persecution per-se-cu-tion / pûr-sĭ-kyo͞o-shən noun 1. the act of persistently oppressing or harassing others due to their differing beliefs, especially due to religious or racial differences Happily the Government of the United States which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.... Read More

ornery or-ner-y / ôr-nə-rē adjective 1. cranky; ill-tempered; disagreeable The more we love, and the more unlikely people we love, the more we resemble God – who, after all, loves ornery creatures like us. Philip Yancey, 1949 – 2. stubborn What keeps my flame burning is, first, I’m ornery and persistent. Eddie Pepitone, 1958 –

culpable cul-pa-ble  / kŭl-pə-bəl adjective 1. deserving blame, liable Teach the ignorant as much as you can; society is culpable in not providing a free education for all and it must answer for the night which it produces. Victor Hugo, 1802 – 1885

strenuous stren-u-ous / strĕn-yo͞o-əs adjective 1. requiring a great deal of effort, exertion or endurance I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life. Theodore Roosevelt, 1858 – 1919 2. energetic, active, zealous Let your hearts be filled with the strenuous desire that tranquillity and harmony may encircle all this warring world. Abdu’l-Bahá, 1844 – 1921

injudicious in-ju-di-cious / ĭn-jo͞o-dĭsh-əs adjective 1. unwise; not prudent; not showing good judgement If a cause be good, the most violent attack of its enemies will not injure it so much as an injudicious defence of it by its friends. Charles Caleb Colton, 1780 – 1832

pollen pol-len / pŏl-ən noun 1. a fine yellow dust on the anthers of seed bearing flowers, which serves as the male agent in reproduction in seed plants Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind. James Russell Lowell, 1819 – 1891

penitent pen-i-tent / pĕn-ĭ-tənt adjective 1. feeling or displaying deep regret for one’s sins or wrongdoings; contrite He expressed no regret for what he had done which satisfied her; his style was not penitent, but haughty. From “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, 1775 – 1817 noun 1. one who deeply regrets his or her sins or wrongdoings and seeks forgiveness Following this letter one of the Masonic... Read More

glare glare / glâr adjective 1. smooth and slick, resembling glass Freezing rain coated Twin Cities roads with glare ice Saturday morning causing multiple accidents and stalling city transportation. Deanna Weniger, “Officials warn drivers to stay home Saturday morning as glare ice snarls traffic”, ‘Pioneer Press’, www.twincities.com/2019/12/27/winter-storm-promises-a-wet-weekend-in-the-twin-cities-but-a-dry-new-years-day-ahead, December 27, 2019 noun 1. an intensely bright and blinding light There are two kinds of light – the glow... Read More

magnanimity mag-na-nim-i-ty / măg-nə-nĭm-ĭ-tē noun 1. the characteristic of being noble and generous, without pettiness; generosity It would be judicious to act with magnanimity towards a prostrate foe. Millard Fillmore, 1800 – 1874 2. a noble and generous act of forgiveness or kindness The latter spared him, and this magnanimity Bonaparte subsequently repaid by death. From “War and Peach” by Leo Tolstoy, 1828 – 1910

summon sum-mon / sŭm-ən   verb 1. to call together, particularly for a meeting The drum then beat to quarters, and all hands were summoned on deck. From “The Heir of Kilfinnan” by W. H. G. Kingston, 1814 – 1880   2. to send for; to request someone to come Governor Hutchinson, soon afterward, was summoned to England, in order that he might give his advice about... Read More