Words #1

complicity

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. Complicity refers to the act of helping someone else behave inappropriately or illegally. If you find yourself accused of complicity, it's often helpful to show that you were unaware of the other person's intentions. In the case of the trip to the fast food restaurant, that's going to be hard to prove. You'll probably be scorned for being an accomplice, or someone who is complicit, in your friend's shameful act. n guilt as an accomplice in a crime or offense

concerted

If you and your friends launch into singing "Old MacDonald" loudly together, in the middle of the public library, you will all have made a concerted, or cooperative, effort to annoy lots of people. Concerted is often used to describe a group effort to achieve a particular goal. As you may have guessed, concerted comes from the word concert. While a concert can be defined as "a group of musicians playing cooperatively," concert can also designate other types of cooperative behavior. If a group of people do anything together — from singing an annoying song to throwing library books at agreed-upon targets — they are acting in concert, or in a concerted manner.

gauge

If you ask your friend, "How do you feel, generally, about loaning your car to people?" your intention might be to gauge his reaction before you flat-out ask if you can borrow his car. To gauge is to measure or test. The verb gauge means to estimate or measure, while the noun gauge is a tool you can use to make such a measurement. If you've ever seen someone check the air pressure in a tire, the instrument she used was called a tire gauge. The thickness, or diameter, of an item like wire (or the barrel of a gun) is another meaning of gauge.

bereavement

If you have ever mourned someone's passing, you know about bereavement — the period of sorrow that follows the death of a loved one. Bereavement comes from an Old English word that means "rob," "deprive," and "seize." When a loved one is taken, usually through death, those who remain are often left in a state of bereavement. Bereavement is not only reserved for the death of a human family member or friend, but the loss of a pet can also induce bereavement.

fringe

If you make cutoffs from jeans, the little white strings around the edges of the legs make a fringe. A fringe is a decorative edge made of hanging strings of fabric. You know how fringe hangs on the edge of fabric and clothing? Think of this picture when you see fringe used metaphorically to mean something that is on the outer boundaries of something else. Many cities hold events called fringe festivals that celebrate art created on the fringe of the established art world. A group of people whose beliefs place them on the outskirts of a social group is called a fringe group. And beware of the lunatic fringe — they are the extremists and fanatics of a social or political movement.

bellicose

If you walk into a high school where you know no one, find the toughest looking girl in the halls and tell her she's ugly, them's fighting words. Or bellicose ones. Bellicose means eager for war. Bellicose is from Latin bellum "war." A near synonym is belligerent, from the same Latin noun. You may wonder if they're connected to the Latin bellus "pretty, handsome," which gives us the names Bella or Isabella, as well as belle "a beautiful woman." They're not. War and beauty are not related, except in the case of Helen of Troy.

sublime

In common use, sublime is an adjective meaning "awe-inspiringly grand, excellent, or impressive," like the best chocolate fudge sundae you've ever had. You might describe a spine-tingling piece of music as "a work of sublime beauty." With the, the word also functions as a noun meaning "something that strikes the mind with a sense of grandeur or power": "Never need an American look beyond his own country for the sublime and beautiful of natural scenery," wrote Washington Irving. The beauty of music or nature can be awe-inspiring, but sublime is also useful for describing everything from an impressive serve in tennis to a jaw-droppingly good taste sensation. adj of high moral or intellectual value; elevated in nature or style

glean

Seeing a word in context lets you glean information about how it's used. Glean means to gather bit by bit. You might say, "I couldn't understand her accent, but from what I could glean, she needs money to take the bus." In the Book of Ruth in The Bible, Ruth meets her future husband when she asked permission to glean from his fields, which means follow the grain cutters, gathering the seed kernels that have fallen on the ground. For the very poor at this time, gleaning was often means of getting food.

astute

Someone who is astute is clever and has good judgment. The kid running around with a bucket stuck on his head? Not so astute. Astute (from Latin) is a formal and flattering adjective for someone with a good head on their shoulders. It differs from its synonym shrewd in placing less emphasis on hardheadedness than on sensitivity: we talk about a shrewd bargainer but an astute interpretation. Other synonyms are perceptive (emphasizing insight) and discerning (emphasizing an ability to distinguish).

subservience

Something that serves a purpose for someone or something else demonstrates subservience. Something that's a means to an end has subservience, like a character whose introduction has subservience to the book's plot. You can also use the word subservience to describe submissive or servile behavior, like the subservience of an obedient dog who always fetches your slippers. The word originally meant simply "usefulness," and it came from the Latin root word subservientem, "assist, or lend support." n the condition of being something that is useful in reaching an end or carrying out a plan

secession

The noun secession refers to a big break-up — a formal split, an official "Good-bye to you!" — among political entities. If France has really, truly had it with the European Union, then a French secession movement may be in order. You could think of secession as a kind of divorce for governments, an official and often lasting split between an alliance, federation, or other political group. Secession is the noun version of the verb secede (meaning to withdraw from an organization), and when a secession takes place the group doing the seceding makes a formal departure from the original group. A famous example of political secession happened right before the American Civil War, when eleven southern states withdrew from the U.S. government over the issue of slavery.

prelude

The prefix "pre-" means "before," so it makes sense that a prelude is an introductory action, event or performance that comes before a bigger or more momentous one. People speaking old school French and Latin understood a prelude to be the "notes sung or played to test the voice or instrument." Today preludes are more like introductions than practice, but you can still think of them as a small warm up to the main event. Preludes are often used in classical music, as well as in novels, to set the tone for the rest of the orchestral piece or story.

motif

The race car decor in your room, the refrain of a song, the idea or object that keeps popping up in a story — these are all motifs, reoccurring elements that move throughout and shape music, art and novels. This French import is related to the Latin verb movere which means "to move." Think about a pattern or design that moves throughout something when you hear motif. Have you ever been to a restaurant with a tropical or wild-west motif? Do you like dresses with a floral motif? In novels, a motif can be a recurring idea like revenge or object that symbolizes an idea. A character might notice shadows throughout a story which symbolize his dark past.

remand

v refer (a matter or legal case) to another committee or authority or court for decision v lock up or confine, in or as in a jail n the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial)

abound

v When things abound, there are a lot of them. In spring, birds, flowers, rain, and frisbees abound. This word has to do with an abundance of something. In cities like Buffalo, NY, snow abounds. In very hot weather, insects and suntan lotion abound. Dogs are happy at the park when squirrels abound — meaning there are a lot of squirrels. On the moon, rocks abound, but that's about it.

adroit

adj Someone who is adroit is clever and skillful. An adroit leader will be able to persuade people to go with his ideas. An adroit sculptor can turn a lump of clay into an object of great beauty. If you've ever studied French you know that droit means "right," both as in "right of free speech" and as in "left and right," and à droit means both "turn right" and "properly." Once English people borrowed à droit, they changed the meaning slightly, from doing something "properly" to "doing something well." You may have heard the expression "surprisingly adroit," as in, "For a guy whose wife does all the cooking, he is surprisingly adroit in the kitchen."

unfettered

adj The adjective unfettered describes something or someone uninhibited and unrestrained. If you write mysteries novels for a living you probably turn your unfettered imagination to murder and mayhem. Unfettered comes from the Old English root word fetor, which was a chain or shackle for the feet. Un- means "not," so originally the word literally meant "not chained or shackled." Today there isn't much real shackling going on, so the adjective unfettered mainly describes something that is free or unrestrained. You'll see such uses as unfettered emotions, unfettered stock market growth, and unfettered speech.

pragmatic

adj To describe a person or a solution that takes a realistic approach, consider the adjective pragmatic. The four-year-old who wants a unicorn for her birthday isn't being very pragmatic. The opposite of idealistic is pragmatic, a word that describes a philosophy of "doing what works best." From Greek pragma "deed," the word has historically described philosophers and politicians who were concerned more with real-world application of ideas than with abstract notions. A pragmatic person is sensible, grounded, and practical — and doesn't expect a birthday celebration filled with magical creatures.

laudable

adj Use the word laudable to describe something that deserves praise or admiration, like your laudable efforts to start a recycling program at your school. When you break apart the word laudable, you can see the verb laud, meaning praise or acclaim, followed by the suffix -able, which is a tip-off that this word is an adjective. So laudable describes things that are worthy of praise, such as a laudable effort to end poverty, and it can also describe admirable ideas or beliefs, such as a laudable compassion for others.

viable

adj When something is viable, the adjective refers to something workable with the ability to grow and function properly. The adjective viable refers to something able to function properly and even grow. It is made up of the Latin roots vita which means "life," and the ending -able which means "to be possible." In terms of science or botany, when a plant is viable it can live and flourish in an environment such as a cactus in the desert. Consider also the Wright brothers, who were the first to develop a viable airplane after many tries and spectacular failures.

lucid

adj When you call something lucid, you mean it's "easy to understand" or "sensible": "The singer's lucid style was obscured by backup singers chanting 'Shama-lama-ding-dong.'" Lucid is ultimately from Latin lux meaning "light," and its current senses are all based on the original meaning "shining, luminous." On the one hand it refers to things that can be understood without difficulty ("a lucid definition"), on the other to sound states of mind (a madman might have "lucid intervals"). In a lucid dream, you're aware that you are dreaming and you may be able to control the dream.

opposable

adj capable of being placed opposite to something

heretofore

adv When someone says heretofore, they're describing things that have happened up to the present moment. This formal word means "thus far" and often appears in legal or other official documents. This is an old-fashioned word, but it refers to something timeless — events in the past that have gone on until now. To sell a new shoe, an advertiser could say, "Heretofore, there has never been a shoe like this." After a disaster, someone could say, "Heretofore, we never experienced such a catastrophe." This word draws a line in the sand between the past and the present. This word means about the same as as yet and until now.

emphatically

adv without question and beyond doubt When you say something emphatically, you say it with great emphasis and force, like when you emphatically denied that you took the last cookie. Emphatically, pronounced "em-FAT-ick-lee," shares the same origin as emphasize, which means "to stress or put particular importance on something." When you say or do something emphatically, you really mean it. For example, if you emphatically say "no" when someone asks you on a date, that person isn't likely to ask you — or even look in your direction — again.

conciliate

The verb conciliate means to placate, appease, or pacify. If you are eating at a restaurant and the waiter accidentally spills a drink on you, the manager may try to conciliate you by picking up the tab for your meal. You may be more familiar with the term conciliation--it can mean the flowers you bring to conciliate your girlfriend after a fight, or a politician's conciliatory offer a new playground to a community that's just lost its school. Conciliate comes from the Latin word conciliare, meaning to unite. Conciliare in turn comes from the Latin word concilium, meaning council. If you remember their common etymology, you can remember that, like council, conciliate is spelled with only has one L.

apprise

To apprise someone about something is to fill them in, to give them the scoop. If someone in your immediate family wins the mega-bucks lottery, you want to be the first one to be apprised of that event! Don't confused the verbs apprise and appraise. Appraise means to determine the value of something — either its quality or its monetary worth. Apprise, on the other hand, means to inform or make aware. This word has a rather formal, weighty tone. Presidents get apprised of foreign affairs, but you will most likely not get apprised of weather conditions or dinner plans.

undermine

To undermine literally means to dig a hole underneath something, making it likely to collapse. But we more often use the word to describe sabotage or the act of weakening someone else's efforts. Originally spelled with a 'y' instead of an 'i', undermine has Germanic roots and means to weaken, hinder, or impair. Accidentally undermine the foundation of a house by digging a tunnel to China beneath it and you might be forgiven. Undermine your teacher's authority by speaking out of turn and throwing spitballs and odds are you'll get in trouble.

truncated

Truncated is an adjective that means "cut short," like a truncated picnic, caused by the sudden downpour. The word comes from the root truncate, which is of Latin origin, and means "cut off." When an object is truncated, its end or point is cut off, like a truncated arrow that is safe for kids to play with. Truncated can also refer to something that ends earlier than planned — everyone was angry at the truncated concert until they learned that the singer had broken his leg when he fell on stage.

implicit

Use the adjective implicit when you mean that something is understood but not clearly stated. You might think you and your boyfriend might have an implicit understanding that you are going to get married, but it's probably better to talk it through. A very near synonym of implicit in this particular meaning is the word implied. But the adjective implicit also means "complete without any doubt," so we can say that we have implicit trust or confidence in someone. The Latin root implicāre means "to involve or entangle." Another English word with a more obvious connection to the Latin is the verb implicate.

hitherto

Use the adverb hitherto when you're describing a state or circumstance that existed up until now. If you find a hitherto undiscovered hidden tunnel in your cellar, you're the first to discover it. When some particular situation has existed so far, up until the moment that you're speaking of, you can use the word hitherto to talk about it. You could say that you're taking a hot air balloon ride that you were hitherto too scared to contemplate, or that a very shy girl in your philosophy class who was hitherto totally silent finally spoke up today and asked a very intelligent question.

foretaste

n an early limited awareness of something yet to occur

misnomer

n 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. From the Middle-French misnomer "to misname" evolved our English misnomer, a noun indicating a lack of fit when it comes to naming. Synonyms include, predictably, misnamed, but also mistermed and miscalled. You'll notice the repetition of the mis- at the front of all those words. It comes from the French mes-, which means "wrongly."

attrition

n Attrition is a gradual process of wearing down, weakening, or destroying something. When a company wants to reduce its payroll without firing anyone, it will sometimes do so through attrition; that is, by waiting for people to retire or quit without hiring anyone new to replace them. In a more general sense, the word means break down, wear out, or reduce in numbers. A triple overtime basketball game, with many players fouling out, is a war of attrition. When you see the word attrition, think "Gradually chipping away."

constituency

n If you're an elected official, your constituency is the group of people whose interests you were elected to represent. A constituency can be described in general as the population living in a district, state, or region, but it can also be any smaller section of that population, such as individuals or small groups advocating for specific issues. Your "main constituency" usually refers to the people whose needs you feel most strongly about, or the people who are most loyal to you.

appendage

Use the noun appendage to describe something that's attached to something larger. Your arm is an appendage to your body. Appendage often describes body parts, either on humans or animals. If it's something that sticks out — like a finger, tail, or leg — chances are it can be called an appendage. The word can also be used figuratively to refer to something that's associated with something larger or more important, like a husband who's a mere appendage to his famous wife. In this sense, the word takes on a negative connotation: the appendage is not important.

vigilant

Use vigilant to describe someone who keeps awake and alert in order to avoid danger or problems. When taking the subway, be vigilant about your wallet--always know where it is, or someone might steal it from you. Vigilant descends from Latin vigilans, from vigilare "to be awake, watch," from vigil "awake, alert." If you stay awake all night, you're keeping watch or keeping a vigil. A vigilante (pronounced vij-uh-LAN-tee) is a person who acts outside the legal system to punish crime.

minuscule

When something is teeny tiny, it is minuscule. If your mother calls your miniskirt minuscule, it probably means she wants you to change into something a bit less revealing. In minuscule, you see the word, minus, which means lesser. The word minuscule has its roots in the Latin expression minuscula littera, a phrase used to describe the smaller letters in text. In the late 1800s, the use of the word expanded to mean very small in general — so the definition of minuscule became less minuscule.

solemnize

When you solemnize something, you make it serious or dignified. You might solemnize a meal by lighting candles and saying grace before you eat. How much fun is it to get to pronounce a letter that is normally silent? You'll know when you wrap your tongue around this one, in which the n, normally silent in solemn, gets to introduce the suffix -ize. Even more fun is the fact that solemnize has a Greek suffix tacked onto a Latin root, sollemnis, or "formal, ceremonial, traditional." But we shouldn't be having so much fun with a verb whose meaning is "perform with dignity or gravity."

disposition

n Someone's disposition is their mood or general attitude about life. If your friend woke up on the wrong side of the bed, tell her that she might need a disposition makeover. Disposition comes to us through Old French from Latin and refers to the positive or negative way a person views the world. In contrast, a person's character is determined by his or her inner moral values, and one's personality reflects what one is like as an individual. An animal with an excellent disposition is cooperative and friendly towards people. If you are cheerful, you are often said to have a sunny disposition.

droning

n an unchanging intonation

lobotomy

A lobotomy is a surgical procedure that interrupts the nerves in the brain. Before the use of prescription drugs became wide-spread, a common treatment for severe mental illness was lobotomy. The lobotomy was invented in 1935 and used fairly regularly for about twenty years to treat psychosis and other mental illnesses. It was always controversial, and once effective anti-psychosis medications were developed, it fell out of use. Lobotomy results in a calmed, but also often mentally dull patient. The word itself comes from the word lobe, as in a part of brain, combined with tomy, a medical suffix that means "a cutting. n surgical interruption of nerve tracts to and from the frontal lobe of the brain; often results in marked cognitive and personality changes

pedestrian

A pedestrian is someone traveling by foot. If you're walking, you might get angry at the drivers who don't stop so you can cross the street. But if you're driving, you might fight the urge to run those annoying pedestrians over! Pedestrian comes from the Latin pedester meaning "going on foot" but also "plain." As a noun, it's someone walking around — sidewalks are for pedestrians. As an adjective it means "lacking wit or imagination." If someone calls your new poem pedestrian, they mean it's dull. If you want to impress your friends while also making them feel worthless, mutter "these people are SO pedestrian," at a party, loud enough for everyone to hear. n a person who travels by foot adj lacking wit or imagination

impervious

An impervious surface is one that can't be penetrated. The word is often followed by "to," as in "His steely personality made him impervious to jokes about his awful haircut." Most of the sentences you'll run across using impervious will be followed by the word "to" and a noun. Things are often described as being impervious to physical assaults like heat, water, bullets, weather, and attack, but just as frequently to less tangible things, like reason, criticism, pain, and pressure. The word comes from Latin: in- + pervius, meaning "not letting things through." A common synonym is impermeable. adj not admitting of passage or capable of being affected

ascertain

Ascertain is a verb that means to find out something. You might have to go to the bank to ascertain if there is any money in your account. This is a formal word that often applies to discovering the facts or truth about something through examination or experimentation. Information that is ascertained is certain beyond a doubt. If you want a less formal synonym, use discover.

chastise

Chastise is a fancy word for telling someone something they did that was really bad. If you pick your nose, your mom's gonna yell at you. If you do it in front of the Queen of England, you mom will chastise you. Back in the Middle Ages, chastise used to also come with a beating--that sense of the word has passed, and in fact, people tend to use chastise when they are trying to accuse someone else of overreacting. "You're chastising me for forgetting to feed the cat, but it's not like the cat died!" v censure severely

contentious

adj A contentious issue is one that people are likely to argue about, and a contentious person is someone who likes to argue or fight. Some issues — like abortion, the death penalty, and gun control — are very controversial. They're also contentious, because people tend to argue about them, and the arguments will probably go on forever. Contentious issues get people angry and in a fighting mood. On the other hand, some people always seem to be in a fighting mood, no matter what the issue is. People like that are contentious too.

pithy

adj A pithy phrase or statement is brief but full of substance and meaning. Proverbs and sayings are pithy; newspaper columnists give pithy advice. The root of this word is pith, which refers to the spongy tissue in plant stems, or the white part under the skin of citrus fruits. Pith is also used figuratively to refer to the essential part of something: They finally got to the pith of the discussion. Pith descends from Middle English, from Old English pitha "the pith of plants." In the adjective pithy, the suffix -y means "characterized by."

explicit

adj Anything explicit is very clear, whether it's instructions or a dirty movie. Thanks to parental-advisory warnings about "explicit language" or "explicit violence," you might think this word only applies to things that are dirty, naughty, or adult in some way. That is a common meaning of explicit, but it's not the only meaning. This also means anything that is clear and easy to understand. Explicit orders are easy to carry out; explicit instructions are easy to follow. When someone is explicit, they're not beating around the bush or being confusing.

frivolous

adj Frivolous things are silly or unnecessary. If something is frivolous, then you don't need it. Frivolous things are goofy, useless, or just plain dumb. The word is often used to describe lawsuits. A frivolous lawsuit has no value and will be a waste of the court's time, like someone suing McDonald's for making the coffee too hot (which actually happened). If someone is frivolous, that person shouldn't be taken seriously because he's always fooling around and never gets anything done. Frivolous is pretty much the opposite of essential.

compulsory

adj In Israel, a year of military service for all citizens is compulsory--your only alternative to service is to go to jail. If something is compulsory, it is required or must be done. This adjective is from Medieval Latin compulsorius "using force," from Latin compulsus, from compellere "to force." The Latin suffix -orius corresponds to English -ory "containing or involving." Other English words descended from the same Latin verb are compel and compulsive.