Paul V. Hartman

(The Capitalized syllable gets the emphasis)

A

alacrity a-LACK-ra-tee cheerful willingness and promptness

anathema a-NATH-a-ma a thing or person cursed, banned, or reviled

anodyne AN-a-dine not likely to cause offence or disagreement and somewhat dull//anything that sooths or comforts

aphorism AFF-oar-ism a short, witty saying or concise principle

apostate ah-POSS-tate (also: apostasy) person who has left the fold or deserted the faith.

arrogate ARROW-gate to make an unreasonable claim

atavistic at-a-VIS-tic reverting to a primitive type

avuncular a-VUNC-you-lar “like an uncle”; benevolent

B

bathos BATH-ose an anticlimax

bereft ba-REFT to be deprived of something valuable “He was bereft of reason.”

C

calumny KAL-um-knee a slander or false accusation

canard kan-ARD a fabricated story (French=”duck”; morte canard=dead duck)

cant kant insincerity

chimera ki-MEER-ah (not: chim-er-ah) Originally: a mythical beast; any unreal thing; foolish fancy (adj=chimerical ki-MEER-a-cal)

cloy to grow sick from an abundance of something

comitatus com-a-TAY-tus loyalty to one’s band or group

concatenation con-CAT-a-nation things linked together or joined in a chain

copacetic “going just right”

cosseted KOS-a-ted pampered

cupidity que-PID-a-tee greed; avarice

cynosure SIGH-na-shore (from the Greek: “dog’s tail”) center of attention; point to which all eyes are drawn.

(Really? From “dog’s tail”? Yes. The “dog’s tail” appears in a constellation, locating the North star, which rivets the attention of sailors at sea. Thus: center of attention.) (see also: sinecure)

D

dilettante DILL-ah-tent

1. having superficial/amateurish interest in a branch of knowledge;

2. a connoisseur or lover of the fine arts

discursive dis-KUR-seive covering a wide field of subjects

docent DOE-cent a teacher, but not regular faculty; a museum tour guide

E

egregious a-GREE-jous conspicuously bad; flagrant; shocking

epigone EP-a-goan a second rate imitator or follower

F

fatuous FAT-chew-us foolish; stupid; silly

felicity fa-LISS-a-tee bliss; a pleasing aptness in speech and deportment; grace

furtive FURR-tive sly; shifty; secretive

G

gratuitous gra-TOO-a-tus given freely

H

haik HIKE a large piece of cloth worn as an outer garment by Arabs.

heuristic HYOUR-is-tik (noun) an idea or speculation acting as a guide to an investigation

hubris HUE-bris arrogance from excessive pride or passion (hubristic)

I

ignominy IG-na-min-ee (noun) (also: ignoble) signifying disgrace or dishonor (ignominious)

incisive in-SI-seive displaying sharp mental perception; direct and effective

inimical in-IM-a-cal unfriendly; hostile

insipid in-SIP-id (adj.) Lacking flavor, zest, or interest; dull

insuperable in-SUPER-a-bul not able to be overcome

inveigh in-VAY attack verbally

iterative IT-ter-a-tive something recurring or repeating (“An iterative process”)

J

jeremiad jer-a-MY-add a series of doleful, dismal complaints

L

lagniappe lan-yap (noun) (a Creole word) something given away as a gift for buying something else (such as an ashtray given for buying a full tank of gas)

leitmotif LIGHT-moe-teef a dominant or recurring theme or pattern

luddite LUD-ite a person who tries to halt progress by smashing machines

M

manque mon-KAY unfulfilled; frustrated (literally: maimed) “He was an artist manque.”

maudlin MAUDE-lin easily emotional

mendacious men-DAY-shous (adj.) untruthful. (the noun is mendacity)

meretricious mer-a-TRISH-ous deceitful; tawdry (Note that the two words above are pejorative, but if the meaning is not known, they “sound” meritorious.)

misanthrope MISS-an-throwp a person who dislikes the human race

N

nugatory NEW-ga-tory trifling; worthless; ineffective

O

obloquy OB-la-key a public reproach

opprobrium ah-PROBE-re-um disgrace arising from shameful conduct; a reproach mingled with contempt “That word – a term of opprobrium – cut him like a knife.”

P

paradigm PEAR-ah-dime “side by side”; a pattern or example. A “paradigm shift” is usually used to signify a major change in thinking or acting, in the sense of employing new examples.

parvenue PAR-ven-oou an upstart; someone trying to rise above their proper place

pejorative pa-JOUR-a-tive tending to be worse; downgrading; disparaging

penury PEN-your-ee extreme poverty

peremptory per-EM-tory a command which may not be refused

perdition per-DISH-un future misery, such as in going to Hell

perfidy PUR-fa-dee treachery; falsehood (perfidious is the adjective)

perfunctory pur-FUNK-tory done routinely, with little interest or care

peripatetic PER-ee-pa-TET-ick walking about; itinerant (Often used to describe Aristotle)

philistine PHIL-a-stine a person lacking culture; narrow minded with common tastes

poignant POIN-yent An adjective with multiple flavors:

1: appealing to emotion 2: physically painful 3: sharp, pungent

4: piercing, incisive 5: astute, pertinent 6: neat, skillful

poltroon pole-troon a thoroughly cowardly person

polymath polly-math a person of great or (more usually) varied learning. (poly=much math=learning)

presentiment pre-SENT-a-ment a foreboding of misfortune

propitiate pro-PISH-ee-ate pacify

puerile PURE-ill (Fr.: “puer” – child) juvenile, immature, childish

punctilio punk-TILL-ee-oh (noun) a fine point of etiquette; precise observance of formalities or ceremony; precise to the letter

R

rancor RANG-kur vindictive malice

rapacity ra-PASS-a-tee act of seizing that which is coveted; greed

recondite REK-in-dite hard to understand; profound; obscure; concealed

regnant REG-nant reigning; predominant; widespread

S

samizdat SAM-iz-dot an underground newspaper

sanguine SANG-win cheerful, confident

sanguinary SANG-win-airy bloody (note the huge difference in meaning between the above two similarly sounding words)

saturnine SAT-ter-nine morose; gloomy

scurrilous SKER-a-less grossly offensive and vulgar

seriatim sir-ee-AT-um occurring one after another; in serial fashion

sinecure SIN-a-cure a job (usually politically appointed) requiring little or no work. (See also: cynosure)

sobriquet so-bric-KAY a nickname or an assumed name (“Minnesota Fats”)

solecism SOL-a-sys-um an ungrammatical combination of words

specious SPEE-shous appearing to be right; deceptively good looking

spurious SPYOUR-ee-ous false

sycophant SIGH-ko-phant a flattering parasite

T

terse short and to the point; pithy

turpitude TUR-pa-toode depravity

unctuous UNK-shus oily and persuasive

V

venal VEE-nal a sacrifice of honor for profit

veracity ver-ASS-a-tee truthfulness

voracity vor-ASS-a-tee greed (the above two words are very close in spelling and pronunciation, but mean quite different things.)

verisimilitude ver-ah-SIM-ah-la-tude the quality of appearing to be true or real

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