Category: definitions

Ten better ways to say: angry

Really angry? Really, really angry? We can do better than that. livid fuming hopping mad waxing wroth exacerbated nettled boiling beside oneself incensed spitting nails

Ten better ways to say: excited

A recent series of good news from friends has me excited, a feeling that sometimes requires a more nuanced or expressive phrase. Here are ten alternatives, some for good news and some for bad: tingling with anticipation apoplectic beside oneself giddy with glee delighted euphoric hysterical rapturous over the moon tickled to pieces

2012 Word of the Year

The Oxford English Dictionary has selected omnishambles as the word of the year for 2012. According to BBC News, “the word – meaning a situation which is shambolic from every possible angle – was coined in 2009 by the writers of BBC political satire The Thick of It.” This term could prove useful soon as …

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Ten better ways to say: cold

It’s October, the month when I put blankets back onto my bed and start wearing slippers around the apartment. It’s not fair to say the weather is ‘cold’ yet, but you can get ready with these ten stronger adjectives: Icy Arctic/polar Chill/chilling Nippy/snappy Cutting/piercing/biting Frosty (Joint-) aching Shiver-inducing Wintry Numbing

Using foreign words

Any writer of anything more meaningful than a text message or business email knows the frustration of expressing an idea that simply doesn’t have it’s own word(s). Instead of struggling to explain that I yearn for some solitude and tranquility among silent pine trees, it turns out I can just blurt “Waldeinsamkeit” to a passing …

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