arid
1 use
Arid she was between them.†
arid = lacking sufficient water or rainfall; or lacking vitality of spirit
Definition
Generally arid means:lacking sufficient water or rainfall
or:
lacking vitality or spirit
or:
lacking vitality or spirit
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
blithe
1 use
Like submitting to another way to talk, she could answer to his burden now, his whole blithe, smiling, superior, frantic existence.†
blithe = carefree and happy
Definition
Generally blithe means:carefree and happy — often unaware of or ignoring something that should be of concern
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
cajole
1 use
But he went bobbing on to another tree while he was cajoling, bright as a lantern that swayed in a wind.†
cajoling = gently persuading
Definition
Generally cajole means:gently persuade
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
commotion
1 use
They didn't give her a chance to begin her Own commotion, only lifted away her hoe that she stretched out and leaned it on the big vines.†
commotion = noisy disturbance
Definition
Generally commotion means:a disturbance — typically noisy
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 10 uses in 10 avg bks |
evangelist
1 use
To his back, he was not so very big, not so flashy and splendid as, for example, some brand-new evangelist come into the midst.†
evangelist = a Christian who tries to convince others to become Christian
Definition
Generally evangelist means:a Christian who tries to convince others to become Christian — especially on television, radio, or in large gatherings
or when qualified (such as "an ecosystem evangelist"): anyone who tires to convince others of something
or when qualified (such as "an ecosystem evangelist"): anyone who tires to convince others of something
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
gambol
1 use
For the first time Mattie Will thought they were mysterious and sweet—gamboling now she knew not where.†
gamboling = frolicking (skipping, leaping, and/or running around in a happy, playful manner)
Definition
Generally gambol means:to frolic (skip, leap, and/or run around in a happy, playful manner)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
grandeur
1 use
When she laid eyes on Mr. MaeLain close, she staggered, he had such grandeur, and then she was caught by the hair and brought down as suddenly to earth as if whacked by an unseen shillelagh.†
grandeur = the quality of being grand or magnificent or splendid
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
impudent
2 uses
Mattie Will cried, but the impudence—which still seemed marvelous to her since she'd never laid eyes on him close or thought of opening her mouth to him—all the impudence was carried off on the batting spring wind.†
impudence = improperly bold or disrespectful — especially toward someone who is older or considered to be of higher status
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
prevalent
1 use
Mattie Will ran the June bug up and down her arm and remembered once when she was little and her mother and father had both been taken with the prevalent sickness, and it was Mrs. MacLain from Morgana—who before that was known only by sight to her—who had come out to the farm and nursed and cooked for them, since there was nobody.†
prevalent = encountered commonly
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
sojourn
1 use
Her arms dropped back to the mossiness, and she was Mr. MacLain's Doom, or Mr. MacLain's Weakness, like the rest, and neither Mrs. Junior Holifield nor Mattie Will Sojourner; now she was something she had always heard of.†
sojourner = someone who visits a place
Definition
Generally sojourn means:a temporary visit to a place
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
waver
1 use
Presently she lifted her eyes in a lazy dread and saw those eyes above hers, as keenly bright and unwavering and apart from her life as the flowers on a tree.†
unwavering = steady
(editor's note: The prefix "un-" in unwavering means not and reverses the meaning of wavering. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.)
(editor's note: The prefix "un-" in unwavering means not and reverses the meaning of wavering. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.)
Definition
Generally waver means:to move back and forth (shake or quiver)
or:
to change, be unsure, or weak
or:
to change, be unsure, or weak
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 14 uses in 10 avg bks |