Five Phenomenal (Usable) Words 2

Five phenomenal words: email edition. Not those you can use in emails specifically, but those I received in emails today. In a friendly list-style chain email conversation, words one doesn't expect rising high school sophomores to dish out appeared. Kudos (that was one of them, actually) to C, L, and M for contributing unknowingly to today's list. The sentences are the quoted lines that my friends used the words in.

5.  Peruse 
pe·ruse/pəˈro͞oz/

Verb: To read thoroughly or at length

Translation: To browse with care.

Use it in a sentence: .I was perusing a pile of DVDs in the DVD section in the library when a lady came over, whisked the DVDs away, and tersely said, "Go away," to me.

4. Victual

vict·ual  /ˈvitl/

Noun: Food or provisions, typically as prepared for consumption.

Verb: To provide with food.
Translation: FOOD!

Use it in a sentence: ... at awkward times during the day when people are usually eating foodstuffs and random victuals, so...

3. Emulate

em·u·late  /ˈemyəˌlāt/

Verb: to match or surpass in imitation, to imitate

Translation: to copy.

Use it in a sentence: Please tell me you emulated Gollum; that would make me happy to no end.

I personally prefer using plain old "imitate" because emulate reminds me of emus.

2. Recalcitrant

re·cal·ci·trant    /riˈkalsətrənt/

Adjective: having an obstinately uncooperative attitude towards authority
Noun: A person with such an attitude.

Translation: Disobedience

Use it in a sentence: Kyle, in my opinion, microwaves are more recalcitrant than toaster ovens.

1. Whimsicality

whim·si·cal·i·ty    \ˈhwim-zi-kəl, ˈwim-\ <-- for whimsical not whimsicality.

Noun : flightiness, the state of being whimsical

Translation: quirks.

Use it in a sentence: On a scale of Caillou episodes to your dutchie-passing whimsicalities and then onto Lady Gaga music videos, how would you rate the...

I'm not even sure if whimsicality is a real, real word. Princeton says so, but the Merriam Webster dictionary disagrees. I couldn't even find the notation thing for it. Whatever. :)