Quagmire (noun)
kwog-mire
an area of miry or boggy ground whose surface yields under the tread; a bog.
First recorded in 1570–80
Example sentences
“The entire area was like a quagmire.”
Exon (noun) ek-son (in Britain) one of four yeomen of the guard who act as commanding officers in the absence of higher authority. 1645–55; earlier exant, for French exempt (spelling…
Calumniate (verb) kal-um-nee-ayt to make false and malicious statements about; slander. 1545–55; Latin calumniātus (past participle of calumniārī to accuse falsely, trick), equivalent to calumni(a) calumny + -ātus-ate1 (more…)
Enervate (verb) en-er-vayt to deprive of force or strength; destroy the vigor of; weaken. Enervate was first recorded in 1595–1605. Enervate is from the Latin word ēnervātus, meaning “weakened.” (more…)
Raillery (noun) ray-luh-ree good-humored ridicule; banter. 1645–55; French raillerie, equivalent to Middle French raill(er) (more…)
Persiflage (noun) pur-si-flahj light, bantering talk or writing. First recorded in 1750–60; from French, derivative of persifler “to banter,” equivalent to per- prefix meaning “through, thoroughly, very” + siffler “to…
Smithereens (noun) smith-uh-reens Small pieces. Bits. Smithereens was first recorded in 1820–30 and may come from the dialectal variant smithers, “tiny pieces.” (more…)
Pulpy (adj) pul-pee pertaining to, characteristic of, or resembling pulp; fleshy or soft. First recorded in 1585–95; pulp + -y (more…)
Prognathous (adj) prog-na-thus having protrusive jaws First recorded in 1830–40; pro + -gnathous (more…)
Arachnic (noun) ar-ak-nid any wingless, carnivorous arthropod of the class Arachnida, including spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, and daddy-longlegs, having a body divided into two parts, the cephalothorax and the abdomen,…