surly \SUR-lee\ (adjective) - 1 : Ill-humored; churlish in manner or mood; sullen and gruff. 2 : Menacing or threatening in appearance, as of weather conditions; ominous.

"A large surly- looking human in sunbleached khakis and a military cap stood facing them, impressive arms folded across his equally impressive chest." -- Sean Williams, Shane ...Read more

fatidic \fuh-TID-ik\ (adjective) - Of, relating to, or characterized by prophecy; prophetic.

"With a fatidic clarity that conies only occasionally and only to the young, she understood that, like the mythic marking of her purple-banded lake, this too was a sign, an omen." -- Kathleen Cambor, 'In Sunlight, in a Beautiful Garden'

Fatidic comes ...Read more

turbid \TUR-bid\ (adjective) - 1 : Muddy; thick with or as if with roiled sediment; not clear; -- used of liquids of any kind. 2 : Thick; dense; dark; -- used of clouds, air, fog, smoke, etc. 3 : Disturbed; confused; disordered.

"And he had a friend, a Slow- Solid Tortoise, who lived on the banks of the turbid Amazon, eating green lettuces and ...Read more

renege \rih-NIG; -NEG\ (intransitive verb) - To go back on a promise or commitment.

"At three PM on Tuesday afternoon Clark and Murphy arrived at the villa, alarmed by reports that their new protege intended to renege on the armistice he had signed six hours earlier?" -- Rick Atkinson, 'An Army at Dawn'

Renege is from Medieval Latin renegare, ...Read more

enunciate \ee-NUN-see-ayt; ih-\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To utter articulately; to pronounce. 2 : To state or set forth precisely or systematically. 3 : To announce; to proclaim; to declare.

(intransitive verb) - To utter words or syllables articulately.

"'I now call on any here present with a prior claim to this woman to enunciate such claim ...Read more

oneiric \oh-NY-rik\ (adjective) - Of, pertaining to, or suggestive of dreams; dreamy.

"Now he considered Vera as a female figure that had always inexplicably remained within his oneiric sphere, in his unconscious part." -- John Hawkins, 'Alchemic Love'

Oneiric comes from Greek oneiros, "dream."

patina \PAT-n-uh; puh-TEEN-uh\ (noun) - 1 : The color or incrustation which age gives to works of art; especially, the green rust which covers ancient bronzes, coins, and medals. 2 : The sheen on any surface, produced by age and use. 3 : An appearance or aura produced by habit, practice, or use. 4 : A superficial layer or exterior.

"The banks ...Read more

provenance \PROV-uh-nuhn(t)s\ (noun) - Origin; source.

"At this point, and assuming that the provenance is very good, I don't see more than seventy-five to a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in the whole lot." -- Elizabeth Lowell, 'Running Scared'

Provenance comes from French, from provenant, present participle of provenir, "to originate," ...Read more

caveat \KAY-vee-at; KAV-ee-; KAH-vee-aht\ (noun) - 1 : (Law) A notice given by an interested party to some officer not to do a certain act until the opposition has a hearing. 2 : A warning or caution; also, a cautionary qualification or explanation to prevent misunderstanding.

"It was this repeated caveat, repeatedly met by Penguin's ...Read more

nonage \NON-ij; NOH-nij\ (noun) - 1. The time of life before a person becomes legally of age. 2 : A period of youth or immaturity.

"In him there is a hope of government,
Which, in his nonage, council under him,
And in his full and ripen'd years himself,
No doubt shall then, and till then, govern well." -- William Shakespeare...Read more

fetid \FET-id; FEE-tid\ (adjective) - Having an offensive smell; stinking.

"When Savigny returned to his fetid sty of a hutch, he found a veritable pandemonium, a huddle of men stringing their hammocks against every available hook on the beams." -- Arabella Edge, 'The God of Spring'

Fetid derives from Latin fetidus, from fetere, "to stink."

meticulous \muh-TIK-yuh-luhs\ (adjective) - Extremely or excessively careful about details.

"Starling was an efficient housekeeper, but not a meticulous one. Her side of the duplex was clean and she could find everything, but stuff tended to pile up..." -- Thomas Harris, 'Hannibal'

Meticulous ultimately derives from Latin meticulosus "fearful...Read more

wayworn \WAY-worn\ (adjective) - Wearied by traveling.

"And when three years had passed, Turin returned again to Menegroth; but he came from the wild, and was unkempt, and his gear and garments were wayworn." -- J.R.R. Tolkien, 'The Silmarillion'

Wayworn is way (from Old English weg) + worn (from Old English werian).

slugabed \SLUHG-uh-bed\ (noun) - One who stays in bed until a late hour; a sluggard.

""Don't you Auntie me, you slugabed! There's toads to be buried and stoops to be washed. Why are you never around when it's time for chores?" -- Michael Swanwick, 'King Dragon'

Slugabed is from slug, "sluggard" + abed, "in bed."

subaltern \suhb-OL-tuhrn; SUHB-uhl-tuhrn\ (adjective) - 1 : Ranked or ranged below; subordinate; inferior. 2 : (Chiefly British) Ranking as a junior officer; being below the rank of captain. 3 : (Logic) Asserting only a part of what is asserted in a related proposition.

(noun) - 1 : A person holding a subordinate position. 2 : (Chiefly British)...Read more

sublunary \suhb-LOO-nuh-ree\ (adjective) - Situated beneath the moon; hence, of or pertaining to this world; terrestrial; earthly.

"They acquire sublunary bodies, just as did the fallen Watchers when they joined with the daughters of men. Sublunary bodies meant they were stripping themselves of power." -- Faith Hunter, 'Host'

Sublunary is from...Read more

lackadaisical \lack-uh-DAY-zih-kuhl\ (adjective) - Lacking spirit or liveliness; showing lack of interest; languid; listless.

"Folk whose god is lazy and lackadaisical needs must do for themselves what that lazy, lackadaisical god will not do for them." -- Harry Turtledove, 'Between the Rivers'

Lackadaisical comes from the expression ...Read more

descant \DES-kant\ (noun) - 1 : (Music) (a) A melody or counterpoint sung above the plain song of the tenor. (b) The upper voice in part music. 2 : A discourse or discussion on a theme.

\DES-kant; des-KANT; dis-\ (intransitive verb) - 1 : (a) To sing or play a descant. (b) To sing. 2 : To comment freely; to discourse at length.

"Nay, now you ...Read more

robustious \roh-BUHS-chuhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Boisterous; vigorous. 2 : Coarse; rough; crude.

"O, it offends me t the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings, who for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb shows and noise." -- William ...Read more

Q: I've sometimes heard a future event described as being "more and more inevitable." Are there actually degrees of inevitability? -- Frank Greene, Glastonbury, Connecticut

A: No. "Inevitable" is one of about 30 common adjectives described by linguists as "uncomparables," that is, they have absolute meanings that can't be modified by adverbs....Read more