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Apr 10, 2007
This week's theme
Words that seem risque

This week's words
testaceous
titivate
vomitorium
cockshut
turdiform

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

titivate

(TIT-i-vayt) Pronunciation Sound Clip

verb tr., intr.: To make smarter; to spruce up; to decorate.

From earlier tidivate, perhaps from tidy + elevate. The word titillate is from Latin titillare (to tickle).

"[Karen Kilimnik's] journey has been marked by theatricality -- such as putting small, roughly painted pictures in a Venetian palazzo titivated with flowers and feathers."
Philippa Stockley; A Wacky Take on the 18th Century; Evening Standard (London, UK); Feb 21, 2007.

See more usage examples of titivate in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

X-Bonus

The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion. -Arthur C Clarke, science fiction writer (1917- )

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