word meaning

— Jul 8th 2016 —

An abundance of clever people—adept in English

adept law as much as in finance—draws in banks, fund
managers and so forth...
a·dept
adjective
Very skilled or proficient at something
Synonyms: expert, proficient, accomplished

— Jul 11th 2016 —

Ephemeral One was Song Dong, just 19 and studying oil

painting which he quickly abandoned. Now he is
known for his performances and his ephemeral—
sometimes edible—installations.
e·phem·er·al
adjective
Lasting for a very short time
Synonyms: fleeting, passing, short-lived

— Jul 12th 2016 —

Mr Zhang presented a friendly face in Hong Kong,
Acerbic prompting the Big Lychee, an acerbic local blog, to
note: 'Few sights are more painful to behold than a
senior Chinese Communist Party official attempting
to be nice...'
a·cer·bic
adjective
(Especially of a comment or style of speaking) sharp
and forthright
Synonyms: sardonic, biting, caustic
Source: "Rocking boats, shaking mountains"
published in The Economist
 — Jul 13th 2016 —
It represents an opening of musical trade routes
Discordant between two often discordant sides of the world.
dis·cord·ant
adjective
Disagreeing or incongruous
Synonyms: divergent, opposing, clashing
Source: "Omar Souleyman, not a debaser but an
Arab conduit to the West" published in The
Economist

— Jul 14th 2016 —

immutable After all, whom institutions choose to celebrate and

how they depict the past are choices to be debated,
not immutable facts.
im·mu·ta·ble
adjective
Unchanging over time or unable to be changed
Synonyms: permanent, set, steadfast
Source: "The colliding of the American mind"
published in The Economist

— Jul 15th 2016 —

And so on down the list of supposed malapropisms.
malediction 'You can observe a lot by watching,' means plenty...
mal·a·prop·ism
noun
The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-
sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing
effect
Synonyms: misuse, solecism, blunder
Source: "Yogi Berra, linguistic savant" published in
The Economist
 — Jul 18th 2016 —

As the election results were coming in, a contrite Mr

contrite Turnbull took 'full responsibility' for the
government’s poor performance.
con·trite
adjective
Feeling or expressing remorse or penitence
Synonyms: regretful, sorry, apologetic
Source: "The churn down under" published in The
Economist

— Jul 19th 2016 —

Her first America-set film is a freewheeling road

itinerant movie in which an 18-year-old escapes a
dysfunctional family by joining a group of itinerant
young misfits.
i·tin·er·ant
adjective
Traveling from place to place
Synonyms: peripatetic, wandering, roving
Source: "Noblesse oblige at Cannes" published in
The Economist

— Jul 20th 2016 —

Ten weeks of ever-more vociferous argument, claims
vociferous and counterclaims stretch between now and June
23rd, when the vote will take place.
vo·cif·er·ous
adjective
(Especially of a person or speech) vehement or
clamorous
Synonyms: blatant, clamorous, noisy
Source: "Britain’s EU referendum campaigns are
officially launched today" published in The
Economist
 — Jul 21st 2016 —

The subjects at hand often sound esoteric, if not

esoteric silly, but the questions may prove more than merely
academic.
es·o·ter·ic
adjective
Intended for or likely to be understood by only a
small number of people with a specialized
knowledge or interest
Synonyms: abstruse, obscure, arcane
Source: "Sneaking with the fishes" published in The
Economist