“Superannuated” means old-fashioned or archaic, something that is outdated and obsolete. Example: “We were listening to an old radio play last night, and my niece asked what the funny clicking noise was when one of the characters made a telephone … Continue reading…
“Anthropomorphic” is an adjective meaning having the attributes of a human, but not being human. These attributes can be physical, emotional, or both. Example: “Many cultures placed figureheads at the front of their ships, whether simple painted eyes on either … Continue reading…
Something that is “cryptic” is obscure or otherwise hard to understand. A cryptic communication has a hidden meaning, and may be written in secret code. Example: “My nephew likes the fortune-telling machine at the county fair; he’ll spend hours dropping … Continue reading…
To “decode” something is to make it clear and easy to understand; this verb can be either transitive or intransitive. In the intransitive sense, “decode” means “to figure something out.” Example: “When I was working at the embassy, we received … Continue reading…
“Binary” means something that is separated into two parts that are both of equal importance, but are mutually exclusive. The so-called “binary language” is called that because its “letters” are only the number one and the number zero, nothing more, … Continue reading…
“Malleable” means flexible or easily shaped, something that can be changed without breaking. You can also use this word to describe an intangible characteristic, such as someone’s personality. Example: “Sarah got into a lot of trouble when she was a … Continue reading…
“Dynamic” means constantly changing or moving. A synonym for dynamic is “active”; the opposite of dynamic is “static.” Example: “Now that graphics designers can include animation and movies, web pages have gotten to be much more dynamic.”
An octopus can squeeze its boneless body through a long narrow tube, or compact itself into a shallow underwater cave. This ability to take on different forms or characteristics is described by the word “protean,” meaning “extremely variable.” The word … Continue reading…