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Words for ideas, arguments and tricks

The words that show up in editorials and seminars and are rarely explained: the problem with no good answer, the sentence that contradicts itself, the harm that works slowly, the explanation built to confuse.

1. epiphany nounA sudden moment when you finally understand something.
2. catharsis nounA release of strong feelings that leaves you lighter.
3. lucid adjectiveClear and easy to understand; also, thinking clearly.
4. conundrum nounA confusing problem with no easy answer.
5. paradox nounA statement that seems to contradict itself but may be true.
6. paradigm nounA model or pattern that shows how something is done or understood.
7. esoteric adjectiveUnderstood by only a small circle of people with special knowledge.
8. didactic adjectiveMeant to teach a lesson, often in a preachy way.
9. obfuscate verbTo make something harder to understand, usually on purpose.
10. enigma nounA person or thing that is hard to understand or explain.
11. ineffable adjectiveToo great or too strange to be put into words.
12. juxtaposition nounPutting two things side by side so you see how they differ.
13. nebulous adjectiveVague and unclear, with no firm shape.
14. disparate adjectiveVery different from each other, with little in common.
15. plethora nounFar more than enough of something.
16. panacea nounA cure for everything; usually said of something that is not.
17. quintessential adjectiveThe most perfect example of a type.
18. pragmatic adjectiveDealing with things in a practical way, based on what works.
19. sagacious adjectiveWise and sharp in judgment.
20. circumspect adjectiveCareful about what you do or say, thinking of the risks.
21. candor nounHonest, open speech, even when it is uncomfortable.
22. insidious adjectiveSpreading harm slowly and quietly, so you do not notice.
23. pernicious adjectiveDoing harm slowly and quietly, so you notice it late.
24. clandestine adjectiveKept secret, usually because it is not allowed.
25. surreptitious adjectiveDone secretly, so no one notices.
26. ubiquitous adjectiveFound everywhere, all the time.

Every word here is explained six ways on its own page, the way Gloss explains any word in the app: Plain, ADHD, Gen Z, Metaphor, Formal, or Like I’m 5. For iPhone, free for three days.

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