as·sim·i·late ə sI mə leIt transitive verb 1. to absorb and incorporate (knowledge, experience, or the like). EXAMPLE: She’d studied a great deal, but she needed more time to assimilate the information…
carbuncle
car·bun·cle kar buhng kəl noun 1. a dark gemstone, especially a ruby sapphire. quotation: A golden chain hung about his neck, and at his collar was a great carbuncle set in red…
felicitous
felicitous fə lI sə təs adjective 1. well-suited or apt; very appropriate. example: Her felicitous choice of words helped to relieve the tension. 2. very pleasant or agreeable. example: Her husband’s getting…
skinflint
skinflint skIn flInt noun a stingy person; miser. Note: Robert Barnhart parses this eighteenth-century slang word as meaning “the kind of person who would skin a flint to save or gain something.”…
gall
gall2 gawl transitive verb 1. to damage or make sore by rubbing or chafing. quotation: We walked next day over a more level country but it was strewed with large stones. These galled…