ATARAXIA (at·a·rax·ia \at-ə-ˈrak-sē-uh\), noun.
DEFINITION: calmness.
EXAMPLE: After years of meditation practice, the monk attained a heightened state of ataraxia – nothing could break his serenity.
Pulchritudinous
PULCHRITUDINOUS (pul·chri·tu·di·nous \pəl-krə-ˈtü-den-əs\), adjective.
DEFINTION: Physically attractive.
EXAMPLE: The pulchritudinous young lady turned men’s heads and drew women’s glares as she sashayed down the street.
Gambol
GAMBOL (gam·bol \ˈgam-bəl\), verb.
DEFINITION: To skip and jump in a lively manner.
EXAMPLE: During recess, children gambolled around the schoolyard like little lambs in a field.
Sloom
SLOOM (sloom \ˈslüm\), noun.
DEFINITION: A light sleep.
EXAMPLE: The rocking motion and rhythmic chuffing of the train lulled her into a gentle sloom.
Petrichor
PETRICHOR (pet·ri·chor /ˈpe-truh-kor/), noun.
DEFINITION: the smell of rain.
EXAMPLE: As the dark grey clouds began to unleash their payload, the musty smell of petrichor languished in the city streets.
Hypergamy
HYPERGAMY (hy·per·ga·my \hī-ˈpər-gə-mē\), noun.
DEFINITION: Marriage into a higher social group.
EXAMPLE: The local seamstress realised her dreams of hypergamy when she accepted the mayor’s marriage proposal.
Impavid
IMPAVID (im·pavid \’im-puh-vid\), adjective.
DEFINITION: Fearless.
EXAMPLE: The soldiers were impavid as they bravely marched into enemy territory.
Spendthrift
SPENDTHRIFT (spend·thrift \ˈspend-thrift\), noun.
DEFINITION: One who spends carelessly or wastefully.
EXAMPLE: Bob was a notorious spendthrift who couldn’t hold onto a dollar if his life depended on it.
Cry Off
CRY OFF (cry·off \ˈkrī ɒff\), verb.
DEFINITION: to back out; cancel.
EXAMPLE: Feeling a bit under the weather, Betsy decided not to attend the meeting and cried off at the last minute.
Swan song
SWAN SONG (ˈswɑːn.sɑːŋ \swɒnsɒŋ), noun.
DEFINITION: a final performance.
EXAMPLE: The musician chose to make his recent tour his swan song before retirement.
Desultory
DESULTORY (des·ul·to·ry \ˈde-səl-ˌtȯr-ē\), adjective.
DEFINITION: Aimless; random.
EXAMPLE: Charles meandered through the market on a desultory stroll, searching for items as they popped into his head.
Sycophant
SYCOPHANT(sy·co·phant \ˈsi-kə-fənt\), noun.
DEFINITION: A bootlicker; brownnoser.
EXAMPLE: Hoping to clinch the promotion, the sycophant diligently kissed up to the boss at every opportunity.
Formosity
FORMOSITY (for·mos·i·ty \for-‘maw-sih-tee\), noun.
DEFINITION: a beauty.
EXAMPLE: Helen of Troy was such a formosity that her beauty was said to have launched a thousand ships.
Jingled
JINGLED (jin·gled \ˈjiŋ-gəld\), adjective.
DEFINITION: mildly drunk.
EXAMPLE: After downing two shots of liquid courage, Melvin felt jingled enough to approach the woman of his dreams.
Imprimis
IMPRIMIS (im·pri·mis \im-ˈprī-məs, -ˈprē-\), adverb.
DEFINITION: firstly.
EXAMPLE: Imprimis, Bob did not like vegetables; and secondly, he found he didn’t like vegetarians much either.
Kathisophobia
KATHISOPHOBIA (kath·i·so·pho·bia\ˌkath-i-sō-ˈfō-bē-ə\), noun.
DEFINITION: fear of sitting.
EXAMPLE: Surrounded by chairs, beanbags and comfy sofas, Billy succumbed to his kathisophobia and crumpled into a little ball on the floor.
Kinesophobia
KINESOPHOBIA (ki·ne·so·pho·bia\kə-ˌnē-sō-ˈfō-bē-ə, kī-\), noun.
DEFINITION: fear of movement.
EXAMPLE: Although she remained deathly afraid of merry-go-rounds, Sally found she could control her kinesophobia if she closed her eyes and stood very, very still.
Lustrum
LUSTRUM (lus·trum \ˈləs-trəm\), noun.
DEFINITION: a period of five years.
EXAMPLE: “I’m five and a half now, so after a lustrum I’ll be ten and a half!” exclaimed Billy.
Parastatal
PARASTATAL (par-uh-‘stay-tuhl), adjective.
DEFINITION: a government-owned organization.
EXAMPLE: The Chinese economy is dominated by several parastatal or quasi-government organizations.
Napier
NAPIER (na·pi·er \’nay-pee-uhr\), noun.
DEFINITION: one in charge of table linen in a royal household.
EXAMPLE: Although his handiwork was soiled at every meal, the napier took pride in keeping royal lips free of unwanted grease and bits of food.