Unbreakable but maybe flexible
lithe
(rhymes with writhe) A good word for “limber” or “flexible,” this word
can be used to describe people or things. Another form of the adjective is
“lithesome” or “lissome (LISS um).”
mite
(rhymes with tight) As a noun, this word can mean a lot of different
tiny things— a small amount of money, a small insect, a child, or even a
small particle. As an adjective it connotes “to a small degree.”
smidgen
(SMIJ jen) This noun comes from the Scottish for “small person”
or “small amount” or, possibly, “small syllable.” It, too, connotes an indeterminate
but small amount.
obscure
(ob SKYUR) This adjective means “so dark as to be barely visible”
or “indistinct.” It can also mean “hidden” or “not well-known,” “not easily
understood,” or “inconspicuous.” You can use the word to describe a littleknown
town or author or even a dense piece of writing that’s hard to
comprehend. When it’s used as a verb, it means “to make indistinct or dark.”
The noun form is “obscurity.”
crepuscular
(crep US cue lar) This adjective means “dim” or “like twilight.”
Unlike “obscure,” it is used solely to describe the quality of physical light.
adamant
(AD ah ment) Since this word comes to us from the Greek for
“unconquerable” and “diamond,” it’s no wonder it means “impervious to
reason” or “stubbornly unyielding.” There’s even a stone named “adamantine,”
that was thought to be impenetrable.
malleable
(MAL ee ah bul) From the Latin word for “hammer,” this
adjective means “capable of being shaped or formed (as if by hammering,
either literally or figuratively).” It can be used to describe things or people
who easily adjust to differing circumstances.
snippet
(SNIP it) Here’s a noun to describe “a bit, scrap, or morsel.” It is
occasionally used informally to describe a small or mischievous person,
usually a child.
opaque
(oh PAKE) From the Middle English word that means “shady,” this
adjective means several different kinds of dark. First, it means “impenetrable
by light.” It also means “so obscure (see #1) as to be unintelligible.” Finally, it
means “dense,” as in mentally unintelligible. The noun form is “opacity.”
tenebrous
(ten EEB rus) This adjective means dark and gloomy and is used
exclusively to describe literal darkness. There is a noun—tenebrosity—but
it is rarely used.
implacable
(im PLAK ah bul) We’re back to unyielding with this adjective. It
means “unable to be appeased or mollified’ (see “What a Relief” chapter).
The noun form is “implacability” or “implacableness.”
dollop
(DOLL up) This noun probably comes from the Norwegian word
for “lump” and means “a small quantity” or “splash,” usually of a liquid
or soft solid.
iota
(eye OH ta) This noun is not only the ninth and smallest letter of the
Greek alphabet; it also connotes “a very small amount.” The Latin spelling
of the word is “jota” and gives us a different word with the same meaning:
“jot.”
dram
(rhymes with HAM) Finally we have a noun for “a tiny amount” that
has a specific weight. A “dram” is “a unit of weight equal to 1⁄16 of an ounce
or 27.34 grains. As an apothecary weight, it is equal to 1⁄8 of an ounce. It is
often used to mean a small amount, however, without any reference to its
actual weight value.
swarthy
(SWAR thee) Here’s an adjective reserved for describing dark
complexions. The noun form is “swarthiness.”
stringent
(STRIN jent) From the Latin word for “to draw tight,” this word
means “strict or severe” or “constricted.” It is used to describe actions
rather than people.
inexorable
(in EX or ah bul) This adjective means “relentless” or “not
capable of being stopped or changed.”
modicum
(MOD ih come) From the Latin for “moderate” or “measure,” this
noun means “a small or modest amount.” Of course that amount changes,
depending upon what you are meting out.
shrouded
(SHROWD ed) A shroud is something that conceals, protects, or
screens, whether it’s a cloth used to wrap a body for burial or a natural
screen such as a “shroud of fog.” This adjective, therefore, means
“wrapped in darkness.” The word comes from the Middle English word for
“garment.”
penumbra
(pen UM bra) A word often used in astronomy, this noun
means “partial shadow,” the area between complete illumination and
total eclipse. It can also be used figuratively to mean “an area in which
something exists to an uncertain degree.”
stalwart
(stal WART) This word, from the Old English word for “steadfast,”
means “firm” and “resolute” and can be used to describe people or actions.
It can also be used as a noun to mean “one who loyally supports a party or
a cause.
obeisance
(oh-BEY sance) This is not the noun form of “obey.” That’s
“obedience.” “Obeisance” is what you do to express your obedience or
respect. Like a bow or a curtsy, obeisance is “a gesture that expresses
homage or a willingness to serve.”
scintilla
(sin TILL ah) This noun means “a tiny amount,” such as “a trace”
or a “spark.” In fact, it comes from the Latin word for “spark.” It’s also the
root of the word “scintillating,” which means “sparkling” or “fascinating.”
soupçon
(SOOP sone) From the Old French word for “suspicion,” this noun
means a “tiny amount” or “just a trace or a hint.”
lowering
(rhymes with flowering) Aside from its common usage to mean
“lessen,” this verb also means “to appear dark or threatening.” It can be
used to describe a stormy sky or an angry, sullen look. The noun form is
“lower.”