens called Κυνόσαργες (Kunósarges), the earliest home of the Cynic school, later reinterpreted as being derived from κύων (kúōn, “dog”), in a contemptuous allusion to the uncouth and aggressive manners adopted by the members of the school.

cinik

A person who believes that all people are motivated by selfishness


ditzy

ditzy (comparative ditzier, superlative ditziest)

ditzier (comparative)
ditziest (superlative)

Since early 1800s commonly used by Pennsylvania Dutch (Penslfawnisch Deitsch); possibly a borrowing from dialectal German dutzig, also dützig, ditzig (“numb, dazed, dizzy, as after having been punched; dull, stupid”), from dialectal dutzen (“to butt, hit, punch”). Compare German verdutzt (“dumbfounded”) and regional Dötsche (“bump, dent, bruise”). Unlikely, an alteration of dizzy, of American origin.

The guy tossed some cash on the counter, then left with the ditzy girl and Abigail's fan.

2011, Ellen Block, The Definition of Wind: A Novel, Bantam, →ISBN, page 31:

[…] —and she'd smile like a primly mischievous Japanese girl, or like some slyly ditzy ingenue on a talk show, all the while watching her interrogator try to fathom (though sometimes they were pretty dim and just said, “Oh”) the surprising cleverness of her answer.

2013, Francisco Goldman, The Long Night of White Chickens, Grove Press, Seven

After hiring a crew of young guys and gals including loyal Jo, unlucky-in-love Frankie, strapping Bob, wisecracking Dee Dee, ditzy blonde Jonesy and titian-haired Penny, the gang drives up to the lodge.

2015, Thomas Lisanti, Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies: The First Wave, 1959–1969, McFarland, →ISBN, page 262:

(informal) Silly or scatterbrained, usually of a young woman.


impudent

impudent (comparative more impudent or (informal) impudenter, superlative most impudent or (informal) impudentest)

more impudent (comparative)
impudenter (comparative informal)
most impudent (superlative)
impudentest (informal superlative)

From Middle English impudent, originally meaning immodest, shameless, from Latin impudēns (“shameless”), ultimately from in- + pudere (“to feel shame”).

The impudent children would not stop talking in class.

Sir Iohn, ſir Iohn, I am well acquainted with your maner of wrenching the true cauſe,the falſe way. It is not a confident brow, nor the throng of wordes, that come with ſuch (more then impudent) ſawcines from you, can thruſt me from a leuell conſideration, […]

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 79, column 2:

“Wickam,” retorted Mrs. Pipchin, coloring, “is a wicked, impudent, bold-faced hussy.”

1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, “Paul’s Further Progress, Growth, and Character”, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 75:

And another asked me if I had come to get a Canadian sweetheart; and a third, one of the impudentest, most conceitedest fellows I ever did set eyes upon, nudged me, so that I spilled my coffee all over my second-best damask-silk apron—the one with bugle fringe, you know, Miss Capel—and says he, 'Is it a case of Barkis is willin'?'

1877, Emma Jane Worboise, “The New Evangeline”, in The Grey House at Endlestone, London: James Clarke and Co., […]; Hodder and Stoughton, […], →OCLC, page 480:

Not showing due respect; bold-faced, impertinent.


sensitive

sensitive (comparative more sensitive, superlative most sensitive)

more sensitive (comparative)
most sensitive (superlative)

From Middle French sensitif, from Medieval Latin sensitivus.

Max is very sensitive; he cried today because of the bad news.

(of a person) Easily offended, upset, or hurt.


impulsive

Borrowed from Middle French impulsif, from Latin impulsivus.

One whose behaviour or personality is characterized by being impulsive.


gentil

fr-adj

gentil (feminine gentille, masculine plural gentils, feminine plural gentilles)

gentille (feminine)
gentils (masculine plural)
gentilles (feminine plural)

Inherited from Old French gentil, borrowed from Latin gentīlis, from gēns (“Roman clan”).

Elle reçut une petite tape gentille sur les fesses.

She received an amiable little slap on the buttocks.

attractive, pretty; also derogative, in the sense of superficial, esp. in the arts


testy

en-adj

testy (comparative testier, superlative testiest)

testier (comparative)
testiest (superlative)

Middle English testif (“headstrong”), from Old French testu, from teste (“head”) + -u. Compare modern French tête (“head”), têtu (“stubborn”).


irritable

irritable (comparative more irritable, superlative most irritable)

more irritable (comparative)
most irritable (superlative)

Borrowed from French irritable, from Latin irritabilis.

an irritable old man


demure

demure (comparative demurer, superlative demurest)

demurer (comparative)
demurest (superlative)

Inherited from Middle English demure, demwre, an abbreviation of Anglo-Norman de mure port (“with a mature demeanor”) (compare Old French meur from Latin mātūrus):
*si il seyt coy e de mure port (Amur curteiz) (“he sits quietly and with a mature appearance”)
* Documents illustrating the history of Scotland, CLV, 1306, Orders for the custody of Scottish prisoners, CLV: …et que eles soient de bon et meur port (“…with a good and mature demeanor”)
* mss. Arundel, 220: ke cely qe vus amerez soyt de gentil manere, coy, de meure porture (“with a mature demeanor”)
* (Monastic rule): de aunciene dame de meure porture ke pusse les plus ieuenes rieueler e endoctriner (“an old lady with a mature demeanor able to rule and educate the young girls”).

der

She is a demure young lady.

Nan was very much delighted in her demure way, and that delight showed itself in her face and in her clear bright eyes.

1881, William Black, The Beautiful Wretch:

I was coming back from the ladies' room when I saw her. She looked demure. Oval wire-rimmed glasses. A sky blue jacket buttoned over a long black-and-white flowered shirt.

2005, Maureen Dowd, Are Men Necessary?, →ISBN, page 311:

[H]owever hard she pushed the tough-talkin' shtick, she remained doe-eyed, glowing and somehow unassailably demure.

2014 January 21, Hermione Hoby, “Julia Roberts interview for August: Osage County – 'I might actually go to hell for this …'”, in The Daily Telegraph:

And in their daily lives, girls and women are pushed to conform to fairly narrow templates of behavior as demure or delicate.

2021 June 30, Motoko Rich, Hikari Hida, “Expected to Be Demure, Japan’s Girls Face Steep Hurdles to Athletic Dreams”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(chiefly of a woman) Modest, quiet, reserved, or serious.


demure

English: demure

Scots: demure


crank

en-adj

crank (comparative cranker, superlative crankest)

cranker (comparative)
crankest (superlative)

From Dutch or Low German krank, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *krank, from Proto-Germanic *krangaz, *krankaz (“bent; weak”). Cognate with Scots crank, krank, German krank (“sick”).


crank

John is a crank because he talks to himself.

Persons whom the Americans since Guiteau’s trial have begun to designate as ‘cranks’—that is to say, persons of disordered mind, in whom the itch of notoriety supplies the lack of any higher ambition.

The raw meat cranks are in dead earnest. They think that raw food is the manna of heaven.

1901 July 19, “Gleanings”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record, volume 4, number 10, page 318:

But do you know what isn't in the school books? That old Rossum was mad. Seriously, Miss Glory, you must keep this to yourself. The old crank wanted to actually make people.

c. 1921 (date written), Karel Čapek, translated by Paul Selver, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots): A Fantastic Melodrama […], Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1923, →OCLC, Act 1:

(informal, British, dated in US) A person who is considered strange or odd by others, and may behave in unconventional ways.


acquiescent

acquiescent (comparative more acquiescent, superlative most acquiescent)

more acquiescent (comparative)
most acquiescent (superlative)

From Latin acquiescens, -entis; present participle.

an acquiescent policy

resting satisfied or submissive; disposed tacitly to submit


chill

chill (comparative more chill, superlative most chill)

more chill (comparative)
most chill (superlative)

From Middle English chele, chile, from Old English ċiele, ċele (“cold; coldness”), from Proto-West Germanic *kali, from Proto-Germanic *kaliz, from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to be cold”). Closely related with Dutch kil. Also akin to cool, cold, which see.

der

The teacher is really chill and doesn't care if you use your phone during class.

Paint-your-own ceramics studios are a chill way to express yourself while learning more about your date's right brain.

“I might put it on if someone’s asking me a question I don’t want to answer. It’s like playing the character of an obnoxious, but chill, girl.”

2023 May 15, Alaina Demopoulos, “Why are so many young Americans adopting fake British accents?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:


prudish

en-adj

prudish (comparative more prudish, superlative most prudish)

more prudish (comparative)
most prudish (superlative)

Near-synonyms: prim, priggish, prissy; straight-laced; puritanical

Of excessive propriety; easily offended or shocked, especially by sexual matters.


mature

mature (comparative more mature, superlative most mature)

more mature (comparative)
most mature (superlative)

From late Middle English mature, from Middle French mature, from Latin mātūrus. Doublet of maduro. Partially displaced ripe, from Old English rīpe (“ripe, mature”).

/məˈt͡ʃʊ(ə)ɹ/

mature content

(television, film) Suitable for adults only, due to sexual themes, violence, etc.


valiant

valiant (comparative more valiant, superlative most valiant)

more valiant (comparative)
most valiant (superlative)

From Middle English vailaunt (“having or showing courage or valour, valiant; characterized by valour; powerful, strong; person of valour or strength; excellent, worthy; beneficial, useful; valuable; legally valid, binding”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman vaillaunt, vaylant [and other forms], and Old French vailant, vaillant (“brave, valiant; having value, valuable”) [and other forms], from the present participle of valoir (“to have value; to be worth”), from Latin valēre (“to have value; to be worth; to be strong; to have influence or power”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“powerful, strong; to rule”).

nb...

vailant, vailaunt, vailiant, vaillant, vaillaunt, vaillaunte, valiant, valiante, valiaunte, valliaunt, valyant, valyante, valyaunt, valyaunte, vaylaunt, waillant, (chiefly Scotland) vailȝeand

der

A valiant man’s look is more than a coward’s sword.

For by readyng of hiſtories fyrſte we know how longe time mightie empyres, great kyngedomes, famous common weales and citees haue floriſhed: how many yeres noble prynces, valiant capitaynes, and wyſe gouernours haue reigned: in what age they were, which was before other, and how farre diſtante in tyme one from an other.

1560, Thomas Cooper, “To the Ryght Honorable Lorde Russell Erle of Bedforde, and One of the Queenes Maiesties Moste Honorable Counsell: Thomas Cooper Wisheth Longe Continuance of Prosperous Life and Muche Honour.”, in Coopers Chronicle, Conteininge the Whole Discourse of the Histories as well of This Realme, as All Other Countreis, […], new edition, London: […] [in the house late Thomas Berthelettes], →OCLC:

And of the Gadites there ſeparated them ſelues ſome vnto Dauid into the holde of the wildernes, valiant men of warre, and mẽ of armes, & apt for battel, which colde handle ſpeare and ſhield, and their faces were like the faces of lyons, and were like the roes in the mountaines in ſwiftenes, […]

1560, [William Whittingham et al., transl.], The Bible and Holy Scriptures Conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament. […] (the Geneva Bible), Geneva: […] Rouland Hall, →OCLC, I. Chronicles XII:8, column 2:

Hee's truly Valiant, that can wiſely ſuffer
 The worſt that man can breath,
 And make his Wrongs, his Out-ſides,
 To weare them like his Rayment, careleſſely,
 And ne're preferre his iniuries to his heart,
 To bring it into danger.

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 v], page 88, column 1:

Then they read to him ſome of the worthy Acts that ſome of his Servants had done. As how they had ſubdued Kingdoms, wrought Righteouſneſs, obtained Promiſes, ſtopped the mouths of Lions, quenched the violence of Fire, eſcaped the edge of the Sword; out of weakneſs were made ſtrong, waxed valiant in fight, and turned to flight the Armies of the Aliens. [Heb[rews] 11. 33, 34.]

1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 61:

The Advantages of Time and Place are enough to make a Poultron Valiant. There's Nothing ſo Couragious as a Coward if you put him out of Danger.

1692, Roger L’Estrange, “[The Fables of Barlandus, &c.] Fab[le] CCVII. A Wolfe and a Kid.”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC, page 178:

But admit that good Men are begotten of good Parents, and valiant Men of valiant Fathers; and if this be to Mankind proper, why are not good and valiant Children begotten of good and valiant common Perſons also? for they are Men as well as the other. But nothing is more deceitful than this Rule; for through the Corruption of Man's Nature we ſee it often happens, a prodigal Son to be born of a frugal Father, a Fool of a wiſe Man, and a Coward of a courageous Man.

1718, [Maurice Shelton or John Randall], “Of the First Roman Nobility”, in An Historical and Critical Essay on the True Rise of Nobility, Political and Civil; […], London: […] C[harles] Rivington […], →OCLC, page 51:

Possessing or showing courage or determination; brave, heroic.

igid

possessing or showing courage or determination


shrewd

en-adj

shrewd (comparative shrewder, superlative shrewdest)

shrewder (comparative)
shrewdest (superlative)

From Middle English schrewed (“depraved; wicked”, literally “accursed”), from schrewen (“to curse; beshrew”), from schrewe, schrowe, screwe (“evil or wicked person/thing”), from Old English sċrēawa (“wicked person”, literally “biter”). Equivalent to shrew + -ed. More at shrew.
The sense of "cunning" developed in early 16ᵗʰ c., gradually gaining a positive connotation by 17ᵗʰ c.


brutal

fr-noun

brutal m (plural brutaux, feminine brutale)

Borrowed from Medieval Latin brūtālis (“savage, stupid”), from brūtus (“dull, stupid”). See brut and -al.


robotic

en-adj

robotic (comparative more robotic, superlative most robotic)

more robotic (comparative)
most robotic (superlative)

/ɹəʊˈbɒt.ɪk/

[ɹoʊˈbɑ.ɾɪk]

/ɹəʉˈbɔt.ɪk/

[ɹəʉˈbɔɾ.ɪk]

robot + -ic.
Coined by American science fiction author Isaac Asimov in 1941 in his short story Liar!.

coin

You'd cut your own nose off before you'd let me get the credit for solving robotic telepathy.

1941 May, Isaac Asimov, “Liar!”, in Astounding Science-Fiction, volume 27, number 3, page 50:

In Vice President Al Gore's campaign to change his robotic image, nothing may have helped more than the big smooch.

2000 August 20, Caryn James, “The Nation; When a Kiss Isn't Just a Kiss”, in The New York Times:

Of, relating to, or resembling a robot; mechanical, lacking emotion or personality, etc.


dissolute

From Middle English dissolute, from Latin dissolutus.

[H]e illustrated the hypocrisy of his party; and was often known to exercise his talent of drinking a company of dissolutes under the table.

1879, The Quarterly Review, volume 148, page 263:

An immoral person devoted to sensual pleasures.


gross

en-adj

gross (comparative grosser or more gross, superlative grossest or most gross)

grosser (comparative)
more gross (comparative)
grossest (superlative)
most gross (superlative)

From Middle English gross (“whole, entire; flagrant, monstrous”), from Old French gros (“big, thick, large, stout”), from Late Latin grossus (“thick in diameter, coarse”), and Medieval Latin grossus (“great, big”), influenced by Old High German grōz (“big, thick, coarse”), from Proto-Germanic *grautaz (“large, great, thick, coarse grained, unrefined”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to rub, to stroke, to grind”).
Cognate with French grossier (“gross”). See also French dialectal grôt, groût (“large”) (Berry) and grô (“large”) (Burgundy), Catalan gros (“big”), Dutch groot (“big, large”), German groß (“large”), English great.

der

a gross mistake; gross injustice; gross negligence; a gross insult

Henry IV. My gracious uncle, let me know my fault:
On what condition stands it and wherein?
Edmund of Langley. Even in condition of the worst degree,
In gross rebellion and detested treason:

1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene 3]:

Your very faults, how gross soere, to me
Have something pleasing in ’em.

1682, Aphra Behn, “The City-Heiress”, in et al., London: D. Brown, act IV, scene 1, page 40:

[…] I thank Heaven I have had Time to reflect on my past Life, where though I cannot charge myself with any gross Villainy, yet I can discern Follies and Vices too sufficient to repent and to be ashamed of;

1749, Henry Fielding, chapter 10, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book 18, page 336:

[…] had his actions been what Wickham represented them, so gross a violation of every thing right could hardly have been concealed from the world;

1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:

[…] he has been found guilty, on the clearest evidence, first, of stealing a valuable motor-car; secondly, of driving to the public danger; and, thirdly, of gross impertinence to the rural police.

1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, chapter 6, in The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC:

(of behaviour considered to be wrong) Highly or conspicuously offensive.

I threw up all over the bed. It was totally gross.

Mary Ann spent her lunch hour at Hastings, picking out just the right tie for Norman. The hint might not be terribly subtle, she decided, but somebody had to do something about that gross, gravy-stained clip-on number.

1978, Armistead Maupin, “Ties That Bind”, in Tales of the City, New York: Harper & Row, published 1989, page 293:

The next-door neighbor’s cat coughed up a hairball one day and the hair was not the cat’s. “That’s so gross!”

2002, Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex, New York: Picador, Book 3, p. 306:

(informal, Canada, US, Australia) Causing disgust.

Pog. Forsooth my Maister said that hee loved her almost as well as hee loved parmasent, and swore [...] that shee wanted such a Nose as his was, to be as pretty a young woeman, as was any in Parma. Do. Oh grose!

c. 1626 or 1629–1633 (first performance), [John Ford], ’Tis Pitty Shee’s a Whore […], London: […] Nicholas Okes for Richard Collins, […], published 1633, →OCLC, Act I:

Verjuice. She certainly has Talents.
Lady Sneerwell. But her manner is gross.

1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, act I, scene 1:

But man to know God is a difficulty, except by a mean he himself inure, which is to know God’s creatures that be: at first them that be of the grossest nature, and then [...] them that be more pure.

1874, A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Dodsley et al.:

All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill. It was ugly, gross. Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the present connexion—or rather as a transition from the subject that started their conversation—such talk had been distressingly out of place.

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

Lacking refinement in behaviour or manner; offending a standard of morality.

سَيِّء

lacking refinement in manner; offending morality

For he is groſſe and like the maſſie earth,
That mooues not vpwards, nor by princely deeds
Doth meane to ſoare aboue the highest ſort.

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 vii:

For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 13:15:

A thousand liveried Angels lacky her [the chaste soul],
Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt,
And in cleer dream, and solemn vision
Tell her of things that no gross ear can hear.

1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC:

(archaic) Not sensitive in perception or feeling.


helpful

en-adj

helpful (comparative more helpful, superlative most helpful)

more helpful (comparative)
most helpful (superlative)

From Middle English helpful; equivalent to help + -ful.

a helpful clue

a helpful person

[…]inſtructe the yonge Chyrurgiane, becauſe that vvithout making any great delaye, he might be adiuvable & helpefull to the patient vvith theſe remedyes vvhich conſequently follovve.

1597, Jacques Guillemeau, translated by A. M., The Frenche chirurgerye, Dort: Iſaac Canin, page 48:


cynical

cynical (comparative more cynical, superlative most cynical)

more cynical (comparative)
most cynical (superlative)

I hope it is no very cynical asperity not to confess obligations where no benefit has been received.

1755, Samuel Johnson, To the Earl of Chesterfield:

Of or relating to the belief that human actions are motivated only or primarily by base desires or selfishness.

سَاخِر

of or relating to the belief that human actions are motivated by base desires or selfishness

He seldom talked, and when he did, it was usually to make some cynical remark-for instance, he would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have had no tail and no flies.

1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:

Bitterly or jadedly distrustful or contemptuous; mocking.

zynisch

When he, at Neergard's cynical suggestion, had consented to exploit his own club[…]and had consented to resign from it to do so, he had every reason to believe that Neergard meant to either mulct them heavily or buy them out. In either case, having been useful to Neergard, his profits from the transaction would have been considerable.

1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter X, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

Showing contempt for accepted moral standards by one's actions.


fashionable

fashionable (comparative more fashionable, superlative most fashionable)

more fashionable (comparative)
most fashionable (superlative)

→ Danish: fashionabel

→ French: fashionable

→ German: fashionable

/ˈfæʃənəbl̩/

fashionable society

For time is like a faſhionable Hoſte / That ſlightly ſhakes his parting Gueſt by th'hand;

c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], column 1:


incapable

fr-noun

incapable m (plural incapables, feminine incapable)

incapables (plural)
incapable (feminine)


quick-tempered

en-adj

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

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

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

He was a quick-tempered fellow who was generally avoided by his co-workers.

Easily or quickly angered or frustrated.


persnickety

persnickety (comparative more persnickety, superlative most persnickety)

more persnickety (comparative)
most persnickety (superlative)

From Scots persnickety, whence also pernickety. More at pernickety.

Marjorie glanced up and down the long street. “Well, I never in my life saw so many different kinds of houses!” she exclaimed. “Aren’t they funny! Why, they look almost like people. Look at that little persnickety one over there — the white, white one with the green, green blinds — doesn’t it look exactly like —”

1905, Katherine M. Yates, At the Door: A Tale to Read Both on the Lines and Between, K. M. Yates & Company, page 7:

I have just read the article in your issue for May 16 on dialectic English. The word tempest recalls the surprise I felt at the beginning of three years' residence on Cape Cod to hear the word used commonly as an exact synonym for thunderstorm.
Persnickety I have been accustomed to use in the sense attached to perjinkety, that is, over-fastidious. I do not know how the word was acquired or how common its use is.

1914 July 3, William H. Bowers, “The Use of ‘Tempest.’”, letter to the editor, in The Dial: A Semi-Monthly Journal of Literary Criticism, Discussion, and Information, The Henry O. Shepard Co., volume LVII, page 47

Her free and easy association with her fellow nurses is prone to break down her womanly reserve and natural modesty. Her assiduity in clinging to ideals of modest begins to abate as a result. She is inclined to think she has been too “persnickety;” that this is unnecessary when one understands “the naturalness of the physical body.” She wonders what is the use. And forthwith the foundation is laid for Moral Lenity.

1919, Gertrude Harding, The Higher Aspect of Nursing, W. B. Saunders Company, pages 180–181:


vainglorious

vainglorious (comparative more vainglorious, superlative most vainglorious)

more vainglorious (comparative)
most vainglorious (superlative)

From Middle English veinglorious, from Old French vain glorios, from Latin vānus (“empty”) + glōriōsus.

And the Apoſtle [Paul] ſeems here moſt peculiarly to have directed this Encomium of the Gospel, as a Defiance to the Philoſophers of his Time, the Fluſtring Vain-glorious Greeks, vvho pretended ſo much to magnify, and even Adore the VViſdom they profeſſed, […]

1694 May 9 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar); first published 1698, Robert South, “Christianity Mysterious, and the Wisdom of God in Making it so, Proved in a Sermon Preached at Westminster-Abbey, April 29. 1694.”, in Twelve Sermons upon Several Subjects and Occasions, volume III, London: […] Tho[mas] Warren for Thomas Bennet […], →OCLC, page 263:

"So kindly keep the vainglorious enumeration of your pots for the benefit of those village idiots who compose your particular set of boozing companions."

1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1965, →OCLC, page 85:

Railway engines have been attacked with gunfire by raiding aircraft on both sides of the Channel and the impression has grown up that they are defenceless monsters to be pestered with impunity. The first engine to disprove this vainglorious theory was, we are glad to note, a British one. [The locomotive boiler exploded, causing the aircraft to crash.]

1943 March and April, “Notes and News: Southern Locomotive Destroys Raider”, in Railway Magazine, page 119:

With excessive vanity or unwarranted pride.

փառամոլ

with excessive vanity or unwarranted pride


persistent

persistent (comparative more persistent, superlative most persistent)

more persistent (comparative)
most persistent (superlative)

From Latin persistentem, present participle of persistō (“continue steadfastly”). By surface analysis, persist + -ent.

(mathematics, stochastic processes, of a state) non-transient.


gracious

gracious (comparative more gracious, superlative most gracious)

more gracious (comparative)
most gracious (superlative)

From Middle English gracious, from Old French gracieus, from Latin gratiosus, from gratia (“esteem, favor”). See grace. Displaced native Old English hold (“gracious”). Doublet of gracioso and grazioso.


pompous

pompous (comparative more pompous, superlative most pompous)

more pompous (comparative)
most pompous (superlative)

From Middle English pompous, from Old French pompeux, from Late Latin pomposus, from Latin pompa (“pomp”), from Ancient Greek πομπή (pompḗ, “a sending, a solemn procession, pomp”), from πέμπω (pémpō, “I send”), equivalent to pomp + -ous. Doublet of pomposo.

der

But man is a Noble Animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave, solemnizing Nativities and Deaths with equal lustre, nor omitting Ceremonies of bravery, in the infamy of his nature.

1658, Sir Thomas Browne, Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial:

Not that the parting speech caused Amelia to philosophise, or that it armed her in any way with a calmness, the result of argument; but it was intolerably dull, pompous, and tedious; and having the fear of her schoolmistress greatly before her eyes, Miss Samuel did not venture, in her presence, to give way to any ebullitions of private grief.

Affectedly grand, solemn or self-important.


stolid

en-adj

stolid (comparative stolider, superlative stolidest)

stolider (comparative)
stolidest (superlative)

From Middle French stolide, from Latin stolidus (“foolish, obtuse, slow”).

der

He went slowly to his tent and stretched himself on a blanket by the side of the snoring tall soldier. In the darkness he saw visions of a thousand-tongued fear that would babble at his back and cause him to flee, while others were going coolly about their country's business. He admitted that he would not be able to cope with this monster. He felt that every nerve in his body would be an ear to hear the voices, while other men would remain stolid and deaf.

1895 October, Stephen Crane, chapter II, in The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, pages 30–31:

With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black.

Having or revealing little emotion or sensibility.

безстрастен

having or revealing little emotion or sensibility


impassive

en-adj

impassive (comparative more impassive, superlative most impassive)

more impassive (comparative)
most impassive (superlative)

From im- (“not”) + passive (“to express the suffering or feeling”).

prefix

It was a victory that clearly meant so much to Van Gaal as the normally impassive manager raced from his seat in the technical area to celebrate Lingard's winner.

2016 May 22, Phil McNulty, “Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United”, in BBC:


licentious

en-adj

licentious (comparative more licentious, superlative most licentious)

more licentious (comparative)
most licentious (superlative)

From Latin licentiōsus, from licentia (“license, freedom”).


lively

lively (comparative livelier, superlative liveliest)

livelier (comparative)
liveliest (superlative)

From Middle English lyvely, lifly, from Old English līflīċ (“living, lively, long-lived, necessary to life, vital”), equivalent to life + -ly. Cognate with Scots lively, lifely (“of or pertaining to life, vital, living, life-like”). Doublet of lifely and lifelike.

inh

The colours of the prism are manifestly more full, intense, and lively that those of natural bodies.

1704, Isaac Newton, Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light:

His faith must be not only living, but lively too.

1688, Robert South, Sacramental Preparation: Set forth in a Sermon on Matthew 5, 12.:

Bright, glowing, vivid; strong, vigorous.


defiant

Borrowed from French défiant, from the verb défier. Doublet of diffident. By surface analysis, defy + -ant.

Countries condemning South Africa, Portugal and Rhodesia still find it necessary to trade with these defiants against so-called world opinion.

1966, British Broadcasting Corporation. Monitoring Service, Summary of World Broadcasts: Non-Arab Africa (issues 2262-2303)

Damn the obedients and hail the defiants if you will; the experiment does not motivate confidence about how particular subjects would behave in markedly dissimilar situations.

John Michael Doris, Lack of Character: Personality and Moral Behavior (page 48)


innovative

en-adj

innovative (comparative more innovative, superlative most innovative)

more innovative (comparative)
most innovative (superlative)

Forward-looking; ahead of current thinking.

innovador

forward looking; ahead of current thinking


promiscuous

promiscuous (comparative more promiscuous, superlative most promiscuous)

more promiscuous (comparative)
most promiscuous (superlative)

→ German: promiskuos

From Latin prōmiscuus (“mixed, not separated”), from prō (“forth”) + misceō (“mix”).

bor

Came singly where he stood on the bare strand, / While the promiscuous croud stood yet aloof.

1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 379-80:

[T]hey had both been educated [...] on plans at once narrow and promiscuous, first in an English family and afterwards in a Swiss family at Lausanne, their bachelor uncle and guardian trying in this way to remedy the disadvantages of their orphaned condition.

1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter I, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book I, page 4:

Made up of various disparate elements mixed together; of disorderly composition.

разнороден

made up of various disparate elements mixed together

A sail caught by a promiscuous wind.

Made without careful choice; indiscriminate.

безразборен

made without careful choice; indiscriminate

X spreads false rumours to third parties about X’s spouse being promiscuous. X’s spouse finds out about the rumours and is distressed. X has committed emotional or psychological abuse against X’s spouse.

2023, Parliament of Singapore, “Women’s Charter (Family Violence and Other Matters) (Amendment) Bill”, in Republic of Singapore Government Gazette^(https://www.parliament.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/women's-charter-(family-violence-and-other-matters)(amendment)-bill-18-2023.pdf), page 5:

Having many sexual partners, especially if indiscriminate in choice of sexual partners.

разпуснат

(networking) The mode in which an NIC gathers all network traffic instead of getting only the traffic intended for it.

erottelematon

networking: the mode in which an NIC gathers all network traffic


natty

en-adj

natty (comparative nattier, superlative nattiest)

nattier (comparative)
nattiest (superlative)

Originally slang, perhaps related to natural.

Anyway, while the creepy-video thing is under way there are also some scenes of Pullman looking very natty and East Village in all-black and jamming on his tenor sax in front of a packed dance floor (only in a David Lynch movie would people dance ecstatically to abstract jazz), […]

1997, David Foster Wallace, “David Lynch keeps his head”, in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Kindle edition, Little, Brown Book Group:

A natty dresser, especially by congressional standards, Mr. Curtis has turned his penchant for bright socks into an ice-breaker that he says helps constituents feel comfortable in approaching him.

2025 January 28, Cameron Joseph, “Meet Mitt Romney’s replacement – who could make or break the Trump agenda”, in The Christian Science Monitor:


obnoxious

obnoxious (comparative more obnoxious, superlative most obnoxious)

more obnoxious (comparative)
most obnoxious (superlative)

PIE word
 *h₁epi
Learned borrowing from Latin obnoxiōsus (“subject to someone, under someone’s authority”) + English -ous (suffix denoting the presence of a quality in any degree, typically an abundance). Obnoxiōsus is derived from obnoxius (“guilty, punishable; subject to someone, under someone’s authority”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; overly; prone to’, forming adjectives from nouns).

lbor

Throwing stones at the bus is another example of your obnoxious behaviour.

The disturbance had commenced, like those of England, in the refusal of the parliament to sanction an obnoxious tax; but here all resemblance ended.

1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 74:

For my part, thumb-marks [in books] I find very obnoxious—far more so than the spoiling of the binding.

1867, George MacDonald, “Sermon on God and Mammon”, in Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood […], volume I, London: Hurst and Blackett, publishers, successors to Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 359:

Someone jolted my arm and the contents of my glass spilled onto an immaculate white dress. I felt obnoxious.

1989, Antônio Torres, Blues for a Lost Childhood: A Novel of Brazil, Columbia, La.: Readers International, →ISBN, page 41:

I would have been nine or ten when my mother chased me up a thorn tree with a ceremonial hippo-hide whip. What my crime was, I forget. My mother was, and remains, a woman of exceptional forbearance. I must have done something so obnoxious as to beggar belief.

2003, David Bennun, “After the Earthquake”, in Tick Bite Fever, London: Ebury Press, published 2004, →ISBN, page 109:

He felt obnoxious and knew perfectly well that he would have no explanation whatsoever had anyone discovered him, but she looked so alluring, so untroubled, so fortunate, that his only concern was the terrible crack the shutter made...quiet as it was.

2013, Molly Cutpurse [pseudonym?], chapter 5, in Dark Man, [United Kingdom]: [Lulu.com], →ISBN, page 44:

Extremely offensive or unpleasant; very annoying, contemptible, or odious.

بَغِيض

extremely offensive or unpleasant; very annoying, contemptible, or odious

He was an especially obnoxious and detestable specimen of a man.

I always feel out of place when I am around people. I feel obnoxious if I laugh or talk too much.

2013 December 13, Catherine Hilterbrant, chapter 16, in Drive-by Psychosis, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 51:

(of a person) Unjustly disagreeable, argumentative or objectionable; brazenly rude.

And they dreſſed and prepard Hierome of Prage, an oath, in the Councell of Conſtance, by vvhich he muſt ſvveare, freely, voluntarily, (or elſe bee burned) and ſimplie, and vvithout condition, To aſſent to that Church, in all things, but eſpecially in the Doctrines of the Keyes, and Eccleſiaſtick immunities and reliques, and all the ceremonies, vvhich vvere the moſt obnoxious matters.

1610, John Donne, “That Nothing Requir’d in this Oath, Violates the Popes Spirituall Iurisdiction; […]”, in Pseudo-Martyr. […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Walter Burre, →OCLC, paragraph 9, page 353:

[A]s our par[ti]cular Perſons vvere not obnoxious, ſo if any Engliſh or Dutch Ships came thither, perhaps vve might have an Opportunity to load our Goods, and get Paſſage to ſome other Place in India, nearer Home.

1719, [Daniel Defoe], The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 296:

Therefore no wise republic ought to be satisfied, unless she bring to punishment the individual most obnoxious, and those about him who may be supposed to have made him so, his counsellors and courtiers.

1824, Walter Savage Landor, “Conversation VI. Æschines and Phocion.”, in Imaginary Conversations of Literary Men and Statesmen, volume I, London: […] Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, page 73:

Deserving of blame or punishment; blameworthy, guilty.

[M]ost of them (the fellowes) being sneaking and obnoxious, they did run rather with the temper of the warden, than stand against him, to keep themselves in and enjoy their comfortable importances.

a. 1696 (date written), Anthony a Wood [i.e., Anthony Wood], “The Life of Anthony a Wood, Written by Himself”, in Anthony a Wood, Philip Bliss, Athenæ Oxonienses. An Exact History of All the Writers and Bishops who have had Their Education in the University of Oxford. […], new edition, volume I, London: […] F. C. and J. Rivington; […], published 1813, →OCLC, page xlix:

Under the authority or power of someone; subject, subordinate; hence, deferential, submissive, subservient.


coy

en-adj

coy (comparative coyer, superlative coyest)

coyer (comparative)
coyest (superlative)

From Middle English coy, from Old French coi, earlier quei (“quiet, still”), from Latin qu(i)ētus (“resting, at rest”). Doublet of quiet.

Reluctant to give details about something sensitive; notably prudish.

сдържан

reluctant to give details about something sensitive

The ill-bred miss, the bird-brained Jill, / May simper and be coy at will; / A lady, sir, as you will find, / Keeps counsel, or she speaks her mind, / Means what she says and scorns to fence / And palter with feigned innocence.

1981, A. D. Hope, “His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell”, in A Book of Answers:

Pretending shyness or modesty, especially in an insincere or flirtatious way.

Enforced hate, / Instead of love's coy touch, shall rudely tear thee.

1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC:


coy

en-verb

coy (third-person singular simple present coys, present participle coying, simple past and past participle coyed)

coys (present singular third-person)
coying (participle present)
coyed (participle past)
coyed (past)

(transitive, obsolete) To calm or soothe.


smug

en-adj

smug (comparative smugger, superlative smuggest)

smugger (comparative)
smuggest (superlative)

Possibly from Middle Low German smuk (“lithe, delicate, neat, trim”) although the g of the English word is not easily explained. From the Low German derived also North Frisian smok, Danish smuk and Swedish smukk (now obsolete or dialectal). The ultimate source should be Proto-Germanic *smeuganą.
Compare Middle High German gesmuc (“ornament”) and smücken (“to dress, to adorn”), both ultimately from smiegen (“to press to, insert, wrap, to nestle”), hence German schmiegen, Schmuck and schmücken. The adjective schmuck, however, was borrowed from Low German. See smock for more.

bor

Kate looked extremely smug this morning.

Irritatingly pleased with oneself; offensively self-complacent, self-satisfied.

самодоволен

irritatingly pleased with oneself; self-satisfied


observant

en-adj

observant (comparative more observant, superlative most observant)

more observant (comparative)
most observant (superlative)

The observant police officer noticed that my tax disk was out-of-date.

Alert and paying close attention; watchful.


ascetic

ascetic (comparative more ascetic, superlative most ascetic)

more ascetic (comparative)
most ascetic (superlative)

17th century, from Medieval Latin asceticus, from Ancient Greek ἀσκητικός (askētikós), from ἀσκητής (askētḗs, “monk, hermit”), from ἀσκέω (askéō, “I exercise”).

In a word, the stern, ascetic rigor of the temple discipline, which had been so long exchanged for prodigal and licentious indulgence, seemed at once to have revived at Templestowe under the severe eye of Lucas Beaumanoir.

1820, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe: A Romance, published 1868, page 151:

1999, Alan Davies, Tradition and Modernity in Protestant Christianity, Karigoudar Ishwaran (editor), Ascetic Culture: Renunciation and Worldly Engagement, page 30,
The rich communal life of the most ascetic Protestants, for example, the Hutterites and the Old Order Mennonites, with their nineteenth century dress and preference for antiquated technology, refutes such superficial judgments.

2004, Phyllis G. Jestice, Ascetics as Holy People, Phyllis G. Jestice (editor), Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1: Entries A to G, page 70,
Throughout the hagiographical tradition, though, holy people have engaged in more ascetic practices than the population at large, usually proceeding two or three degrees beyond what is expected among the merely pious.

This experience enables Nāgārjuna to recognize that desire is the root cause of suffering and motivates him to turn to a more ascetic lifestyle.

2015, Carl Olson, Indian Asceticism: Power, Violence, and Play, page 155:

Characterized by rigorous self-denial or self-discipline; austere; abstinent; involving a withholding of physical pleasure.

abstinent

characterised by rigorous self-denial or self-discipline


ascetic

First, the technical terms used to signify hindu ascetics, hermits, mendicants and some related terms are analysed in their religious meaning with the view of avoiding a good deal of confusion that exists in such studies.

1982, Mariasusai Dhavamony, Classical Hinduism, page 369:

Female ascetics find shelter in a wide variety of establishments and vary greatly in the degree to which they travel.

2004, Lynn Teskey Denton, Female Ascetics in Hinduism, page 110:

The ascetics were not only concerned with abstinence from food, and much of the contemporary literature stresses sexual desire and civil ambition as other important dangers to avoid.

2015, Susanne Kerner, Cynthia Chou, Morten Warmind, editors, Commensality: From Everyday Food to Feast, unnumbered page:

One who is devoted to the practice of self-denial, either through seclusion or stringent abstinence.


old-fashioned

From old + fashioned. The cocktail (which goes back to at least the early 1800s) got its name in the late 1800s as more complicated cocktails became common and those who preferred simpler drinks began asking for old-fashioned cocktails.

A type of doughnut with a cakelike consistency and a rough surface, usually made with cultured buttermilk and chemical leaven and fried at a lower temperature.


amicable

amicable (comparative more amicable, superlative most amicable)

more amicable (comparative)
most amicable (superlative)

From Middle English amicable (“agreeable; pleasant”), from Late Latin amīcābilis (“friendly”). Doublet of amiable.

inh

They hoped to reach an amicable agreement.

He was an amicable fellow with an easy smile.


opinionated

en-adj

opinionated (comparative more opinionated, superlative most opinionated)

more opinionated (comparative)
most opinionated (superlative)

Holding to one's own opinion obstinately and unreasonably.


determined

determined (comparative more determined, superlative most determined)

more determined (comparative)
most determined (superlative)

I'm determined to get a good grade on my exam.

Decided; resolute, possessing much determination.


playful

playful (comparative playfuller or more playful, superlative playfullest or most playful)

playfuller (comparative)
more playful (comparative)
playfullest (superlative)
most playful (superlative)

From Middle English pleiful, equivalent to play + -ful.

A brainteaser is a playful puzzle posed as a test of intelligence.


smarmy

smarmy (comparative smarmier, superlative smarmiest)

smarmier (comparative)
smarmiest (superlative)

From smarm + -y. Apparently coined by "B.R.L., of Brighton" with sense "saying treacly things which do not sound genuine" in a competition for neologisms in The Academy (London) published on 14 January 1899.

a smarmy salesman with a big smile

Starring a smarmy dog and scores of hapless flying wildfowl, Duck Hunt was the game that introduced many to the joys of the NES Zapper lightgun.

2019, “Ultimate Guide: Duck Hunt”, in Darran Jones, editor, 100 Games to Play Before You Die: Nintendo Consoles Edition (Retro Gamer), 3rd edition, Future, page 43:

Falsely earnest, smug, ingratiating, or pious.


ostentatious

ostentatious (comparative more ostentatious, superlative most ostentatious)

more ostentatious (comparative)
most ostentatious (superlative)

Originated 1590; from Latin ostentātus + -ious.

Over the course of the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin has drawn several “red lines” – with ostentatious references to Russia’s huge strategic nuclear arsenal – only to seemingly do nothing when these lines are crossed by Ukraine or its Western backers.

2024 September 19, Fred Weir, “Why Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling on Ukraine sounds different this time”, in The Christian Science Monitor:


graceful

graceful (comparative more graceful, superlative most graceful)

more graceful (comparative)
most graceful (superlative)

From Middle English graceful; equivalent to grace + -ful.

The athlete's graceful acceptance of the controversial second-place finish won the admiration of the spectators.

Magnanimous, lacking arrogance or complaint; gracious.


gauche

From gauchir (“bend, dodge, warp”), a conflation of Old French gauchier (“tread”) (from Frankish *walkijan, *walkan, cognate with English walk) + Old French guenchir (“deviate”) (from Frankish *wenkijan (“to sway, falter”)). Gauche replaced the original word for "left", senestre, in the sixteenth century. Compare Walloon gåtche.


careless

careless (comparative more careless, superlative most careless)

more careless (comparative)
most careless (superlative)

From Middle English careles, from Old English carlēas (“careless, reckless, void of care, free from care, free”), equivalent to care + -less. Cognate with Icelandic kærulaus (“careless, negligent”).

cog

"He was here," observed Drina composedly, "and father was angry with him."
"What?" exclaimed Eileen. "When?"
"This morning, before father went downtown."
Both Selwyn and Lansing cut in coolly, dismissing the matter with a careless word or two; and coffee was served—cambric tea in Drina's case.

1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IV, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

Jessica was so careless that she put her shorts on backwards.

These ballads, none of which are later than the fifteenth century, are written in a strain of the most artless simplicity, not the slightest attempt at ornament is to be discerned in them; the same ideas and expressions continually recur, and the rimes are the most careless imaginable, often a mere assonnance in vowels or consonants, sometimes not possessing even that slight similarity of sound.

1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 132:

I don't find the pose of careless youth charming and engaging any more than you find the pose of careworn age fascinating and eccentric, I should imagine.

1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 2, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section I, page 35:

Not giving sufficient attention or thought, especially concerning the avoidance of harm or mistakes.

sorgeloos

not giving sufficient attention or thought

Jessica was careless about putting her shorts on properly.

Good-humored, easy, and careless, he presided over his whale-boat as if the most deadly encounter were but a dinner, and his crew all invited guests.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 27, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

(archaic) Free from care; unworried, without anxiety.


tidy

en-adj

tidy (comparative tidier, superlative tidiest)

tidier (comparative)
tidiest (superlative)

From Middle English tidy, tydy, tidi (“timely, seasonal, opportune”), from tide (“time”) + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian tiedig (“timely, early”), Dutch tijdig (“timely”), German Low German tiedig (“timely”), German zeitig (“seasonal, timely”), Danish tidig (“timely”), Swedish tidig (“timely”).

cog

The scheme made a tidy profit.

Two hundred thousand people! Miss Glory, that's a tidy lot. Not bad.

c. 1921 (date written), Karel Čapek, translated by Paul Selver, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots): A Fantastic Melodrama […], Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1923, →OCLC, Act 1:


melancholic

en-adj

melancholic (comparative more melancholic, superlative most melancholic)

more melancholic (comparative)
most melancholic (superlative)

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

From Latin melancholicus, from Ancient Greek μελαγχολικός (melankholikós, “atrabilious, impulsive, of atrabilious or melancholic temperament”), from μελαγχολία (melankholía, “melancholy”). By surface analysis, melancholy + -ic.

der

μελαγχολικός

(classical temperament) Pertaining to the melancholic temperament or its associated personality traits.


imaginative

en-adj

imaginative (comparative more imaginative, superlative most imaginative)

more imaginative (comparative)
most imaginative (superlative)

/ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnətɪv/

/ɪˈmæd͡ʒnətɪv/

From Middle English ymagynatif, from Middle French imaginatif, from Medieval Latin imāginātīvus.

an imaginative boy

No doubt kibitzers are highly imaginative. How else could they see wins and brilliant combinations that do not exist?

1951 December, Helen Weissenstein, “Readers' Forum”, in Chess Review:

Having a lively or creative imagination.


warm-hearted

warm-hearted (comparative more warm-hearted, superlative most warm-hearted)

more warm-hearted (comparative)
most warm-hearted (superlative)


carping

“Oh, stop your carping, Dawn!” I told myself. “You can't expect charming tones, and Oriental do-dads and apple trees in a German boarding-house.”

1911, Edna Ferber, chapter 6, in Dawn O'Hara, the Girl who Laughed:


wayward

wayward (comparative more wayward, superlative most wayward)

more wayward (comparative)
most wayward (superlative)

He is a brilliant fellow when he chooses to work—one of the brightest intellects of the University, but he is wayward, dissipated, and unprincipled.

1904 June, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Three Students”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC:

Fancies are like shadows . . . you can’t cage them, they’re such wayward, dancing things.

1909 September, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, “The Pointing of Duty”, in Anne of Avonlea, Boston, Mass.: L[ouis] C[oues] Page & Company, →OCLC, page 66:

The Ig Nobel awards are arguably the highlight of the scientific calendar. The prizes, which are the wayward son of the more righteous Nobels, are supposed to reward research that makes people laugh, then think.

2004 October 1, Helen Pilcher, “Laughter in the lab”, in Nature, →DOI:

Given to wilful, perverse deviation from the expected norm; tending to stray.

капризен

given to wilful, perverse deviation from the expected norm; tending to stray