Useful Words of the Day 2023

Useful words of the Day (2023) is an online resource to enrich English vocabulary, its words are selected from MIT News or other similar media, active on campus and Internet; you can study them with flexible review patterns.
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 Word of the Day
Twitter should have a mechanism for users to flag illegal content, act upon notifications expeditiously, and put in measures to address the spread of disinformation. - BBC News

expeditiously   Speak
ad.  with speed and efficiency

put in   Speak
v.  to make a formal offer or declaration of
Added on: 2023-05-28
 Review ListLatest 30 Words   Latest 100 Words  
30 Words list: 2023-05-26, 2023-04-09
profiteer   Speak
v. make or seek to make an excessive or unfair profit, especially illegally or in a black market
disinformation   Speak
n. false information which is intended to mislead
bot   Speak
n. an autonomous program on the internet that can interact with systems or users
The code aims to prevent profiteering from disinformation and fake news and curb the spread of bots and fake accounts. BBC News
accusation   Speak
n. a charge or claim that someone has done something illegal or wrong
papal   Speak
a. relating to the position or authority of the Pope
People who had worked with the Templars were under severe pressure from papal inquisitors to say something to support the accusations. BBC News
contaminated   Speak
a. having been made impure by exposure to or addition of a poisonous or polluting substance
carbon-date   Speak
v. to determine the age of an organic object by examining the relative proportions of the carbon isotopes
While it's thought the cave would once have been brightly painted, the minimal pigment remains, and that which does is too contaminated to be carbon-dated. BBC News
enigmatic   Speak
a. difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious
order   Speak
n. a society of monks, priests, nuns, etc., living according to certain religious and social regulations
suppress   Speak
v. forcibly put an end to
It was a hiding place for the Knights Templar, that enigmatic order of warrior monks who achieved vast wealth before being violently suppressed in 1307. BBC News
hermitage   Speak
n. a place where a religious person lives on their own, away from the rest of society
lend   Speak
v. contribute or add (something, especially a quality) to
credence   Speak
n. belief in or acceptance of something as true
A prominent carving in the cave depicting Saint Christopher lends credence to the theory that the cave served as this kind of hermitage. BBC News
chalk   Speak
n. a soft white limestone formed from the skeletal remains of sea creatures
escarpment   Speak
n. a long, steep slope, especially one at the edge of a plateau
The cave lies directly beneath the intersection of two highly significant ancient roads: a historical trackway along southern England's chalk escarpment. BBC News
esoteric   Speak
a. likely to be understood by only a small number of people with specialized knowledge or interest
ley line   Speak
n. an imaginary line between some important places such as hills, believed to be where there were very old paths
Those of an esoteric disposition have claimed that the cave lies at the intersection of two ley lines - ancient pathways theorized to connect places of spiritual power. BBC News
intriguing   Speak
a. arousing one's curiosity or interest; fascinating
enigma   Speak
n. a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand
The cave is so intriguing to visitors and historians because it's still an enigma, a mystery as to who made it or when or why. BBC News
tantalizing   Speak
a. causing excitement, interest, and desire
theorize   Speak
v. form a theory or set of theories about something
It portrayed a person holding a skull in the right hand, theorized to represent an initiation ceremony – a tantalizing clue as to the cave's possible purpose. BBC News
martyr   Speak
v. to kill someone because of their beliefs
griddle   Speak
n. a heavy, flat iron plate that is heated and used for cooking food
breaking wheel   Speak
n. was a torture method used for public execution, primarily in Europe before 18 century
There's Saint Catherine with her breaking wheel, who was only 18 when she was martyred, and Saint Lawrence, who was burnt to death on a griddle. BBC News
deplete   Speak
v. use up the supply or resources of
distraction   Speak
n. extreme agitation of the mind or emotions
If they believed that their willpower was easily depleted, then their ability to resist temptation and distraction quickly dissolved. BBC News
fiddly   Speak
a. complicated or detailed and awkward to do or use
beforehand   Speak
ad. before an action or event; in advance
After applying fiddly corrections to a boring text – they found it much harder to pay attention to a subsequent activity than if they had been resting beforehand. BBC News
procrastination   Speak
n. the action of delaying or postponing something
iron grip   Speak
n. total, dominant control over someone or something
Basic Words of Day Middle Words of Day
Road to My Dream Universities
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mind and Hand

Duke University
Knowledge and Faith

University of California, Santa Barbara
Let there be light.