- Today's Word
Replete
ri-PLEET
Definition
- (adjective)Fully stocked, filled, or abundantly supplied with something.
- Satisfied or full after eating.
Example
The novel was replete with vivid descriptions and intricate plot twists, making it a captivating read.
Fun Fact
“Replete” comes from the Latin repletus, meaning “filled up.” While often used to describe things overflowing with content, it also applies to physical fullness—similar to how we feel after a large meal. In nature, the term is notably used to describe replete ants, a species that stores food in their swollen abdomens to feed the colony during times of scarcity.
(verb) To cause someone or something to appear foolish or absurd; to cause to lose enthusiasm or initiative through tedium or restrictive routine
Years of mindless data entry had stultified what was once one of the sharpest minds in the department.
Stultify derives from the Latin stultus (“foolish”) + facere (“to make”) — literally “to make foolish.” It entered English in the 18th century first as a legal term, describing the act of making oneself appear incompetent in order to avoid legal responsibility, before broadening to its modern sense of dulling or deadening the mind through boredom or oppressive routine.