A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V

Maieutic

adjective

  1. relating to or resembling the Socratic method of eliciting new ideas from another

[Full Dark House — Christopher Fowler]

Mansuetude

noun (ARCHAIC)

meekness; gentleness.

[“Writing Past the Wall, or the Passion According to H.C.” (Introduction to Hélène Cixous’s Coming to Writing and Other Essays) — Susan Rubin Suleiman]

Marmoreal

adj. (literary)

  1. made of or likened to marble: the marmoreal skin took on the flush of color.

[The Waves — Virginia Woolf]

Melic

adjective

(of a poem, especially an Ancient Greek lyric) meant to be sung.

[Stefan Lorenzutti, in conversation]

Meliorism

n. 

  1. the belief that the world can be made better by human effort

[Nicholson Baker — The Mezzanine]

Mephitic

adj. (literary)

(especially of a gas or vapor) foul-smelling; noxious. “the cloud of mephitic vapors lingered above our heads”

 

Meretricious

adj.

  1. Of or pertaining to prostitutes; wanton; libidinous.
  2. Alluring by false attractions; having a gaudy but deceitful appearance; tawdry; showy: as, meretricious dress or ornaments.

[The Waves — Virginia Woolf]

Miscegenation

noun

mis·​ce·​ge·​na·​tion | \ (ˌ)mi-ˌse-jə-ˈnā-shən

: a mixture of races

especially : marriage, cohabitation, or sexual intercourse between a white person and a member of another race

Monad

n.

  1. A single unit; the number one

[The Reading Life — C. S. Lewis]

Monadnock

n.

  1. isolated hill of bedrock standing conspicuously above the general level of the surrounding area

See also: inselberg, n. — an isolated hill that stands above well-developed plains and appears not unlike an island rising from the sea

[Toad — Katherine Dunn]