Expectorate is a formal, clinical verb meaning to cough up and spit out mucus from the throat or lungs. To use expectorate in a sentence, keep the register medical and name what is being cleared:… Read More »Expectorate in a Sentence: Meaning & Examples
Xmas vs Christmas comes down to register: use Christmas in formal, religious and professional writing, and reserve Xmas for casual greetings, signs and cramped layouts. Xmas is not a slur or a plot to remove… Read More »Xmas vs Christmas: Which Should You Use in Writing?
Gander means a male goose, and in informal English it also means a quick look. To use gander in a sentence, reach for take a gander at something when you mean glance: “Take a gander… Read More »Gander in a Sentence: Meaning and Examples
Carmine is a noun and adjective for a deep purplish red, and it also names the red dye behind the colour. To use carmine in a sentence, treat it as a colour word: “She wore… Read More »Carmine in a Sentence: Meaning, Shades & Examples
Exacting describes a demand that takes great effort, care or precision to meet. To use exacting in a sentence, place it before the noun it judges or after the verb be: “an exacting editor”, “the… Read More »Exacting in a Sentence: Meaning, Examples & Practice
Cut up is a phrasal verb that mainly means to cut something into pieces, though it also describes being wounded, upset or playful. To use cut up in a sentence, keep both parts with the… Read More »Cut Up in a Sentence: Meaning, Examples & Practice
Armada means a large fleet of warships, and by extension a large group of ships, vehicles or machines moving together as one body. To use armada in a sentence, give it a size word and… Read More »Armada in a Sentence: Meaning, Examples & Practice
Tumor vs tumour is a spelling choice, not a difference in meaning: American English writes tumor, while British and Commonwealth English writes tumour. Both name the same abnormal mass of tissue, whether benign or malignant,… Read More »Tumor vs Tumour: Which Spelling Should You Use?
Somnolent is an adjective meaning sleepy or drowsy, and it also describes a place or atmosphere that is quiet and inactive. To use somnolent in a sentence, name what has grown drowsy: “The somnolent village… Read More »Somnolent in a Sentence: Meaning, Examples & Practice
Keen on means very interested in or enthusiastic about something, and in British English it can also mean romantically attracted to someone. To use keen on in a sentence, put the person or thing right… Read More »Keen On in a Sentence: Meaning & Examples
Fraternal means of or like a brother, and it describes the warm, loyal bond between siblings or the non-identical twins born from two eggs. To use fraternal in a sentence, place it before the noun… Read More »Fraternal in a Sentence: Meaning & Examples
Atavistic describes a trait, impulse or style that reverts to a distant ancestral type rather than belonging to the present. To use atavistic in a sentence, point to the older form it revives: “The crowd… Read More »Atavistic in a Sentence: Meaning and Examples
Satiate means to satisfy an appetite or desire completely, often past the point of wanting more. To use satiate in a sentence, make the appetite its object: “A long walk satiated her hunger.” The verb… Read More »Satiate in a Sentence: Meaning & Examples
A continuum is a continuous range or sequence whose neighbouring points differ only slightly. To use continuum in a sentence, place the items on or along it rather than inside it: “Ability sits on a… Read More »Continuum in a Sentence: Meaning & Examples
Waken vs awaken is settled by register more than meaning: choose waken for plain, literal waking and awaken for formal or figurative waking. Both verbs mean to stop sleeping or to cause someone to stop… Read More »Waken vs Awaken: Which Word Should You Use?
Chattel is a noun for an item of movable personal property, the kind of possession a person could carry away: furniture, tools, a bicycle or livestock. In a sentence it usually appears in the plural… Read More »Chattel in a Sentence: Meaning, Grammar & Examples