Friday, August 27, 2010

Welcome fall!

We have obviously taken the summer off, but it's time to get back to the task at hand: strengthening vocabs everywhere with perfectly fine, though well-worn, words.

Word today: verisimilitude

Just saying this word is fun!

–noun
1. the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability: The play lacked verisimilitude.
2. something, as an assertion, having merely the appearance of truth.


I came upon this word while reading responses to book-of-the-month questions for "My Name is Mary Sutter". Thanks, John W for the usage:

The inclusion of Abraham Lincoln was not necessary but his inclusion did add verisimilitude to the novel. One can't think of the Civil War without associating the war with Lincoln. I enjoyed, if enjoyment is a valid verb, Lincoln's anguish and fears regarding whether the great experiment of the United States begun "four score and seven years ago" would survive the war.

Have fun!