GRE Word List Blogs Home Page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n‘Recalcitrant is a word I’ve been wanting to blog about for a while. Finally, I delved into its word origins and discovered that it originates from ‘heels\/kicking out’ and being difficult, in general. So, that led me to scour for words that also had their origins in human body parts. And that’s how I got the overall theme for this blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week’s words are visceral, dishevelled, supercilious, melancholy, capricious and recalcitrant<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThe Body<\/h1>\n\n\n\ni. visceral<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Part of Speech<\/strong> – adjective
Definitions<\/strong> –
1. relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect.
2. relating to the viscera, primarily abdominal internal organs.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWord Origins <\/strong>– from French visc\u00e9ral<\/em> and directly from Medieval Latin visceralis<\/em> “internal,” from Latin viscera<\/em>.
Synonyms <\/strong>– instinctive, innate.
Usage <\/strong>– When he couldn\u2019t decide between 2 options, he relied on his visceral instincts and chose one.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGut Check<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
As unlikely as it sounds, our gut is connected to our brain – physically, and biochemically. The vagus nerve is one of the biggest nerves in our body, and connects the gut and brain, among other parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An interesting study found that feeding mice a probiotic reduced the amount of stress hormone in their blood. However, when their vagus nerve was cut, the probiotic had no effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We experience a weird sensation in our gut when we’re in an uncertain situation \/ interacting with suspicious\/potentially dangerous individuals, and a flush of relief when a high-stakes situation is defused\/resolved to our favour. This is gut instinct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a fight-or-flight situation, our body releases adrenaline, and the blood flow to our stomach reduces. This gives us a sensation of ‘butterflies in our stomach.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let the butterflies flutter by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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