A Word A Day

[Mashud]

thanks a lot for your collection.

[Binoy]

Thanks a lot for the encouraging comment.

[Binoy]

Word-147 (07-06-12)

curl (noun)
1. কোঁকড়া চুল; a small bunch of hair that forms a curved or round shape
tight/loose curls
Her hair fell in curls over her shoulders.
Her hair was a mass of curls.
The baby had dark eyes and dark curls.
His hair had a natural curl.

2. বাঁকানো কোনো কিছু; something wavy or curved
a curl of smoke
a contemptuous curl of the lip
Curls of smoke were rising from the chimney.
Decorate the cake with curls of chocolate.

curl (verb)
কুঁকড়ে যাওয়া বা দেওয়া; বাঁকানো; to form or make sth form into a curved shape
His hair curls naturally.
Does your hair curl naturally, or is it permed?
The cat curled into a ball and went to sleep.
She curled her legs up under her.
A new baby will automatically curl its fingers round any object it touches.

curly (adjective)
কোঁকড়ানো বা বাঁকা; having curls or a curved shape
He has blond curly hair.
These pigs all have curly tails.

curler (noun)
চুল কোঁকড়ানোর যন্ত্র; a small plastic tube that you wind hair around to make it curl
She has bought a new curler recently.

Phrases and idioms:

curl up 
1. গুটিয়ে যাওয়া; to sit or lie in a position with your arms and legs close to your body
She curled up on the sofa to watch TV.
She curled up and closed her eyes.

2. বেঁকে যাওয়া; If something flat, such as paper, curls up, the edges start to curve up.
The paper started to shrivel and curl up in the heat.

curl up and die 
অত্যন্ত লজ্জিত হওয়া; to feel very ashamed and sorry
I just wanted to curl up and die when I spilt coffee on their new carpet!

curl your lip
ঠোঁট বাঁকানো; to show by an upward movement of one side of your mouth that you feel no respect for something or someone
Her lip curled at what he said.

[Binoy]

Word-148 (08-06-12)

curtail (verb)
কোনোকিছু ছোট বা সংক্ষিপ্ত করা; to reduce or limit something, or to make it last shorter
to curtail your holiday/spending
The last government severely curtailed trade union rights.
Spending on books has been severely curtailed.
The lecture was curtailed by the fire alarm going off.

curtailment (noun)
হ্রস্বকরণ; the act of curtailing
the curtailment of civil liberties
The curtailment of their rights caused tumult in the office.

[Binoy]

Word-149 (09-06-12)

dainty (adjective)
ছোট ও সুন্দর; small and graceful
dainty feet
a dainty porcelain cup
She was a small, dainty child, unlike her sister who was large and had big feet.
We were given tea, and some dainty little cakes.
She took a dainty little bite of the apple.

daintily (adverb)
সুন্দরভাবে; in a dainty way
She blew her nose as daintily as possible.
She skipped daintily down the street, holding her father's hand.
He handed round a plate of tiny sandwiches, daintily arranged in rings.

daintiness (noun)
সৌন্দর্য; state of being dainty
The daintiness of her eyes amazed me.

[Binoy]

Word-145 (10-06-12)

dandruff (noun)
খুশকি; very small pieces of dead skin, seen as a white dust in a person’s hair
flecks of dandruff
anti-dandruff shampoo
Her hair is full of dandruff.

[Binoy]

Word-146 (11-06-12)

dangle (verb)
1. ঝোলা; to hang or swing freely or loosely
Loose electric wires were dangling from the wall.
He dangled the puppet in front of the children.
Gold charms dangled from her bracelet.
A single light bulb dangled from the ceiling.
He sat on the edge with his legs dangling over the side.

2. ঝোলানো; to hold sth so that it hangs or swings freely:
She dangled her car keys nervously as she spoke.

3. লোভ দেখানো; to offer someone something that they want in order to persuade them to do something
I've tried dangling all sorts of offers before him/in front of him to get him to work harder at school, but nothing works.

dangly (adjective)
ঝুলন্ত; hanging loosely
dangly earrings

Phrases and idioms:

keep/leave sb dangling
কাউকে অনিশ্চিত অবস্থায় রাখা বা ঝুলিয়ে রাখা; to keep sb in an uncertain state by not telling them sth that they want to know
She kept him dangling for a week before making her decision.

dangle sth before / in front of sb
নাকে মূলা ঝুলানো; to offer sb sth good in order to persuade them to do sth
He dangled the money in front of me to get it done quickly.

dangling participle
(ব্যাকরণে) বিচ্ছিন্ন বিশেষণজাতীয় উপাদান; (grammar) a participle that relates to a noun that is not mentioned
While walking home, my phone rang. (Correct: While I was walking home, my phone rang.)

[Binoy]

Word-147 (12-06-12)

daunt (verb)
ভীত বা নিরুতসাহিত করা; to make someone feel slightly frightened or worried about their ability to achieve something; to discourage
She was not at all daunted by the size of the problem.
She was a brave woman but she felt daunted by the task ahead.

daunting (adjective)
ভীতিকর বা নিরুতসাহমূলক;  intimidating or discouraging
She has the daunting task of cooking for 20 people every day.
Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.
In spite of unification, the country was still faced with the daunting prospect of overcoming four decades of division.

dauntless (adjective)
অকুতোভয়; showing determination and a lack of fear
dauntless mind/character
In spite of the scale of the famine, the relief workers struggled on with dauntless optimism and commitment.

Idiom:

nothing daunted
নিরুতসাহিত নয়; not discouraged
Nothing daunted, the people set about rebuilding their homes.
She was rejected the first time she applied to the university, but, nothing daunted, reapplied the following year and was accepted.

[Binoy]

Word-148 (13-06-12)

dazzle (verb)
1. আলো দিয়ে চোখ ধাঁধিয়ে দেওয়া; If light dazzles you, it makes you unable to see for a short time
I was dazzled by the sunlight.
He was momentarily dazzled by the strong sunlight.

2. মুগ্ধ করা; বিমোহিত করা; If you are dazzled by someone or something, you think they are extremely good and exciting
I was dazzled by his charm and good looks.
He was dazzled by the warmth of her smile.

dazzle (noun)
1. আলোর উজ্জ্বলতা; the quality that bright light has that stops you from seeing clearly
the dazzle of the sun
They sang and danced in that dazzle.

2. তাক লাগিয়ে দেওয়া কোনো বস্তু বা গুণ; a thing or quality that impresses you but may prevent you from understanding or thinking clearly
the dazzle of her beauty
His face radiated dazzle.

dazzling (adjective)
1. চোখ ধাঁধানো আলো; A dazzling light is so bright that you cannot see for a short time after looking at it
a dazzling white light

2. মুগ্ধকর; বিমোহিতকারী; extremely attractive or exciting
dazzling good looks
a dazzling smile
a dazzling performance
a dazzling display of oriental dance

dazzlingly (adverb)
উজ্জ্বলভাবে; in a dazzling way
a dazzlingly inventive author
She was dazzlingly beautiful.

[Binoy]

Word-149 (14-06-12)

deceive (verb) [sb into doing sth]
প্রতারণা করা; to persuade someone that something false is the truth; to keep the truth hidden from someone for your own advantage; to trick
Her husband had been deceiving her for years.
She deceived him into handing over all his savings.
The company deceived customers by selling old computers as new ones.
The sound of the door closing deceived me into thinking they had gone out.
Unless my eyes deceive me, that’s his wife.

Derivations:

deceiver (noun)
প্রতারণাকারী; someone who deceives people
Don’t believe him; he is a deceiver.

deception (noun)
প্রতারণা; act of deceiving
He was found guilty of obtaining money by deception.

deceit (noun)
সত্য গোপন; (an act of) keeping the truth hidden, especially to get an advantage
He was accused of lies and deceit.
Everyone was involved in this web of deceit.
Their marriage was an illusion and a deceit.
The story is about theft, fraud and deceit on an incredible scale.
When the newspapers published the full story, all his earlier deceits were revealed.

deceitful (adjective)
প্রতারণামূলক; full of deceit
deceitful behaviour

deceitfully (adverb)
প্রতারণামূলকভাবে; in a deceitful way
He behaved with us deceitfully.

deceitfulness (noun)
প্রতারণা; state of deceit
He will suffer for his deceitfulness

Phrases/idioms:

deceive yourself
সত্য গ্রহন না করা; to refuse to accept the truth
She thinks he'll come back, but she's deceiving herself.
You’re deceiving yourself if you think he’ll change his mind.

Are my eyes deceiving me?
চোখের দেখা বিশ্বাস করতে না পারা; something you say when you cannot believe what you see
Is that snow in May, or are my eyes deceiving me?
Is he Harun, or my deceiving me?

[Binoy]

Word-150 (15-06-12)

decline (verb)
নিচে নামা; পড়ে যাওয়া; to gradually become less, worse, or lower
Her health was declining rapidly.
Support for the party continues to decline.
The number of tourists to the resort declined by 10% last year.
His interest in the project declined after his wife died.
The party's popularity has declined in the opinion polls.
The land declines sharply away from the house.

decline (noun) [+ in sth / of sth]
পতন; when something becomes less in amount, importance, quality or strength
industrial decline
urban / economic decline
a rapid / sharp / gradual decline
a decline in the number of unemployed
The company reported a small decline in its profits.
An increase in cars has resulted in the decline of public transport.
The town fell into (a) decline after the mine closed.
Industry in Britain has been in decline since the 1970s.
Home cooking seems to be on the/in decline.
She seemed to be recovering and then she went into a decline.

decline (verb)
প্রত্যাখ্যান করা; to refuse
to decline an invitation
He declined my offer.
I invited him to the meeting but he declined.
They declined to tell me how they had got my address.
I offered to give them a lift but they declined.
Their spokesman declined to comment on the allegations.

Idiom:

sb's declining years
জীবনের বার্ধক্যের কাল; the last years of someone's life
He became very forgetful in his declining years.

[Binoy]

Word-151 (16-06-12)

decompose (verb) [syn. decay, rot]
1. পঁচে যাওয়া; to be destroyed gradually by natural chemical processes
a decomposed body
a decomposing corpse
As the waste materials decompose, they produce methane gas.
The body must have been decomposing for several weeks.

2.  টুকরো টুকরো করে ভেঙ্গে ফেলা বা যাওয়া; to break, or to break something, into smaller parts [+ sth into sth]
Microbes decompose organic waste into a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide.
As the chemical was applied, the object decomposed into smaller parts.

decomposition (noun)
পঁচন; process of decomposing
the decomposition of organic waste
The corpse was in an advanced stage of decomposition.

[Binoy]

Word-152 (17-06-12)

deform (verb)
আকৃতি নষ্ট করা বা বিকৃত করা; to spoil the usual and true shape of something
Age deforms the spine.
The disease had deformed his face.

deformed (adjective)
বিকৃত; with a shape that has not developed normally
deformed hands
She was born with deformed hands.

deformation (noun)
বিকৃতি; the process or result of changing and spoiling the normal shape of sth
The deformation of the bones was caused by poor diet.

deformity (noun)
আকৃতিতে খুঁত; when a part of the body has not developed in the normal way or with the normal shape
Drugs taken during pregnancy may cause physical deformity in babies.

[Binoy]

Word-153 (18-06-12)

deft (adjective)
দক্ষ; skilful, clever or quick
deft hands / fingers / footwork
He finished off the painting with a few deft strokes of the brush.
Her movements were deft and quick.
She answered the journalist's questions with a deft touch.
He's very deft at handling awkward situations.

deftly (adverb)
দক্ষতার সাথে; in a deft way
He deftly caught the ball.
I threw her a towel which she deftly caught.
They deftly avoided answering my questions.

deftness (noun)
দক্ষতা; state of being deft
deftness of her fingers
His deftness in this task is praiseworthy.

Note: The word ‘deft’ must not be confused with the word ‘daft’ which means foolish, for example, ‘a daft idea’.

[Binoy]

Word-154 (18-06-12)

degenerate (verb)
অধপতন বা অবক্ষয় বা খারাপ হওয়া; to become worse in quality
Her health degenerated quickly.
The march degenerated into a riot.
Educational standards are degenerating year by year because of a lack of funds.
What was intended as a peaceful demonstration rapidly degenerated into violence.

degenerate (adjective)
অধপতিত বা অবক্ষয়ী; having low standards of behaviour
a degenerate young man
a degenerate popular culture

degenerate (noun)
অধপতিত বা নষ্ট ব্যক্তি; someone with low standards of behaviour
They're just moral degenerates with no sense of decency.

degeneration (noun)
অবক্ষয়; অধপতন; the process by which something gets worse
social / moral degeneration
Intensive farming in the area has caused severe degeneration of the land.
There has been a gradual degeneration of the judicial system in the last few years.
High blood pressure can cause degeneration of the heart muscles.

degenerative (adjective)
(রোগ) খারাপের দিকে যাচ্ছে এমন; (of an illness) getting or likely to get worse as time passes
a degenerative disease/condition
degenerative diseases such as arthritis