Timely Words
archaic
From the Greek word meaning “ancient,” this adjective
describes something that belongs to a much earlier period of time, often a
classical period of civilization. It is similar to “antiquated” in that it usually
describes something that is no longer in use, but it suggests something
even older.
gloaming
This noun is a lovely literary term for “dusk” or
“twilight.” You won’t hear it much in conversation, but it comes up quite
often in novels, even contemporary ones.
obfuscate
This verb comes from the Latin for “to darken over” and means to make confusing or difficult to understand. One often obfuscates intentionally in order to hide the truth.
firmament
This noun might sound as if it referred to terra firma, the earth, but instead it refers to the sky, the heavens. It’s usually used in a religious, historical, or poetic context.
badinage
More lightweight conversation…this import into English serves as a synonym—with a French twist— for banter.
ephemeral
This adjective comes from the Greek word that
means “day” and, though it originally meant “lasting only a day,” it now
describes anything short-lived or fleeting.
diaphanous
Literally applied, this adjective usually describes cloth that is so fine in texture as to allow one to see through it.
bedlam
Though we now use this noun to mean “any place or situation of utter confusion or noisy uproar,” it once referred to only one such place. Bedlam is a contraction of Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem, a former institution for the mentally ill in London.
ethereal
This adjective describes things that are heavenly, delicate, insubstantial, as if they were “of the air.”
repartee
Yet another French word for a light exchange of conversation, this one emphasizing the retort or reply of the person addressed, which may, in turn, inspire yet another clever remark.
evanescent
this adjective means “disappearing like vapor.” The verb form is “to evanesce.” It can be used to describe something literal, like a fragrance, or something more figurative, such as love.
benighted
Today this adjective is always used figuratively to describe a person or an argument in moral or intellectual darkness; the “night” of ignorance has descended.
melee
From the Old French word for “to mix,” this noun means a brawl, a confused and violent battle.
conflagration
This noun refers to a really big fire. It
derives from the Latin for “to burn” that also gives us the adjective “flagrant.”
lambent
This adjective describes the lightness of… well, light. It might tell of something flickering or something glowing, a literal “lick” of light. It can also be used figuratively.
dilatory
This adjective means tending towards postponing
or delaying. If you need a noun form, use “lateness.”
diatribe
The root of the Greek word diatribe or “learned discourse” is diatribein, which means “to consume or wear away.” In English, the noun means “a bitter, abusive lecture.”
convoluted
This adjective doesn’t mean confused; it means “confusing.” Something that is convoluted is intricate or complicated. It actually means “coiled in overlapping folds,” like the inside of a seashell or the petals of a flower or the folds in the brain. When we come across something that is convoluted, we feel confused.
incendiary
In its literal sense this adjective describes substances that can cause a fire. It can also describe anything that figuratively inflames.
leaven
To leaven is to lighten, either in a literal sense of causing bread dough to rise or the metaphorical sense of lightening up a figuratively heavy topic.
diurnal
This adjective means “occurring in a twenty-four-hour period” or “daily” or “occurring or active in the daytime, rather than at night”
vituperation
This noun also means a sustained speech of harshly abusive language. The emphasis here is more on abusing rather than on arguing or correcting. The adjective form is vituperative.
quagmire
Though this noun literally means “a swampy, muddy piece of land” (from the Middle English word for “bog”), its figural meaning is “a difficult predicament.” When things go awry, you often find yourself in a quagmire.
febrile
From the Latin word for “fever,” this adjective describes just that—something related to or characterized by fever, whether literal or figurative.
elucidate
This verb means to make clear (“lucid”) through explanation, to shed light on the subject. The root word “lucid” is itself an adjective coming from the Latin word for “bright” or “shining.”