My English Words List - April - 2025

magnolia

magnolia

noun

Illustration of magnolia

Magnolia tree in bloom

gazebo

gazebo

noun

The Victorian-style bandstand gazebo at Fellows Riverside Gardens at Mill Creek Park, Youngstown, Ohio

a gazebo on the mansion’s south lawn

blast

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

inset

noun

The floor is decorated with an inset of marble tiles.

verb

inset a map in a larger map

contiguous

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

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

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

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

patron

noun

She is a well-known patron of the arts.

charcoal

charcoal

noun

Charcoal

Charcoal

propane

propane

noun

A 20 lb (9.1 kg) steel propane cylinder. This cylinder is fitted with an overfill prevention device (OPD) valve, as evidenced by the trilobular handwheel.

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

adjunct

adjective

an adjunct professor

limestone

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

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

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

plum

noun

Japanese or Chinese plum

Prune plums (European plum)

a bowl of peaches and plums

prune

prune

noun

Prunes

Dried plums are also called “prunes.”

Prune

verb

prune the branches

push-pull

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

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

reconcile

verb

reconcile differences

It can be difficult to reconcile your ideals with reality.

condo

condo

noun

Condo towers stand behind the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo.

Sikh

Sikh

noun

Sikhs

clog

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

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