A Few Good Words

With the year 2026 in full swing, having arrived with celerity (a synonym for exceeding swiftness), it seems sensible to offer a few good words, designed to increase our sagacity.  Here are thirteen of them:

Inchoate – an adjective that signifies something not fully formed, and in its rudimentary stages, such as our nation was in 1776. An inchoate group of colonies was never thought possible to be a nation before the great Revolution.

Insouciance – a noun that denotes a casual lack of concern, including ignoring a rising risk of danger. The general’s insouciance regarding the rising ire of the Sons of Liberty was reckless at best.

Attainder – a noun that describes the legal forfeiture of property and other personal items as a consequence of crimes, usually high crimes, including treason. The signers of the Declaration of Independence realized that George III would employ an attainder against them for their disobedience to his laws.

Vestigial – an adjective that describes a remnant of something that was once far larger in scale and grander than what remains. The vestigial lands of the British Empire are miniscule compared to that of a century ago.

Redoubt – a sprawling encampment of an army or part of an army, usually comprising multiple tents, equipment, and camping implements. A large redoubt of British redcoats was seen through the mist.

Congeries – a noun, singular in spite of the plural ending, signifying a large collection of various moving parts, a mass. A congeries of soldiers, eager to join the Continental Army, rushed to participate in the War for Independence.

Querulous – an adjective that describes someone (or an animal as well) that is petulant, consistently complaining, or even fractious. General George Washington was usually able to win over even the most querulous of officers.

Casuistry – a synonym for sophistry, a noun denoting the use of clever arguments for otherwise unsound reasoning, usually for deceptive purposes. The use of casuistry in the newspapers during the Revolutionary War often published British ruses to dissuade the Continental soldiers from pursuing independence.

Verisimilitude – a noun that is defined as the appearance of truth. Thomas Paine’s argument in his pamphlet Common Sense succinctly summed up the verisimilitude of the American condition.

Fulmination – a noun that describes a violent explosion of expression, usually in physical protest. The ire of a group of youth in Boston resulted in the fulmination called the Boston Massacre. The verbal form of this word is fulminate.

Persiflage – a noun that is defined as an act of slight mockery, meant to offend or cause embarrassment to another. General Charles Lee (not to be confused with the brave and amenable Lighthorse Harry Lee) was famous for his persiflage of George Washington.

Impecunious – an adjective describing someone in penury, having no money, no funds. The impecunious state of the Continental Army was never more obvious than during the harsh winter at Valley Forge.

Chimera – something wished for but impossible to obtain. George Washington’s hope of attaining the rank of a general officer in the British army was nothing more than chimera.

The English language, whether American or British, carries countless words for our use.

Pass them on.