- Today's Word
Abrogate
AB-ruh-gayt
Definition
- (verb) To formally repeal, abolish, or do away with a law, rule, or agreement.
Example
The court’s decision abrogated the outdated policy, paving the way for new reforms.
Fun Fact
“Abrogate” comes from the Latin abrogare, meaning “to annul or repeal.” Throughout history, laws and treaties have been abrogated to reflect societal changes—sometimes for the better, sometimes leading to controversy. The word is often associated with governments and legal systems, but it can also apply to personal choices, such as abrogating old habits that no longer serve you.
(adjective) Extremely unwilling to spend money; miserly and stingy to a degree that causes hardship for others.
The penurious landlord refused to replace the building’s broken heating system for three winters running, calculating that complaints were cheaper to ignore than repairs were to make.
Penurious derives from the Latin penuria, meaning “want” or “scarcity,” rooted in the Greek penia meaning “poverty.” It entered English in the 16th century carrying both its literal sense of genuine poverty and its more cutting figurative sense of someone who hoards wealth despite having it — the distinction between being poor and merely acting poor being central to the word’s particular sting.