My English Words List - October - 2025

sunset

sunset

noun

We worked from sunrise to sunset.

the golden light of sunset

A young man sees a sunset and, unable to understand or to express the emotion that it rouses in him, concludes that it must be the gateway to world that lies beyond. - The catches of life, Pieces of Mind, by C. E. M. Joad

subset

noun

the set of even numbers is a subset of the set of all numbers

a subset of our community

gibbous

gibbous

adjective

The waxing gibbous moon provided the perfect lighting for a night of spooky storytelling around the campfire.

At 3:30 a.m. the gibbous moon is high in the south and Perseus is nearly overhead. Set up a comfortable lawn chair facing away from any bright lights, ideally looking toward the northeast with the moon to your back. Have insect repellent handy along with hot chocolate, tea or coffee and enjoy the show. — Tim Hunter, The Arizona Daily Star, 7 Aug. 2025

ignite

ignite

verb

The fire was ignited by sparks.

a material that ignites easily

vent

vent

noun

Gas venting

revelation

revelation

noun

Sunlight, for instance, often stands in for divine grace or revelation.

We simply must rely on God to give us divine revelation by his Holy Spirit.

fuddy-duddy

fuddy-duddy

noun

They think I’m an old fuddy-duddy because I don’t approve of tattoos.

prank

prank

noun

He enjoys playing pranks on his friends.

as a prank, several students managed to change all the classroom clocks to different times

First reaction of Michel Devoret, 2025 Physics Nobel laureate: ‘I thought it was a prank. The quantum computer is not here yet’

mogul

mogul

noun

Hollywood moguls

industry moguls

Trump has already hinted at some names, including Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, billionaire tech investor Michael Dell, businessman and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and his son Lachlan Murdoch. — James Powel, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025

Larry Ellison, the 81-year-old tech billionaire-turned-media mogul.

chiropractic

chiropractic

noun

Some mainstream doctors may view it as a fringe treatment, but chiropractic is more commonly covered by insurance than any other type of alternative care.— Elizabeth R. Agnvall

adjective

Chiropractic treatment involves manual spinal adjustments to unblock the flow of energy and blood to the nervous system; it can also include nutritional counseling and stress management. — Corynne Corbett

boo-boo

boo-boo

noun

  • a usually trivial injury (such as a bruise or scratch)
    — used especially by or of a child

When Cody trips and falls in the grass, his friends band together to comfort him and get him a bandage for his boo-boo. — Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 9 May 2025

nasty

nasty

adjective

nasty living conditions

a nasty taste

living a cheap and nasty life — G. B. Shaw

She has a nasty habit of biting her fingernails.

That nasty old man yelled at me just for stepping on his lawn!

orator

orator

noun

Jeff Dean was a world-class engineer, not an orator. - Genius Makers, The Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook, and the World, Cade Metz

ponytail

ponytail

noun

She usually wears her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

In the United states, connectionist research nearly vanished from the top universities. The one serious lab was at New York University, where Yann Lecun took a professorship in 2003, his hair pulled back in a ponytail. - Genius Makers, The Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook, and the World, Cade Metz

bail

bail

noun

Prime Minister Mark Carney says his Liberal government will introduce legislation next week to crack down on crime by bringing in harsher sentencing and making bail much harder to get.

tact

tact

noun

questions showing a lack of tact

Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy. - Isaac Newton

The ability to show tact has been emphasized since the earliest proverbs, including this one from the Bible:”A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.“ - 1001 Quotations To Enlighten, Entertain, and Inspire, by Robert Arp

bloom

bloom

noun

the spring bloom

the roses are in bloom

the rosebush produces blooms only in midsummer

a handsome young man in the full bloom of youth

That is why I never employ an expert in full bloom. - Henry Ford