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.
Woewallow
Created by: artr
Pronunciation: wōwälō
Sentence: Willy watches the news with great interest. He loves to woewallow. If there is bad news he wants to share it. Disasters, tragedies, agony? A new study that finds your favorite food as a possible cancer cause. He's there! He firmly believes that every silver lining is wrapped in a big beautiful grey cloud.
Etymology: woe (great sorrow or distress) + wallow ( indulge in an unrestrained way)
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COMMENTS:
You met my dad? - wayoffcenter, 2009-04-21: 07:35:00
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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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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.
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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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
Sinnic
Created by: Nosila
Pronunciation: sin nik
Sentence: Woody was a sinnic in the worst sense of the word. If your actions did not benefit him directly, he thought you had no business being on the planet!
Etymology: Sin (commit a faux pas or a fault or make a serious mistake) & Cynic (someone who is critical of the motives of others)
Negactivity
Created by: EpicButCrazy
Pronunciation: Neg-ack-tiv-it-ee
Sentence: He's so full of negactivity, even when he won the huge competition all he could think about was that they misspelled his name on the trophy!
Etymology: negativity + activity = to be quite actively negative
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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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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Follyfication
Created by: splendiction
Pronunciation: faw ly fi ca tion
Sentence: Shrugh really looked forward to follyfication of all the silly human errors around him.
Etymology: From FOLLY (human stupidity) and JOLLIFICATION (find joy in or revel).
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~