Book Brew 109: Word Treasures Part VIII

From feelings of unease to the urge to completely eliminate negativity, these words capture the inner workings of our struggles and emotional states.

Today’s Word Gems

Fantod (noun) - a state or attack of uneasiness or unreasonableness
- Fairy Tale, pg 190 - “Those curving steps (of varying heights) ringing the drop had given me the fantods, but now I was on solid ground and that was a big improvement.”
Ennui (noun) - a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement
- Seth’s Blog, 11/11/2024 - “Perhaps our shift away from a dictated answer not only gives us freedom, it also creates ennui and fear.”
Extirpate (verb) - root out and destroy completely
- Designing the Mind, pg 150 - “Aristotle proposed the notion that we should strike not to extirpate all negative emotions but to experience appropriate emotions in appropriate proportions.”
Exhorting (verb) - strongly encourage or urge (someone) to do something
- Lateral Thinking, pg 131 - “For the same reason exhorting people to look for alternatives does have a certain usefulness (especially in tempering the arrogance of a unique point of view) but one also needs to develop a way of generating alternatives.”

Book Brew, Word Treasure, Definitions