Refulgent is an adjective that means shining brightly.

The Latin word fulgure (FOOL gere ay) means ‘gleam.’ When something is described as refulgent, we mean it shines brightly. For example: I instantly fell in love with Regina's painting. All those refulgent colors brought me to tears.

Jettison is a verb that means to abandon or discard something useless.

Our word of the day comes from the Latin word Jactare (yack TAR ay) which means ‘to throw.’ Jettison emerged as an English word in the mid 19th century and means to ‘to throw away.’

I got about halfway through my hike before I realized I’d have to jettison my backpack. It had become so frail and useless that I simply had to abandon it.

Congeries is a noun that refers to a collection of disparate items.

Coming directly From Latin, our word of the day shares its root with words like congress and congregate. All of these words refer to people or things forming as a collection. But Congeries usually refers to a disorderly collection of random things.

We found a strange congeries of scholarly articles, fitness magazines and comic books in my great-grandfather’s belongings. He was clearly a man of wide-ranging tastes.

Dissemble is a verb that means to conceal one's true motives or feelings.

Our word of the day comes from the Latin word dissimulare (dee seem ooh LAR ay) which means ‘to disguise’ or ‘conceal.’

When Cory supported the store’s opening, he tried to dissemble the reasons for his support. But he couldn’t conceal those reasons from us. We knew he was one of the store’s chief investors.

Slapdash is an adjective that means done hurriedly and carelessly.

Our word of the day comes from a 17th century English play called the The Kind Keeper. By combining the words ‘slap’ and ‘dash,’ it conveyed a sense of something done quickly and without much care.

As a plumber, Darren may be a fast worker, but he can be a little too slapdash for some clients’ tastes. Most people want their work done with much care — even if it means taking a little longer.

Ennui is a noun that refers to a state of boredom.

Our word of the day shares its Old French origin with the word ‘annoy.’ When something brings ennui into our lives it annoys us and makes us weary.

After years of working in the sales industry, I began to feel a sense of ennui. I just couldn’t escape the sense of boredom it caused me to work in a field that I didn’t excel at.

Stochastic is an adjective that means randomly selected.

Our word of the day comes from the Greek word stokhos (STOKE hose) which means ‘to aim at’ or ‘guess.’ When we guess something we are more or less selecting it randomly.

I was honored to be selected the captain of the bowling team until I learned the process of being picked was stochastic. I wouldn’t have been so honored if I’d known I was picked at random.

Rodomontade is a noun that refers to a bragging speech.

Our word of the day comes from an epic Medieval Italian poem called the Frenzy of Orlando. More specifically, the word rodomontade’s origin is from a boastful character in the poem.  Today the word is a noun that refers to any boastful speech.

Most people in the audience were pretty annoyed at Carl’s rodomontade. That kind of self-congratulatory speech can only alienate you from people.

Duplicity is a noun that refers to contradictory speech or behavior.

The Latin word duplicitas (doo plea CHEAT us) means ‘twofold.’ You could think of any form of duplicity as twofold in the same way we think of a liar or cheater as ‘two-faced.’

Example: Many people refuse to vote because they find cases of duplicity in the political world. But it’s important to remember that not all public officials are guilty of this kind of contradictory behavior.

Idoneous is an adjective that means fit or proper.

Our word of the day comes almost directly from the Latin word idoneus (ee DOHN ee oos) and its meaning has remained much the same since evolving into English. When something is described as ideonous, we mean it fits a given need.

Visiting foreign countries can be a little uncomfortable because I never know the idoneous thing to say. It takes time to find the right phrase for the right occasion.