refulgent \rih-FUL-juhnt\ (adjective) - Shining brightly; radiant; brilliant; resplendent.

"For an instant, refulgent in his halo of media lights, the camerlengo looked celestial, like some kind of modern deity." -- Dan Brown, 'Angels and Demons'

Refulgent comes from the present participle of Latin refulgere, "to flash back, to shine brightly,...Read more

cynosure \SY-nuh-shoor; SIN-uh-shoor\ (noun) - 1 : Anything to which attention is strongly turned; a center of attraction. 2 : That which serves to guide or direct. 3 : [Capitalized]. The northern constellation Ursa Minor, which contains the North Star; also, the North Star itself.

"She had been, of course, for some time the cynosure of many ...Read more

excoriate \ek-SKOR-ee-ayt\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To express strong disapproval of; to denounce. 2 : To tear or wear off the skin of.

"Besides which there stirred not the least breath of wind, and flies and gadflies did swarm in prodigious quantity, which, settling upon her excoriate flesh, stung her so shrewdly that 'twas as if she received ...Read more

flippant \FLIP-uhnt\ (adjective) - Lacking proper seriousness or respect; showing inappropriate levity; pert.

"Ann is flippant where I'm serious, and I'm flippant where Ann is serious." -- John Cowper Powys, 'Wolf Solent'

Flippant probably comes from flip. The noun form is flippancy.

officious \uh-FISH-uhs\ (adjective) - Marked by excessive eagerness in offering services or advice where they are neither requested nor needed; meddlesome.

"You are too officious
In her behalf that scorns your services.
Let her alone: speak not of Helena,
Take not her part; for if thou dost intend
Never so little show ...Read more

congeries \KON-juh-reez\ (noun) - A collection; an aggregation.

"But if the congeries of past events, if congeries it was, could be separated from its usual partnership with sentiment, it cannot have been too much to cheer Lolita on in her wholehearted attempt." -- Gilbert Sorrentino, 'Pack of Lies'

Congeries is from Latin congeries, "a heap, ...Read more

felicitous \fuh-LIS-uh-tuhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Suitably applied or expressed; appropriate; apt. 2 : Happy; delightful; marked by good fortune.

"His end fell well on the feast of Felix, for he was felicitous in all things ; felicitous in endowing the church, felicitous in ordering more clearly the divine offices, felicitous in the administration...Read more

expunge \ik-SPUNJ\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To strike out, erase, or mark for deletion; to obliterate; as, "to expunge words, lines, or sentences." 2 : To wipe out or destroy; to annihilate.

"When you talk you can't stop to polish a phrase, to search for precisely the right word, nor can you go back and expunge a word, a phrase, a whole ...Read more

contretemps \KAHN-truh-tahn\ (noun) plural contretemps \-tahnz\ - An inopportune or embarrassing situation or event; a hitch.

"On the card nest to them was written, 'With my most humble apologies for the contretemps of this afternoon. I hope I may be allowed to invite you for dinner after an appropriate period of penance. Josh Hillman.'" -- ...Read more

arbiter \AR-buh-tuhr\ (noun) - 1 : A person appointed or chosen to judge or decide a dispute. 2 : Any person who has the power of judging and determining.

"If he was superior to the dog, the arbiter of its fate, wasn't God in like measure the arbiter of human fate?" -- Czesław Miłosz, 'The Issa Valley'

Arbiter is from Latin arbiter, "a ...Read more

milksop \MILK-sop\ (noun) - An effeminate or weak-minded person; an unmanly man.

"And, if we set off soon, we can escape the milksop misses Mother has invited for us." -- Julia Quinn, 'The Viscount Who Loved Me'

Milksop comes from Middle English, literally a piece of bread sopped in milk.

cajole \kuh-JOHL\ (transitive verb) - To persuade with flattery, repeated appeals, or soothing words; to coax.

"It was his duty to push, prod, and cajole the parties into a settlement." -- John Grisham, 'The Testament'

Cajole derives from Early Modern French cajoler, originally, "to chatter like a bird in a cage, to sing; hence, to amuse with ...Read more

potentate \POH-tuhn-tayt\ (noun) - One who possesses great power or sway; a ruler, sovereign, or monarch.

"When the Vizerine has been much younger, she had been taken a slave for three weeks and forced to perform services arduous and demeaning for a provincial potentate -- who bore such a resemblance to her present cook at Court that it all but...Read more

moil \MOYL\ (intransitive verb) - 1 : To work with painful effort; to labor; to toil; to drudge. 2 : To churn or swirl about continuously.

(noun) - 1 : Toil; hard work; drudgery. 2 : Confusion; turmoil.

"Moil and toil, moil and toil, from morning to night, and no thanks whatever." -- George Manville Fenn, 'Nat the Naturalist'

Moil comes from ...Read more

ululate \UL-yuh-layt; YOOL-\ (intransitive verb) - To howl, as a dog or a wolf; to wail; as, ululating jackals.

"The other women thronged to her. They began to ululate again, rolling their tongues so that their spittle flew as they emitted that terrible keening sound." -- Wilbur Smith, 'The Triumph of the Sun'

Ululate derives from Latin ...Read more

toothsome \TOOTH-suhm\ (adjective) - 1 : Pleasing to the taste; delicious; as, "a toothsome pie." 2 : Agreeable; attractive; as, "a toothsome offer." 3 : Sexually attractive.

'"Rabbit is good, very good," the ancient quavered, "but when it comes to a toothsome delicacy I prefer crab."' -- Jack London, 'The Scarlet Plague

Toothsome is derived ...Read more

impervious \im-PUR-vee-uhs\ , adjective) - 1 : Not admitting of entrance or passage through; impenetrable. 2 : Not capable of being harmed or damaged. 3 : Not capable of being affected.

"She lay peacefully asleep, impervious to the man who watched her. Impervious to the fate that awaited her. Impervious to the cold that would blanket her." -- ...Read more

auspicious \aw-SPISH-uhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Giving promise of success, prosperity, or happiness; predicting good; as, "an auspicious beginning." 2 : Prosperous; fortunate; as, "auspicious years."

"The rest of that auspicious day when father answered the call of his prince was od for we were both elated at how quickly the muster had been made ...Read more

puissant \PWISS-uhnt; PYOO-uh-suhnt; pyoo-ISS-uhnt\ (adjective) - Powerful; strong; mighty; as, a puissant prince or empire.

"Awake remembrance of these valiant dead,
And with your pussiant arm renew their feats.
You are their heir, you sit upon their throne.
The blood and courage that renowned them
Runs in your veins, ...Read more

Q: Are there any other words besides "facetious" that contain all the vowels in alphabetical order? -- Mary Lundquist, Bristol, Connecticut

A: You (alpha)bet!

As Richard Lederer notes in his rollicking book "The Word Circus," "facetious" is the shortest English word with all five vowels in alphabetical order.

But he lists 17 others, ranging...Read more