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playful; humorous; not serious
it took me a while to figure out that his offer to pay me a million dollars for doing the dishes was facetious; it wasn't all that funny since I didn't get the joke until after I had spent an hour cleaning up. |
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an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief.
Penny refused to listen to any attempts to explain the Easter Bunny fallacy; every spring she went looking for a big pink fuzzy rabbit carrying baskets of chocolate eggs. |
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untilled, inactive, dormant
the farmer hoped that leaving the field fallow for a season would mean that next year he could grow a bumper crop of Brussels sprouts |
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silly, inanely foolish
Despite the sitcom's fatuous dialogue, it continued to be number one in the ratings.
Fatuous often has a connotation of smugness to go along with the foolishness. |
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to flatter or praise excessively.
Even though the press fawned over him incessantly, Brian was able to see though the flattery and realize that only his close friends really respected him. |
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ineffectual; irresponsible.
My feckless brother managed to get himself grounded again, proving one more time that I am the more responsible sibling. |
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apt; suitably expressed, well chosen, apropos; delightful.
She can always be counted on for the most felicitous remark; she has something appropriate for every occasion. |
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| the state of or something that causes happiness. |
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a barren or stony hill; an animal's hide.
The cabin stood isolatedon the wind-swept fell. |
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greatly emotional or zealous
Her fervent support of environmental protection policies led her to write over a thousand letters to Congress last year alone. |
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stinking, having a heavy bad smell.
We were never able to determine exactly what the fetid green substance we found in the refrigerator was; no one was willing to get close enough to that horrible smell to investigate. |
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to shackle, put in chains, restrain.
Fran was fettered in her attempts to find the hotel by her inability to speak French. |
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am ornamental work, esp. of delicate lacelike patterns resembling such a pattern
The decorative filigree of its design disguised the wrought iron fence's practical purpose. |
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| as a verb, filigree means to adorn |
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| The brooch was filigreed with a delicate pattern of vines and grapes. |
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To sag or droop, to become spritiless, to decline.
The fan's spirits flagged when the opposing team intercepted the ball in the last few minutes of the game and scored. |
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sarcastic, impertinent.
His flip remarks were intended to keep anyone from realizing how much he actually cared. |
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flushed with color, ruddy, ornate.
Glen always became a little florid when he drank; his face became bright red. |
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to demonstrate contempt for
Alice flouted convention by showing up for the wedding in a bathing suit and the pictinc in a tuxedo. |
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to stir up, incite, rouse.
Although they accused Kayla of fomenting the protest, she had actually been the one trying to calm everyone down. |
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patience, willingness to wait.
Lacy hoped that her professor's reputation for forbearance was well founded and that she would get an extension on her paper. |
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to wade across the shallow part of a river or stream.
I may have lost my shirt and my pants while trying to ford the river, but at least I still had my hat when I got to the other side. |
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to act in a way to hinder, exclude or prevent an action; to circumvent or thwart.
The famous actress was trying to forestall aging by undergoing ever more bizarre therapies and cosmetic surgeries. |
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to renounce, disallow, repudiate.
Even though she forswore all other vices, Gina knew she wouldn't be able to give up smoking cigars. |
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happening by fortunate accident or chance.
the movie's reliance on the heroine's fortuitous meeting with her long lost brother in order to provide a happy ending displeased many critics |
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noisy fight or quarrel, brawl.
Every good honky tok needs a fracas now and again in order to maintain its reputation. |
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quarrelsome, rebellious, unrully, cranky.
The party's fractious internal politics made it difficult for it to gain influence, since all its members' time was spent quarreling. |
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intractable, not willing to yield or comply, stubbornly disobedient.
Two year-olds have a reputation for being froward; they've discovered the pleasure of saying no. |
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to attack loudly or denounce
Since he had been fulminating against corporate misconduct for years, his enemies were gleeful to uncover evidence of the million-dollar payoff he received from the state's largest company. |
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marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious.
His furtive glances around the room made him look guilty, even if he wasn't really trying to hid anything. |
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