VOCABULARY 2

apogee

"Child stars sometimes reach their apogee by 20, and there's nowhere to go but down from there."

misnomer

A misnomer is a wrong or unsuitable name. It's a misnomer to call your grandmother "Grandfather," the same way it's a misnomer to call a chair with four legs that doesn't move unless you drag it across the floor, a rocking chair.

STOLID

A stolid person can't be moved to smile or show much sign of life, in much the same way as something solid, like a giant boulder, is immovable. Both are expressionless.

coarse

Coarse can mean rough to the touch or vulgar. It's good to have coarse sand paper, but not good to have coarse manners.

complicit

Complicity is involvement in a wrongful act — like when you drove your newly-turned-vegetarian friend to a fast food joint so that she could scarf down a hamburger.

wary

Describe yourself as wary if you don't quite trust someone or something and want to proceed with caution. Be wary of risky things like wild mushrooms and Internet deals!

heckler

Have you ever screamed horrible things during a sports event, or taunted someone with cruel jokes? You might be a heckler, and you're probably not very well-liked.

insatiable

If someone can't be satisfied, she is insatiable. After being lost in the woods eating only berries for a few days, you'll find your hunger is insatiable once you finally get to the table.

revile

If something is reviled, you alone don't dislike it; a whole community of like-minded souls has to hate its guts. For instance, spam is widely reviled. (The junk e-mails, not the potted meat. Somebody out there really does like that potted meat.)

trifling

If something is trifling it's really unimportant, of no consequence — "a trifling detail."

ominous

If something looks or sounds ominous, be careful: a threat or an unpleasant event is at hand. If you see an ominous frown on your boss's face, you're in trouble!

probe

If you probe something, you investigate it thoroughly. If you go into business with someone, you might probe her finances to make sure that she has a good track record. * it can also be used as a noun to describe an information-gathering device. In 1979 the United States launched the world's first space probe into outer space. It was a spacecraft rigged with cameras, which were used to photograph Jupiter and Saturn*

philistine

In the late 17th century, during a conflict in Jena, Germany, between townspeople and students, someone referred to the townspeople as "Philistines." Since then, philistine has described someone who stands against learning and the arts.

regimen

It's easy to confuse regimen with regime, which means a ruling government. Both words involve things that you follow. If you wash your face twice a day, apply medicine to your acne, and use a special lotion, that's your "skin-care regimen." A skin-care regime would be armed dermatologists taking over the government.

posterity

Posterity is a noun meaning "future generations." These people of the future could be your children and great-great grandchildren, or any people who are born after you.

redoubtable

Redoubtable means honorable, maybe even intimidatingly so. If your grandmother worked tirelessly to raise four kids on her own and start her own taxi cab business and to this day, keeps all of her cabbies in line, she is without a doubt redoubtable.

inquisitor

This word comes from 4th century Rome, where the Church hired religious detectives, called Inquisitors, to root out people who disobeyed the Church's rules. So inquisitors have always been aggressive Inquisitor is what you call someone who asks questions in an aggressive way, like a prosecutor in a courtroom, or a parent who wants to know everything you did last night.

cupidity

Though it sounds like it might have something to do with the little winged figure who shoots arrows and makes folks fall in love on Valentine's Day, cupidity is all about the love of money

impugn

To impugn means to call into question or attack as wrong. If your usually grumpy brother is suddenly nice and sweet, you'll impugn his motives if you're smart — he probably just wants something from you.

vicarious

Vicarious comes from the Latin work vicarius, which means substitute. If you have vicarious enjoyment, you have a second hand thrill. You might get vicarious thrills of adventure by reading your friend's letters from overseas. If you're mad at your wife but you take it out on your dog,

weary

Weary as an adjective means "very tired or worn out," like weary students who finished a long week of studying and taking tests.

susceptible

Well, with susceptible meaning "likely to be influenced or affected by" that is probably going to be the case. If you're susceptible to flattery, and someone wants something from you, all they have to do is give you a compliment or two and you'll do what they want. Material that's susceptible to cracking won't be in good condition for long

ebb

When something ebbs, it is declining, falling, or flowing away. The best time to look for sea creatures in tidal pools is when the tide is on the ebb — meaning it has receded from the shore.

boast

When you boast you are bragging about yourself and your accomplishments (or maybe those of your family), often to the boredom and annoyance of your audience.

inhibit

When you inhibit something, you block it or hold it back. If you put plants in a dark room, you inhibit their growth. A teacher who mocks their students for giving wrong answers inhibits their willingness to speak up in class.

nettlesome

easily irritated or annoyed

Aghast

ghast comes from Old English gasten, "frighten," which comes in turn from gāst, "ghost." If you've seen a look of absolute shock or terror on someone's face — like when your mom (or dad) sees a mouse — you can describe the look with the adjective aghast

unbidden

not invited, requested or asked for

overt

overt = "open," covert = "covered." Overt means open and done in plain sight. An overt attempt to get your teacher off-track might fail. Instead, try asking subtle questions about her kids, and she'll stay off topic all class.