Conflate is a verb that means ‘to bring together’ or ‘fuse.’

Our word of the day comes from the Latin word conflare (con FLARE ay) which means ‘to blow together.’ When we conflate two things, we usually combine them, but sometimes we confuse them. For example: Please don’t conflate my request for a demand. I would never think of requiring you to order my sandwiches on your time.

Glower is a verb that means to look with annoyance or anger.

The origin of our word of the day is unclear, but it does seem to be derived from a middle English word for ‘to be overcast.’

I didn’t know what was on Arne’s mind at the meeting, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t like what I had to say. He seemed to glower at me during the entire proceeding.

Eminence grise is a noun that refers to a person who unofficially has great power.

Our word of the day comes directly from a Latin phrase that once referred to a royal confidant of a powerful figure. More recently it has been used to refer to the elder member of a field or profession — one who still has power despite no longer holding a title.

Horace may be the company’s president, but believe me, Antonius is the one who calls the shots. He is after all, the eminence grise of the company and nobody would dare challenge his wisdom.

Coltish is an adjective that means energetic, but awkward.

Our word of the day takes the word for a young male horse (colt) and combines it with the suffix I-S-H to mean something resembling a colt. The resemblance is related to the fiery spirit of young horses. A coltish person can be one who behaves wildly and recklessly.

It embarrasses me to recall all the crazy behavior I engaged in as an adolescent. I was so coltish and wild, I’m lucky I didn’t wind up in jail.

Impregnable is an adjective that means incapable of being taken or conquered.

Coming from a Middle French word that means ‘to take or capture,’ our word of the day took life by adding the prefix I-M, meaning ‘not’ and forming impregnable to mean ‘something that can not be taken.’

Since moving into the mansion, Connie has devised an impregnable burglar alarm system to make sure that no one can possibly take over her palatial estate.

Oust is a verb that means to remove or dispossess.

The Latin word obstare (ob STAR ay) means ‘to take away.’ From this origin we get our word of the day which means to take away someone’s position or status. For example: Don’t get me wrong, I feel Fred has been a great captain for our bowling team. But if he keeps showing up late for games, we may have to oust him from his leadership role. The way I see it, any leader who can’t be bothered to show up on time should be removed from their position.

Alembic is a noun that refers to something that filters or refines.

Coming directly from the French word for a particular kind of cup, alembic can be used either literally to refer to something that filters or refines liquids or it can be used metaphorically to mean anything that serves to filter out something unwanted.

Here’s an example of the latter: My job at the company was to filter out any objects that may have slipped into the printing press. You could think of me as the press’s alembic.

Depreciate is a verb that means to lower in honor or value.

Our word of the day comes from the Latin word pretium (PRAY tee um) which means ‘price.’ With the addition of the prefix D-E, we get a word that means to ‘lower’ the price of value. The word can be used to refer to the value of a number of things, for example: I don’t think it was a good idea to have a pet tiger in our living room. I’m afraid that the damage he’s done will cause our home to depreciate in value. After all, walls and floors that have been scratched  and chewed up tend to be worth less on the market.

Contemporaneous is an adjective that means occurring or originating at the same time.

Our word of the day comes from the Latin word contemporāneus (cone temp or AHH nay ose) which means ‘timely.’ If two things take place contemporaneous to each other, they happen at the same time.

I love asking my grandad about the early days of television. It’s great to talk to someone who grew up contemporaneous with the development of my favorite medium.

Expatiate is a verb that means to move freely or wander.

The Latin word exspatiari (ex POT ee air ay) which means ‘to wander from a course’ is where our word of the day has wandered. A person can expatiate on foot by walking away from a path or they can do it with words by digressing from the topic, for example: I liked Rhonda’s speech about the beauty of public parks, but I didn’t care for the part where she began to expatiate into a rant about tax policy. Personally, I don’t care for people who wander off into political matters and away from the topic at hand.