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
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Designing Your Character & Other Handy Things
RandomCharacters are hard to create. So consider this book a giant cheat sheet of all your writing needs. This book not only helps writers create their characters, but is a menagerie of descriptions for your stories: Smells. Sounds Instead of Said Describ...
