Peremptory is an adjective that means dictatorial or not allowing contradictions.

Our word of the day is derived from Latin. The word perimere (per ee MARE ay) means ‘to take entirely.’ A peremptory ruler is one that does not allow any kind of descent from their rule.

The king’s rule was fully peremptory. Any attempt to oppose him was immediately stopped.

Terrene is an adjective that means earthly or mundane and also a noun that means earth or terrain.

Terra (TEAR uh) is the Latin word for earth. When used as a noun, the word is basically the same as terrain, but with a different spelling. As an adjective it is a synonym of worldly, as in: As a younger person, I focused mostly on terrene matters. But as I’ve gotten older, I realized that there are spiritual matters that are far more important.

Augean is an adjective that means extremely difficult.

Our word of the day is a reference to Augean stable, the cleansing of which was one of the labors of Hercules. According to the legend, the stable had gone uncleansed for thirty years. In some contexts, Augean can mean filthy. But it usually means extremely difficult.

Melanie was faced with the Augean task of putting little Mike to sleep. He’s such a rambunctious kid that no amount of effort will calm him down.

Histrionics is a noun that refers to melodramatic or hysterical behavior.

The Latin word histrio (HISS tree oh) means ‘actor.’ While actors aren’t only ones guilty of using histrionics, they are very much an actor’s stock and trade.

Devin’s histrionics can get a little hard to take. I don’t like it when people can’t tell a simple story without engaging in melodramatic behavior.

Bacchanal is a noun that means a wild drunken celebration. It can also be an adjective that means related to the god of wine.

Bacchus is the Greek god of wine and revelry. Our word of the day may be used  as an adjective to refer to this deity, but is most frequently used to refer to a party or celebration that is very much in the spirit of Bacchus.

Kevin used to live a pretty wild life. He often spent weeks jumping from one bacchanal to another.

Abet is a verb that means to aid or assist in doing something wrong.

Our word of the day began life in Middle English where it meant, ‘to urge to do something.’ Abet is frequently used in a legal context where the thing one is urged to do is usually illegal. But outside of the legal world, its meaning can be broader, for example: I didn’t want to abet Mike’s unhealthy eating habits. But I figured cooking him a plate of food heavy in carbs every once in a while was a harmless thing to do.

Morphean is an adjective that means related to or producing sleep.

Morpheus was the Greek god of dreams. Our word of the day can, in come cases simply be used to refer to Morpheus or it may mean drowsy, a state that sends us to sleep and, of course, to our dreams.

Something about the movie’s tone had a morphean quality to it. All those tranquil images and sounds made me want to sleep for several hours.

Dearth is a noun that refers to a scarcity.

Derived from a Middle English word that had the same meaning and nearly the same spelling — D-E-R-T-H-E. This word evolved into our word of the day as well as the word dear which once had the same meaning as dearth.

Faced with a dearth of options, Tommy sold his beloved car. It hurt him to do so, but these are the kinds of choices one has to make when alternatives are scarce.

Karuna is a noun that refers to loving compassion.

Our word of the day is of Sanskrit origin and is commonly used among Buddhists to describe a means of attaining a happy life. But it can be used more broadly to simply refer to compassion. For example: The situation calls for a little karuna on both sides. All that bickering and anger only makes things worse.