Welcome to “Words to Learn”. This series is about increasing the breadth of our vocabularies. (Actually, it's about me improving my vocabulary, but I like to share knowledge, so you're invited to come along for the ride!)

This is my second post featuring a word suggested by an astute reader. Today, thanks goes to @monkeyharris for the fabulous word, "defenestrate."

But the cool thing is that this is a participation series. You can write a #learnwords post describing one of your favorite vocabulary words, or suggest one in the comments so I can cover it in a future post. It's all about sharing!

Photo credit: Pixabay

Why enrich your vocabulary

Do you ever have that "it's right on the tip of my tongue" feeling? This is not scientific fact, but my empirical research suggests that of all brain functions, the one responsible for vocabulary is one of the first to atrophy. So you need to fuel it with fresh information.

Plus there are so many great words we will never know or use unless we purposefully find them and add them to our repertoire. So I launched this series to increase my own vocabulary and help others do the same.

How to write a "Words to learn" post

If you would like to write a post to share one of your favorite vocab words, your post should include the following: The word’s pronunciation, its definition, and some example sentences that demonstrate how to use it. And be sure to add the #learnwords tag. (Note: Check out dictionary.com, thesaurus.com, vocabulary.com, wordsinasentence.com and merriam-webster.com as resources.)

Posts in this series so far:
Recalcitrant -- @jayna
Inexorably -- @jayna
Shellacking -- @caleblailmusik
Flotsam -- @therosepatch
Ambivalent -- @jayna
Coruscate -- @therosepatch

Okay, time for the word of the day.

The word defenestrate

Pronunciation: "dee-fen-uh-streyt"
Definition: This is a verb that means to throw someone or something out the window.
How to use it: Never use it as an order! But seriously, use this word to to describe physically throwing something out the window; you can also use it to describe removing someone from a position of power. The second version is actually more common today.
Other forms of the word: defenestrated, defenestration.

Example sentences:

The first example comes from contributor @monkeyharris:
The teacher picked up the unruly student, opened the window, and defenestrated him into the thorny bush outside.

The second example comes from wordsinasentence.com and demonstrates the removal-from-power usage:
The king was defenestrated when his people had a revolution and overthrew him from his position of power.

A little history:
Evidently, in 1618 some Protestants threw some Catholics out a window, which led to the Thirty Years War. This event became known as the "Defenestration of Prague."

Thank you for reading!

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