hamartia (noun) and anagnorisis (noun)
Two terms from classical Greek tragedy. Hamartia (hah-mar-TEE-uh) is a fatal flaw or mistake that leads to the protagonist’s downfall. Anagnorisis (a-nag-NOR-ih-sis) is the point at which the protagonist recognizes his/her (or some other character’s) true nature. As I used them today: “Is life an ongoing struggle between the stress of playing blind and the pain of being forced to see? Are we locked into the tragic choice between hamartia and anagnorisis?”
brandish (verb)
To brandish (BRAN-dish) is to wave or flourish something (especially a weapon) in an ostentatious, menacing, or aggressive way. As used by Eric Liu: “The next time someone… brandishes the special status conferred upon him by the accident of birth, ask him this: What have you done lately to earn it?”
transcendent (adjective)
Something that is transcendent (tran-SEN-dunt) is beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience. As I used it today: “[Iris Murdoch] says that you cannot experience [beauty] fully with your rational mind. You need a ‘shift of consciousness’ from your everyday way of thinking to a sort of transcendent awareness.”
Machiavellian (adjective)
Someone who is Machiavellian (mak-ee-uh-VEL-ee-un) is focused on his own interests – scheming, deceiving, and manipulating others to achieve his goals. The word comes from the 16thcentury Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, best known for writing “The Prince” – a political treatise that advocated ruthless tactics for gaining political power.
glom (verb)
To glom (GLOM) onto something is to grab hold of it. As I used it today: “REGN-EB3 is made up of three antibodies that glom onto the [Ebola] virus, preventing it from replicating inside the host’s bodyand triggering the host’s immune system to kill the infected cells.”
caducity (noun)
Caducity (Kuh-DOO-sih-tee) is the quality of being transitory or perishable. It can be used as a synonym for senility. As used by J.G. Millingen in Curiosities of Medical Experience: “Let us deduct even from old age the years of infancy, the years of caducity, and the years of sleep – alas!”
problematic (adjective)
Something that’s problematic (prah-bluh-MAT-ik) is doubtful, uncertain, questionable. As I used it today: “My relationship with my trainer, for example, can be problematic at times, and it certainly drains my energy. But it unquestionably adds value to my life.”
empathy (noun)
Empathy (EM-puh-thee) is the ability to understand, be aware of, and be sensitive to the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of another person. As I used it today: “There was a time in my life when I had such conversations, and they were not just fun. They were deeply felt and empathetic. I’d like to have them again.”
adventitious (adjective)
Something that is adventitious (ad-ven-TISH-us) happens or is carried on by chance rather than by design or its inherent nature. As used by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The adventitious beauty of poetry may be felt in the greater delight with a verse given in a happy quotation than in the poem.”
desiccated (adjective)
To desiccate (DES-ih-kate) is to remove the moisture from; to become completely and thoroughly dry. As I used it today: “[When the bodies of the pharaohs] were found years later – desiccated, linen-wrapped bones – their treasures were gone. Plundered.”