Word of the Day
Learn a new word every day! The Dictionary.com team of language experts carefully selects each Word of the Day to add some panache to your vocabulary.
a pyramid of bite-size cream puffs coated and held in place with caramelized sugar
A croquembouche is a tall, cone-shaped dessert made by stacking small cream puffs and holding them together with caramelized sugar. This impressive French treat is traditionally served at weddings and other celebrations in place of a cake. And like a wedding cake, a croquembouche is meant to be admired before it's eaten.
The pastry chef built a magnificent croquembouche for the wedding.
happening within a story
If it's diegetic, it takes place within a story. The word comes from a Greek term meaning "pertaining to a narrative," and it's especially common in discussions of film and television. When the narrator steps up to the figurative mic and tells the story, that's diegetic.
In the play, the hero's diegetic monologue revealed what had happened.
lacking a sound basis; weak or unsubstantiated
Something tenuous is weakly supported or rests on an unstable foundation, whether literally or metaphorically. The word comes from the Latin tenuis, meaning "thin," bringing to mind the visual of something delicate or lacking in substance. A shaky theory or an unsteady stack of books can both be tenuous, so watch out when things start to topple!
His argument was tenuous since it relied on rumors instead of actual facts.
anything sunk in the sea, but attached to a buoy or the like so that it may be recovered
Lagan refers to something sunk in the sea but marked for pickup later, usually with a buoy attached to show its location. The word may be related to an Old Norse term for a net laid in the sea. Think of lagan as an item in the lost and found box, but with a name on it.
Sailors spotted a floating marker, signaling that lagan was hidden beneath the waves.
actually existing
De facto describes something that actually exists, whether or not it has been officially recognized. The phrase comes directly from Latin and means "from the fact." A de facto manager, for example, may hold real power without having an official title.
Although he was never formally elected, the general became the de facto leader of the country.
