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Mikhail Epstein's definitions

webbiage

webbiage n (web + suffix iage, like in verbiage) Ð excessive use of web tools and design beyond those needed to present a certain content or achieve a certain goal.
Why do you need all this webbiage? Simplify, simplify!
by Mikhail Epstein November 2, 2003
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philophobia

philophobia n (Greek philia, love + phobia, fear) - a persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of love and intimacy, of deep relationship with smbd.
It seems Stalin suffered from philophobia. He never had a deep personal relationship with anybody, a man or a woman, either friendship or love.
by Mikhail Epstein November 7, 2003
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dislove

dislove verb transitive (prefix dis + love; cf. dislike, disapprove) Ð to have a deep negative feeling, attraction-through-aversion to smbd.

"Dislove" is a deeper feeling than "dislike," it is not just a matter of taste, but of personal relationship. It is addressed to individuals rather than to inanimate entities. Dislove implies a strong negative emotional connection to its object.
I don't hate Andy. I just dislove him. I wish him to be happy with somebody else.
by Mikhail Epstein November 7, 2003
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amortify

amortify verb trans. (Lat. amor, love + Lat. mort, death + suffix ify)

to act both with affection and ruthlessness, to inflict suffering or ruin by love.
Dostoevsky's novel "The Idiot" is the story of four principal characters who consistently attempt to amortify each other and eventually succeed.
by Mikhail Epstein November 15, 2003
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conaster

conaster n from Latin cum, with + Greek astron, star - literally with star, the exact antonym to disaster; the fortunate outcome of an almost imminent disaster; the sensation of a catastrophe narrowly averted and later remembered from the vantage point of safety.
There were several conasters in my life that I cannot recall without thanking God for his undeserved mercy.

You were born under a lucky star. This conaster is an amazing mixture of chance and miracle.
by Mikhail Epstein November 2, 2003
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relicious

reLIcious adj relic + religious Ð religiously devoted to relics, to the preservation of the past.
Nothing in contemporary life carries meaning for him. He is a deeply relicious person, not simply nostalgic.

Some people think that Eastern Orthodox spirituality is more relicious than truly religious.
by Mikhail Epstein November 2, 2003
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ignorement

ignorement n ignore + suffix ment; cf. treatment, excitement - a noun that signifies ignoring something or somebody, corresponding to the verb ignore, but different from ignorance (which is derived from ignore, but has a different meaning, "lack of knowledge").
I hoped to receive forgiveness but instead was met with suspicion and ignorement.

Your son's continuous ignorement of his civil duties needs to be noticed and reprimanded.

The government shows the same ignorement towards human lives as towards human rights.
by Mikhail Epstein November 2, 2003
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