A scapegoat is a person who is unfairly blamed for something others have done.

// The CFO was made the scapegoat for the company’s failures.

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"It's a lively, funny movie, as more of Littlehampton's locals start getting aggressive letters packed with the same redundant profanity, and respond to them with absolute horror—and a certain amount of glee at having such a deliciously transgressive scandal to chew over, and such a perfect scapegoat as Rose to blame for all of it." — Tasha Robinson, Polygon.com, 27 July 2024

On Yom Kippur, the ancient Hebrews would sacrifice one goat for God and lead another one, over whom all the sins of Israel had been confessed, into the wilderness to bear the sins of the people away. The ceremony is described in Leviticus, where it is said that one lot shall be cast for God and one for "Azazel." Modern scholars usually interpret Azazel (ʽazāzēl in Hebrew) as being the name of a demon living in the desert, but ancient biblical translators thought ʽazāzēl referred to the goat itself, apparently confusing the word with the Hebrew phrase ʽēz 'ōzēl, meaning "goat that departs." Thus, in a 16th century English translation, the word for Azazel/the goat was rendered as scapegoote—that is, "goat that escapes." The extended senses of scapegoat we use today evolved from this biblical use.

Numinous is a formal, often literary, word that typically describes things that have a mysterious or spiritual quality. It can also describe something holy or something that appeals to one's aesthetic sense.

// We were overcome by the numinous atmosphere of the catacombs.

// The artist's sculptures dominate the space, their numinous presence welcoming museum-goers to a foreign world.

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“The breakthrough for me was the idea of embedding the hymnlike harmonies of Charles Ives’s sublime ‘The Unanswered Question’ within my music. Ives gives this hushed hymn to a string orchestra, playing pianississimo throughout. A lone trumpet, seeming to come from another planet, asks ‘the question’ repeatedly—five notes without a text but full of numinous meaning.” — John Adams, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023

When people of the 1600s were ruminating on an adjective to reflect their awe of the mystical and supernatural elements of their experiences, they gave the nod to numinous, and quite aptly so. Numinous comes from the Latin word numen, which can mean both “a nod of the head” and “divine will,” the latter sense suggesting a figurative divine nod indicating approval or command. (English users were already using the noun numen, a direct borrowing from Latin, to refer to a spiritual force or influence associated with a particular place or phenomenon.) Numinous is not a common or everyday word, which seems fitting for one used to describe what is far from quotidian, and instead part of the realm of the spiritual, the holy, or the transcendent.

To coruscate is to give off or reflect light in bright beams or flashes. Coruscate is used as a synonym of sparkle and may also be used to mean "to be brilliant or showy in technique or style."

// She placed a bid on a classic car from the 1950s, replete with yards of coruscating chrome.

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"The show is beautifully laid out. It's installed in a small, dark, semicircular gallery, with jewelry in vitrines spotlighted against a black acetate and Plexiglas. The diamonds glint and coruscate as you move across the displays." — Seph Rodney, The New York Times, 2 Sept. 2024

"You're a shining star / No matter who you are." So sang the band Earth, Wind & Fire on their 1975 hit "Shining Star," which is not only a coruscating gem of funk and soul but one that serves as a handy (and catchy) way to remember the dual uses of the verb coruscate. This formal-sounding synonym of sparkle comes from the Latin verb coruscare, meaning "to flash." Originally, coruscate was used only literally, applied when things—such as, well, shining stars—glitter or gleam, as when Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote in his 1852 short story about a scarecrow, "Feathertop," that "the star kept coruscating on Feathertop's breast…." Eventually, coruscate gained figurative use, applying to those human shining stars who may be said to have a "coruscating wit" or "coruscating brilliance," or to things (such as satires, performances, or prose) that are metaphorically brilliant.

Exorbitant describes something that goes far beyond what is fair, reasonable, or expected (as by being too high, too expensive, etc.).

// The cost of our stay was so exorbitant you would have thought that we had bought the hotel and not just spent a few nights there.

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“Facing budgetary pressure and dwindling state funding, higher education seems increasingly uninterested in fighting for the greater good. Such purpose is sacrificed for more short-sighted pursuits that appear to justify the exorbitant cost of college.” — Pepper Stetler, LitHub.com, 23 Aug. 2024

Not all who wander are lost, but at one time such errant souls might have been called exorbitant. Exorbitant traces back to the Late Latin verb exorbitare, meaning “to deviate,” which in turn was formed by combining the prefix ex- (“out of”) with the noun orbita, which referred to the rut or track of a wheel. While exorbitant could describe something moving erratically—physically straying from its usual course—it was also applied figuratively to other “wanderers,” such as off-topic remarks, powers going beyond the scope of the law, and even sinful people, i.e., those no longer on the straight and narrow. Eventually, exorbitant developed its extended sense as a synonym of excessive, and it is now used to describe that which exceeds appropriate or customary limits in intensity, quality, amount, or size.

Lèse-majesté (less commonly spelled lese majesty) can refer to a true crime or offense, or to something likened to a crime or offense. Most often, it’s the latter, with lèse-majesté referring—seriously or playfully—to an act of disrespect that diminishes the dignity or importance of someone or something. In the former use, lèse-majesté refers to a crime (such as treason) that is committed against a sovereign power, or to an offense that violates the dignity of a ruler as the representative of a sovereign power.

// Their less-than-formal attire at the wedding was regarded in jest as lèse-majesté.

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"The graphic novelist Posy Simmonds has won the Grand Prix at France's Angoulême International Comics festival—the first time a British artist and author has been awarded the world's most prestigious prize for lifetime achievement in comics. … "I wanted to take the story of Madame Bovary but update it and it would be my story," she said. "When it was published in French, I was rather frightened. I was worried it would be seen as lèse-majesté that I had appropriated this great French classic. But they really liked the book, which was wonderful." — Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian (London, England), 24 Jan. 2024

Lèse-majesté (or lese majesty, as it is also styled in English publications) came into English by way of Middle French, from the Latin laesa majestas, which literally means "injured majesty." The English term can conceivably cover any offense against a sovereign power or its ruler, from treason to a simple breach of etiquette, but lèse-majesté has also acquired a more lighthearted or ironic meaning, referring to something that insults or shows disrespect, especially to a particularly pompous or self-important person or organization. As such, it may be applied to a relatively inoffensive act that has been exaggeratedly treated as if it were a great affront.

To berate someone is to angrily scold or criticize them, often loudly and at length.

// “Don’t berate yourself over canceling plans,” his friend told him. “Sometimes you just need to take care of yourself.”

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“The autonomous vehicles, which provide tens of thousands of rides each week, have been torched, stomped on, and verbally berated in recent months.” — Paresh Dave, WIRED, 22 July 2024

People have berated things—and each other—for time immemorial, but the word berate has only been known to English users since the mid-1500s. Before that, if you wanted to angrily rebuke, say, an outlaw for impersonating a fortune teller in order to steal the golden hubcaps off your royal carriage, you would rate them. Berate simply added the prefix be- to the existing verb rate, which is distinct from the rate that means “to value or esteem.” While the more familiar rate comes ultimately from Latin, the origins of the less common “scolding” rate are obscure.

An adversary is an enemy or opponent.

// Upon learning that its adversaries were ahead in sales, the company quickly formed a new advertising campaign.

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“... These students will not be better off if they know how to add up a grocery bill but have no clue about how to deal with an adversary from 10 years ago who suddenly appears before them. If the purpose of education is to prepare our children for the future, perhaps it is time to factor in the survival approach of learning how to forgive.” — Robert Enright, Psychology Today, 25 June 2024

If you consider an opponent as someone with whom one goes toe-to-toe, head-to-head, or even mano a mano, it may help you remember the meaning of adversary, a more formal synonym of opponent. Adversary comes from the Latin verb advertere, meaning “to turn or direct toward,” which makes sense; even if two adversaries are not literally face-to-face, their goals and aims are usually in direct conflict with (i.e., turned or directed toward) one another. The vertere part of advertere means “to turn,” and is the source of a number of English words, including some that are obvious, such as inadvertent and adverse, and others that are less so, like anniversary and vertebra.

Something described as gossamer—such as a butterfly wing or a thin fabric—is very light or delicate.

// Except for a few gossamer clouds, the sky was clear and blue.

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"At the bookstore, the crowd was largely made up of teen-agers, many of whom had donned costumes: gossamer pink tutus and oversized hair bows that evoked Marie Antoinette's style...." — Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024

Centuries before its breezy emergence as an adjective meaning "extremely light or delicate," gossamer was used as a noun. It came to our language by way of Middle English, where gossomer (literally "goose summer") referred to a period of mild weather in late autumn or early winter. Gossomer was also used in Middle English as a word for filmy cobwebs floating through the air in calm, clear weather, possibly because somebody thought the webs looked like the down of a goose or because that mild period was when they tended to notice the spider silk wafting. This sense eventually inspired the adjective gossamer, which describes things that are as light or delicate as cobwebs. The noun form of gossamer is still floating around: it has held onto its Middle English predecessor’s meaning of "a film of cobwebs" and can also refer to something that is light, delicate, or insubstantial, as in "a thread of gossamer."

Posterity is a formal word that refers to all future generations of people. It is often, though not always, used with for or to.

// A record of the events was preserved for posterity.

// The truth about what happened was lost to posterity.

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“In that moment, Callie and I entered the full measure of our joy. We sang different versions of her little song a few times. Even recorded ourselves for posterity.” — Camille T. Dungy, Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, 2023

When you envision the future, what do you imagine people doing? Zooming about in flying cars? Taking interstellar vacations across the galaxy? Whatever those people of the future get up to, if you’re doing something for posterity, you’re doing it for them. Posterity has referred to all future generations in a general sense since the 16th century. When it was first used in the 14th century, however, posterity referred to all of someone’s offspring, down to the furthest generation. It’s this use we hear in the preamble to the US Constitution: “We the People ... in Order to ... secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Posterity comes—as all words do—not from the future but from the past, specifically from the Latin word posterus, meaning “coming after.” Other notable and perhaps surprising descendants of posterus include preposterous (“absurd”) and posterior (“buttocks”). Who could have foreseen that?

To fret is to worry or be concerned.

// I was sure we wouldn’t get there in time, but they told me not to fret.

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“Many communal laundry spaces have rules posted, but over time, they can get lost, forgotten or ignored. If you find yourself in uncertain waters about how to be a good neighbor, don’t fret. We asked laundry and etiquette experts for their best tips on how to handle some of the most common faux pas.” — Sophia Solano, The Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2024

Fret not about being unfamiliar with the history of the verb fret; we’ve got something for you to chew on. While fretting today usually involves a concern that is figuratively eating at someone, fret has older senses that apply to literal eating. Fret comes from the Old English verb fretan, “to devour,” which shares an ancestor with another verb, etan, the ancestor of eat. In centuries past, animals—or monsters, in the case of Grendel—were said to fret, as were substances that corrode, or eat away, at other substances. But it wasn’t long before fret was also applied to emotional experiences, as when someone frets over an all-consuming thought or trouble. While fret still carries the meanings of “to corrode,” “to fray,” and “to chafe,” among others, one is most likely to encounter its more angsty sense of “to worry or be concerned.”