Fatuous

Fatuous
adj.
Definition: 1. smugly, complacently, and unconsciously foolish and inane; displaying clear lack of intelligence; 2. without reality--illusory
Synonyms: asinine, imbecile, ludicrous, moronic, vacuous, delusive, stupid, foolish, unreal
Antonyms: brilliant, intelligent, smart, wise, knowing

Sample Sentences:

Your hopes of manning a space shuttle are fatuous; you don't even have a college degree.

I couldn't believe his fatuous statement to the press; he must either be deranged or the stupidest person I've ever seen.

Usage:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1224578/MELANIE-PHILLIPS-Fatuous-dangerous-utterly-irresponsible--Nutty-professor-whos-distorting-truth-drugs.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2083421/Facebook-Tweets-iPads-How-Absolutely-Fatuous-says-Joanna-Lumley.html

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Fatuous describes a lack of awareness of how stupid one's comments or actions are. In the second meaning, a fatuous person may be deluded by some idea or hope.

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Facetious

Facetious
adj.
Definition: humerous in a sarcastic way
Synonyms: humorous, clever, sarcastic, ironic, witty, silly, jocose
Antonyms: serious, matter-of-fact, lugubrious

Sample Sentences:

Jeff told me he didn’t like the movie at all, so he must have been facetious when he recommended it to his friends.

Her facetious remarks made it clear that she wasn’t taking the meeting seriously.

Usage:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/24/twitter-joke-trial-obviously-facetious

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/10/04/Judge-says-threat-was-facetious/UPI-47301349378173/

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Facetious originates from french facétie, “joke.” Think, "joking in terms of pretending something is true, while knowing that it is false." Facetious can be used as a more sophisticated way of saying "sarcastic." Think of trying to put a humorous face on something when being facetious. 

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Expurgate

Expurgate
verb
to cleanse of something morally harmful, offensive, or erroneous; especially : to expunge objectionable parts from before publication or presentation <an expurgated edition of the letters

Sample Sentences:

They felt it was necessary to expurgate his letters before publishing them.

the newspaper had to expurgate the expletive-laden speech that the criminal made upon being sentenced to life imprisonment.

Usage:

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/expurgationlibrary 

http://www.crockford.com/wrrrld/maniac.html

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On TV, if you hear some words bleeped out, those words have been expurgated. In print, we can expurgate by using dashes ( — — ) or random characters like %&$#. Sometimes we can expurgate just by rewriting something so that the entire sentence with the naughty parts is gone, or by putting it into mild words. 

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Evanescent

Evanescent
adj.

Definition: 1. tending to vanish like vapor; 2. disappearing quickly and being forgotten
Synonyms: fleeting, short-lived, temporal, impermanent, transient, elusive
Antonyms: enduring, lasting, permanent

Sample Sentences:

Rainbows are a beautiful, but unfortunately evanescent, effect of rain and sunshine.

Once the evanescent mist had passed, the birds began to chirp happily.

Usage:

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2009/dec/20/evanescent-waves-bring-new-window-into-the-nanoworld

http://www.postcarbon.org/article/40397-our-evanescent-culture-and-the-awesome

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Evanescent can be used to describe fleeting joys or passions. In addition, it can be used as a scientific term with waves of light or other such elusive elements. In literature, said of smoke or mist, it denotes gradual fading. Evanescent is related to ephemeral, fleeting, and transitory.

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Equinox

Equinox
noun

Definition: a day in which the sun passes the plane of the equator, making night and day exactly equal in length
Synonyms: vernal equinox, autumnal equinox
Antonyms: solstice

Sample Sentences:

There is a myth that an egg can balance on its end only during an equinox, when time is also balanced between day and night.

Sally chose the vernal equinox as the first day of her spring cleaning.

Usage:

http://www.livescience.com/23445-fall-equinox-seasons-change-explained.html

http://www.space.com/17697-autumnal-equinox-start-fall.html

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The two equinoxes each year are March 21 and September 23. These dates also mark the end of winter/beginning of spring and end of summer/beginning of fall.

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Enfranchise

Enfranchise
adj.

Definition: 1. having citizenship or the right to vote; 2. freed from slavery
Synonyms: freed, liberated, emancipated, authorized, sanctioned
Antonyms: disenfranchised

Sample Sentences:

The newly enfranchised citizens voted en masse on election day.

Women were finally enfranchised in the U.S. in the 1920's.

Usage:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/8845881/Europe-referendum-is-a-chance-to-enfranchise-voters.html

http://tcbh.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/08/31/tcbh.hwr032.abstract

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Enfranchised is formed from the word franchise, which can refer to the right to vote. Enfranchised is also a verb in the past tense or past perfect. The related adjective disenfranchised is used to describe people who were not given the right to vote or from whom that right was taken away.

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Enervate

Enervate
verb
Definition: to weaken somebody, either physically or mentally
Synonyms: tire, exhaust, fatigue, deplete, weaken, enfeeble
Antonyms: strengthen, energize

Sample Sentences:

Nothing enervates me like a car alarm that beeps all night.

Just the thought of speaking in public is enough to enervate me.

Usage:

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obama-campaign-election-romney/2012/08/20/id/449087

http://www.cjr.org/language_corner/nerve_center.php

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Enervate usually refers to physical exhaustion or weakness. There is an connotation of "rattled nerves" leading to a breakdown of strength. If something is described with the adjective enervating, it is exhausting. Enervate is often confused with energize; remember, these words are antonyms and have the opposite meaning.

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Circumlocution

Circumlocution
noun

Definition: 1. indirect and wordy language; 2. evasion in speech, especially to indirectly say something unpleasant
Synonyms: evasion, wordiness, verbosity, redundancy, prolixity
Antonyms: directness

Sample Sentences:

  After a few glasses of wine, Jerry began to talk with circumlocution and never got to his point.

 Your circumlocution is getting us nowhere; please be direct and get to the point!

Usage:

  http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/dj-taylor-daily-life-at-the-circumlocution-office-6268535.html

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/22/opinion/l-circumlocution-office-is-where-to-find-it-257119.html

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Circumlocution is a way of trying to get around a subject by not getting directly to the point. Politicians use it frequently. One could say politicians are often inclined to use circumlocutory language. "Circumlocution office" is a negative term referring to red tape in a governmental office.

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Diffident

Diffident
adj.
Definition: 1. hesitant due to lack of self-confidence; 2. reserved or restrained in behavior
Synonyms: reserved, unassertive, bashful, restrained, hesitant, distrustful, doubtful, insecure, modest, self-effacing, sheepish
Antonyms: outgoing, loquacious, brazen, unabashed

Sample Sentences:

Kate didn't know anyone at the party, so she was diffident whenever someone approached her to chat.

Her intelligence was masked by her diffident behavior, which often made people think that she was dumb or didn't have anything to say.

Usage:

  http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,843759,00.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19383607

Paragraph:

 Diffident comes from the latin word fidere, "to trust," with the addition of the "dis-" prefix, which makes its meaning negative. A diffident person is distrustful of something, usually of making a mistake in a social situation, or seems distrustful. The noun diffidence refers to hesitation or reluctance. For a memory trick, think, diffident is different/opposite of confident. The latin prefix con means "with," so confident means "with trust," while diffident means "without trust."

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Deciduous
adj.
Definition: describes trees and shrubs that shed their leaves each autumn
Synonyms: leafy, temporary, shedding
Antonyms: coniferous, needled

Sample Sentences:

 The deciduous forests of the northeast are inhabited by many different kinds of birds.
 Before deciduous trees shed their leaves, they often turn brilliant shades of red, orange, or yellow.

Usage:

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/299/5615/2035.abstract
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/deciduous-forest-biome.html

Paragraph:

 The origin of deciduous is the latin word cadere, "to fall." Its literal meaning is "tending to fall" or "temporary." Just think of leaves falling in autumn. If you want to appear even more knowledgeable: coniferous trees are trees with cones, like pine trees with pine cones. These trees do not shed their leaves like deciduous trees.

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