tautology (noun) 

Tautology (taw-TAH-luh-jee) is saying the same thing in different ways; the needless repetition of an idea. As I used it today: “I have no doubt that listening to sad music moves people in positive ways. But… we still don’t know why. The explanations offered by researchers aren’t wrong, but they don’t feel like revelations. They are more like circular arguments – tautologies. Saying sad music is therapeutic isn’t any more informative than saying sad music makes you feel good.”

sagacity (noun) 

Sagacity (suh-GAS-ih-tee) is the quality of being discerning, having the ability to make good judgments. As I used it today: “He’s a good writer. His stories are compelling. But I’ve always wondered if he isn’t worried that this never-ending chronicle of screw-ups might diminish his credibility. Would it make his readers question the sagacity of his advice?”

purview (noun) 

Purview (PUR-vyoo) is the range or limit of authority, competence, responsibility, concern, or intentions. As used by Uzodinma Iweala: “Around the world, our cities are not the idealized open, accessible, and cosmopolitan spaces of our dreams. More often than not, they are sectioned and controlled purviews of the radically wealthy, surrounded by clusters of have-nots.”

redoubtable (adjective) 

Redoubtable (rih-DOW-tuh-bul) means formidable, fearsome. As used by James Gleick: “Encyclopedias are finished. All encyclopedias combined, including the redoubtable Britannica, have already been surpassed by the exercise in groupthink known as Wikipedia.”

denigrate (verb) 

To denigrate (DEN-ih-grate) is to belittle, disparage; criticize in a derogatory way. As I used it today: “Looking back on conversations that went south, I can usually spot a freshman communications error: failing to acknowledge the other person’s perspective or, worse, denigrating it in some way.”

laudable (adjective) 

Laudable (LAW-duh-bul), usually applied to an action, idea, or goal, means deserving of praise and commendation. As I used it today: “I remember thinking that Mugabe’s vision for Zimbabwe was laudable. Along with most of the international press, I supported him.”

motley (adjective) 

Motley (MAHT-lee) describes something that is incongruously varied in appearance or character. As used by Robert E. Howard in The People of the Black Circle: “Along that gorge rode a motley throng – bearded men on half-wild horses, five hundred strong, bristling with weapons.”

impetus (noun) 

Impetus (IM-puh-tus) is a driving force; the incentive or stimulus to make something happen or happen more quickly. As used by Max Carver: “Empathy is the starting point for creating a community and taking action. It’s the impetus for creating change.”

fecund (adjective) 

Fecund (FEK-und) means fertile, productive. As used by Sue Hubbell: “You have to take springtime on its own terms in the Ozarks: There is no other way. It can’t be predicted. It is unsteady, full of promise, a promise that is sometimes broken. It is also bawdy, irrepressible, excessive, fecund, willful.”

solecism (noun) 

A solecism (SAHL-siz’m) is a minor grammatical error – a word or phrase that is used incorrectly or in a non-standard way. Examples: between you and me… whom shall I say is calling… the woman, she is here… he can’t hardly sleep. The word can also be used for something that deviates from the proper, normal, or accepted. As used by Will Self: “To purposely concoct older characters of a sunny disposition would be as much of a solecism as deliberately fabricating arrhythmic blacks, spendthrift Jews, slacker Japanese, and so on.”