Monthly Archives: March 2014

It is the first weekend of the month and time again for a new word to live. This is a word or phrase not currently in use in the U.S. English lexicon, but should be considered. Other words, such as obsurd, crumpify, subsus, flib, congressed, and others, can be found by clicking on the tags below. The new word for March is awfulizer. This is a combination of the wore awful and the suffix “-izer” or sometimes “-iser,” as in someone who makes something happen. For example, a compromiser is some who makes compromises.

awful, n. 1. unpleasant, extremely bad; ugly. 2. terrible; dreadful; inspiring fear.

It can also mean inspiring awe, as in awful majesty of the ocean or solemn reverence, but in those cases most people tend toward the word awesome.

In this case, an awfulizer is someone inspiring fear, dreadfulness, and can be extremely unpleasant to be around. Maybe a haiku can help illustrate the new word’s meaning.

The awfulizer
catastrophizes all things,
her coworkers said.