In a word...
@propitious.bsky.social
Sometimes the right word is all you need to make sense of the situation.
Adynaton
...(n.) a hyperbole that is so extreme it can never happen; or when a gross exaggeration becomes exaggerated enough to get a new name.
...(n.) a hyperbole that is so extreme it can never happen; or when a gross exaggeration becomes exaggerated enough to get a new name.
November 11, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Adynaton
...(n.) a hyperbole that is so extreme it can never happen; or when a gross exaggeration becomes exaggerated enough to get a new name.
...(n.) a hyperbole that is so extreme it can never happen; or when a gross exaggeration becomes exaggerated enough to get a new name.
Intransigent
...(adj.) unwilling to change your mind, stubborn to a fault
"Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads..." -Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
...(adj.) unwilling to change your mind, stubborn to a fault
"Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads..." -Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
November 9, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Intransigent
...(adj.) unwilling to change your mind, stubborn to a fault
"Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads..." -Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
...(adj.) unwilling to change your mind, stubborn to a fault
"Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads..." -Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
Obsimath
...(n.) a person who begins learning later in life
...(n.) a person who begins learning later in life
November 8, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Obsimath
...(n.) a person who begins learning later in life
...(n.) a person who begins learning later in life
badinage
...(noun) witty banter
"...playful warfare of badinage..." -Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
...(noun) witty banter
"...playful warfare of badinage..." -Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
September 5, 2025 at 10:46 AM
badinage
...(noun) witty banter
"...playful warfare of badinage..." -Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
...(noun) witty banter
"...playful warfare of badinage..." -Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
aposiopesis
...breaking off in the middle of a sentence, usually due to emotion.
"I'll get you, or else..."
...breaking off in the middle of a sentence, usually due to emotion.
"I'll get you, or else..."
August 29, 2025 at 10:24 AM
aposiopesis
...breaking off in the middle of a sentence, usually due to emotion.
"I'll get you, or else..."
...breaking off in the middle of a sentence, usually due to emotion.
"I'll get you, or else..."
Corybantic
...(adj.) wild and spirited
..cage me and i d go frantic
my life is so romantic
capricious and corybantic...
-Song of Mehitabel by Don Marquis
...(adj.) wild and spirited
..cage me and i d go frantic
my life is so romantic
capricious and corybantic...
-Song of Mehitabel by Don Marquis
August 28, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Corybantic
...(adj.) wild and spirited
..cage me and i d go frantic
my life is so romantic
capricious and corybantic...
-Song of Mehitabel by Don Marquis
...(adj.) wild and spirited
..cage me and i d go frantic
my life is so romantic
capricious and corybantic...
-Song of Mehitabel by Don Marquis
lassitude
...Weariness. Lack of mental or physical energy.
"A deadly lassitude had taken hold of him." -1984, George Orwell
...Weariness. Lack of mental or physical energy.
"A deadly lassitude had taken hold of him." -1984, George Orwell
August 12, 2025 at 1:38 PM
lassitude
...Weariness. Lack of mental or physical energy.
"A deadly lassitude had taken hold of him." -1984, George Orwell
...Weariness. Lack of mental or physical energy.
"A deadly lassitude had taken hold of him." -1984, George Orwell
Talion
...an eye-for-an-eye...a tweet-for-a-tweet
...an eye-for-an-eye...a tweet-for-a-tweet
June 6, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Talion
...an eye-for-an-eye...a tweet-for-a-tweet
...an eye-for-an-eye...a tweet-for-a-tweet
Sempiternal
...everlasting, eternal, unchanging
"The one thing which we seek with insatiable desire is to forget ourselves, to be surprised out of our propriety, to lose our sempiternal memory and to do something without knowing how or why; in short, to draw a new circle." -R.W. Emerson
...everlasting, eternal, unchanging
"The one thing which we seek with insatiable desire is to forget ourselves, to be surprised out of our propriety, to lose our sempiternal memory and to do something without knowing how or why; in short, to draw a new circle." -R.W. Emerson
April 29, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Sempiternal
...everlasting, eternal, unchanging
"The one thing which we seek with insatiable desire is to forget ourselves, to be surprised out of our propriety, to lose our sempiternal memory and to do something without knowing how or why; in short, to draw a new circle." -R.W. Emerson
...everlasting, eternal, unchanging
"The one thing which we seek with insatiable desire is to forget ourselves, to be surprised out of our propriety, to lose our sempiternal memory and to do something without knowing how or why; in short, to draw a new circle." -R.W. Emerson
Maligner
...back-stabber. Someone who attacks another person's reputation with lies.
...back-stabber. Someone who attacks another person's reputation with lies.
March 26, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Maligner
...back-stabber. Someone who attacks another person's reputation with lies.
...back-stabber. Someone who attacks another person's reputation with lies.
Contumelious
...intentionally rude or insulting
"...scoffs and scorns and contumelious taunts..."
Shakespeare, Henry VI.
...intentionally rude or insulting
"...scoffs and scorns and contumelious taunts..."
Shakespeare, Henry VI.
March 21, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Contumelious
...intentionally rude or insulting
"...scoffs and scorns and contumelious taunts..."
Shakespeare, Henry VI.
...intentionally rude or insulting
"...scoffs and scorns and contumelious taunts..."
Shakespeare, Henry VI.
Existential dread
...the anxiety that comes from life not being what we expected, hoped or knew it to be
“Do you believe we are masters of ourselves or merely dance like puppets on strings having the illusion of independence?”
-Winston Graham
...the anxiety that comes from life not being what we expected, hoped or knew it to be
“Do you believe we are masters of ourselves or merely dance like puppets on strings having the illusion of independence?”
-Winston Graham
March 17, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Existential dread
...the anxiety that comes from life not being what we expected, hoped or knew it to be
“Do you believe we are masters of ourselves or merely dance like puppets on strings having the illusion of independence?”
-Winston Graham
...the anxiety that comes from life not being what we expected, hoped or knew it to be
“Do you believe we are masters of ourselves or merely dance like puppets on strings having the illusion of independence?”
-Winston Graham
Crossing the Rubicon
...passing a point from which one can't turn back
From the Rubicon River in Italy. Julius Cesar defiantly crossed it and started a civil war (that he won).
...passing a point from which one can't turn back
From the Rubicon River in Italy. Julius Cesar defiantly crossed it and started a civil war (that he won).
March 17, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Crossing the Rubicon
...passing a point from which one can't turn back
From the Rubicon River in Italy. Julius Cesar defiantly crossed it and started a civil war (that he won).
...passing a point from which one can't turn back
From the Rubicon River in Italy. Julius Cesar defiantly crossed it and started a civil war (that he won).
brumous
...very foggy or misty
"The skies are brumous, silver-gray,
And haunt the world with soft delay." -George Sterling
...very foggy or misty
"The skies are brumous, silver-gray,
And haunt the world with soft delay." -George Sterling
March 16, 2025 at 12:02 PM
brumous
...very foggy or misty
"The skies are brumous, silver-gray,
And haunt the world with soft delay." -George Sterling
...very foggy or misty
"The skies are brumous, silver-gray,
And haunt the world with soft delay." -George Sterling
Bibliophilia
...a love of books
abibliophobia
...a fear of running out of books or reading materials. (A more recently coined term, not in dictionaries.)
...a love of books
abibliophobia
...a fear of running out of books or reading materials. (A more recently coined term, not in dictionaries.)
March 12, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Bibliophilia
...a love of books
abibliophobia
...a fear of running out of books or reading materials. (A more recently coined term, not in dictionaries.)
...a love of books
abibliophobia
...a fear of running out of books or reading materials. (A more recently coined term, not in dictionaries.)
illeism
...talking (or thinking) about yourself in the third person.
Can help a person be self-reflective, but can also make you sound like a kindergarten teacher
...talking (or thinking) about yourself in the third person.
Can help a person be self-reflective, but can also make you sound like a kindergarten teacher
March 11, 2025 at 9:58 AM
illeism
...talking (or thinking) about yourself in the third person.
Can help a person be self-reflective, but can also make you sound like a kindergarten teacher
...talking (or thinking) about yourself in the third person.
Can help a person be self-reflective, but can also make you sound like a kindergarten teacher
Phantasmagoria
...a constantly changing sequence of lights and images that make a scene, like in a dream or nightmare. A hallucination or a mental montage.
Comes from lantern shows depicting ghosts and other optical illusions with lanterns during the Victorian era
...a constantly changing sequence of lights and images that make a scene, like in a dream or nightmare. A hallucination or a mental montage.
Comes from lantern shows depicting ghosts and other optical illusions with lanterns during the Victorian era
March 10, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Phantasmagoria
...a constantly changing sequence of lights and images that make a scene, like in a dream or nightmare. A hallucination or a mental montage.
Comes from lantern shows depicting ghosts and other optical illusions with lanterns during the Victorian era
...a constantly changing sequence of lights and images that make a scene, like in a dream or nightmare. A hallucination or a mental montage.
Comes from lantern shows depicting ghosts and other optical illusions with lanterns during the Victorian era
tergiversation
...(n.) beat around the bush... statements that avoid or obscure the truth.
...(n.) beat around the bush... statements that avoid or obscure the truth.
March 9, 2025 at 12:05 PM
tergiversation
...(n.) beat around the bush... statements that avoid or obscure the truth.
...(n.) beat around the bush... statements that avoid or obscure the truth.
Zeitgebers
...environmental or external cues to your body's circadian rhythm; like light, temperature, meal times, etc.
Light is the strongest.
...environmental or external cues to your body's circadian rhythm; like light, temperature, meal times, etc.
Light is the strongest.
March 9, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Zeitgebers
...environmental or external cues to your body's circadian rhythm; like light, temperature, meal times, etc.
Light is the strongest.
...environmental or external cues to your body's circadian rhythm; like light, temperature, meal times, etc.
Light is the strongest.
Peripatetic
...someone who likes to walk from place to place. Someone who travels around, especially for work. Itinerant.
From Greek, for walking up and down the hallways. Refers to Aristotle teaching while walking with his students. He founded the Peripatetic School.
...someone who likes to walk from place to place. Someone who travels around, especially for work. Itinerant.
From Greek, for walking up and down the hallways. Refers to Aristotle teaching while walking with his students. He founded the Peripatetic School.
March 7, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Peripatetic
...someone who likes to walk from place to place. Someone who travels around, especially for work. Itinerant.
From Greek, for walking up and down the hallways. Refers to Aristotle teaching while walking with his students. He founded the Peripatetic School.
...someone who likes to walk from place to place. Someone who travels around, especially for work. Itinerant.
From Greek, for walking up and down the hallways. Refers to Aristotle teaching while walking with his students. He founded the Peripatetic School.
World Obesity Day and World Pancake Day align today.
it's an international dilemma.
it's an international dilemma.
March 4, 2025 at 11:02 AM
World Obesity Day and World Pancake Day align today.
it's an international dilemma.
it's an international dilemma.
Logodaedalian (or Logodaedalus)
... a person who is skilled at coining, playing with or using words
... a person who is skilled at coining, playing with or using words
March 3, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Logodaedalian (or Logodaedalus)
... a person who is skilled at coining, playing with or using words
... a person who is skilled at coining, playing with or using words
The American government interned 120,000 Japanese Americans in rustic camps during WW2 and convinced the public they were a threat. Many lost everything and some were US citizens.
Not a single case of spying by a Japanese American was ever found.
Not a single case of spying by a Japanese American was ever found.
March 2, 2025 at 7:20 PM
The American government interned 120,000 Japanese Americans in rustic camps during WW2 and convinced the public they were a threat. Many lost everything and some were US citizens.
Not a single case of spying by a Japanese American was ever found.
Not a single case of spying by a Japanese American was ever found.
"Mr. Trump, you are increasing the volume of your voice but not the logic of your argument."
...President Zelensky
...President Zelensky
March 2, 2025 at 11:41 AM
"Mr. Trump, you are increasing the volume of your voice but not the logic of your argument."
...President Zelensky
...President Zelensky
Reposted by In a word...
A German word for being embarrassed by the actions of someone else is Fremdscham, or “foreign shame.” A similar word from Icelandic is aulahrollur, which is quite tricky to translate but basically means something along the lines of “cringe quake” or “douchebag chills”
March 1, 2025 at 11:16 AM
A German word for being embarrassed by the actions of someone else is Fremdscham, or “foreign shame.” A similar word from Icelandic is aulahrollur, which is quite tricky to translate but basically means something along the lines of “cringe quake” or “douchebag chills”