Vocabulary Video Contest Winners: Nouns

He discovered while training that he was afflicted with acrophobia — fear of heights. New York Times (Aug 26, 2015)

It was hard to square, but perhaps that was the lesson: that a mysterious alchemy was at work in this election, one in which outrageous rule-breaking might offer a route to success. New York Times (Nov 15, 2016)

To aim for modesty and humility and cooperation rather than blowhard arrogance. New York Times (Oct 10, 2019)

Brain autopsies of the six victims are being analyzed at a federal laboratory in Ottawa, while a team of neurologists and pathologists from across Canada is reviewing the evidence. New York Times (Jun 4, 2021)

Ms. Trottenberg is aware of the criticism aimed at the mayor from transportation advocates as well as from the bevy of would-be successors running next year to replace him. New York Times (Nov 23, 2020)

It remains unclear whether the tacit threat was serious or an elaborate bluff. New York Times (Jun 13, 2021)

Because the wine was intended to be simple and inexpensive, glasses and carafes are filled with Gotham Project selections, on tap. New York Times (May 9, 2014)

It all reveals what Andy Woodruff, a cartographer, calls “the sometimes aesthetically pleasing patterns of the built environment.” New York Times (Oct 12, 2018)

But she agrees that full approval, whenever it happens, is “probably going to be the catalyst for many new mandates.” New York Times (Jul 21, 2021)

“If Big Tech censors enforce rules inconsistently, to discriminate in favor of the dominant Silicon Valley ideology, they will now be held accountable,” he said. New York Times (Jul 12, 2021)

I can't wait to see his comeuppance, no matter how many seasons that takes. New York Times (Oct 23, 2016)

“Climate change is actually accelerating the degradation of buildings,” Dr. Keenan said. New York Times (Jul 17, 2021)

To accommodate an increasingly diverse force and to combat what the Army called menu fatigue, the directorate doubled the number of M.R.E. varieties, adding entrees like Thai chicken and vegetarian tortellini. New York Times (Sep 20, 2018)

The vernal equinox this year occurs right around 2:30 a.m. Seattle Times (Mar 16, 2021)

Even if the dystopia never quite arrives, the longer a period of stagnation continues, the narrower the space for fecundity and piety, memory and invention, creativity and daring. New York Times (Feb 7, 2020)

Its members work with the stealth and finesse of a demolition team — resembling one, in fact, with their tools of blunt force. New York Times (Dec 2, 2019)

“My fear is that we are, as a country, starting to treat that like a one-time fluke rather than as a potential turning point.” New York Times (Jun 7, 2021)

Ethiopia’s foreign ministry dismissed Mr. Haavisto’s comments as “ludicrous” and a “hallucination of sorts.” New York Times (Jun 21, 2021)

But any sense of normalcy was an illusion. New York Times (Aug 1, 2021)

Dr. Neill, herself a baker and cook, added apologetically, “It sounds like I’m being a killjoy.” New York Times (Nov 22, 2017)

It was as if, Sergeant Duling said, the staff suspected the soldiers were malingerers. New York Times (Oct 14, 2014)

The cause of the crashes — whether mechanical mishap, pilot error or something else — was unknown, she said, but possibly indicated a lack of technical skill and competence. New York Times (Sep 11, 2020)

To frame this as an immigration and international political issue is an outrageous display of naivete and ignorance. New York Times (Apr 21, 2017)

Prospective running mates appear more and more to be shedding their fake reluctance — or not bothering to shroud their ambition in faux nonchalance. New York Times (May 19, 2020)

Sounds are remarkably difficult to describe without onomatopoeia. New York Times (Mar 15, 2012)

On the final day of our peregrinations, we headed to the French border village of Coustouges. New York Times (Jun 4, 2012)

The organizers scrapped their first logo after plagiarism accusations. New York Times (Mar 24, 2021)

On Friday, though, business seemed good, as fledging pyromaniacs stocked up. New York Times (Jul 2, 2010)

In 1952, after toppling the Egyptian king, Gamal Abdel Nasser worked to destabilize all monarchs, inspiring a regicide in Iraq and eventually the overthrow of King Idris of Libya. New York Times (May 27, 2011)

“I realized that dictionaries were each infinitely explorable,” she told Mr. Krieger, “so they opened me to new possibilities in a mix of serendipity, discovery and revelation.” New York Times (Apr 30, 2020)

Mine was a harmless bit of shadow puppetry, some low-key telekinesis that was over in an instant. New York Times (Jun 26, 2018)

A large cross and an altar reside upstage left. New York Times (Jul 28, 2012)