Adopt a Word
Do you despair that doublespeak, political gobbledegook and corporate gibberish rule the world?
Are you concerned about the degradation of public language? Would you like a way to show your love and support for the Wheeler Centre, but just can’t find the right words?
Help preserve, protect and nurture the building blocks of our books, writing and ideas – for a modest $85 donation, bring a word under your wing and protect it from the ravages of modern life. Give rodomontade to a loved one. Snaffle tarradiddle for yourself.
Help us keep doing what we do and give a home to obscure, unloved, near-forgotten words.
Adoptions are for 12 months and are tax-deductible.
FOR $85,
Receive the following:
- An adoption certificate;
- eBadge with your word to spread the news of your adoption;
- Quarterly updates on the progress of our adopt-a-word campaign, and other news from the Wheeler Centre; and
- The satisfaction of supporting our work with the vibrant literary sector – whose words affect and reflect our world, every day.
Recently adopted words
- Diablerie
- Grandiloquence
- Munificence
- Embuggerance
- Sluggard
- Gnomic
- Gormandise
- Wherefore
Adopt your word
Click a word to reveal its definition. Found a word you'd be proud to call your own? Take it under your wing and save it from life in a dusty, disused dictionary. Adopt!
(If your chosen word has already been adopted, check again later – we'll bring you more words to adopt soon.)
- Cadge(v.) to scrounge or beg; to obtain something to which one is not really entitledAdopt this word close
- Collocate(v.) to set or place together in particular relation; to arrange side by sideAdopt this word close
- Dundreary(n.) an extravagant style of men’s facial hair characterised by sideburns extending across the cheek and jaw, also known as Piccadilly weepersAdopt this word close
- Exonerate(v.) release someone from a duty or obligation; free from guilt of blameAdopt this word close
- Hither(adv.) to this place – used with verbs signifying motion, and implying motion toward the speakerAdopt this word close
- Nidifugous(adj.) pertaining to birds that leave the nest shortly after hatchingAdopt this word close
- Obeisance(adj.) a gesture displaying deep respect or deference; a bow or curtseyAdopt this word close
- Oolite(n.) egg-stone, a variety of concreted carbonate of lime; oviform limestoneAdopt this word close
- Popinjay(n.) a vain, affected person who is inclined to engage in empty chatterAdopt this word close
How the money is used
Your donation will support the Wheeler Centre's contribution to, and amplification of, the literary sector in Australia – nurturing the role of literature, storytelling and storymaking in Australian culture and identity.
All the writers we engage – for public events, commissioned writing, or in any other capacity – are paid at professional rates.
Word adoptions are fully tax-deductible.