This week we continue our vocabulary-building series, “The Closing Word.” Each week we provide a new word to help build your vocabulary and show you an example of how to use it.
This week’s closing word:
oppugn
Pronounced: (uh-PYOON)
Verb:
To call in question; to contradict; to dispute.
Synonyms:
contradict, question
From Vocabulary.com: ”From Latin oppugnare (to fight or oppose), from ob- (against) + pugnare (to fight), from pugnus (fist). Ultimately from the Indo-European root peuk- (to prick) which is also the source of point, puncture, pungent, punctual, poignant, pounce, poniard, impugn, pugilist, and pugnacious. Earliest documented use: 1435.”
Example:
“It is common for sellers to oppugn an agent’s assessment of their home’s market value if the number isn’t as high as they’d like to hear.”
