This week’s theme
Miscellaneous words

This week’s words
narcissism
lien
vitriol
precarious
demagogue

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(VI-tree-uhl)

MEANING:

noun: Cruel, mean-spirited, bitter criticism.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin vitrum (glass). Sulfuric acid, a highly corrosive substance, was formerly known as oil of vitriol or simply vitriol. It was named vitriol owing to the glassy appearance of its salts. Earliest documented use: 1386.

USAGE:

“Trump’s vitriol is making it off the campaign trail and into the lingua franca of children at an alarming rate. Just watch coverage from Trump rallies to hear the next phrases kids will be slinging at school.”
Petula Dvorak; The ‘Trump Effect’ is Contaminating Our Kids -- and Could Resonate for Years; The Washington Post; Mar 7, 2016.

In His Own Words:
“My entire life, I’ve watched politicians bragging about how poor they are, how they came from nothing, how poor their parents and grandparents were. And I said to myself, if they can stay so poor for so many generations, maybe this isn’t the kind of person we want to be electing to higher office. How smart can they be? They’re morons.”
-Donald Trump (reference)

See more usage examples of vitriol in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: