magnolia
noun
gazebo
noun
a gazebo on the mansion’s south lawn
blast
noun
the trumpet’s blast
The driver gave a long blast on his horn.
the blast of the factory whistle
Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet. ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
verb
The rock has been blasted away.
He blasted his rival with a pistol.
inset
noun
The floor is decorated with an inset of marble tiles.
verb
inset a map in a larger map
contiguous
adjective
the 48 contiguous states of the U.S.
contiguous row houses
Substring extraction. Get a contiguous subsequence of characters. - Algorithms, 4th Edition, Robert Sedgewick and Kevin Wayne.
debut
noun
the writer’s debut novel
in honor of their daughter’s debut
my debut as a pianist
verb
The network debuts a new sitcom tonight.
compliment
noun
Boys in the Midwest grow up without a word of praise, their parents fearful that a compliment might make them vain … — Garrison Keillor, WLT: A Radio Romance, 1991
verb
complimented the pianist on his performance
turf
noun
a lawn made by laying turfs
Synthetic turf was installed in the playing field instead of grass.
playing fields with artificial turfs
patron
noun
She is a well-known patron of the arts.
charcoal
noun
propane
noun
The assistance goes directly to utilities to pay gas or electricity bills, or to a provider of fuel oil, propane or wood. — Kirsti Marohn, Twin Cities, 4 Apr. 2025
adjunct
adjective
an adjunct professor
limestone
noun
“I’m OK, this head is like limestone. It’s hard as a rock,” Ford joked. - Man, 18, charged after collision involving Ontario Premier Doug Ford
hilarious
adjective
Let’s get rid of these. They haven’t done anything hilarious enough to post on TikTok. - Waterloo Region Record, Rhymes with Oranges, April 10, 2025
scum
noun
Boil the chicken and use a spoon to remove any scum that floats to the surface.
Bathrooms Soap scum and mildew are some of the worst (and grossest) things to get rid of.
— NBC News, 18 Dec. 2017
Rinse to wash away germs, mold, water spots, and soap scum.
— Caitlin Sole, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Aug. 2023
verb
Lieberman is the scummiest scumbag who ever scummed. — Jim Newell, Slate Magazine, 18 May 2017
plum
noun
a bowl of peaches and plums
prune
noun
Dried plums are also called “prunes.”
verb
prune the branches
push-pull
adjective
This kind of angry and defensive push-pull in scientific inquiry is nothing new. - The Quantum Ten, by Sheilla Jones
airy-fairy
adjective
There was no place for gods or metaphysics or any other kind of airy-fairy theories here. - The Quantum Ten, by Sheilla Jones
reconcile
verb
reconcile differences
It can be difficult to reconcile your ideals with reality.
condo
noun
Condo towers stand behind the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo.
Sikh
noun
clog
verb
The sink was clogged by dirt and grease.
When lights fuse, furniture gets rickety, pipes get clogged, or vacuum cleaners fail to operate, some woman assume that their husbands will somehow put things right.
serotonin
noun
Rotating shift workers tend to have lower levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin, leading to disturbed sleep patterns, suggests new research. - CBC News