Word of the Day!

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018

Jealous (adjective)
jeal·ous [jel-uhs]

adjective
1. feeling resentment against someone because of that person's rivalry, success, or advantages (often followed by of): He was jealous of his rich brother.
2. feeling resentment because of another's success, advantage, etc. (often followed by of): He was jealous of his brother's wealth.
3. characterized by or proceeding from suspicious fears or envious resentment: a jealous rage; jealous intrigues.
4. inclined to or troubled by suspicions or fears of rivalry, unfaithfulness, etc., as in love or aims: a jealous husband.
5. solicitous or vigilant in maintaining or guarding something: The American people are jealous of their freedom.
6. Bible. intolerant of unfaithfulness or rivalry: The Lord is a jealous God.

Related forms
jeal·ous·ly , adverb
jeal·ous·ness , noun
o·ver·jeal·ous , adjective
o·ver·jeal·ous·ly , adverb
o·ver·jeal·ous·ness , noun
un·jeal·ous , adjective
un·jeal·ous·ly , adverb

Can be confused
enviable, envious

Related Words for jealous
skeptical, envious, protective, anxious, suspicious, apprehensive, possessive, resentful, intolerant, attentive, covetous, demanding, grasping, green-eyed, guarded, invidious, jaundiced, questioning, rival, solicitous

See more synonyms for jealous on Thesaurus.com

Origin: 1175–1225; Middle English jelous, gelos < Old French gelos ( French jaloux ) < Vulgar Latin *zelosus, equivalent to Late Latin zel ( us ) zeal + osus -ose

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Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2013

Carnal (adjective)
car·nal [kahr-nl]

adjective
1. pertaining to or characterized by the flesh or the body, its passions and appetites; sensual: carnal pleasures.
2. not spiritual; merely human; temporal; worldly: a man of secular, rather carnal, leanings.

Related forms
car·nal·i·ty , car·nal·ness , car·nal·ism , noun
car·nal·ly , adverb
hy·per·car·nal , adjective
hy·per·car·nal·ly , adverb

Related Words for carnal
sensuous, wanton, lewd, earthly, animal, bodily, corporal, corporeal, fleshly, impure, lascivious, lecherous, libidinous, licentious, lustful, physical, prurient, salacious, temporal, voluptuous

Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
1. bodily, lustful, lecherous, lascivious, libidinous, concupiscent.

Synonym study
Carnal, sensual, fleshly, animal all refer to bodily rather than rational or spiritual aspects of humans. Carnal although it may refer to the body as opposed to the spirit, often refers to sexual needs or urges: carnal cravings, attractions, satisfactions. Sensual implies a suggestion of eroticism: sensual eyes; a sensual dance; it may also refer to experience of the senses: a sensual delight. Fleshly may refer to any physical need or appetite, sex as well as hunger and thirst: the fleshly sin of gluttony; fleshly yearnings. Animal refers to sexual appetites in a censorious way only; it may also describe pleasing or admirable physical characteristics or appearance: animal lust; to move with animal grace.
2. earthly, natural.

Origin: 1350–1400; Middle English < Latin carnalis, equivalent to carn- (stem of caro ) flesh + -alis -al

Word Origin and History for carnal
adj.
c.1400, "physical, human, mortal," from Old French carnal and directly from Medieval Latin carnalis "natural, of the same blood," from Latin carnis "of the flesh," genitive of caro "flesh, meat" (see carnage). Meaning "sensual" is from early 15c.; that of "worldly, sinful" is from mid-15c. Carnal knowledge is attested from early 15c. and was in legal use by 1680s.

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018

Prehistoric (adjective)
pre·his·tor·ic [pree-hi-stawr-ik, -stor-, pree-i-]

adjective
1. of or pertaining to the time or a period prior to recorded history: The dinosaur is a prehistoric beast.
2. Slang. outdated; passé: My mom has these prehistoric ideas about proper dress.

Sometimes pre·his·tor·i·cal.

Related forms
pre·his·tor·i·cal·ly , adverb

Related Words for prehistoric
primordial, primitive, ancient, archaic, primeval, antediluvian, antiquated, earliest, early, old, olden

See more synonyms for prehistoric on Thesaurus.com

Origin: 1850–55; pre- + historic

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Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018

Amphibian (noun, adjective)
am·phib·i·an [am-fib-ee-uh?n]

noun
1. any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Amphibia, comprising frogs and toads, newts and salamanders, and caecilians, the larvae being typically aquatic, breathing by gills, and the adults being typically semiterrestrial, breathing by lungs and through the moist, glandular skin.
2. an amphibious plant.
3. an airplane designed for taking off from and landing on both land and water.
4. Also called amtrac. a flat-bottomed, armed, military vehicle, equipped with both tracks and a rudder, that can travel either on land or in water, used chiefly for landing assault troops.

adjective
5. belonging or pertaining to the Amphibia.
6. amphibious (def 2).

See more synonyms for amphibian on Thesaurus.com

Related forms
non·am·phib·i·an, adjective

Related Words for amphibian
toad, frog, salamander, hyla, proteus, caecilian, caudate, newt

Origin:
1630–40; < Latin amphibi ( a ), neuter plural of amphibius (adj.) (see amphibious) + -an



Examples from the Web for amphibian
Historical Examples of amphibian
The locked controls held the amphibian for perhaps thirty seconds.
Under Arctic Ice
H.G. Winter

Bell had a raft of canes afloat beside the amphibian when she waked.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, June, 1930
Various

"You will not be allowed to cause any more trouble," the amphibian declared, coldly.
Triplanetary
Edward Elmer Smith

And then we have still the amphibian, the lizard, and the bird or mammal, up to man.
Socialism: Positive and Negative
Robert Rives La Monte

But I do think it wise to keep the story of the amphibian and its pilot to ourselves.
Dorothy Dixon and the Mystery Plane
Dorothy Wayne