Skip to content

David Theobald

The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… duress (noun): 1 law : forcible restraint or restriction 2 law : compulsion by threat Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Duress is most often paired with the word under to refer to force or threats meant to make someone do something. For example, someone forced to sign a

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… fulsome (adjective): 1a : characterized by abundance b : generous in amount, extent, or spirit c : being full and well developed 2 : aesthetically, morally, or generally offensive 3 : exceeding the bounds of good taste : overdone 4 : excessively complimentary or flattering Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In the 19th

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… jingoism (noun): : extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Jingoism originated during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, when many British citizens were hostile toward Russia and felt Britain should intervene in the conflict. Supporters of the cause

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… culminate (verb): 1 of a celestial body : to reach its highest altitude 2a : to rise to or form a summit b : to reach the highest or a climactic or decisive point Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : When a star or other heavenly body culminates, it reaches

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… noisome (adjective): 1 : noxious, harmful 2a : offensive to the senses and especially to the sense of smell b : highly obnoxious or objectionable Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Noisome looks and sounds like a close relation of noisy, but it’s not. While noisy describes what is

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… confidant (noun): : one to whom secrets are entrusted Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If you’re confident of the trustworthiness of your confidants, you’re tuned into the origins of the word confidant. The word comes, via French, from the Italian confidente, meaning “trusting, having trust

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… cavil (verb): to raise trivial and frivolous objection Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : You must be joking! That’s just one of the things you might be tempted to exclaim if you found yourself quarreling with a caviler – and you’d be right, etymologically speaking at

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… fatigue (noun, verb, adjective): noun 1a : labour b : manual or menial work (such as the cleaning up of a camp area) performed by military personnel c fatigues plural : the uniform or work clothing worn on fatigue and in the field 2a : weariness or exhaustion from

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… garrulous (adjective): : given to prosy, rambling, or tedious loquacity : pointlessly or annoyingly talkative Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Garrulous is a 17th century Latin borrowing that has its origin in garrire, meaning “to chatter, talk rapidly.” That Latin root is probably imitative in origin—that is,

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… emancipation (noun): : the act or process of emancipating Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, ordered that enslaved people living in rebellious territories be released from the bonds of ownership and made free people—their own masters.

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… redolent (adjective): 1 : exuding fragrance : aromatic 2a : full of a specified fragrance b : evocative, suggestive Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Redolent traces back to the Latin verb olere (“to smell”) and is a relative of olfactory (“of, relating to, or connected with the sense of smell”

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… oblige (verb): 1 : to constrain by physical, moral, or legal force or by the exigencies of circumstance 2a : to put in one’s debt by a favor or service b : to do a favor for Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : If you are obliged by a

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… festoon (noun, verb): noun 1 : a decorative chain or strip hanging between two points 2 : a carved, molded, or painted ornament representing a decorative chain verb 1 : to hang or form festoons on 2 : to shape into festoons Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The noun festoon

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… panacea (noun): : a remedy for all ills or difficulties Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : English speakers took panacea from Latin, but as is the case with many Latin borrowings, the word ultimately traces its roots to Greek: panakes, meaning “all-healing,” comes from pan-, meaning “all,” and

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… burgle (verb): : to break into and steal from (a home, business, etc.) : to commit robbery Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Burglary and burglar, which refer respectively to the act of breaking into a dwelling especially at night in order to commit theft or some other crime,

Members Public
The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… alleviate (verb): : relieve, lessen: such as – a : to make (something, such as pain or suffering) more bearable b : to partially remove or correct (something undesirable) Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Alleviate derives from the past participle of Late Latin alleviare (“to lighten or relieve”), which in

Members Public