soar soar / sôr noun 1. the act of gliding or flying through the air The soar of the eagle flying in the wind, As it glides through the air on its flight, It’s eyes piercing around looking far away, Ready to scoop down and take its prey From “The Eagles Flight” by Sharon Kemper, ? – 2. the altitude gained when flying through the air... Read More

blatant bla-tant / blāt-nt   adjective 1. disagreeably loud and noisy It was different from the dance- hall piano-banging and blatant brass bands he had heard.  From “Martin Eden” by Jack London, 1876 – 1916   2. boldly obvious; conspicuous, with no attempt to hide It is sometimes well for a blatant error to draw attention to overmodest truths. Jean Rostand 1894-1977   etymology Coined by... Read More

flagrant fla-grant / flā-grənt   adjective 1. obviously bad, shocking, egregious The flagrant disregard in the courtroom of elementary standards of proper conduct should not and cannot be tolerated.  Hugo Black, 1886 – 1971   2. (obsolete) blazing or burning Lust of power is the most flagrant of all the passions.  Tacitus, 56 – 117    etymology From flagrans, flagrantis, the present active participle of the Latin verb flagro,... Read More

disinterested dis-in-ter-est-ed / dĭs-ĭn-trĭ-stĭd, dĭs-ĭn-tə-rĕs-tĭd adjective 1. impartial; having no bias or selfish motives The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion: Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works. Saint Augustine, 354 – 430 2. not interested or no... Read More

uninterested un-in-ter-est-ed / ŭn-ĭn-trĭ-stĭd, ŭn-ĭn-tər-ĭ-stĭd, ŭn-ĭn-tə-rĕs-tĭd adjective 1. having no interest; indifferent There are no uninteresting things, only uninterested people.  Gilbert K. Chesterton, 1874 – 1936 etymology A combination of the English negative prefix un- (not), akin to the Latin negative prefix in-, and the English adjective interested, which is ultimately derived from the Latin prepositional prefix inter- (between, among, within, involved with) and est the third person singular of the Latin verb sum, esse, fui,... Read More

seasonable sea-son-a-ble / sē-zə-nə-bəl adjective 1. appropriate or characteristic of the season or time of year It was a wild, cold, seasonable night of March, with a pale moon, lying on her back as though the wind had tilted her. From “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850 – 1894 2. occurring at the appropriate time; timely The true wisdom is... Read More

seasonal sea-son-al / sē-zə-nəl adjective 1. pertaining to or occurring during a particular period, or season, of a year However long the dry season takes, a seasonal river will never forget where it used to pass.  African Proverb etymology Ultimately from the Latin Feminine noun satio, sationis (sowing, planting), derived from the same root as the Latin verb sero serere, sevi, satum (sow, plant), through the Old French noun seson/ seison/ saison (sowing... Read More

flaunt flaunt / flônt   verb 1. to show off or display in a pretentious manner One courts misfortune by flaunting wealth.  Chinese Proverb   2. to wave in the air in a manner that attracts attention Over it flaunted a Union Jack, flapping cheerfully in the morning breeze.  From “The War of the Worlds” by H. G. Wells,   1866 – 1946   etymology Of unknown origin, it... Read More

anchor an-chor / ăng-kər noun 1. a heavy piece of metal on the end of a rope or chain that lowered into the water to keep a boat from drifting A man without prudence is a ship without an anchor.  Welsh Proverb 2. something used to hold an object in securely in place The fine cotton tufts which had just acted as wings, now acted as anchors on... Read More

ultimate ul-ti-mate /  ŭl-tə-mĭt adjective 1. farthest, most remote It was quite late in the evening before the party descended to the ultimate skirts of the snow. From “The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, U.S. A. in the Rocky Mountains and the Far West” by Washington Irving, 1783 – 1859 2. final, last in a series of occurrences Capture of the adverse King is the ultimate but... Read More