Building a Better Vocabulary

Lecture 25: Words for Killing and Cutting

z DesuetudeFRPHVIURPWKH/DWLQSUH¿[de-, meaning “away from,”

and the Latin verb suesco, meaning “to become accustomed.” If

you neglect things for too long, you become unaccustomed to them,

and eventually, they’re no longer useable. They fall into desuetude

through neglect.

Perdition (noun)

Loss of the soul; eternal damnation; hell; utter ruin.

z The word perdition is sometimes used in sermons to refer to the

UHOLJLRXVLGHDRIWKH¿UHVRIKHOO²WKHSODFHZKHUHVLQQHUVVXIIHU

eternal damnation. It is also used in the sense of “hell on earth,”

as in: “The governor’s policies will lead our state down the road

to perdition.”

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desuetude.

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