The nouns, zenith and nadir, describe the highest and lowest points on a sphere, parabola, trajectory, or cycle; the zenith is the highest point in the sky—directly overhead, or the top of any curve or trajectory, while the nadir is the lowest point on the celestial sphere (the whole sky visible from Earth), or the lowest point on […]

Today we visit a commonly misunderstood, mis-analyzed phrase in English: supposed to. Suppose to is incorrect—there is no such word combination in English. Supposed to is the correct phrase; it means “expected to” or “should.” In this phrase, supposed is a past participle in a passive voice construction. Compare the phrases in the following sentence: We are […]

The adjectives, torturous and tortuous, originate from the same Latin word, torquere, meaning “to twist,” but they have different meanings. Tortuous describes a path or process that “winds and twists,”—the way a snake moves, curving back and forth—like a mountain road. It can describe any process with many steps, changes of direction, or other annoying complications. […]

Titillate means “to cause excitement, to arouse, to stimulate, in a pleasurable way.” Titivate means “to make something more attractive with small changes, to spruce up, to decorate.” Titillate is a positive word, but with highly sensual connotations. It can be used for any kind of sensory stimulation, and it can sound sexual, depending on the sentence: […]

These two words have the same pronunciation and overlapping meanings; both describe something which is viewed again. But review, which can be a noun or a verb, has many uses, while revue, a noun, has a very narrow meaning. Review, the verb, has several different meanings—(1) examine again, (2) summarize, (3) summarize and evaluate (such […]