Difficult Words (Redux)

Moonlighting

Working a second job outside of your primary employment, usually done secretly or after hours.

Trite

So overused that it has lost its meaning or impact. A trite phrase is a cliché — something that was once fresh but has been said so many times it feels hollow.

Legal: A trite point of law is one so well-settled it barely needs citation. Judges sometimes say “it is trite law that…” before stating a basic, uncontested legal principle.

Impugn

To challenge or call into question someone’s honesty, integrity, or credibility. To impugn someone is to cast doubt on them.

Legal: Commonly used when attacking the credibility of a witness or the validity of an argument. “Counsel sought to impugn the witness’s testimony” means they tried to make the jury doubt it.

Gratuitous

Given or done without good reason; uncalled for. Can also simply mean free of charge, but the more common modern use is something unnecessary or unwarranted — a gratuitous insult, gratuitous violence.

Legal: A gratuitous promise is one made without consideration — and therefore generally unenforceable in contract law. A gratuitous transfer is a gift, not a bargained exchange.

Eke out

To manage to get or achieve something with great difficulty and minimal resources. You eke out a living when you barely scrape by. You eke out a win when you win by the narrowest margin.

Dissipated

Having wasted one’s health, money, or energy through excessive and self-indulgent behavior — drinking, gambling, etc. Often carries a moral overtone of someone who has squandered what they had.

Legal: Dissipation of marital assets is a significant concept in family law — it refers to one spouse recklessly or intentionally wasting marital property (spending it on affairs, gambling, etc.) in anticipation of divorce.

Jocular

Fond of joking; cheerful and playful in tone. A jocular remark is a lighthearted, humorous one.

Unvarnished

Plain and direct, with nothing added to soften or decorate it. The unvarnished truth is the blunt, unembellished truth — no spin, no flattery.

Accentuation

The act of emphasizing or making something more prominent or noticeable. Can refer to stress placed on a syllable in speech, or more broadly to anything that draws attention to a particular feature.

Sully

To damage or spoil something, especially a reputation or something previously pure or untarnished. To sully someone’s name is to tarnish it.