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trepid: msg#00029

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Subject: trepid

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The Word of the Day for October 31 is:

trepid \TREP-id\ adjective
: timorous, fearful

Example sentence:
After dark, the less trepid among us would venture as far
as the front porch of the empty house, where the smallest creak
would send us screaming.

Did you know?
Don't be afraid to use "trepid." After all, it has been in
the English language over 350 years -- longer, by 30 years, than
its antonym "intrepid." "Trepid" (from Latin "trepidus,"
meaning "alarmed" or "agitiated") isn't used as much
as "intrepid," but it can be a good word at times. Bill Kaufman,
for example, found a use for it in a May 7, 2000 _Newsday_
article, in which an aquarium volunteer is "asked if she is
perhaps a little trepid about swimming with sharks in a 12-foot
deep, 120,000 gallon tank." (Her fearless reply: "Not really.")
The more intrepid among you might even consider
using "trepidate" for "to tremble with fear" and "trepidant,"
meaning "timid, trembling." These are uncommon words, granted,
but they haven't breathed their last.






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