Word of the Day
enervate
verb
to deprive of force or strength; destroy the vigor of; weaken.
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Why Dictionary.com chose enervate
More about enervate
- Enervate was first recorded in 1595–1605.
- Enervate is from the Latin word ēnervātus, meaning “weakened.”
- Ēnervātus is formed from ē-, meaning “from, out of,” and nerv(us), “sinew, tendon.”
EXAMPLES OF ENERVATE
- The monotonous routine of his desk job enervated his motivation, making it difficult for him to stay focused.
- The heatwave and high humidity enervated the athletes, hindering their performance on the field.
vertiginous
adjective
liable or threatening to cause the dizzying sensation of vertigo.
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Why Dictionary.com chose vertiginous
More about vertiginous
- Vertiginous entered English around 1600–10.
- Vertiginous comes from the Latin word vertīginōsus, meaning “dizzy.”
- Vertiginous shares the same stem as vertigo, “a dizzying sensation of tilting within stable surroundings or of being in tilting or spinning surroundings.”
EXAMPLES OF VERTIGINOUS
- Looking out from the observation deck, the city’s skyscrapers seemed to rise endlessly into a vertiginous skyline.
- The towering roller coaster offered a vertiginous thrill to its riders as it plunged from dizzying heights.
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Why Dictionary.com chose smithereens
More about smithereens
- Smithereens was first recorded in 1820–30.
- Smithereens may come from the dialectal variant smithers, “tiny pieces.”
- Smithereens also contains the suffix –een similar to Irish –ín, which is used to emphasize the small size of something.
- Smithereens is always used in the plural form.
EXAMPLES OF SMITHEREENS
- She tore up the letter into tiny smithereens of paper before throwing them in the trash.
- The old building was demolished, reducing it to smithereens in a matter of seconds.
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