A list of good words, in order of discovery (newest first).
Desideratum: something to be needed or desired.
Amelioration: a type of semantic change that happens when a word’s meaning improves or becomes more positive over time.
Pejoration: a type of semantic change that happens when a word’s meaning improves or becomes more negative over time.
Ontology:
- the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being.
- a set of concepts and categories in a subject area or domain that shows their properties and the relations between them.
Opprobrious: (of language) expressing scorn or criticism. e.g. “opprobrious remarks”
Moribund (adjective): (of a person) at the point of death. or (of a thing) in terminal decline; lacking vitality or vigor.
Eschatology: the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.
Immanent: Present; existing in something.
Abnegation: The act of renouncing or rejecting something.
Trenchant: vigorous or incisive in expression or style
Benighted: a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance
Parochial: limited or narrow in outlook or scope
Atavistic: relating to or characterized by reversion to something ancient or ancestral
Sanguine: optimistic or positive, especially in a bad or difficult situation
Deracination: uproot; to remove or separate from a native environment or culture; especially to remove the racial or ethnic characteristics or influences from.
Supercilious: behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others.
Eusocial: (of an animal species, especially an insect) showing an advanced level of social organization, in which a single female or caste produces the offspring and non-reproductive individuals cooperate in caring for the young.
Yeoman: a man holding and cultivating a small landed estate; a freeholder.
Eponymous: (of a person) giving their name to something. “the eponymous hero of the novel.”
Churlish: rude in a mean-spirited and surly way.
Conciliatory: intended or likely to placate or pacify.
Pollyanna: an excessively cheerful or optimistic person.
Obsequious: obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.
Shibboleth: a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, especially a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important.
Inimitable: so good or unusual as to be impossible to copy; unique.
Obstreperous: noisy and difficult to control.
Epistemology: the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.
Ersatz: (of a product) made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else. Also: Not real or genuine.
Equanimity: mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.
Mordant: (especially of humor) having or showing a sharp or critical quality; biting.
Salubrious: health-giving; healthy.
Convivial: friendly and lively.