MAGNANIMOUS (mag NAN uh mus) adj forgiving; not resentful; noble in spirit; generous
- The boxer was magnanimous in defeat, telling the sports reporters that his opponent had
simply been too talented for him to beat. - Mrs. Jones magnanimously offered the little boy a cookie when he came over to confess
that he had accidentally broken her window while playing baseball.
MALAPROPISM (MAL uh prahp iz um) n humorous misuse of a word that sounds similar to
the word intended but has a ludicrously different meaning
- In Richard Sheridan’s 1775 play, The Rivals, a character named Mrs. Malaprop calls
someone “the pineapple of politeness” instead of “the pinnacle of politeness.” In Mrs.
Malaprop’s honor, similar verbal boo-boos are known as malapropisms. Incidentally,
Sheridan derived Mrs. Malaprop’s name from malapropos, a French import that means
“not apropos” or “not appropriate.” - Another master of the malapropism was Emily Litella, a character played by Gilda
Radner on the television show Saturday Night Live, who thought it was ridiculous for
people to complain that there was “too much violins” on television.
MALIGNANT (muh LIG nuhnt) adj causing harm
- Many words that start with mal- connote evil or harm, just as words that begin with ben-
generally have good connotations. Malignant and benign are often used to describe
tumors or physical conditions that are either life-threatening or not. - Lina has had recurring tumors since the operation; we’re just glad that none of them have
proved malignant.
PERIPATETIC (per uh peh TET ik) adj wandering; traveling continually; itinerant
- Groupies are a peripatetic bunch, traveling from concert to concert to follow their favorite
rock stars.
POSTERITY (pahs TER uh tee) n future generations; descendants; heirs
- Richard necessarily paints for posterity; nobody alive has any interest in his pictures.
- There’s no point in protecting the world’s oil reserves for posterity if we don’t also leave
posterity any air to breathe. - Samantha is saving her diaries for posterity; she hopes that her daughters and
granddaughters will enjoy them.
POSTHUMOUS (PAHS chuh mus) adj occurring after one’s death; published after the death
of the author
- The posthumous publication of Ernest Hemingway novels has become a minor literary
industry, even though Hemingway clearly had good reasons for keeping the novels
unpublished.
REPLETE (ri PLEET) adj completely filled; abounding
- The once-polluted stream was now replete with fish of every description.