Hanna Hoards Words

this is a side blog where I compile cool words or words whose meanings I tend to forget or confuse as a personal resource. I hope you find it as useful as I do. (definitions are paraphrased from various dictionaries, and sample sentences are my own and occasionally express my personal opinions)

[ihoardvvords]

provender

[prov-uhn-der]

(n.) 1. dry food, like hay or oats, for livestock; fodder. 2. any supply of food which is meant to provide sustenance; provisions.

Rice has long been an affordable and filling provender for poor populations around the world.

[ihoardvvords]

carrel

[kar-uhl]

(n.) 1. a small cubicle or alcove containing a desk and chair in a library, designed for individual study. 2. a table or desk enclosed by three partitions in a library, designed for individual study.

During finals week, it becomes nearly impossible to hunt down an empty carrel in the university library if you don’t arrive before two in the afternoon; even the least coveted spots find themselves occupied. The smells of stale coffee, nervous sweat, and unwashed hair permeate the stacks.

[ihoardvvords]

frisson

[free-sawn]

(n.) 1. a thrilling shiver; a sudden, passing sensation of excitement; a shudder of emotion.

As their bodies moved closer together, an erotic frisson bloomed hotly from the bottom of her pelvis and shimmied up her spine, a sensation clearly discernible from and yet keeping in rhythm with the vibration of the bass beat pumping beneath the soles of her feet.

[ihoardvvords]

cervine

[sur-vahyn]

(adj.) 1. resembling or relating to deer. 2. of deer or the deer family. 3. of a deep, yellowish-brown color.

She still remembered perfectly clearly the image right outside of the upstairs window. In the overlap between the networks of limbs between two oak trees, there was an empty shape of sky which appeared at some angles cervine and at others equine. Sometimes she saw it leap and bound around the edges of her dreams, its night blue body emblazoned with the haunting, half-shut eye of the moon.

[ihoardvvords]

amphora

[am-fer-uh] 

(n.) 1. an ancient Greek/Roman two-handled jar having a narrow neck and an oval body which tapers at the base and which was used primarily for containing oil, wine, etc.

On the bedside table stood an ornate brass amphora, from which sprung the cluster of lavender they’d picked last summer before departing. It looked gray and papery, and seemed poised to crumble at a single touch.

[ihoardvvords]

abnegation

[ab-ni-gey-shun]

(n.) 1. the refusal or denial of one’s rights, conveniences, privileges, or pleasures; the rejecting or renouncing of such things. 2. relinquishment.

If one wishes to pursue a monastic lifestyle, they must be prepared to live a life of abnegation and quiet devotion. 

[ihoardvvords]

cabalistic

[kab-uh-lis-tik] 

(adj.) 1. mystic; occult. 

A circle of white rabbits, glowing blue in the light before dawn, darted rhythmically around the backyard as if performing some cabalistic ritual to summon the sun.

[ihoardvvords]

back to school, back to blog

time flies when you're having fun. I took a little break for the summer, but I'm back and have some new words and sentences ready to go! as always, thanks to everyone for following.

good luck with the new school year!

[ihoardvvords]

atelier

[atuh-lyey] 

(n.) 1. an artist, artisan, or designer’s workshop.

The atelier was strewn with paper and wayward splatters of paint; the floor was nearly covered save a small bare path that led to a canvas in the corner.

[ihoardvvords]

impudent

[im-pyuh-duh nt] 

(adj.) 1. of, relating to, or characterized by impertinence, audacity, or disrespect; brazen.

Eyes fixed impudently on his stepmother, the boy plunged one visibly grubby little hand into his half-sister’s birthday cake batter.

[ihoardvvords]

mansuetude

[man-swi-tood]

(n.) 1. mildness, gentleness.

When the princess first ascended the throne as queen, she displayed a level of lenience never before seen in the palace. The royal advisers and other underlings soon began to collude with one another, believing her to be naive, and hoping to take advantage of her mansuetude. However, she was not such a fool as they had imagined.

[ihoardvvords]

mien

[meen]

(n.) 1. a person’s manner, bearing, or appearance.

Even in old age, the mayor’s wife retained the conservative, elegant mien for which she was always known and admired.

[ihoardvvords]

imbrue

[im-broo ] 

(v.) 1. to stain. 2. to permeate; to impregnate.

The antique suitcase in which his great-grandparents had packed what little they owned and headed to Ellis Island seemed imbrued with a feeling of excitement and possibility. 

[ihoardvvords]

barbate

[bahr-beyt] 

(adj.) 1. having hair or a beard; tufted, bearded.

A seal peered out beyond the broken edge of an ice floe, its ostentatiously barbate muzzle and docile face interrupting an otherwise very austere horizon in an endearing, dopey sort of way.

[ihoardvvords]

poltroon

[pol-troon]

(n.) can also be used as (adj.) 1. an abject or contemptible coward. 2. marked by utter cowardice.

Once confronted for their rude comments or actions, bigots will usually expose themselves for the ridiculous poltroons they really are.

[ihoardvvords]

strident

[strahyd-nt]

(adj.) 1. having or making a harsh sound; creaking, grating. 2. having a shrill, irritating quality or character. 3. urgent; vigorously demanding.

The prince held his mother’s dry, shrunken hand and looked at her face. He thought back to his early childhood, how she towered over him, looking at him down her long, elegant nose, like an elk dressed in regal finery. She had been a difficult mother, willful and strident, with a presence more imposing than even the king — now she was silent, tiny in the expanse of the canopy bed.

[ihoardvvords]

saturnine

[sat-er-nahyn] 

(adj.) 1. having a sluggish or gloomy temperament; taciturn. 2. having a tendency to be bitter or sarcastic. 3. having lead poisoning or disorders related to lead. 4. born under the influence of the planet Saturn.

A group of three teenagers squatted near the train tracks, smoking cigarettes and staring at passersby, their saturnine eyes lined with kohl that had become smudged by the greasiness of their skin.