June 2010

Notable and Quotable: William Styron

Many of the quotations in the dictionary come from long-gone authors – think Shakespeare and Wordsworth – but modern authors have also earned their place in the frequently updated Collegiate.

William Styron (born June 11, 1925; died November 1, 2006), was one such author. Quotations from the Pulitzer Prize-winning essayist, novelist, and playwright are found at six entries in the Collegiate. Two of those quotations (aggravate and comprise) illustrate sometimes controversial usages.

To find an author's quotations in the dictionary, select Unabridged or Collegiate, then click on Advanced Search, type the author's name in the Author box, and hit Search.

aggravate verb
"when his silly conceit...about his not-very-good early work has begun to aggravate us--"

anonymous adjective
"the gray anonymous streets--"

comprise verb;
"a misconception as to what comprises a literary generation--"

suppliant adjective
"upraised to the heavens...suppliant arms--"

vitiate verb
"the comic impact is vitiated by obvious haste--"

witless adjective
"drive one witless with anxiety--"


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