elegiac
(en)
relating to or characteristic of an elegy.
16
At that moment he and she might have been the elders at the table, elegiac.
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4 months ago
At that moment he and she might have been the elders at the table, elegiac.
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4 months ago
propitiate
(en)
(verb) to gain or regain the favor or goodwill of; appease
24
On the brink of the sofa he renounced any possibility of Caro. There was deliverance in this, and a flow of propitiatory emotion towards Grace.
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4 months ago
On the brink of the sofa he renounced any possibility of Caro. There was deliverance in this, and a flow of propitiatory emotion towards Grace.
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4 months ago
littoral
(en)
(adjective) of, relating to, or situated or growing on or near a shore especially of the sea / (noun) a coastal region / (noun) the shore zone between high tide and low tide points
38
Like a vast inland of their own littoral, Dora was becoming an afflicted region, a source of abrupt conflagration.
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4 months ago
Like a vast inland of their own littoral, Dora was becoming an afflicted region, a source of abrupt conflagration.
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4 months ago
palaver
(en)
(noun) a long parley usually between persons of different cultures or levels of sophistication / (noun) conference discussion / (noun) idle talk / (noun) misleading or beguiling speech / (verb) to talk profusely or idly / (verb) parley / (verb) to use palaver to; cajole
46
After all that palaver about Danty and the sunset, the old ratbag was asking a thousand quid
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4 months ago
After all that palaver about Danty and the sunset, the old ratbag was asking a thousand quid
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4 months ago
salutary
(en)
(adjective) producing a beneficial effect; remedial / (adjective) promoting health; curative
53
Captain Girling informed them that, as a result of what they now saw, war had become unthinkable: "In that way, it has been salutary."
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4 months ago
Captain Girling informed them that, as a result of what they now saw, war had become unthinkable: "In that way, it has been salutary."
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4 months ago
portentous
(en)
(adjective) of, relating to, or constituting a portent / (adjective) eliciting amazement or wonder; prodigious / (adjective) being a grave or serious matter / (adjective) self-consciously solemn or important; pompous / (adjective) ponderously excessive
55
It was the fate of those mild hills around the Thrale house to be portentous in the view of Edmund Tice.
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4 months ago
It was the fate of those mild hills around the Thrale house to be portentous in the view of Edmund Tice.
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4 months ago
machicolation
(en)
(noun) an opening between the corbels of a projecting parapet or in the floor of a gallery or roof of a portal for discharging missiles upon assailants below / (noun) a gallery or parapet containing such openings / (noun) construction imitating medieval machicolation
74
They smiled to imagine Tertia on the battlements, peering glassily from behind machicolations.
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4 months ago
They smiled to imagine Tertia on the battlements, peering glassily from behind machicolations.
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4 months ago
osiers
(en)
(noun) any of various willows (especially Salix viminalis) whose pliable twigs are used for furniture and basketry / (noun) a willow rod used in basketry / (noun) any of several American dogwoods / (noun) red osier / (noun) a common shrubby North American dogwood (Cornus stolonifera syn. C. sericea) with reddish-purple twigs, small white flowers, and globose blue or whitish fruit
77
In the valley a line of osiers flinched at the least breath of air.
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4 months ago
In the valley a line of osiers flinched at the least breath of air.
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4 months ago
finial
(en)
(noun) a usually foliated ornament forming an upper extremity especially in Gothic architecture / (noun) a crowning ornament or detail (as a decorative knob)
105
In the brass rods and finials behind her head, Caro's fingers were vaguely grappled, like those of a woman dreaming.
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4 months ago
In the brass rods and finials behind her head, Caro's fingers were vaguely grappled, like those of a woman dreaming.
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4 months ago
espalier
(en)
(noun) a plant (as a fruit tree) trained to grow flat against a support (as a wall) / (noun) a railing or trellis on which fruit trees or shrubs are trained to grow flat / (verb) to train as an espalier / (verb) to furnish with an espalier
130
There were espaliered trees that would be protective in the summer, or so Paul said.
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4 months ago
There were espaliered trees that would be protective in the summer, or so Paul said.
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4 months ago