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 $100 donation, bring a word under your wing and protect it from the ravages of modern life. Adoptions are for 12 months and are tax-deductible.
Any issues adopting? Contact our team at development@wheelercentre.com.
FOR $100,
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;
- The satisfaction of supporting our work with the vibrant literary sector; and
- For the first 20 people to adopt before 12pm Tuesday 17 December, a triple-pack of St. Ali coffee (value $50) delivered in time for Christmas. Whole beans or ground, the choice is yours!
Recently adopted words
- Jactitation
- Sept
- Nepenthean
- Spoliation
- Bouffage
- Scattergood
- Esurient
- Chirk
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.)
- Alfet(n.) a cauldron of boiling water used during medieval trials to determine innocence or guiltAdopt this word close
- Demimonde(n.) a group or class of people on the fringes of respectable, reputable societyAdopt this word close
- Gradgrind(n.) a person lacking human sensitivity, who is only interested in factsAdopt this word close
- Infare(n.) a party to celebrate a person's arrival in a new home, especially a brideAdopt this word close
- Preterition(n.) the act of disregarding, passing over or deliberately omittingAdopt this word close
- Svengali(n.) a person who exerts a mysterious and sinister influence over anotherAdopt this word close
- Tarantism(n.) a dancing mania believed, in medieval Europe, to have been caused by tarantula bitesAdopt this word close
- Wassail(n.) a salutation given at festive occasions; an occasion of lively drinking and revelryAdopt 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.