Astute
Astute /əˈsto͞ot/ adjective perceptive, insightful, having a clever, shrewd, or cunning mind The word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet all of the more astute theorists of love acknowledge that we would all love better if we used it as a verb. – Bell Hooks (1952 – 2021)
Cartography
Cartography /kärˈtäɡrəfē/ noun the practice or science of creating maps Writing can be a crucial skill, like cartography…everybody lives in the middle of a landscape…writing can provide a map. – Phyllis Theroux (1939 – )
Boon
Boon /bo͞on/ noun something beneficial or helpful The children to whom we read simple stories may or may not show gratitude, but each boon we give strengthens the pillars of the world. – Maya Angelou (1928 – 2014)
Obelisk
/ˈäbəˌlisk/ noun a tall 4-sided column which tapers and ends with a pyramid apex Built in the shape of an Egyptian obelisk, evoking the timelessness of ancient civilizations, the Washington Monument embodies the awe, respect, and gratitude the nation felt for its most essential Founding Father. – the National Park Service
Phosphorescence
/ˌfäsfəˈres(ə)ns/ noun any bright and luminous radiating light created by something without heat Each of them in his own tempo and with his own voice discovered and reaffirmed with astonishment the knowledge that all things are one thing and that one thing is all things—plankton, a shimmering phosphorescence on the sea and the spinning planets and an expanding universe, all bound together by the... Read More
Prodigious
/prəˈdijəs/ adjective marvelous, enormous, huge I must have a prodigious amount of mind; it takes me as much as a week, sometimes, to make it up! – Mark Twain (1835 – 1910)
Sanitize
Sanitize /ˈsanəˌtīz/ verb 1. to make clean and hygienic, to disinfect [Lisa Casanova, an environmental health scientist at Georgia State University] and other experts…recommend using milder soaps, like dish soap, to easily sanitize a surface indoors and outdoors. – Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic 2. to make something, such as writing, more acceptable by removing unfavorable parts If we’ve got the means to get here,... Read More
Jubilant
Jubilant /ˈjo͞obələnt/ adjective thrilled, rejoicing, feeling or expressing great joy Every explorer I have met has been driven—not coincidentally but quintessentially—by curiosity, by a single-minded, insatiable, and even jubilant need to know. – Jacques Cousteau (1910 – 1997)
Finality
Finality /fīˈnalədē,fəˈnalədē/ noun the quality of being an irreversible or ultimate conclusion As a great man’s influence never ends, so also there is not definite finality, no end, to a great survey; it runs along for centuries, ever responsive to the strain of the increasing needs of a growing population and an enlarging domain. – Cleveland Abbe (1838 – 1960)
Resolution
Resolution /ˌrezəˈlo͞oSH(ə)n/ noun 1. a firm decision to do or not do a certain thing One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: ‘To rise above little things’. – John Burroughs (1837 – 1921) 2. the state or quality of being resolute or determined Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one... Read More