kudos

(n) – Kudos are praise or recognition of achievement.

• Synonyms: award, recognition, honor
• Antonyms: blame, criticism
• Etymology: 1799 Greek, from kydos meaning "glory, fame." It literally means "that which is heard of."
• Example: Today is the day we will give kudos to all of the 2nd quarter award winners!

encore

(n) – an additional or repeated part of a performance, especially a musical one
*Hey! This word can also be used as an interjection!

• Synonyms: repeat, reappearance, rerun
• Antonyms: one night only, single performance
• Etymology: 1712 French, from encore meaning "still, yet, again," BUT this word actually came from the 12th Century, and it is generally explained as being from the "Vulgar Latin" phrase hinc ad horam from "then to this hour."
• Example: Today you will put on an encore presentation of your inquiry projects.

concise

(adj.) - Something that is concise is short, sweet, and to the point, with no unnecessary words.

• Synonyms: brief, short, to the point, “in a nutshell”
• Antonyms: long, drawn-out, wordy, repetitive
• Etymology: 1590 Latin, from com- meaning “with” + caedere "to cut"
• Example: When you write a postcard, you have to be concise so that all of your writing will fit in the small space.

bewildered

(adj) - If someone is bewildered, he is completely and totally confused.
*This word can also be used as a verb.

• Synonyms: confused, befuddled, lost, stumped
• Antonyms: clear, understanding
• Etymology: 1680s Old English, from be- meaning "thoroughly" + wilder meaning "lead astray, lure into the wild"
• Morphology: bewilder - v
• Example: I am bewildered by most science because it's hard for me to imagine or understand how life works.

mesmerize

(v) - If you are mesmerized by someone or something, you cannot stop watching them or listening to them because they are so attractive or have such a powerful effect

• Synonyms: hypnotize, captivate, fascinate, spellbind, stupify, enchant
• Antonyms: bore, disenchant
• Etymology: 1802 French, from mesmérisme meaning "hypnotism." This word was named for Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), an Austrian physician who developed a theory of animal magnetism and a mysterious body fluid which allows one person to hypnotize another.
• Morphology:  mesmerism - n, mesmerizing - adj
• Example:  Staring at falling snow can really mesmerize a person!

jest

(v) - To jest is to say things that you do not really mean in order to amuse people.
*This word can also be used as a noun.

• Synonyms: tease, joke, banter, kid
• Antonyms: be serious
• Etymology: 1520s Latin, from gesta meaning "deeds." The meaning of this word changed from "idle tale" (late 15c.) to "mocking speech" (1540s) to "joke" (1550s).
• Morphology: jester - n
• Example: If you are being facetious, you jest.

grimace

(v) - To grimace is to twist your face in an ugly way because you do not like something, because you are feeling pain, or because you are trying to be funny.
*This word can also be used as a noun.

• Synonyms: frown, scowl, smirk, sneer
• Antonyms: smile, grin
• Etymology: 1650s French, who "borrowed" this word from the Old English word grimm meaning "fierce, cruel.” This word probably came from PIE ghrem- which could have possibly been an onomatopoeic imitation of the sound of rumbling thunder
• Example: The smell of a wet dog might cause me to grimace.

feign

(v) - If you feign a particular feeling (illness, sleep, etc), you pretend to have it.

• Synonyms: pretend, fake, imagine, put on, play
• Antonyms: be true
• Etymology: 1300s Latin, from fingere meaning "to touch, handle; devise; fabricate, alter, change" (which is also where we get the word fiction)
• Morphology: feigned - v, adj
• Example: I am so thankful that no one in my class would feign an illness to get out of coming to school!

debacle

(n) - An event or situation that is a complete failure can be described as a debacle.

• Synonyms: catastrophe, failure, disaster, wreck
• Antonyms: success, miracle
• Etymology: 1848, from the French word débâcle meaning "breaking up of ice on a river," referring to the violent flood that follows when the river ice melts in spring. This word comes from the early French prefix des- meaning "off" + the word bacler meaning "to bar"
• Example: If I wasn't careful to make detailed lesson plans, I think our day would be a complete debacle!

omit

(v) - If you omit someone or something, you fail to include them/it, either deliberately or because you forget to do it.

• Synonyms: exclude, forget, leave out, ignore, skip, delete
• Antonyms: add, enter, include, insert
• Etymology: Early 15th Century Latin, from ob- meaning "toward, against, across, down," + mittere meaning "let go, send"
• Morphology:  omission - n
• Example: When you leave comments on the blog, I will not be able to publish them if you omit your name or the Word of the Day.