Demeanor is how you present yourself to others, including your actions but also your tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. In British English, the correct spelling is “demeanour.”
As a noun, demeanor is neutral; depending on context, it has a positive or negative connotation. If someone has a friendly demeanor, for instance, it means that they smile and nod as you talk to them or that they maintain eye contact. In contrast, a person of unfriendly demeanor will probably act in a cold and disinterested way, paying little attention to what you are saying.
Demeanor in a sentence examplesDespite the crisis situation, our manager maintained their calm demeanor.
We were greeted by a small woman of cheerful demeanor.
He has a shy demeanor and blushes when he has to give a presentation.
LMAO means “laughing my ass off.” It’s a slang abbreviation that shows you think something is incredibly funny.
Teens and other people have been talking about laughing their asses off for some three-quarters of a century—one of the most well-known uses of the phrase appears in Catcher in the Rye, a popular 1951 novel by J.D. Salinger (“It ends up with everybody at this long dinner table laughing their asses off because the great Dane comes in with a bunch of puppies,” Holden describes, speaking of a movie he dislikes).
Let’s look at how the phrase was abbreviated as LMAO and how you can use it.
To touch base means to briefly communicate with a person or a group of people such as a team of employees in order to stay in contact with them or check something.
It is an informal idiom that comes from the sport of baseball. It is often used in work and business contexts but is not generally used in formal or academic writing.
Examples: Touch base in a sentenceI’m going to touch base with Maria at the event tomorrow, so I’ll ask her about it then.
Have you got a minute to talk? I just wanted to touch base before the meeting later.
Let’s touch base about the arrangements again later in the week.
Genuflect is a verb meaning “to bend your knee” (e.g., as an act of worship inside a Christian church).
It is also used figuratively to mean “pleasing someone in a way that shows a lack of respect for yourself.”
Examples of genuflect in a sentenceHer mother frowned at her because she forgot to genuflect before taking her seat in church.
You’re going to have to genuflect before him if you want him to agree.
She is a genius who refuses to genuflect at the altar of convention.
Genuflect is split into three syllables with the stress on the first syllable: [jen-yoo-flekt]. The first two syllables are pronounced in the same way as in the word “genuine.”
The adjectivefacetious means “humorous in an inappropriate way or at an inappropriate time.” It is often used to criticize someone or something (e.g., to say that a person is treating a serious issue in an unserious way).
It is also used less critically to mean “funny and not serious.”
Examples: Facetious in a sentenceI thought that was a really facetious remark that Alberto made in the meeting.
You don’t really mean that, do you? You’re just being facetious, right?
I love to read her newspaper columns; they’re just so wonderfully facetious.
Indubitably means “certainly” or “without question.”
It is an adverb with the same root as the adjective “indubitable.”
“Indubitably” is not commonly used in modern English and is perceived as being very formal. In speech, it can be used as an interjection if someone is being facetious or putting on airs.
The opposite of “indubitably” is “dubitably,” which is very rarely used in modern English.
Indubitably: Examples in a sentenceIndubitably Miss Smith! The man is surely a fool.
The artist’s work is indubitably groundbreaking.
The consequences will indubitably be felt for years to come.
It is indubitably the case that many questions have been left hanging in the air.
Presumptuous means “overly forward or excessively bold.” It is an adjective used to refer to someone who appears to be rude or arrogant because of their entitled or overfamiliar behavior. If someone is considered “likely to presume” or “characterized by presumption,” they can be described as presumptuous.
Examples: Presumptuous in a sentenceAsking for a raise after only a month on the job is a bit presumptuous.
He felt a pang of irritation at her presumptuous question about his personal life.
It was presumptuous of the new intern to try to correct the CEO’s presentation.
He felt a twinge of guilt for his presumptuousbehavior at the job interview.
Published on
June 10, 2024
by
Gina Rancaño, BA
Revised on
May 6, 2025
Mutually exclusive is a phrase that describes two things as incompatible. Any scenarios described as “mutually exclusive” cannot happen simultaneously. For example, a student’s goals to pass an exam and not take the exam at all are mutually exclusive because both cannot occur at the same time.
Examples: Using mutually exclusive in a sentenceOur desires to get in shape and try new restaurants don’t have to be mutually exclusive, so long as we exercise often and choose healthy meals when we go out.
We discovered that the proposals are mutually exclusive; we can only implement one of them, not both.
I learned the hard way that going to sleep late and waking up early are mutually exclusive habits because I couldn’t do both for a prolonged period of time.