Words, Everyday! – January 2022

Many of us have a decent command of English. However, beyond the words that we use daily, we are often too lazy to learn new words to improve our vocabulary. It really is quite simple – just by learning one word a day, you can learn over 300 words in a year. While that seems very minuscule compared to the 170,000 everyday words used in the English language, native speakers use about 20,000 words on a regular basis.

With that, we hope that you can continue to improve your word bank to make your applied language more impressive. Here are the words for January 2022.

1 January – Perfunctory

Type: Adjective

Origin: Latin

Definition: Carrying out an action without real interest, feeling, or effort, often performed merely as a daily routine, in a hasty and superficial manner.

2 January – Tangential

Type: Adjective

Origin: Latin

Definition: Different, not directly connected subject or activity discussed or carried out.

3 January – Rudimentary

Type: Adjective

Origin: Latin

Definition: Basic, minimal, not deep or detailed; immature, undeveloped, or basic form.

4 January – Regimentation

Type: Noun

Origin: French

Definition: To organise and take control over the behaviour or actions of others in an extreme manner.

5 January – Dissident

Type: Noun, Adjective

Origin: Latin

Definition: A person who opposes official policy, especially in authoritarian states.

6 January – Ameliorate

Type: Verb

Origin: French

Definition: To improve on something, to make something bad or unsatisfactory better.

7 January – Ostensible

Type: Adjective

Origin: French

Definition: Stating or appearing to be true but may not necessarily be so, appearing or claiming to be one thing when it is actually something else.

8 January – Zeitgeist

Type: Noun

Origin: German

Definition: A spirit or mood that defines a particular period of history based on the ideas and beliefs of that time.

9 January – Weltschmerz

Type: Noun

Origin: German

Definition: Weariness and sadness of life due to the evil and suffering in the world.

10 January – Catharsis

Type: Noun

Origin: Greek

Definition: Releasing and relieving strong and repressed emotions.

11 January – Non sequitur

Type: Noun

Origin: Latin

Definition: A conclusion or statement that does not logically follow the previous.

12 January – Despotism

Type: Noun

Origin: French

Definition: A political system where the ruler holds absolute power and exercises power in a cruel and oppressive way.

13 January – Lucrative

Type: Adjective

Origin: French

Definition: Profitable

14 January – Subservient

Type: Adjective

Origin: Latin

Definition: Prepared to obey others unquestioningly; less important or subordinate.

15 January – Sycophant

Type: Noun

Origin: French, Greek

Definition: Someone who acts obsequiously towards someone important to gain advantage.

16 January – Obsequious

Type: Adjective

Origin: Latin

Definition: Excessively obedient or attentive; servile.

17 January – Servile

Type: Adjective

Origin: Latin

Definition: Excessively willing to serve or please others.

18 January – Dissonance

Type: Noun

Origin: French

Definition: Lack of agreement or harmony between people or things, or among music notes.

19 January – Insidious

Type: Adjective

Origin: Latin

Definition: Proceeding in a gradual and subtle way, but with very harmful effects.

20 January – Ersatz

Type: Adjective

Origin: German

Definition: A typically inferior substitute of a good; not real or genuine, fake.

21 January – Dossier

Type: Noun

Origin: French

Definition: A collection of documents with regard to a certain person, event or subject.

22 January – Quixotic

Type: Adjective

Origin: Spanish

Definition: Extremely idealistic; unrealistic and impractical.

23 January – Indolent

Type: Adjective

Origin: Latin

Definition: Wanting to avoid activity or exertion, lazy.

24 January – Anathema

Type: Noun

Origin: Greek, Latin

Definition: Something or someone that one vehemently dislikes.

25 January – Reinvigorate

Type: Verb

Origin: Old English

Definition: To give new energy or strength to someone.

26 January – Ludicrous

Type: Adjective

Origin: Latin

Definition: So foolish, unreasonable, or out of place such that it is amusing.

27 January – Chagrin

Type: Noun, Verb

Origin: French

Definition: Annoyance or distress for failing or being humiliated; to feel distressed or humiliated.

28 January – Bête noire

Type: Noun

Origin: French

Definition: A person or thing that someone especially dislikes.

29 January – Disenfranchise

Type: Verb

Origin: French

Definition: Deprive someone of a right or privilege, or the right to vote.

30 January – Debilitating

Type: Adjective

Origin: Latin

Definition: A disease or condition that causes someone to be very weak and infirm; tending to weaken something.

31 January – Risible

Type: Adjective

Origin: Latin

Definition: Provoking laughter by being ludicrous.

Akshay Dinesh

As a student, I am passionate about writing articles that educate and guide others. I have a diverse range of interests and try to cover a variety of topics in my writing. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at akshay[at]mzacademy.net.

Add comment

Book Your Free Class

Like what we do?

Consider donating to us. Running a free educational website has its costs. We never charge our users a fee to access our content. However, we still have to foot our bills. Please help us do more. Any amount is appreciated.