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peremptory: msg#00021culture.language.word-of-the-day
***************************************************************** Looking online for all those new words you've been hearing about? Try a 14-day free trial to Merriam-Webster Collegiate.com today! http://www.merriam-webster.com/premium/ ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for June 22 is: peremptory \puh-REMP-tuh-ree\ adjective 1 : putting an end to or precluding a right of action, debate, or delay *2 : expressive of urgency or command 3 : marked by arrogant self-assurance : haughty Example sentence: It's a good idea to obey a police officer's peremptory "Don't stand there!" -- in my case I might have been run over by a bulldozer. Did you know? "Peremptory" is ultimately from Latin "perimere," which means "to take entirely" and comes from "per-" ("thoroughly") and "emere" ("to take"). "Peremptory" implies the removal of one's option to disagree or contest something. It sometimes suggests an abrupt dictatorial manner combined with an unwillingness to tolerate disobedience or dissent (as in "he was given a peremptory dismissal"). A related term is the adjective "preemptive," which comes from Latin "praeemere" -- "prae-" ("before") plus "emere." "Preemptive" means "marked by the seizing of the initiative" (as in "a preemptive attack"). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
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