word of the day: retrench

The word of the day is retrench:

verb (used without object)

to economize; reduce expenses (dictionary.com)

"For Barack Obama, it is essential to end those two wars [Iraq and Afghanistan] and this retrenchment is in the national interest."

 - Michael McFaul, as quoted by David Remnick, "Watching the eclipse: Ambassador Michael McFaul was there when the promise of democracy came to Russia - and when it began to fade", 11 & 18 August 2014 The New Yorker

word of the day: ambit

The word of the day is ambit:

Etymology:  < Latin ambit-us a going round, a compass; < amb- about + -itus going, < ī-re to go. 

1. A circuit, compass, or circumference. 

2. esp. A space surrounding a house, castle, town, etc.; the precincts, liberties, ‘verge’. 

3. The confines, bounds, limits of a district.

4. fig. Extent, compass, sphere, of actions, words, thoughts, etc. (OED)

"Two years earlier, in a commencement address at Xavier University, he discussed the importance of being able 'to see the world through the eyes of those who are different from us—the child who’s hungry, the steelworker who’s been laid off, the family who lost the entire life they built together when the storm came to town.'  He went on, 'When you think like this—when you choose to broaden your ambit of concern and empathize with the plight of others, whether they are close friends or distant strangers—it becomes harder not to act, harder not to help.'"

 - Paul Bloom, quoting Barack Obama, "The baby in the well: the case against empathy", 20 May 2013 The New Yorker

Word of the day: hegemony

The word of the day is hegemony:

Greek ἡγεμονία, < ἡγεμών leader. Compare French hégémonie.(Show More)

 

Leadership, predominance, preponderance; esp. the leadership or predominant authority of one state of a confederacy or union over the others: originally used in reference to the states of ancient Greece, whence transferred to the German states, and in other modern applications. (OED)

"Barack Obama, who came to office not least because of his opposition to the war in Iraq, went to Cairo in 2009 intent on assuring the Muslim world of a new kind of policy: engagement without hegemony. 'I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq,' he said. 'So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.'"

 - David Remnick, "Judgment Days", February 14 & 21, 2011 The New Yorker