Vote for the best verboticism.
DEFINITION: v. To ignore anything positive and focus your energy on problems, disasters, and whatever bad news you find. n. A person who searches for, and feeds on, other people's weaknesses, failures and mistakes.
Verboticisms
Click on each verboticism to read the sentences created by the Verbotomy writers, and to see your voting options...
You have two votes. Click on the words to read the details, then vote your favorite.
Snipercritical
Created by: karenanne
Pronunciation: SNY per CRIT ih cul
Sentence: My aunt Prissy is usually looking for mistakes or flaws, real or imagined, so she can complain about how she could have done something so much better, if someone had only asked her. And she somehow manages to blame every problem of her own on someone else. Even though she's been married five times, every one of the divorces was the man's fault. According to her, her adult children don't talk to her because "they are ungrateful and don't appreciate all the sacrifices I've made for them." More likely, her husbands left and most of the people in the family avoid her because she is so snipercitical, always waiting to take potshots from the sidelines.
Etymology: sniper + hypercritical
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COMMENTS:
ah, the relationship assassin... - Nosila, 2010-11-04: 01:35:00
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Pessimisappropriator
Created by: petaj
Pronunciation: pez-i-miss-a-pro-pree-ater
Sentence: Never content with her own minor troubles, Marlene thrived by pessimisappropriating everyone else's catastrophes. She retold their stories as her own so frequently that even the victims started to believe it had happened to Marlene instead of themselves.
Etymology: pessimist (someone who focuses on the negatives) + misappropriate (to wrongly take over something)
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COMMENTS:
Like the aspect and approach you presented and the neat alliteration in your word. Both are another of today's Great Creates! - silveryaspen, 2009-04-21: 09:52:00
pessimisappropos! - Nosila, 2009-04-21: 22:25:00
Props! to your Pessimisappropriator! Very good word! :) - abrakadeborah, 2009-04-22: 05:52:00
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Negaferret
Created by: fabdiva
Pronunciation: neg-ah-fair-et
Sentence: It did not go unnoticed that Cindy spent an inordinate amount of time at the emergency desk. Only a negaferret would volunteer on their rostered day off.
Etymology: negative - not optimistic. Harmful. ferret - to look around in search of something
Misfortunehunter
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: mis fort tyoon hun ter
Sentence: Lucky Lucy was not only a fortune hunter, she was also a misfortunehunter. Her specialty was finding old guys who wanted sweet young things. She always made sure they were rich, sickly, put her in the will and were without relatives. Once she got her hooks into them, it was only a matter of time before they keeled and she collected. Her black widow career paid well until the last old guy outlived her...
Etymology: Misfortune (unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event;an unfortunate state resulting from unfavorable outcomes) & Fortune Hunter (a person who seeks wealth through marriage)
Lugubriate
Created by: Mustang
Pronunciation: loo-GOO-bree-ayt
Sentence: Even on the sunniest days and rosiest occasions Bertha could be counted upon to lugubriate, searching through all the days events and news for the downbeat and negative offerings.
Etymology: 'Lugubrious' (mournful, dismal, or gloomy, esp. in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner) with suffix '-ate' (As the ending of a verb, it means to make, to cause, to act, etc.; as, to propitiate (to make propitious); to animate (to give life to)
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COMMENTS:
Saying lugubriate has harsh sounds just like these hard people! Easy to remember, spot on the definition ... another Exceptional Great Create! - silveryaspen, 2009-04-21: 09:47:00
like the GOO-d word play in your pronunciation, too! - silveryaspen, 2009-04-22: 22:16:00
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Depressimist
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: de pres sim ist
Sentence: Woody was a pileated woodpecker and a depressimist. Nothing could please him. He even hated his species' name...it made him sound like he always had piles. He wood birch about his troubles all day, but the other birds soon learned to twitter him for his negative talk. One brave, elder Robin finally had enough and told him, "Woody, spruce yourself up and quit pining, yew son of a beech. We know that your bark is worse than your bite. All this depressimism will alder you permanently fir sure, unless you learn to spruce up your outlook. Be happy yew are free and can fly. If yew don't like it here, yew can pack your trunk and fly away. Yew wood be less bore-ing and a lot more poplar, if yew quit making such an ash of yourself...oakay?!"
Etymology: Depress (lower someone's spirits; make downhearted;lessen the activity or force of) & Pessimist (a person who expects the worst)
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COMMENTS:
Perfect word - it should have an entry in Webster's! - karenanne, 2010-11-03: 22:34:00
I voted for yours, but it turned out I hadn't been logged in. Well, you have the points, at least! - karenanne, 2010-11-04: 18:00:00
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Pessimonger
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: pes-uh-muhng-ger
Sentence: Elliot is such a pessimonger that if you were to give him a winning lottery ticket, he would complain that too much paper is wasted producing the tickets.
Etymology: pessimist (person who expects bad outcome) + monger (dealer in goods)
Fixhate
Created by: Biscotti
Pronunciation: f-icks-h-ayt
Sentence: Joey was such a fixhate, always making those around him feel miserable. Even in public, he would be told "Have a nice day" and promptly responded, "Why should I?". He went so far as to paint his cubicle at work all black, just so his co-workers would feel gloomy too.
Etymology: Fixate (focus or obsess on something) + hate (anger or disdain for something)
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COMMENTS:
Very Strong and Powerful Word! - silveryaspen, 2009-04-21: 09:40:00
Biscotti,what a great word! I'm visualizing that black cublicle...lol :) - abrakadeborah, 2009-04-22: 05:55:00
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Ghoultures
Created by: silveryaspen
Pronunciation: ghoul churs
Sentence: Named after the devil in him, Sin Nick earned his living, by feeding on, and exploiting other people's weaknesses, failures, and mistakes ... by writing about them in the media, so all the world could see and hear about them, as well ... and feed upon such misfortune, too. People like Sin Nicks, Gloomy Guses, Worry Warts, Pessy Mists, Wet Blankets, Sca Vengers, and old Buzz Ards, and all their fallowers are ghoultures.
Etymology: GHOULISH, VULTURES. GHOULISH - morbidly fascinated and obsessively interested in weakness, failure, disaster, death and anything repulsive. VULTURES - birds or people who prey upon, and feed upon, the weak, the failing, the misfortunate. Culture - groups of people with shared attitudes and beliefs, such as the ghoultures, the cynics (sin nicks) who feed upon the misfortunate. Fall-lowers for followers.
Raptsully
Created by: metrohumanx
Pronunciation: RAPt-suhl-LEE (RAPTSULLIER) [ rhymes with "musketeer"]
Sentence: Berserker psychos stomp on joy, With dark foreboding they deploy... Poisoned tricks and creeping doubt- If it be bad, they’ll drag it out! Besmirching that which some hold dear- Beware the toxic RAPTSULLIER!
Etymology: RAPT+SULLY= RAPTSULLIER.....RAPT: lifted up and carried away, transported with emotion; Middle English, from Latin raptus, past participle of rapere to seize.....SULLY: to make soiled or tarnished; Middle English *sullien, probably alteration (influenced by Anglo-French suillier, soiller to soil) of sulen to soil, from Old English sylian.....-IER: suffix denoting one who wields or participates in...
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COMMENTS:
Great word for a lot of the rappers who spewings fit this definition. Super Terrific Verbotomy! - silveryaspen, 2009-04-21: 09:20:00
Aww- thanx, Lady! - metrohumanx, 2009-04-22: 01:21:00
I'm fully entertained! Love this part "If it be bad, they’ll drag it out!" :) - abrakadeborah, 2009-04-22: 05:48:00
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Comments:
Today's definition was inspired by one of my favorite university professors who would respond to complainers with what he said was an old Japanese proverb -- "In among the cherry blossoms, the woodpecker hunts for a dead tree." ~ James
silveryaspen - 2009-04-21: 01:43:00
Like today's definition and cartoon, that Japanese proverb, provides plenty of food for thought .... naughty knotty thoughts ... until I want to thought naught about it any more!
silveryaspen - 2009-04-21: 09:56:00
This thought provoking definition and cartoon certainly inspired every one today! Kudos to the professor and James and all the verbotomists who played today. All are terrific sentences and verbotomies, today.
readerwriter - 2009-04-21: 10:33:00
Do I live in the wrong hemisphere or does my day begin too late???? Either that, or you all are up past midnight EST! Fun word today to play with. How you do it, James, I will never know...you are an artiste!
Thank you silvery and readerwriter. Fortunately, there not a lot of woodpeckers among us, but apparently there are a lot of night owls. ~ James
abrakadeborah - 2009-04-22: 06:03:00
This word and cartoon today was very descriptive! I LOVE the old Japanese proverb you added "In among the cherry blossoms, the woodpecker hunts for a dead tree." :) I have known a FEW toxic people like this in my life~