F
- It took me a while to figure out that his offer to pay me a million dollars for doing the dishes was facetious; it wasn’t all that funny since I didn’t get the joke until after I had spent an hour cleaning up.
- I hope this comment about the thirty page paper due tomorrow was facetious, or I’m going to be up all night writing.
- Penny refused to listen to any attempts to explain the Easter Bunny fallacy; every spring she went looking for a big pink fuzzy rabbit carrying baskets of chocolate eggs.
- Unfortunately, the fallacies of diet programs promising effortless weight loss continue to find plenty of people willing to be fooled.
- The farmer hoped that leaving the field fallow for a season would mean that next year he could grow a bumper crop of Brussels sprouts.
- Joe’s experiment in applying agricultural principles to self-help was unsuccessful; it turns out that a mind left fallow for two months is not rejuvenated the way soil is.
- The protagonist of Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch is fanatical: he is a man so obsessed with his favorite team that major life events have to be scheduled around its games.
Fanatic originated from the Latin word for temple, because possession by a god or demon could cause someone to behave fanatically. Fanatic is also the source of a very common word in today’s speech: fan.
- She was so extremely fastidious about how her house should look that rather than hire a maid she did all of the cleaning herself.
- We suspected that the fatuous grin on Amy’s face was evidence of a chocolate chip cookie overdose; she had eaten so many that she had become completely goofy.
- Despite the sitcom’s fatuous dialogue, it continued to be number one in the ratings.
Fatuous often has a connotation of smugness to go along with the foolishness.
- The politician’s fatuous remarks revealed that he was not only pompous, but also not very bright.
- Hector used to think it would be great to be a rock star and have groupies fawning all over him; he changed his mind the first time the fans tore all his clothes off.
- Even though the press fawned over him incessantly, Brian was able to see though the flattery and realize that only his close friends really respected him.
- My feckless brother managed to get himself grounded again, proving one more time that I am the more responsible sibling.
- She can always be counted on for the most felicitous remark; she has something appropriate for every occasion.
- We found our favorite restaurant by a felicitous accident; we misread the directions to our planned destination and ended up someplace much better.
Felicity is the state of or something that causes happiness. Infelicitous, on the other hand, means unfortunate or inappropriate.
- It was an infelicitous mix-up when the clown and the exotic dancer got the addresses mixed up for the birthday parties at which they were supposed to perform.
- It looks as if it is going to be a long night of polka, since the band rejected our fervent pleas for a change in musical selection.
- Her fervent support of environmental protection policies led her to write over a thousand letters to Congress last year alone.
Fervor is a related word that means passion or intense emotion.
- We were never able to determine exactly what the fetid green substance we found in the refrigerator was; no one was willing to get close enough to that horrible smell to investigate.
- The fetid swamp that lay between the beach and us led us to reconsider our plans for the day; staying inside with all the doors closed started sounding—and smelling—pretty good.
Match each word in the first column with its definition in the second column. Check your answers here.
| 1. fawn |
a. playful, humorous |
| 2. fallow |
b. mistaken belief |
| 3. fetid |
c. dormant |
| 4. fervent |
d. silly |
| 5. facetious |
e. flatter excessively |
| 6. felicitous |
f. irresponsible |
| 7. fallacy |
g. apropos |
| 8. feckless |
h. extremely particular |
| 9. fanatical |
i. zealous |
| 10. fatuous |
j. stinking |
| 11. fastidious |
k. obsessed |
- Fran was fettered in her attempts to find the hotel by her inability to speak French.
Fetters are literally shackles that are used to bind someone’s feet or ankles together, but the word can also be used figuratively to mean anything that restrains.
- The image of the freedom fighter tearing off the fetters that bound her became a worldwide symbol of liberation.
- Responsibilities to her family and caring for her younger brothers and sisters were the fetters that kept Connie from pursuing her dream of acting.
Unfettered means free or unhampered.
- Because of his fickle heart he never stayed in any one relationship for too long.
- The weather in Seattle can be quite fickle; one day it is sunny, the next it rains.
- Strom Thurmond holds the record for the longest filibuster in the history of the U.S. Senate, speaking for more than twenty-four hours to block a bill.
Filibuster can also be used as a verb.
- The senator threatened to filibuster in order to stop the bill from reaching a vote.
- The decorative filigree of its design disguised the wrought iron fence’s practical purpose.
As a verb, to filigree means to adorn.
- The brooch was filigreed with a delicate pattern of vines and grapes.
- The fan’s spirits flagged when the opposing team intercepted the ball in the last few minutes of the game and scored.
- Our unflagging efforts, aided by a few pots of coffee, were rewarded when we finished the project in time for the competition.
- His flip remarks were intended to keep anyone from realizing how much he actually cared.
- One more flip answer out of you, young man, and you’re going to your room without supper.
Flippant and flippancy probably come from this word and have related meanings.
- Her flippant attitude made her beloved by her classmates and distrusted by her teachers.
- Glen always became a little florid when he drank; his face became bright red.
- His florid prose style was perfect for romance novels, but not very well suited to his current job writing for a business magazine.
- Gertrude’s reputation for flouting the rules was so well known that she was no longer able to get away with anything at all.
- Alice flouted convention by showing up for the wedding in a bathing suit and the picnic in a tuxedo.
- Although they accused Kayla of fomenting the protest, she had actually been the one trying to calm everyone down.
- When Eris, the goddess of discord, threw the golden apple into the wedding to which she had not been invited, she fomented the conflict that would result in the Trojan War.
Be careful not to confuse this with ferment. Both can mean to agitate, but ferment usually means to cause to undergo the chemical change of fermentation.
- Lacy hoped that her professor’s reputation for forbearance was well founded and that she would get an extension on her paper.
- You have tested my forbearance as far as it can go; if you don’t stop drinking my milk I’m going to pour it over your head.
Forbearance can also be a legal term describing a creditor’s agreement not to demand payment of a debt when it is due. For instance, if a forbearance is granted, you might be able to pay your student loans over a longer period of time than originally allowed.
- I may have lost my shirt and my pants while trying to ford the river, but at least I still had my hat when I got to the other side.
Match each word in the first column with its definition in the second column. Check your answers here.
| 1. florid |
a. shackle |
| 2. ford |
b. prolonged speechmaking |
| 3. foment |
c. delicate ornamental work |
| 4. flip |
d. sag or droop |
| 5. filibuster |
e. sarcastic |
| 6. filigree |
f. ruddy |
| 7. forbearance |
g. demonstrate contempt |
| 8. fetter |
h. incite |
| 9. flag |
i. patience |
| 10. flout |
j. wade across |
| 11. fickle |
k. changeable |
- Thank goodness Louise forestalled any further discussion of what we were going to eat for dinner by ordering a pizza; otherwise we’d still be hungry and talking five hours later.
- The famous actress was trying to forestall aging by undergoing ever more bizarre therapies and cosmetic surgeries.
- Forswearing all previous alliances, the paranoid dictator vowed to allow no one to share his power.
- Even though she forswore all other vices, Gina knew she wouldn’t be able to give up smoking cigars.
- The movie’s reliance on the heroine’s fortuitous meeting with her long lost brother in order to provide a happy ending displeased many critics.
- How fortuitous that I happened to be home when the sweepstakes people stopped by to give me a million dollars!
- Every good honky tonk needs a fracas now and again in order to maintain its reputation.
- The fracas that started between the two cab drivers gradually grew until it included most of the bystanders as well and turned into a small riot.
- Vince’s fractious response to my suggestion was completely uncharacteristic, given his usually easygoing and agreeable attitude.
- The party’s fractious internal politics made it difficult for it to gain influence, since all its members’ time was spent quarreling.
- Nothing makes me more fractious in the morning than not being able to find a parking space when it’s raining.
- Two year olds have a reputation for being froward; they’ve discovered the pleasure of saying no.
- No matter how much I pleaded and prodded, my froward mule refused to take a single step.
Don’t confuse this with forward!
- The television program Extreme Cheapskates shows people at their most frugal.
- Because she was very frugal with her money, she made most of her own clothes.
- Since he had been fulminating against corporate misconduct for years, his enemies were gleeful to uncover evidence of the million-dollar payoff he received from the state’s largest company.
- Grandpa Joe’s favorite activity was fulminating against the decline of modern civilization, as evidenced by heavy metal bands and game show hosts.
- The dog’s furtive attempts to steal food from the table while no one was looking were thwarted when a whole turkey came crashing to the floor.
- His furtive glances around the room made him look guilty, even if he wasn’t really trying to hide anything.