Numinous

WORD OF THE DAY

numinous / adjective / NOO-muh-nus

What It Means
1: supernatural, mysterious
2a: filled with a sense of the presence of divinity
2b: holy
3a: appealing to the higher emotions or to the aesthetic sense
3b: spiritual

Examples
The book has less to do with heroic resistance than with something harder to put your finger on: the numinous, world-renewing potential that some Apache feel in Oak Flat.
— Max Norman, The New Yorker, 23 July 2021

Set in the fairy tale-like beauty of the Pacific Northwest, the film captures a numinous world that shimmers between the visionary and natural.
— BostonGlobe.com, 5 May 2021

Did You Know?
Numinous is from the Latin word numen, meaning "nod of the head" or "divine will" (the latter sense suggesting a figurative nod, of assent or of command, of the divine head).
English speakers have been using numen for centuries with the meaning "a spiritual force or influence."
The meanings of the adjective include "supernatural" or "mysterious" (as in "possessed of a numinous energy force"), "holy" ("the numinous atmosphere of the catacombs"), and "appealing to the aesthetic sense" ("the numinous nuances of her art").
There are also the nouns numinousness and numinosity, although these are rare. 

Hubris

 WORD OF THE DAY

hubris / noun / HYOO-bris

Definition

: exaggerated pride or self-confidence

Examples
When conceived it was a project of almost unimaginable boldness and foolhardiness, requiring great bravura, risking great hubris.
— Simon Winchester, The Professor and the Madman, 1998

If you were born Somewhere, hubris would come easy. But if you are Nowhere's child, hubris is an import, pride a thing you decide to acquire.
— Sarah Vowell, GQ, May 1998

Did You Know?
English picked up both the concept of hubris and the term for that particular brand of cockiness from the ancient Greeks, who considered hubris a dangerous character flaw capable of provoking the wrath of the gods.
In classical Greek tragedy, hubris was often a fatal shortcoming that brought about the fall of the tragic hero.
Typically, overconfidence led the hero to attempt to overstep the boundaries of human limitations and assume a godlike status, and the gods inevitably humbled the offender with a sharp reminder of their mortality.

Amenable

 WORD OF THE DAY

amenable / adjective / uh-MEE-nuh-bul

Definition
1a: liable to be brought to account
1b: answerable
2a: capable of submission (as to judgment or test)
2b: suited
2c: readily brought to yield, submit, or cooperate
2d: willing

Examples
Mr. Bush is in a position to make his party more amenable to minorities and especially blacks. He should seize the moment.
— Jason L. Riley, Wall Street Journal, 16 Jan. 2003

While no one yet knows how wide … margins can go, contracts establish royalty rates and project them far into the future. Many agents have thus pushed for a term of license of just a few years. Publishers, however, are not always amenable.
— Steven M. Zeitchik, Publishers Weekly, 14 June 1999

Did You Know?
Amenable is a legacy of Anglo-French and derives ultimately from Latin minari, meaning "to threaten."
Since 1596, English speakers have been using it in courtrooms and writings of law with the meaning "answerable," as in "citizens amenable to the law."
It later developed the meanings "suited" ("a simple function ... which is perfectly amenable to pencil-and-paper arithmetic"—Nature, April 1973) and "responsive" (as in "mental illnesses that are amenable to drug therapy").
It also came to be used of people with a general disposition to be agreeable or complaisant—like Mr. Dick in David Copperfield, who was "the most friendly and amenable creature in existence."
Nowadays, "amenable" is often used to describe someone who is favorably disposed to a particular named something.