504 Absolutely Essential Words - English defenition

dilemma

"A dilemma is a tough choice. When you're in a difficult situation and each option looks equally bad, you're in a dilemma.Dilemma is from a Greek for ""double proposition."" It was originally a technical term of logic, but we use it now for any time you have a problem with no satisfactory solution. If you're at the mall choosing between red or blue socks, that's not really a dilemma. But if you have to choose whether to save your cat or your dog from a burning building, that's an awful dilemma."

surplus

"A surplus is something extra or left over. If your tree produces more apples than you can eat, you can make applesauce with the surplus of apples.The army surplus store sells old or out-of-date clothing and equipment that the military doesn't need. If you earn more money than you spend, then you have a surplus of cash. The word surplus hasfamiliar parts: sur- is a shortened form of super, meaning ""extra"" or ""additional,"" and plus just means ""more."""

valid

"A valid argument is one that is well-grounded in fact, law or logic. ""Their argument for annulment was valid because they had never even met and their marriage was the result of a clerical error at town hall.""Something is valid when it can be supported or backed-up, or if it is functional: She figured her password was valid because she had just set it.In a legal context, valid means that something is binding or actionable: At the time of the accident his license was no longer valid, so they impounded his car.The logical grounding of an argument can be valid: Thats a valid point about Santa being too large to fit down a chimney."

epidemic

"An epidemic is a disease that spreads rapidly among many people in a community at the same time. In the 1980s, the fast-spreading AIDS epidemic transformed life on our planet. Choose Your Wordsendemic / epidemicEndemic and epidemic are both words that diseases love, but something endemic is found in a certain placeand is ongoing, and epidemic describes a disease thats widespread.Continue reading... Epidemic can be used figuratively to refer to something that spreads or grows rapidly: an epidemic of laziness has taken over the tenth grade. This word is from French pidmique, ultimately from Greek epidmia ""staying in one place, among the people."" The related word pandemic refers to a disease that spreads throughout an entire country or throughout the world."

adolescent

"This is a fancy word for teenager. After puberty has begun but before adulthood is known as the adolescent phase.This word refers to all things related to teens teenagers are adolescent, and the adolescent stage is after puberty and before adulthood. Since adults don't have a high opinion of teenagers, this word is also an insult. Movies full of fart jokes and immature shenanigans are called adolescent. If one adult says to another ""You're acting very adolescent"" that means ""You're acting childish."" Adolescent means something close to juvenile, another word that refers to young people and childish people."

lecture

"When your teacher stands up in front of you and teaches by talking about the latest chapter you've read or explaining how to do a new math problem - he is giving a lecture.A lecture is most often used to describe a method of teaching, particularly popular in college, where professors give organized talks as lessons to large groups of students. It is not quite as positive when children level the term at their parents ""Don't lecture me!"" for criticizing their clothes, their friends or their music. Lecture can also be used to describe any public talk, most often by an expert."

century

100 years is called a century. The computer, the television, and video games were all invented in the twentieth century. People are now wondering what the twenty-first century holds for us.The noun century comes from the Latin word centuria, which was a group of 100, particularly a group of 100 Roman soldiers (one of 16 such groups in a Roman legion). The word today still can refer to 100 of something. In sports, a century is a score of 100 in a game of cricket. A race of 100 yards or 100 miles is also sometimes called a century. In slang, century can also mean a 100 dollar bill.

alter

After eating too many gingerbread cookies, she no longer fit into her uniform, so she had a seamstress alter it. It looked pretty much the same.The verb alter can also mean to neuter or spay. Think of a cat that has just been spayed: the cat you pick up from the vet is the same cat that you dropped off there, only perhaps a little groggy and unable to reproduce. While the cat has been altered, it's not a different cat.

opponent

An opponent is your competition, whether it's a rival hockey team, or the other finalist in the chess tournament. Coaches tell you to never underestimate your opponent.Someone who competes or fights against you is your opponent. If you're arguing that chocolate ice cream is better than vanilla, the vanilla ice cream fan is your opponent. An opponent can also be someone who opposes, like an opponent of gun control laws. The Latin word opponent means setting against, and it was first used in English to describe the person who would begin a certain type of philosophical debate.

consent

Before you have surgery, you'd better give your consent, because the surgeon can't get his scalpel anywhere near your skin without first getting this permission from you.Consent is permission that can be given or taken away. A father might give his consent to allow a young man to marry his daughter, but he might refuse that consent if he learns that the prospective groom has a prison record. A homeowner who won't give a developer consent to tear down her house and build a shopping mall might finally consent after receiving a very large check from the developer.

neutral

Commonly used to describe a person who doesnt pick sides in disputes,neutral also pegs anything that refuses to be bold: the color beige, bland clothing, people with no preferences on where to eat for dinner.Being neutral sounds kind of boring. But neutrality is really important in some cases: Judges, for example, must remain totally neutral when hearing a case. Manners mavens say that it's best to remain neutral when topics like politics and religion come up during a party. And boxers can look to the neutral corners in the ring to escape a punch.

elevate

Elevate means to raise, either literally or figuratively. Think: elevator. At the end of the track meet, the team elevated their trophy for everyone to see. Their mood could only be described as elevated.If you get promoted, you might be elevated to the rank of vice president. Having elevated levels of cholesterol in your blood means that your levels are high. In the 1950s the Pop Art movement suggested that art can be found all around us, elevating the design of a can of soup to the level of high art.

excessive

Excessive means beyond what is typical or normal. When something is excessive, there's way too much.Excessive refers to something that is extra usually in a negative way. A 90-second drum solo in a two-minute song is excessive. Getting down on your knees and kissing someone's feet to thank them for a favor is excessive, unless they gave you their firstborn. Often this means something that exceeds the bounds of good taste, or is extravagant and inappropriately expensive. You should dress up for dinner, but wearing a ball gown to a diner is excessive.

feminine

Feminine is the opposite of masculine. If it has anything to do with girls and women, it's considered feminine.Anything feminine is associated with females. In American culture, that includes wearing pink, playing with dolls, sporting high heels, and getting weepy during sad movies. Many women find the traditional feminine roles to be sexist and limiting, while many men pick on each other for acting in a stereotypical feminine manner. But ideas about what is feminine are always changing: pants used to only be a masculine thing to wear, for example.

exempt

If your accountant tells you that youre exempt from taxes this year, give him a big hug. He is saying that you dont have to pay taxes.The adjective exempt traces back to the Latin word exemptus, meaning to remove or take out or to free. So if you are exempt, you are free of an obligation that others have to fulfill, such as paying taxes. But you can also be exempt from having to obey certain rules, like seniors being exempt from having to sell candy bars for a school fundraiser.

clergy

In the Christian church, the clergy is the entire class of religious officials, from priests to pastors to bishops and beyond. If you have a sense that your life path lies in helping others practice their faith, you should go into the clergyClergy comes from the word clerk, which in turn comes from cleric. If the only clerks you think of are those that work in shoe stores, think of it this way: when you join the ministry of a church, the idea is that you serve the church. Clergy is the word for all of the clerics combined, and is paired with the laity, which are all the people in the church who aren't in the clergy.

justice

Justice is the quality of being just or fair. Super heroes fight for justice because they want everything to be fair and not let bad guys win. Just ask Wonder Woman, Superman, or any other member of the Justice League.Justice is usually associated with the law. A judge is also known as a justice, and the point of the law is to keep everything in a society fair according to societys rules. Justice (capital J) is also the statue of a blindfolded woman holding scales and a sword. If something is brought to justice, the good guys have been rewarded and the bad guys punished the scales are even.

negative

Negative means focused on what is bad or lacking. A negative ad tells you bad things about the competition. A negative person loves to complain.In math, a negative number is less than zero. People who see the glass half empty have a negative outlook. Ask your mom for ice cream and receive an answer in the negative? Don't be too negative back to her, or it'll be a while before you have another chance at ice cream.

security

Security means safety, as well as the measures taken to be safe or protected. In order to provide adequate security for the parade, town officials often hire extra guards.A small child will sometimes latch on to a blanket or stuffed animal that gives him or her the feeling of security. Often this word is used in compounds such as a security measure, security check or security guard. The security department in a business is sometimes just called security. If there's a troublesome customer at your work, call security to take him away. In the financial world, a stock or bond is also called a security.

spontaneous

Something spontaneous happens when you're least expecting it. Spontaneous things are natural or instinctive, and they happen without warning.If you plan to go to a movie and then you go, that's not a spontaneous thing. Ditching the movie at the last minute to go to the park? That's spontaneous. Spontaneous things happen all of a sudden, on the spur of the moment, without being planned. Spontaneous can also refer to things that happen without outside influence. Your parents will be happy if you do your chores spontaneously instead of waiting till they nag you.

temperate

Temperate means mild, moderate. If you're a temperate person, you are calm, reasonable. If you live in a temperate climate, it's warm and sunny, but not too hot.Like other words that sound similar, temperate has to do with measurement and range. Temperatures measure how hot and cold things are and someone with a temper is hot-headed or intemperate, the opposite of this word. A temperate person's life motto is summed up by Goldilocks: not too hot and not too cold, just right.

delinquent

The adjective delinquent describes something that is past due or people who are negligent in doing their duty. If you are delinquent in paying your delinquent library fines, you won't be able to check out any more books.You may have heard the term juvenile delinquent, which refers to a young (juvenile) person who gets in trouble, often with the law, but people of any age can be delinquent. A delinquent landlord is one who doesn't make repairs. A delinquent tenant is one who does not pay his rent.

wretched

The fairy tale Cinderella gives us many examples of uses for the word wretched. Poor Cinderella had a wretched childhood, living in wretched conditions with a wretched stepmother. It would be enough to make anyone feel wretched, or absolutely terrible.Wretched is an all-around unhappy word. If you're very ill, heartbroken, or riddled with guilt, you may feel wretched. This word is also used to describe awful living conditions. If your cabin at sleep-away camp is freezing cold and rat-infested, you could describe it as wretched. And if you truly don't like someone, you might call that person wretched though maybe not to his or her face.

exhaust

The noun exhaust refers to what comes out of your car's tailpipe. It consists of the burned gases and particulate matter that are created by the engine. As a verb, the word exhaust means to use something up, such as a food supply or your energy.The exhaust system in your car is the part that takes the waste created by the car in the form of gas or smoke and expels it through the tailpipe. The noun exhaust appeared in the 19th century, after the invention of the engine. Before that, the word, as a verb, referred only to depleting something, such as a natural resource. Miners deplete a mineral deposit and exhaust the resource.

comprehend

To comprehend something is to understand it, like when you have to read a difficult passage more than once in order to comprehend it.When you comprehend something, you grasp its meaning.Comprehend is a verb that originates from the Latin word comprehendere, which means catch or seize.When an idea is clear to you and you understand it completely, you comprehend it, like doing extra problems to make sure you comprehend a difficult algebra rule, or finding it hard to comprehend why someone would paint his house neon yellow.

summit

What better place for the mountain-climbing summit than on the summit of the mountain. A summit can mean either a meeting between people who are interested in the same subject or the peak of the mountain.Although originally meant to describe a meeting between the heads of state, summit can be used to describe any gathering of people who care deeply about the same topic. If, for example, you are the captain of your chess club, you might attend the upcoming Chess Club Summit, at which new rules of the tournament will be discussed.Moreover, while summit also means the very top of a mountain, summit can be used metaphorically to mean a variety of heights, such as the summit of a career, an industry, or any kind of major effort.

unanimous

When a group or a decision is unanimous, it means that everyone is in total agreement. Just imagine if you let third graders vote on what to serve at lunch: Pizza and candy would be the unanimous choice!The adjective unanimous comes from the similar Latin word unanimus, which means of one mind. So when people think unanimously, they all have the same idea in their heads. A vote is unanimous when all voters are in agreement. Said Marcus Cicero, Great is the power, great is the authority of a senate that is unanimous in its opinions.

persist

When someone persists they keep going or hang on. If you want finish a marathon, you have to persist and keep running, no matter how many blisters you have.The great Roman poet Ovid once advised: Endure and persist, this pain will turn good by and by. As Ovids quote hints at, persistence is often associated with hardship and the reward that comes with not backing down. Synonyms include endure, follow through, and persevere, while antonyms include cease and give up.

enormous

When something is very, very, VERY big, it can be called enormous. Good heavens, that pimple on your cheek is absolutely enormous; it covers half your face!The word enormous contains within it, if you look closely, the root norm, as in normal. So what youre saying when you call something enormous is that its beyond what is normal; youre trying to convey a sense of exaggerated difference. You may also have heard the word ginormous, which people try to use as enormous with a dramatic flair. But, trust us: ginormous is not a good word; its just a blend of two words gigantic and enormous.

transparent

You can see right through something transparent. A window is transparent, but so are the intentions of a Peeping Tom looking through that window.Obviously the glass of a window is transparent, but transparency is also a way to describe something that is clearly understood and lacks any deception or secrecy.Reporters use it these days to describe the ideal way for government to develop policy, where voters can see the process and how decisions are achieved. Some in government, however, would argue that the leaking of top-secret information takes it a step too far.

miniature

Things that are miniature are teeny tiny versions of something else. Think miniature poodle. Unless you don't like small dogs. Then think miniature footballs. Aww, cute.When something is a miniature, it is like it has been shrunk down in size. It's not just small, it's a small replica of something else. If you made a dollhouse that was a scale representation of your own house, it would be a miniature of your home. It would also be a little weird.

manipulate

To manipulate something means to handle it skillfully, like the way a sculptor manipulates clay or a really good politician works a crowd.The verb manipulate evolved from manipulation, which back in the 1700s referred to a method of digging ore. So manipulating something originally only meant moving or arranging it by hand or mechanically. It wasn't until 1864 that people started using the word manipulate to describe someone exerting mental or emotional influence on others.

keg

"A keg is a metal container for liquids, especially beer. A keg typically holds less than thirty gallons.Bars and pubs have plenty of kegs, each containing different brands and types of beer, and occasionally they'll also have kegs of root beer or other soft drinks. When a large quantity of carbonated liquid is needed, a keg works well because it keeps its contents under pressure. The original kegs were made of wood, and in addition to beverages, they also held things like gunpowder and nails. Keg comes from the Old Norse kaggi, ""cask or keg."""

occupant

"An occupant is someone who lives or stays at a place for awhile. A lot of your junk mail is addressed ""To occupant"" because the sender doesn't know who lives at your address.Being an occupant means you're occupying a place. This has nothing to do with owning a house or renting an apartment; if you live there, you're an occupant. There are other occupants too, as in politics. The President is often called ""the current occupant of the White House,"" who replaced the former occupant. That kind of occupant has as much to do with politics as living space."

talent

"If you are especially good at something, you have a talent. You can have a talent for singing or a talent for getting others to talk about themselves. People who work in creative professions are often called ""the talent.""In Biblical times, a talent was a unit of money, and a New Testament parable tells of a master punishing a servant for hiding, rather than investing, a bag of talents in the master's absence. The interpretation of this parable to mean that you should not hide your ""God-given talents"" has led to the current meaning of the word as the special qualities a person possesses."

flee

"If you bolt, scram, skedaddle, or get the heck of out Dodge, you flee. You run away fast. Dont confuse flee with ""flea."" They sound alike, but the second kind is an insect whose bites make you itch.We get the word flee from Old English fleon. When you flee, you get away as quickly as you can. You might even take flight to escape usually from a dangerous place or situation. In a moment of panic after stealing a cookie from the cookie jar, you might decide to flee the scene of the crime."

glimpse

"If you had a brief or incomplete look at something, you had a glimpse. ""He didn't mean to peek, but he got a glimpse of his birthday present when his wife tried to sneak it into the house. Of course, it's pretty hard to hide a ladder.""You can use glimpse as a noun (like when you ""catch a glimpse of someone"") or as a verb (like when you ""glimpse in someone's direction""). Although the word glimpse is usually used to describe the physical act of sneaking a peek at something, you can also use the noun glimpse to indicate a vague idea or suggestion. Perhaps, you can have a glimpse into your future by observing your parents' actions or by consulting a Tarot card reader."

refer

"If you refer to something, you consult it. To check your spelling, you refer to a dictionary. If you want to know when your spring break starts, you can refer to your class schedule.Refer is made up of two very useful Latin roots: re- ""back"" and ferre ""carry,"" and when one thing refers to another, one meaning carries back to the other theres some kind of connection. ""The term Spaghetti Western refers to a kind of Western often filmed in Italy by Italian filmmakers, in Italian."" If you have a mysterious rash, your doctor might refer you send you to an allergist."

dejected

"If you're ejected from an important game, you're going to feel dejected. If you're rejected by the love of your life, you'll feel dejected again.Dejected goes beyond downit's having given up hope. ""After the theater was burned down by Mrs. Jud, the deranged school secretary, the drama students were too dejected even to sing ""Pore Jud is Daid"" from Oklahoma, the only song that might have made them feel better."""

parole

"If you're in prison, after serving a few years you might be let out on parole, a promise to be good and check in regularly.Parole comes from the French for ""word,"" and means ""word of honor."" You'll most frequently hear it in relation to prisoners, who promise to fulfill certain conditions in return for an early release from jail. When the officials are trying to decide whether a prisoner is ready for parole, they have a parole hearing. Parole can also mean ""password."" If you're part of an underground revolutionary group, you'll need a parole to help keep your meetings secret. Just say the word at the door, and they'll let you in."

nimble

"If you're nimble, you can move quickly and with ease. That spryness can be both physical and mental, so even if your granny isn't very nimble on her feet, she can probably still whip you in chess.A toddler might recognize the word nimble from the nursery rhyme: ""Jack be nimble / Jack be quick / Jack jump over / The candlestick,"" but may not be nimble enough to deduce the meaning. Nimble, from the 14th century Old English nmel, meaning ""quick to grasp,"" can refer to one's mental quickness or physical agility."

evidence

"Evidence is anything that can be used to prove something like the evidence presented in a trial, or the trail of bread crumbs that is evidence of the path Hansel took through the woods.The word evidence is derived from the Latin vidnt-, meaning ""obvious."" The word evidence shows up frequently in legal documents and dramas, because evidence is necessary proof in linking someone to a crime or crime scene. Evidence is used in many ways to show that something is true, as in ""your enormous belly and blue 'Baby on board' T-shirt are evidence that you're due to give birth any day."""

upholstery

"Upholstery refers to the covering on furniture. Without upholstery, your couch wouldn't be very comfortable.This is a word specific to furniture, especially the chairs and couches found in most living rooms. Upholstery consists of the material including springs, padding, and fabric that cover the bare bones of the furniture you sit on. If you have ever spilled a drink on a couch, someone might have yelled, ""Watch out! You'll stain the upholstery!"" People who put the upholstery on furniture are called upholsterers."

vulnerable

"Use the adjective vulnerable to describe something or someone open to being physically or emotionally wounded, like a newborn chick or an overly sensitive teenager.Vulnerable is from Latin and is based on vulnus ""wound."" From its literal meaning, it has come to be more often used for someone who is easily hurt or likely to succumb to temptation. It's best used for a person whose feelings are so delicate that they can't withstand any criticism or pressure: ""Don't speak harshly to her, she's very vulnerable today."""

numerous

"Numerous means very large in quantity. You wouldnt use numerous to describe how many feet you have (just two), but you could use it to describe the infinite number of shoes in your closet.The adjective numerous is related to the word number which is no big surprise since it basically means ""a large number of something."" Use numerous to describe a copious or abundant amount that you can't give a specific number for. Numerous fans probably come out for the all-star game, for example. And numerous players wish they made the all-star team."

obesity

"Obesity is the condition of being more overweight than is considered average or healthy.The noun obesity was first used around 1610 and has origins in the Latin word obesitas, meaning ""fatness"" or ""corpulence."" During the Middle Ages, obesity was a sign of wealth and prosperity indicating that you had enough money to buy and eat all the food you wanted while others starved. Nowadays, research has shown that having too much fat can cause a number of related health problems. A healthy diet and fitness regime is a great way for someone to shed excess pounds and avoid obesity."

abundant

"On Halloween, you can find candy in abundant supply. Use abundant to describe something that exists in large amounts that are more than what's needed.Near synonyms are plentiful, emphasizing ""large amounts,"" and ample, emphasizing ""more than enough."" The adjective abundant is commonly followed by the prepositions with or in, to mean ""filled with or rich in something"": a region abundant in natural resources. Abundant comes from Middle English aboundant, from Old French abondant, from Latin abundns, form of abundre ""to overflow."""

contagious

"You should probably postpone dinner if your date's cold is contagious that means it's easily spread and likely to get you sick.Contagious actually evolved from contagio, the Latin phrase for contact."" Those smart ancient Romans they figured out that the sick and contagious can pass on their plague to those they touch or get close to. So the word contagious usually sends people running. But lets not forget that a smile or good deed can be just as infectious as a cough!"

patriotic

"Respect for the country's flag, a desire to see your nation succeed, and a deep, abiding love of your country are all patriotic expressions, but being patriotic doesnt mean you think your countrys perfect just that you love it.The Greek word patr, which means father, was the basis for the word patris, or native land, and so patriotic came to mean ""a love of country."" In the 18th century, the word was formed from the word patriot by adding the suffix -ic, which turns a noun into an adjective. An example of a patriotic comment would be this one, by President Bill Clinton: ""There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America."""

undoubtedly

Undoubtedly means certainly. If you are undoubtedly beautiful, then everyone agrees you are attractive. No one could think otherwise.There are a lot of things in life that people doubt. However, when you're sure of something or feel strongly about it, this is a handy word. A beautiful spring day is undoubtedly wonderful. Dogs undoubtedly love to chase squirrels. Adults undoubtedly love to drink coffee in the morning, and kids undoubtedly love to get a day off from school. You are undoubtedly aware that this is a long explanation for something as simple as this word.

variety

Variety is a quality similar to diversity or difference. Some feel having variety in life is much more exciting than doing the same routine day in and day out.Youve likely heard the expression variety is the spice of life to describe how our days are more interesting when different things happen. Variety can also describe different things that are classified under one category or type, like varieties of apple granny smith, pink lady, or red delicious. A variety show is entertainment that includes a number of different and unrelated acts, like fire eaters, string bands, comedians, lounge singers, and spoon players.

vessel

What do a canoe, a soda can, and your arteries have in common? Each one is a type of vessel. A vessel can be a ship, a container for holding liquids, or a tube that transports blood throughout your body.Vessel has a number of different meanings, yet all of them relate in some way to liquids and transportation. This relationship in meaning has existed in language for a long time; the word vessel comes from the Latin word, vascellum, which also means both vase and ship. The use of the word vessel in reference to blood vessels came about in English during the 14th century.

unify

When you bring together unlike elements, you unify them. Political movements can unify people by inspiring them towards a shared goal, just as a shared love of a team or music group can unify people who otherwise don't have much in common.The verb unify comes from the Latin prefix uni-, one, and the root facere, to make. When you unify things, you make them one. Often squabbling people just need someone to point out their similarities in order to unify them. If your classmates are sabotaging each other to try to win the best-decorated locker award you might be able to unify their efforts suggesting a most awesome class award instead.

extract

When you extract something, you remove it from a larger whole. You can extract a passage from a book, or a liquid essence from a vanilla beanvanilla extract.Ex- means out of, and when you extract, you draw something out of something else. When listening to a complicated and long-winded story, it can be difficult to extract the truly meaningful details.

comprehensive

When you want to describe something that includes all or most details, you can use the adjective comprehensive. If you get the comprehensive treatment at a spa, it might include massage, manicure and a facial.Comprehensive is from Latin comprehensivus, from comprehensus, the source of English comprehend. In business, comprehensive insurance is insurance that covers a broad range, offering protection against most risks of a certain type. It applies mainly to car insurance.

wrath

Wrath is great anger that expresses itself in a desire to punish someone: Noah saw the flood as a sign of the wrath of God.Wrath is also used figuratively of things that behave in a violent way: Earthquakes are the wrath of the sea. This noun and the corresponding adjective wrathful are in literary use but are formal or old-fashioned words, that crop up in fantasy fiction or movies set in prehistoric times.

capacity

"Capacity describes your ability to do something or the amount something can hold. If your bird cage is at full capacity, you can't stuff one more feathered friend in there without causing a birdie claustrophobia.From the Latin word capacitatem meaning breadth, capacity, capacity is a noun that in the simplest sense means ""ability"" or ""capability"": the capability of a room to hold a certain number of people, the ability of a law to change crime rates, your ability to pick up foreign languages. You might hear about factories working at ""full capacity"" that means at full speed, producing as much as they possibly can."

commence

"Commence is a fancy way of saying ""begin."" Your invitation to a formal wedding might note, ""The ceremony will commence at noon.""If a congressman wants to start a meeting to vote on an important bill, he might say, ""This meeting will begin immediately."" Or, he could make the same statement in a more formal way by saying, ""This meeting will commence immediately. Interestingly enough, while the word commence means to start, a commencement ceremony marks the end of a college career."

compel

"Compel means to force or drive someone to do something. Even if you don't like toast, when you visit the toast-eating natives of Shrintakook Island, you'll be compelled to eat it, or they will not trust you.You don't want to be compelled to go to a classical music concert if you'd rather listen to rap. School officials might be upset if a winter storm compels them to cancel classes, but you'd be okay with that. A compelling mystery forces you to pay attention because you want to find out ""whodunit."""

consider

"Consider is a verb that simply means to think about, look at, or judge. Consider, for a moment, the perks of house sitting for your pool-owning neighbors before you immediately refuse their request.Coming to us from the Latin word considerare, meaning to look at closely"" or ""observe, consider is a very common word that describes something you likely do multiple times a day: You probably consider what to wear in the morning, weigh your options for lunch, take into account the weather when deciding to grab your umbrella. Your life is full of consideration and you didn't even know it!"

data

"Data is information, specifically, facts and numbers used to analyze something or make decisions. Computer data is information in a form that can be processed by a computer.Data is the plural of Latin datum ""something given."" In scientific use, the word data is often considered to be a plural noun meaning ""pieces of information"": The data are reliable. But most people think of data as a mass noun meaning ""information"" and use the word with a singular verb and pronoun: The data is reliable because it was tested by experts."

deprive

"Deprive means to keep from having. ""As a parent, Sharon feels it's best to deprive her children of sugar cereals, because when they eat sweet foods they get so loud and hyper that she can't hear her soap operas.""Deprive can also mean to take away something that someone already had, or feels they deserve to have, like basic human rights. ""A crowd gathered to protest the man's imprisonment for a crime he did not commit; they didn't want to allow the government to deprive him of his freedom."" The word comes from the Latin, de"", which means ""entirely,"" and privare, which means ""release from."" Put together, they mean to ""entirely release from."" In this case, the imprisoned man's freedom is being ""entirely released,"" or taken away, and he'll no longer have it."

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!You can trace wary through Old English back to Old High German giwar ""aware, attentive."" If you keep a wary eye on something, you are attentive for signs that it is becoming dangerous. Likewise, if you give someone a wary glance, your face conveys the suspicion and caution you feel. When you are wary of driving alone at night or making promises, you fear something bad might happen if you do these things."

despite

"Despite is used as a preposition when something happens even though it might have been prevented by something else. You might go see a movie despite hearing a review calling it worse than ""Showgirls"" and ""Ishtar"" combined.Despite is just one letter away from despise, and they actually share a root: the Latin verb despicere, meaning ""to look down on scornfully."" Despite came to mean ""contempt"" or ""scorn"" in English, though that use as a noun has mostly dropped out of use. The phrase ""in despite of"" gradually got shortened to the preposition despite and lost its scornful quality. If you accomplish something despite the obstacles in your way, there's no need to feel spiteful about it."

dismal

"Dismal is a dreary, depressing sort of bad. ""With the cold rain and their team behind by six field goals, the mood in the stands was so dismal even the cheerleaders had lost their 'Rah.'""Dismal comes from the Latin dies mali which means ""bad days."" There is a hopelessness implied in the word. If you fell on the way to school and cut your knee, it would be bad, but not dismal. If you fell into a giant mud puddle and had to wear dirty, crusty clothes until you got home, it might make the school day seem pretty dismal."

valor

"Do you hear trumpets? With the word valor, you should. It was custom-ordered for a knight in resplendent armor sitting atop his noble steed. ""Onward to deeds of valor!,"" you imagine him saying, anticipating his own unfailing courage.Valor is often displayed in the face of something designed to crush it, and it is often rewarded with the conferring of a medal. ""I, King Dreyfus, award you this silver cup in honor of your deeds of great courage. Your valor in the face of terrible danger must be recognized."""

doubt

"Doubt is distrust or suspicion. When your kid sister explains that a robber broke in and ate your entire chocolate stash, most likely you feel doubt.When you're in doubt, you really can't tell what's true and what's false, whether that's a news story or whether you want to marry someone or whether you'll survive Med school. The Latin root of doubt is dubitre, ""to hesitate, waver,"" and when you doubt something you're wavering: I think I believe you, but maybe I don't. But maybe I do. But maybe not? One thing not to doubt is the silent b. Pronounce: DOWT."

duplicate

"Duplicate describes something that's an exact copy. If you tend to accidentally lock yourself out of your car, it's a good idea to carry a duplicate key with you just in case.The word duplicate is useful when you're talking about a copy of something, like a duplicate of your birth certificate that you keep in a file, or a duplicate driver's license that you apply for after losing the original one. The verb duplicate is pronounced differently, with a long a sound, and it means to make a copy of or to multiply times two. The Latin root, duplicatus, means ""to double."""

essential

"Essential means very basic or necessary. A good frying pan is one of a short list of kitchen essentials every cook must have. To prevent fires, it's essential to turn off appliances before leaving the house.The adjective essential is often followed by to or that: It is essential to wash your hands. It is essential that you dry them after. This adjective is from Middle English essencial, from Late Latin essentialis, from Latin essentia ""the basic nature of a thing, its essence"" plus the Latin suffix -alis ""relating to."""

commend

"Ever shout ""Bravo!"" at the end of a ballet or coo ""Good boy!"" to the dog when he relieved himself outdoors instead of on the rug? Then you know how to commend someone in other words, to express approval aloud.The most common meaning of commend is to compliment. You commend someone when you tell them ""Well done!"" You can even say ""I commend you on your hard work."" Back in the days of Charles Dickens, to commend often meant to put (someone or something) in the hands of someone else for safekeeping. Case in point: David Copperfield was out of luck when his cruel stepdad commended him to the equally cruel schoolmaster Mr. Creakle at Salem house."

explore

"Explore is a verb that means ""to travel in or through."" You might explore an island, a European city, or the rooms of an unfamiliar house.The Latin root of explore is explorare, meaning ""investigate or search out."" When you explore a new place, you want to see interesting things and get to know its people. Whenever you delve into something, or investigate it, you explore it. You can even explore an interest, like when you explore African art, or explore an idea or tendency in order to understand it you can explore your fear of snakes to try to get over it."

bewildered

"If a conversation about quantum mechanics leaves you feeling bewildered, or lost and befuddled, don't feel bad: physics is a baffling and confusing subject.Be- + wildered = ""thoroughly gone astray, into the wild,"" which is pretty much what our minds do when we don't understand something, when we don't even come close to understanding it. If you're bewildered, you are confused on a whole new level. You may even find your confusion confusing. Great synonyms for this word include at sea, bemused, confounded, and mixed-up."

tumult

"If a principal steps into a classroom and is greeted by a tumult of voices, with the teacher shouting for his kids' attention, she will not be pleased. A tumult is a state of noisy confusion.Very often a crowd of people will cause a tumult. But your mind can also be in tumult, when you're confused and overwhelmed by strong emotions. If you want an adjective to describe these types of bewildering situations, use tumultuous. Tumult is from the Latin tumultus ""an uproar,"" which is related to the Latin verb tumre ""to be excited."""

prohibit

"If a sign says ""Swimming Prohibited,"" don't go for a dip. It's not allowed. To prohibit is to forbid, or to disallow something.In school, you are prohibited from leaving the premises before the end of the school day. The school administration also prohibits smoking and chewing gum. In 1920, it became illegal to sell alcohol in the United States. This time period when alcohol was prohibited is known as the era of Prohibition. Famously Prohibition did not work. When you prohibit something, you often make it seem more appealing."

dispute

"If kids can't settle their own argument, they may need someone to mediate their dispute, or conflict. You can often tell this is the case if you hear the loud cry, ""Mom!""The noun dispute means any conflict or disagreement. The countries were in the middle of a border dispute; both sides claimed the toxic waste dump belonged to the other. As a verb, dispute can mean to quarrel or argue, but it can also mean to take exception to something. If your boasting friend crows because you lost the trivia game to her by 150 points, you may want to dispute the facts. It was only 145 points."

crafty

"If people call you crafty, they probably mean you are sly and a little deceptive. Then again, they could be saying that you are really good at knitting, beading, or turning old t-shirts into funky pillowcases.The adjective crafty comes from the Old English word crftig, which meant strong or powerful, but the meaning of crafty these days has to do with being skilled at getting what you want through manipulation, deceit and trickery. Dickens Artful Dodger, the con-man from ""Oliver Twist,"" is crafty. Handmade items, and sometimes the people who make them, can also be called crafty, like your crafty sister who always makes you unique birthday gifts."

endure

"If something endures, it lasts: Beethoven's fame has endured for more than 200 years. But if you endure something, you suffer through it: We endured our teacher's slide shows of her vacation photographs.Notice above that something that endures can be good or bad. Something you endure is always bad. And people are forever talking about what they can't or won't endure, as in ""I refuse to endure any more abuse from my neighbors."" Endure derives from the Latin indrre ""to make hard,"" formed from the prefix in- ""against, into"" plus drus ""hard."""

radical

"If something is considered extremist or very different from anything that has come before it, call it radical.The noun, radical, comes from the Latin radix ""root,"" and in fact, radical and root are synonymous as technical terms in fields such as math and linguistics. In more everyday language, a radical is someone who has very extreme views, so you could say that their views are different from the root up. Similarly, a radical flaw or change is a fundamental one whereas a radical design or idea is very new and innovative."

scarce

"If something is scarce, there isn't much of it around. Crops are scarce after a long drought, or you might find babysitters scarce if your kids are a nightmare to watch.Scarce, meaning restricted in quantity, can oddly be traced back to the same Latin word that spawned the word ""excerpt."" Use the word scarce when you want to say that something is hard to find or practically missing. When you know youre about to be asked to do something unpleasant, like wash the dishes or take out the trash, go ahead and make yourself scarce, which means to be elusive or get out of there fast."

novel

"If something is so new and original that it's never been seen, used or even thought of before, call it novel. The noun novel describes a book-length work of fiction.New and novel come from the same Indo-European root but by different paths. Whereas new is a Germanic word coming from Old English, novel is based on Latin novellus ""new, young, fresh."" If something is novel, it is new but also original, fresh and unique. Companies are always looking for that novel idea that will earn them millions and skydiving is a novel experience, especially if you're not adventurous."

unique

"If something is unique, it's the only one around. You might think getting a nose ring would make you unique, until you see five other people on the street with the same piercing.If someone calls you unique you know that you are very special. The reason is that the Latin prefix uni- means ""one."" (Technically speaking, it isn't possible to be ""very unique"" you either are or you're not.) Think of the prefix in unicorn for a creature with one horn and unicycle for a cycle with one wheel."

urgent

"If something is urgent it requires immediate attention or action. If you break your leg, you'll need urgent attention at the hospital that means thedoctors will tend to you without delay.Urgent comes from the Latin word urgentem, meaning ""to press hard, urge.""You can see that urgent contains the word urge, meaning ""to demand or insist."" When you get an urgent message, you need to drop what you're doing to deal with it. An urgent need, like hunger, is a pressing one. If you're a music fan, you might know the song ""Urgent"" by the band Foreigner. The song's lyrics ""make it fast, make it urgent"" and its frenetic style help define the word."

reluctant

"If the adjective reluctant applies to you, it means that you are undergoing some inner struggle and are unwilling or unable to decide. Choose Your Wordsreluctant / reticentReluctant means resisting or unwilling, while reticent means quiet,restrained, or unwilling to communicate. Is it a distinction worth preserving?Continue reading... The word reluctant comes from the Latin reluctantem, which means ""to struggle against."" These days reluctant means unwilling. If youre reluctant to dance to a terrible song, youre unwilling to shake your booty, and you might even have to struggle against your friends who try to get you on the dance floor. You might offer them a reluctant smile instead (and hope it doesnt look like a grimace)."

abuse

"If you abuse someone, it means you are hurting that person, mentally, emotionally, or physically. If someone else is harming you, you are yourself suffering from abuse.The word abuse is made up of two parts ""use,"" which means to employ, and ab-, a Latin prefix meaning ""away"" and as a whole comes from the Latin absus, meaning ""misuse,"" or ""use wrongly."" It began as a verb and became a noun in the mid-15th century. Abuse also refers to anything that is employed improperly or to excess, such as the abuse of alcohol or drugs."

cautions

"If you act with caution, it means you are careful. Be sure to use caution when walking across a patch of ice. Otherwise, you might end up sprawling face-first on the ground. Ouch!The noun caution can be used to describe something that calls for careful action and the need to avoid risk, such as a volatile political situation that requires extreme caution. The word also has a verb form with a similar meaning. Its a more formal way of saying warn and usually appears with against or that, as in, ""Teachers caution against waiting until the last minute to study,"" or, ""They caution that effective studying takes a long time."""

rarely

"If you almost never do something, you can say you do it rarely. If you walk or bike to work most days, you could say that you rarely take the bus.Something that happens rarely happens only once in a while, or seldom. You might sigh that your town's baseball team rarely wins a game, or boast that you rarely forget a person's name once you've been introduced. The word comes from the adjective rare, ""not occurring often,"" or ""unusual,"" from the Old French rere, ""sparse,"" and its root, the Latin word rarus, ""thinly sown, with intervals between, or full of empty spaces."""

addict

"If you are a cookie addict, it means you are addicted to cookies. You just can't get enough of them.Of course there are far more serious forms of addiction out there. The word addict is usually used to refer to someone who is addicted to drugs. Even good things can get you addicted. Work addicts are called workaholics. There are no words for the dangers of being addicted to reading (well, there is ""biblioholism""), to the Internet, or to exercise, but those addictions are also real."

awkward

"If you are awkward, chances are you are uncomfortable. You could feel socially awkward, like when you forget the host's name. Or, you may feel physically awkward, like when you trip on your way to the podium.Have you ever felt clumsy and that you had two left feet? That is how it is to feel awkward literally that you are going in the wrong direction. Awkward is an example of a word literally meaning something and then figuratively meaning something related. Its Middle English roots are awke, meaning ""backhanded,"" and -ward, to ""go in the direction of."" So, if you are feeling uncomfortable, or clumsy, it's probably because your hands are connected to you the wrong way!"

pacify

"If you are bringing peace or calm to a state of unrest, you are pacifying the situation. Just think of the transformation a squalling baby undergoes when a pacifier is placed within his mouth, and you will remember the power of the verb to pacify.If you work to establish peace in a certain location between factions at war, then you are working to pacify a country or region. The U.N. has specially trained workers, called peace keepers, who go into to trouble spots to try to pacify rebellions factions and restore order. Or, one can pacify a disgruntled crowd: ""The store manager attempted to pacify the restless crowd of shoppers by promising the popular out-of-stock item would soon be back on the shelves."""

vision

"If you are getting your eyes checked, a doctor is checking on your vision or your ability to see. But if you have visions of unicorns romping over rainbows, that's a whole other issue that the eye doctor can't address.The noun vision describes how well you can see, but it can also refer to things you may see, but that aren't physically there. Sometimes people claim to have religious visions of God, angels, the Virgin Mary, and so on. The word can also be used to describe something that is lovely: ""The bride was a vision in white."""

reckless

"If you are reckless, you don't think or care about the consequences of your words or actions, like a reckless driver who speeds while texting, knitting, and eating a sandwich.The word reckless comes from the Old English word receleas, meaning ""careless, thoughtless, heedless."" If you have a reckless attitude, you aren't concerned about what happens to yourself or others who are affected by your actions. In this usage, reckless is the opposite of considerate. Reckless friends will invite people you don't know to your house because with your parents away, it's party time. Surprise!"

avoid

"If you avoid drinking coffee right before bed because it tends to keep you awake and makes you jittery, that means that you stay away from coffee at night.The verb avoid means to stop yourself from doing something or to keep something from happening. You might avoid the old lady next door who smells funny and always wants to pinch your cheek, or you could avoid a certain dangerous neighborhood in your city by taking a different route when you're walking home. It's easy to get avoid confused with a similar word, evade, which means ""to avoid in a particularly tricky or sneaky way."""

potential

"If you can describe something as possible but not yet actual, choose the adjective potential. Companies try to reach potential customers through advertising.Potential, from the Latin potentia ""power,"" sounds more complicated than it is. It describes something or someone that has the power to become something. A potential success is not yet a success but could be if circumstances are right. When a situation has the potential for disaster, it could turn bad easily. You have potential if you have a natural but undeveloped ability to do something and a building with potential will be really nice once it's fixed up."

partial

"If you describe something as partial, you're usually saying it's just part of the whole, or incomplete.Say someone asks how you started your band and you say, ""I bought a guitar."" That would be a partial answer, at best.Partial has another meaning, too.If you say you are partial to something, you are expressing a fondness for it. Or not.If someone asks you whether you still love your husband after 50 years of marriage, for example, and you say, ""I'm partial to him,"" you're either joking or politely saying ""Not really.""Being partial to something is to love as a warm stove is to a bonfire."

detest

"If you detest something, you dislike it intensely. The word can apply to things and also to people. You might detest your ex-boyfriend and you might also detest rainy Mondays and broccoli.Detest comes from the Middle French word dtester, meaning ""to curse, to call God to witness and abhor."" Though the words detest and hate are interchangeable, the word hate is much more common, which has caused it to lose some of its hateful impact. Detest is used more sparingly, reserved for cases where no other word will do, where your feelings of dislike are so powerful that they need just the right word to sum them up."

persuade

"If you get talked into something, you've been persuaded. If your friends try to persuade you to swan-dive into a dangerous ravine, it's time to find some new friends.To persuade is to get your way win the argument, convince the group to see your favorite movie, get your parents to let you borrow the car. You persuade with language, with a carefully constructed argument, and with the strength of your conviction. The word is sometimes used tongue-in-cheek to describe the very opposite of a carefully worded argument. A movie gangster might ""persuade"" people with the gun he keeps tucked in his pocket."

keen

"If you have a keen interest in something, you are really, really into it. Keen is an adjective that describes something that is intense and focused.The adjective keen comes from the Old English word cene that translates to ""bold and brave"" and while the spelling is now really different, the sounds are similar. Variations of keen as being ""bold"" and ""strong"" show up in other languages like Old Norse, German, Dutch, but apparently only English has the meaning of ""sharp"" relating to ""an edge or blade."" Keen has a lot of close and brutal synonyms, such as caustic, cutting, piercing, and penetrating!"

prejudice

"If you have a negative attitude towards someone based on race or ethnicity rather than personal experience, you might be accused of prejudice.Prejudice is remarkably similar to its Latin root in form and meaning; the Latin praejudicium means ""judgment in advance."" A racial prejudice is a negative attitude towards a group of people based on race not on direct knowledge or experience. If you prejudice someone, you cause them to have a negative attitude towards someone else. Lawyers are not allowed to bring certain types of evidence such as rumors into a trial because it might prejudice the jury."

rehabilitate

"If you have been in a bad accident or have an addiction problem, you may go away for a stretch of time to rehabilitate yourself or, in other words, bring yourself back to health.Though we hear a lot about rehabilitation or ""rehab"" in the press in connection with drugs or alcohol, the word rehabilitate has a lot of other meanings. You can rehabilitate a building's structure by reinforcing it with steel beams, or rehabilitate your bad reputation by staying after school to help clean up the grounds."

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.Although it is usually used as a verb ""the police probed the mans disappearance"" 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."

redeem

"If you redeem yourself, you make up for wrongs by doing something that makes you seem good again, like when after being irritable and snappy with your grandmother, you redeem yourself by bringing her flowers and apologizing.Redeem comes from the French rdimer, which means ""to deliver,"" and which in turn comes from the Latin for ""buy back."" In Christianity you can be redeemed by renouncing your sins. Classic heroes fail and then redeem themselves with valiant acts. But redeem doesn't have to be religious or moral. When you turn in a glass bottle for recycling, you redeem it, just as you redeem your coupon for 20% off your next hamburger."

resume

"If you resume something, you start it again after stopping. You might resume singing an aria after breaking to spit out your gum.Resume is from Latin resumere ""to take up again, take back,"" from the prefix re- ""again"" plus sumere ""to take up, take."" The Latin verb sumere is formed from the prefix sub- ""under, up"" plus emere ""to take."" When you pause a movie or game and then you press play again, what you're really doing is resuming play."

vain

"If you spend all day admiring yourself in reflective surfaces mirrors, pools of water, the backs of spoons people may think you are conceited or vain.If, to your horror, you have searched everywhere for a reflective surface but can't find one, you have made a fruitless or vain search for a mirror. Vain is from Latin vanus ""empty,"" and in English it originally meant ""lacking value or effect, futile""; we still say ""a vain attempt"" using that sense, and the phrase ""in vain"" means ""without success."" Normally, though, vain means ""conceited, too proud of oneself.""Carly Simon's line ""You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you"" is an excellent illustration of this use."

abroad

"If you study abroad in your junior year of college, you are going to school in another country. Use abroad when you are talking about going to or from a place across an ocean.Abroad really just means in a different country, but it is almost always used interchangeably with ""overseas."" You almost never hear an American say, ""She lives abroad; she's studying in Canada."" You might be eager to take a trip abroad. If so, get your passport ready. They won't let you board a plane going abroad without one."

monarch

"If you think the Queen of England is just the coolest thing ever, then you like monarchs: hereditary rulers of countries usually known as King or Queen.You might think your Principal rules with absolute power, but that's not really true: there's a school board and an administration and he can't really control everything. But a monarch can. Monarch comes from the Greek mono, ""one,"" and archon, ""ruler."" Many modern monarchies actually have parliaments and constitutions, leaving the monarch more symbolic than powerful. A monarch is also a particularly royal looking butterfly with orange wings and black and white spots."

gallant

"If you volunteered to deal with removing a huge, hairy spider from your bathroom ceiling, your whole family would be grateful for your gallant actions. The adjective gallant means ""heroic or brave.""In the past, gallant was used to describe a man's behavior toward a woman, especially if he saved her from something or helped her with something she was unable to do on her own. It can still be used that way, but more often it describes any kind of bravery, and it is just as correct to describe a woman's bravery as gallant as it is a man's."

juvenile

"If you're being juvenile, you're not acting your age.Unless of course you are a juvenile.In which case, carry on.While the noun juvenile refers to someone not physically or emotionally mature, the word is often used as an adjective to refer to anything specifically for young people, such as juvenile reading materials or movies.It can be derisive, as in ""Don't act so juvenile,"" suggesting a silliness unbecoming an adult.The word comes from the Latin juvenlis, meaning ""youthful"" similar, but much more flattering."

confident

"If you're confident you are sure about something, someone, or yourself. He was confident he could keep his balance and cross the river on the skinny log, but he wasn't so confident that the log was strong enough to hold him. Choose Your Wordsconfident / confidant(e)Confident is howyou feel on a good hair day, but a confidant is the person you tell when youre secretly wearing a wig. It'sno wonder that these words are so easily confused: they were once both confident. Continue reading... Confident is often a word of assurance. Someone may ask, ""Are you sure that's the right way to do it?"" and then, just to be assured, they might say, ""So, you're confident that's the right wire to cut so the bomb doesn't blow?"" Being really sure of something or being sure of yourself is being confident. ""He held his head high, but not in an arrogant or show-off way; he was just confident about who he was. He liked himself."""

jealous

"If you're jealous of someone, you want what they've got. This is one of the most basic human emotions, and it is not pretty. Don't be jealous of my good looks: you're cute too.Being jealous is among the least attractive things you can be. The word jealous is actually derived from a Middle English word related to zealous, which means emotionally intense. It conveys a sense of emotional pain at someone else's good fortune. Jealousy is a close cousin of envy, but it can also mean ""fiercely guarding"" as in ""I am jealous of the little money I've managed to make, so I'm not likely to blow it on a cheap toy."""

prominent

"If you're looking for an adjective that means ""sticking out above the rest; famous,"" consider prominent. A prominent person might be the big cheese, the head honcho, the top dog not just any Joe Schmo.A prominence is anything that juts out, like a bone or a mountain ridge. Prominent, then, means ""sticking out"" either in a literal sense (""a prominent nose"") or a figurative one (""a prominent figure in the industry""). The metaphorical sense of ""famous"" is the most common one today, though references to the ""prominent posterior"" of Jennifer Lopez might fit both definitions."

unaccustomed

"If you're unaccustomed to something, you're not used to it. When you're unaccustomed to riding a horse, it might take a while to get the hang of staying in the saddle.An unaccustomed knock on the door might startle you and make your dog bark in alarm, and an unaccustomed bonus in your paycheck will come as a happy surprise. You might feel awkward having tea with a princess in a palace if you're unaccustomed to fine dining and dignified table manners. The prefix un here means ""not,"" and it's combined with accustom, with its ultimate Latin root word consuetudinem, ""habit, usage, practice, or custom."""

heir

"If your grandfather leaves his candy factory to you in his will, it means you're the heir to the family candy business, and after your grandfather dies, you will inherit the factory.When you're named in a will or are legally entitled to inherit something, you're an heir. You can be the heir to someone's money, business, or title; in a monarchy, the king or queen's oldest son is usually the heir to the throne. The word heir isn't pronounced like ""hair,"" but instead has a silent h and sounds like ""air."""

vigor

"If your new puppy runs all over the house, jumps on the furniture, and enthusiastically chews up your socks,you may congratulate yourself on your new pup's vigor, or lively sense of energy.Aside from mental or physical vitality, the noun vigor can be applied to an imaginative style of thought or expression and also to a forceful intensity. ""The jury was not only willing to acquit the defendant, but also nominate him for sainthood, by the time his attorney had delivered, with vigor, an impassioned plea for his client's innocence."""

descend

"In its simplest sense, descend means to go or move downward, but there are a couple of subtle variations on this theme. Yes, a bird can descend from the sky, but also, humans are descended from prehistoric ancestors.If you've ever heard a pilot say ""prepare for our descent"", then you know that only one letter separates the noun descent from the verb descend. They both derive from the same Latin components de, meaning ""down,"" and scandere, ""to climb."" Similarly, if someone condescends to you, they are said, derogatorily, to be coming down to your level.All Americans are descended from peoples from other continents, such as Europe, Africa, and Asia. We've all ""come down"" from our ancestors."

compete

"In sports you compete against the opposing team. At work you compete for a promotion. With siblings, you compete for everything. Compete means to vie for a goal.The urge to compete is universal and human, from kids who say ""Race ya!,"" to great athletes who manage to achieve the impossible when faced with a worthy opponent. Some people are more inclined to compete than others. They are viewed as competitive and may be accused of turning everything into a competition."

indifference

"Indifference is the trait of lacking interest or enthusiasm in things. When you feel indifference for something, you neither like it nor dislike it.If you are a person who feels a lot of indifference, you probably say ""eh,"" a lot. You just don't care much. Indifference can be compared to apathy, which means ""lack of concern,"" though apathy is a little stronger: Apathy means you don't care whether your friends call you; indifference means you don't care what movie you end up seeing you don't have a strong preference for any of the choices."

respond

"Invited to a great party? You might respond by shouting ""Hooray!"" and then letting your friend know you'll be there. To respond is to react or reply.Fireman, police, and EMTs are known as first responders. This is because they are the first people to respond to an emergency. If you get into an accident, an EMT might check your reflexes to see how they respond."

collide

"It could be protons bouncing around in a particle accelerator, two cars failing to stop at an intersection, or the priorities of two people with very different goals. When things crash together, they collide.The verb collide has roots in the Latin word collidere, which comes from col- ortogether and laedere, to strike or damage,"" like planes that collide in midair. Collide can also describe ideas that clash, such as expectations that collide with reality or radical views that collide with tradition."

mediocre

"Mediocre is an adjective that means ""merely adequate"" or ""of only ordinary quality."" A ""C"" is a mediocre grade for students who are fair to middling.The roots of the adjective mediocre are from the Latin medial, ""middle,"" and ocris, ""mountain."" If you think about it, the middle of a mountain is neither up nor down and neither here nor there just somewhere in between. The definition of mediocre is ""of ordinary quality,"" ""merely adequate,"" and ""average."" Another word that shares the same root is mediocracy, which means ""government run by mediocre people"" an all-too-common condition."

ponder

"""Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary"" is the first line of Edgar Allen Poe's poem The Raven. Many a deep thinker has repeated it while musing. But if you've given up deep thinking, you may say instead, ""Nevermore.""Think of ponder as reflecting on weighty thoughts. It will help you remember the definition if you can remember the word's Latin roots. It comes from ponderare, which literally meant to weigh, and pondus, which means weight. People sometimes use the word ironically, for example, when someone asks you to do something you really don't want to do. You may tap your chin for a second and say, ""Let me ponder that."" Pause. ""Um, no!"""

biography

"A biography is an account of somebody's life written by somebody else, complete with details of the most important parts.These days, anyone, of any age, can be the subject of a biography: Justin Bieber, at the tender age of 17, had one written about his life. A biography is not to be confused with an autobiography, an account of someone's life written by the subject himself. You'll find biographies in printed form (remember books?), but also increasingly in the form of e-books, TV dramatizations, and cinematic ""bio-docs."""

candidate

"A candidate is someone running for political office or anyone being considered for a position or opportunity of some sort.When you hear about candidates, it's usually in discussions of politics. People are always wondering, ""Who will be the candidates in the next Presidential election?"" Every President, and every office-holder, was once a candidate. When you're a candidate, you raise money, hold rallies, make campaign promises, and do everything you can to win. You can also say someone is a candidate for a job, prize, and other things. Someone could jokingly say, ""He's a candidate to be my next husband."""

capsule

"A capsule is a very small container that closes tightly. Many medicines come in capsules that can be easily swallowed.Certain brands of laundry or dishwasher soap can be bought in capsule form, and you might hide a secret note or special mementos in a time capsule. A biologist probably thinks of a capsule as an anatomical structure that encloses an organ. This, in fact, is the word's earliest meaning in French, it's a ""membranous sac,"" from the Latin capsula, ""small box or chest."""

vanish

"A car driving into the distance, a member of a near-extinct species, or that last piece of pecan pie in the refrigerator any of these things is likely to vanish soon, meaning ""to disappear.""The word vanish entered English by way of French, but it can be traced back to the Latin wordevanescere, meaning to die away or to dissipate. The word covers all kinds of disappearing acts, from thedisappearance of an object or a person. You might, for example, vanish from school when the last bell rings on Friday. Things we can't see can also vanish, like the stress that vanishes when your big project is complete."

challenge

"A challenge is something that puts you to the test like running your first marathon or reading War and Peace.Challenge, as a verb, is derived from a Latin word meaning ""to accuse falsely,"" and it is still used much as it was in the 13th century, in the sense of questioning whether something is true or right. Students sometimes challenge a weeknight curfew, and lawyers might challenge the evidence submitted by the other side in a lawsuit. Challenge is also used as a noun for a competition in which people challenge one another to prove that theyre the best at something."

cinema

"A cinema is another word for a movie theater. If you love films, you probably spend a lot of time at the cinema.It's more common to say cinema in Britain than in the United States, but any English speaker will know what you're talking about if you ask, ""Want to go to the cinema?"" You can also use cinema to talk about the film industry and its history: ""This is my favorite film in all of American cinema."" The word was first used in 1899, from the French cinma, which was a shortened form of cinmatographe, ""motion picture projector and camera."""

colleague

"A colleague is someone you work with at your job. When you are a teacher, the other teachers are your colleagues. When you work as a cashier at 7-11, the guy at the deli counter is your colleague as well.Your colleagues are usually people at the same level or rank as you are. You would not usually consider your boss to be a colleague. This noun is from French collgue, from Latin collega ""a person chosen along with another,"" from the prefix com- ""with"" plus legare ""to appoint as a deputy."""

culprit

"A culprit is a person who does something wrong, like committing a crime. When your wallet got stolen out of your pocket, there was a culprit to blame in the crowd.The word culprit comes from the Anglo French words cul prit, a contraction of culpable, which means ""deserving blame."" A culprit isn't always a person; it can be anything that caused something bad to happen even a sock left on the steps can be a culprit if it makes you slip and fall. Don't confuse culprit with scapegoat, which is a person or thing that gets blamed for something it didn't do."

daze

"A daze is a type of confusion, when you have a lack of clarity. When you first wake up, you might be in abit of a daze, shuffling about the house before your brain really starts working.Daze can also mean the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens to you accidentally: ""After getting hit in the head by a football, you were in such a daze you couldn't remember where you were."" As a verb, daze means to stun. You will definitely daze your father when you tell him that you eloped."

detour

"A detour is a longer, less direct way to get where you're going. A traffic accident sometimes means you have to take a detour to get home.When signs direct drivers to take a detour, it's usually because of road work or an emergency that's blocking traffic. You can also detour, or take an unexpected route, while you're running errands, stopping at your favorite bakery for a cookie before you continue on. The French dtour comes from the verb destorner, ""turn aside."""

document

"A document is a piece of paper that contains official information. Don't you wish you had a document saying that the bank owed you $5 million?Document comes from the Latin verb meaning ""to teach,"" so a document instructs you with the information it contains. Legal documents such as contracts contain instructions on how the people signing it will act. Passports, drivers licenses and birth certificates are all official documents. As a verb, document means ""to record in detail,"" or ""offer supporting evidence for."" If you call a company to complain about something, make sure to document your phone calls by noting the date you called, who you spoke to and what was said."

famine

"A famine is a severe shortage of food, but not the ""I forgot to go to the grocery store and there's nothing to eat in the house"" type of shortage. A famine is usually caused by crop failure or disaster.Although the ""extreme shortage of food"" meaning is most common, the noun famine can also mean any shortage or insufficiency, and it is often used idiomatically in the phrase ""feast or famine."" This usage refers to something that is alternately plentiful and scarce like the feast and famine experienced by an artist who only occasionally sells his paintings."

fiction

"A fiction is a deliberately fabricated account of something. It can also be a literary work based on imagination rather than on fact, like a novel or short story.The Latin word fictus means to form, which seems like a good source for the English word fiction, since fiction is formed in the imagination. Like its literary cousins fable, legend, and myth, however, fiction has a slightly darker additional meaning: a deliberate lie or untruth. When we talk about ""the line between fact and fiction,"" we're talking about the difference between truth and lies."

shriek

"A high-pitched, piercing cry is a shriek. A common response to finding a snake curled in the silverware drawer would be to shriek.You can shriek in fear, surprise, or even shriek with laughter. If the sound you make is high, sharp, and loud, it's a shriek. A teenager who sees her favorite movie star might shriek, ""Look who it is!"" And, little kids in an inflatable bouncy house will very likely shriek with delight. The word shriek sounds very much like what it means, and its Old Norse root skrkja, ""to screech,"" may have originated for that very reason."

jest

"A jest is a joke. Are you a playful prankster? A jocular jokester? A witty wisecracker? Then you are definitely well versed in the art of the jest.To jest means to tease and joke in a playful way like that ""court jester""! Back in medieval times, the court jester was hired to tell funny gestes, or tales. But nowadays he's always cracking jokes and teasing the ladies about their wacky hairdos. All in jest of course. Otherwise the king would have his head."

journalist

"A journalist is a person whose job involves writing nonfiction stories for newspapers, magazines, or online news sites. If you are reading or hearing a news story, you have a journalist to thank for providing that story.One type of journalist is a reporter, who researches topics and interviews people before writing a story or producing a piece for TV. Editors, photographers, and columnists can also be described as journalists, particularly if they work for a newspaper. Another kind of journalist is a person who regularly writes in a journal or diary. Journalist comes from the Old French jornel, ""day"" or ""day's work,"" which became journal, ""daily publication."""

legend

"A legend is a larger-than-life story that gets passed down from one generation to the next like the legends of Beowulf, Robin Hood, or even Big Foot.Legend comes from the Latin legere, ""to read."" The Latin word was originally limited to written stories, but in English, legend lost that limitation. Often a legend lives on in the stories that people tell each other. A person can be a legend too. Anne Frank is a legend for keeping a diary of hidden life in war time, and a less famous person, like a long-serving local teacher, can be a legend to neighborhood kids."

microscope

"A microscope is a mechanical instrument that magnifies the image of small objects. You would use a microscope to look at something tiny, like an amoeba.First used in the 1650s, microscope is descended from the Modern Latin microscopium, meaning ""an instrument for viewing what is small."" In science, microscopes are essential for examining material that can't be seen with the naked eye, like bacteria and viruses. In the same vein, you might feel like you're ""under a microscope"" if you're being very closely observed and scrutinized, like a star in the limelight or a politician in front of the media."

morsel

"A morsel is a small amount of something, a tid-bit, a sliver, usually of something of high-quality and much desired like a morsel of dark chocolate or a morsel of secret information.Originally it referred specifically to food a nineteenth century lady might partake of a ""dainty morsel"" to eat, for example. More often than not morsel now refers to non-food items: a morsel of good taste; a morsel of common sense, and, of course, most popular of all, a morsel of gossip. That's why, like all good food, all good gossip is juicy."

multitude

"A multitude is a very large number or a huge crowd. If you see a multitude of zombies approaching, you're in trouble.Sometimes the word multitude refers to the common people, or the masses that is, everyone in a society apart from the political elite.There are a lot of words and phrases for this, like hoi polloi, which is Greek for ""the many,"" and ""the great unwashed.""Those last two terms are usually used in a disapproving way, but multitudes is generally a positive term. If you were to say that a leader inspired the multitudes to rise up against their oppressor, we'd assume that you sympathized with the multitudes."

vital

"A patient's vital signs are their important body functions, such as pulse rate, that shows they are still alive. Use the adjective vital to describe something that is important and necessary, or a person full of energy.Vital descends from Middle English, from Old French, from Latin vtlis, from vta ""life."" If you are vital to the organization you work for, it means they cannot live without youor at least that you're an important part of the team. If you're a vital force in your church volunteer group, you probably are a leader with lots of energy to give."

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 over those annoying pedestrians!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."

grateful

"A person who is grateful feels or shows gratitude. If your neighbor brings you soup when you're sick, you'll be very grateful (unless you hate soup).Grateful comes from gratus, Latin for pleasing.Originally it meant pleasing, or agreeable (Walter Scott wrote of ""the grateful and cooling shade""), but now means thankful. Usually you are grateful to someone for a particular thing she's done. If you're complaining about all your problems, someone might remind you of what you have to be grateful for."

placard

"A placard is a sign, especially one that advertises something. You might get a summer job standing on the sidewalk, holding a placard that announces a mattress sale though it may not be your dream job.A concert poster, a storefront notice, a protest sign carried in a rally each of these is a type of placard. A placard can be as impermanent as a square of cardboard with a scrawled message, and as official as a permanent plaque marking a historic building. The Old French word plaquier is at the root of placard, and it means ""to plaster or to lay flat."""

plea

"A plea is what you make when you're begging for something with a sense of urgency and emotion. While you wouldn't call asking for a hall pass a plea, you could make a plea for justice or world peace.Plea also has a legal meaning. When you get a traffic ticket or if you're accused of a crime, you have to enter a plea of ""guilty"" or ""not guilty."" A ""plea bargain"" is when you make a deal with the prosecutor you may plead guilty to a charge (by entering a guilty plea) that has less of a penalty and, in return, the prosecutor drops the more serious charge."

verse

"A poem especially one that rhymes is called verse. The children's author Dr. Seuss wrote in verse, and the regular rhymes of ""The Cat in the Hat"" helped generations of children learn to read.In music, a verse is a section of a song that's often followed by a chorus. Many people can sing the chorus to ""Take Me Out to the Ball Game,"" but few realize there are also verses, including one that starts, ""Katie Casey was baseball mad."" Verse comes from the Latin word versus, which means a line of writing and is based on the Proto-Indo-European root wer, meaning to turn or bend."

quarter

"A quarter is one-fourth of something. If you cut a pizza into four pieces and share it with three friends, each of you will eat a quarter of the pizza.A quarter is the same thing as twenty-five percent of something. Many sporting events are divided this way, and you'll often hear sports commentators saying things like, ""Here is the score at the end of the first quarter."" The Latin word quartus, ""fourth,"" is at the root of quarter, and the earliest and goriest use specifically referred to a form of execution that involved dismembering a prisoner's body into four pieces, or quarters."

quota

"A quota is a specific number of things. If a quota is placed on the total number of apples each visitor can pick at an orchard, it means that once you've picked a certain number of apples, you have to stop.Usually a quota places an upper limit on the total number or amount of some item. There are quotas placed on all kinds of things, like immigrants entering a country, goods exported, or students admitted to a particular school. Quota comes from the Latin phrase quota pars, or ""how large a part""."

rash

"A rash is something that spreads like wild fire red itchy skin or a series of unfortunate events. It can also describe an impulsive, wild decision.As an adjective, rash has meant ""quick, vigorous"" since the 1300s by way of Scotland. The meaning shifted to ""reckless"" a few hundred years later, and can still be used that way a ""rash decision"" is a sudden, not well thought out one. Rash, the noun that no one wants on their skin, came a few hundred years after that, but from the French word rache which at some point meant ""ringworm."" Ringworm still gives us a red, itchy rash. Fun! Rash can also mean a lot of unpleasant things happening in a short amount of time, like robberies or earthquakes."

spouse

"A spouse is your companion, your mate, your partner. In ye olden times, spouse was used as a verb meaning to marry, but nowadays, it functions as a noun referring to either husband or wife.Your spouse is often called ""your better half."" What we call adultery used to be referred to as spouse-breach in the early 13th century. American pediatrician Benjamin Spock said, The surest measure of a man's or a woman's maturity is the harmony, style, joy, and dignity he creates in his marriage, and the pleasure and inspiration he provides for his spouse. So, avoid that spouse-breaching at all costs, and till death do you part."

symbol

"A symbol can be an object, shape, sign, or character used to represent something else. A flag is a symbol of a country. English teachers never tire of talking about symbols in literature.A pink ribbon is a symbol of breast-cancer awareness, and a yellow ribbon is a symbol of support for U.S. troops. In literature, authors use many symbols. A character doing even a small thing, like eating a cheeseburger, might symbolize something larger about that character. Something you need to be rich to have like a limousine is called a ""status symbol."" Anytime one thing seems to represent a deeper meaning, it's probably a symbol."

threat

"A threat is an impending danger that has the potential to cause serious harm it just hasn't done so yet. In The Wizard of Oz, the huge tornado that spiraled across the Kansas countryside posed a threat to the little girl named Dorothy in its path.If a huge thug carrying an equally huge knife approaches you in a dark alley and demands, ""Your wallet or your life,"" you feel the imminent threat. Your safety is at risk, especially if you don't hand over that wallet. Threats don't have to be big and scary, though. An extra-large slice of chocolate cake isn't armed and dangerous, but it's still a serious threat to any dieter who's trying to cut calories. Or, you could see a gray cloud as promising the threat of rain showers."

topic

"A topic is a subject. It's what you're discussing or what a newspaper article is about, the theme of a documentary, or the focus of your term paper.Green energy, the Oscar nominees, what's on the lunch menu, boxers or briefs these are all considered topics.If something is a ""hot topic,"" then everybody is talking about it. If it's a ""topic for discussion,"" then someone wants to have a serious conversation about it. If you're at a dinner party, you can talk about all kinds of topics with other guests. But to keep peace at the table, avoid bringing up controversial political or religious topics."

torrent

"A torrent is a heavy rain, or the flooding or wildly-running streams it causes, like the torrent that soaks everyone unlucky enough to be out on the street at that moment.Because the noun torrent literally means ""rushing stream,"" it is often describes fast-flowing water, like a rainstorm or creeks and rivers that overflow their banks. But the word can also describe any sudden inundation, like a deluge of words or thoughts, like when, in anger, you unleash a torrent of emotional words on your friend. Like a violent storm, you pour those words, not letting up in order to let him or her explain the other side of the story."

traitor

"A traitor says one thing but does another. If you promise a friend you'll keep his secret, but instead you blab it to everyone, you're a traitor.The word origin says it all: traditorem is the Latin word for ""betrayer."" Liar? Yes. Backstabber? Yes. True friend? Heavens, no. Traitors betray the trust of those who have faith in them or believe their promises. Traitor also applies to a person who betrays his country by committing treason: turning against his own government, perhaps by selling secret information."

trifle

"A trifle is something that's totally unimportant. If your friend is freaking out over which shoes to buy and you call her dilemma a trifle, you're saying she shouldn't get so worked up over nothing.Trifle comes from the Middle English trufle, meaning ""fraud, joke, trick."" You'll usually hear it used to mean ""insignificant, trivial."" If you write a little ditty to sing at a birthday party, you could say it's just a trifle. As a verb, trifle means ""toy with, waste."" If you play with someone's feelings without seriously meaning anything, you are trifling with his affection. Trifle is also a sweet, sticky cake. Don't trifle the day away dreaming about trifle. Make some!"

utensil

"A utensil is a tool you can hold in your hand and use around the house. In the kitchen, common utensils are the knives, forks, and spoons that we hold in our hands and use to eat.The word utensil comes from the Latin utensilia meaning ""things for use."" A pen is a writing utensil. A spatula is a cooking utensil. A scrub brush is a cleaning utensil. A knife is a cutting utensil.All of these objects can be held in your hand and are used to get something done."

venture

"A venture is a risky undertaking. If your latest venture is a dog food store, you hope there are some hungry dogs around. Also, to venture is to go somewhere possibly dangerous, like if you venture out into a snowstorm.Venture is a shortened form of adventure. This happened sometime between 1100 AD and 1400 AD during the time that Middle English was spoken. While the two words are similar in meaning, when you subtract the ""ad,"" you lose a teaspoon or two of fun, and add a heaping tablespoon of risk."

verdict

"A verdict is a decision made after a lot of considering, usually made by the jury in a courtroom. If you've finally decided that the test was unfair, that's your verdict and you should talk to the teacher about it.Although verdicts are usually announced in a courtroom, any time someone makes a judgment about something, it's a verdict. The truth lies in the root of this word: ver comes from the Latin verus, meaning ""true."" Ver shows up in other words to verify something is to prove that it's true, and veracious is an adjective meaning ""truthful."" And the truth is exactly what the judge needs when he's trying to decide the verdict of a case."

witty

"A witty remark is clever and funny and timed just right. When you make such a remark, you are also considered to be witty.The adjective witty can be used to describe those quick little funny remarks that often demonstrate a sharp, biting humor delivered in a playful manner. Witty usually describes things that are off-the-cuff amusing, rather than remarks that are elaborate or carefully planned in advance. This adjective is usually used in a complimentary way, but, like its cousin clever, it can be used sarcastically, as when someone who doesn't appreciate your one-liners says, ""Well, aren't we witty today."""

amateur

"An amateur is a person who does something for enjoyment, not money, like an amateur who paints as a hobby but earns a living another way.The adjective amateur often describes a pastime, like an amateur sports league that people join to get exercise and socialize together. Or it can have a negative meaning and describe something that's poorly done. If your guests leave your dinner table and stop for fast food on the way home, you may be ashamed of your amateur cooking skills. Amateur originated as a French word, meaning ""lover of,"" not ""expert."""

awesome

"An awesome something or someone is amazing, breathtaking, or overwhelming. Like traveling the globe in a hot air balloon or visiting the Taj Mahal. Or, if you're 7, hearing someone burp the alphabet. Blog ExcerptsHow Awesome Is ""Awesome""? Not Very.Unless you're a resident of the Lego Movie's Bricksburg where ""Everything is Awesome,"" you may have noticed that awesome is...well...not quite as awesome as it used to be. In fact, says Tim Askew, writing for Inc., awesome has become so overused, it's ""inescapable, like verbal kudzu choking out the variegated richness of the English language.""Continue reading... Awesome popped on the scene around 1600, probably in a church. It first meant profoundly reverential, but morphed later into an adjective meaning inspiring awe. Flash forward to the 20th century, when awesome transformed once again this time into an everyday word for ""impressive."" These days it's synonymous with ""outstanding"" and ""totally cool."""

disaster

"An earthquake, an oil spill, an economic collapse, a party with inedible food and truly awful music: Each of these could be described as a disaster, a cataclysmic event causing extreme suffering, even total destruction.Disaster made its way into the English language from Greek. The second part of the word is derived from astron ""star"" or ""planet,"" familiar from words like astronomy and astronaut. Dis- is prefix with a meaning similar to ""un-"" or ""mis-,"" but with clearly negative connotations.Translated literally, disaster means ""bad or unlucky star,"" and it's a relic of a time when astrology was considered a serious science that could predict events including disasters you might try to avoid in your life on Earth!"

employee

"An employee is someone who's hired to do a particular job for pay. If you like to shop in a certain store, you might also enjoy being an employee there.You can see the verb employ, meaning ""put to use,"" in employee. You can employ a pen in writing a letter, just as a grocery store might employ workers to collect the shopping carts from the parking lot. A person who is put to work is an employee. Employee implies that the worker reports to a boss, and it's most commonly used for non-executives who work for a salary."

event

"An event is something that happens, or might happen. In the event that you get stuck in traffic, the wedding will continue. It is too important an event to wait even for someone as important as you.When something is eventful, many things happen during it. In a detective story, a protagonist can protect himself by mailing an envelope to the police to be opened ""in the event of his death."" In the novel White Noise, Don DeLillo describes an Airborne Toxic Event, both predicting and mocking the disasters of our time."

idol

"An idol can be a religious image or a person who people admire and maybe even seem to worship. A statue of a Hindu god is a religious idol, but Madame Curie is an idol to aspiring scientists.The word idol comes from the Old French idole for ""pagan god,"" through the Greek eidolon for reflection in water or a mirror. In religion, an idol isnt the real deity but a representation of it. These days, rock stars and celebrities are idols, but so are scientists and writers. If you say Flannery O Connor is your idol, you dont mean you bow down before a statue of the Southern writer, it just means you admire her big time."

outlaw

"An outlaw is a criminal who's on the run. Historically, the word outlaw was used for Western criminals like Billy the Kid or Jesse James, not so much for contemporary drug lords or serial killers.Because they didn't need to be arrested by a police officer or other official, pursuing outlaws was once a way to earn reward money. The outlaw figure became popular due to the almost romantic image of nonconformity they had outlaws are common characters in Western books and movies. You can also use outlaw to mean ""ban or make illegal."" If you had your way, you might outlaw spinach, long lines, and stinky perfume."

merit

"Merit is another way of saying ""deserve."" The National Merit Scholarship program is based on meritstudents whose SAT scores are high enough deserve to be in the program. If kids seems to be getting in who hadn't even taken the SATsthat would merit an investigation.You will often hear the phrases merit-based promotion and merit-based pay, which come up when employees are pushing against a system in which time on the joband not job performancedetermines when workers are promoted and how much they are paid. Using the word merit suggests impartiality and objectivitysuch as when you swear off a prejudiced approach to something and vow to ""judge it on its merits."""

morgue

"Most hospitals have an area called a morgue, where dead bodies are stored until they are buried or cremated.After a person dies, that person's body is often placed in a morgue until it can be transported to a funeral home, church, or temple for a memorial service or funeral. Occasionally, a body needs to be identified by relatives, and that often happens in a morgue as well. Another word for morgue is mortuary. The word comes from the French La Morgue, which was one specific building in 1800s Paris. It replaced the much more blunt term ""dead house."""

mute

"Mute means silent. No matter how much you talk to your houseplants, theyll never talk back; they'll remain mute.When used as a noun, mute can mean someone who isn't capable of speech"" or a device that deadens the sound of an instrument. Mute can also be used as a verb meaning ""to make silent. One might mute the television by pressing a button on the remote, or one might try to mute a loquacious individual. Unfortunately, the technology for that last option doesnt exist yet."

neglect

"Neglect is worse than ignoring something. It's ignoring it, failing to care for it, and probably harming it in the process.The word neglect comes from the Latin verb neglegere, which means ""disregarded."" You can neglect to do your chores, meaning fail to do them, but this word is usually reserved for cases when you willingly refuse to care for something appropriately. Child neglect is what parents get charged with when they fail to provide for their child's basic needs. If you go on vacation and neglect your plants, they may wither and die due to your lack of attention."

numb

"Numb is an adjective that describes a lack of sensation. After skiing all day, your toes might be numb from the cold. You'd feel numb for hours after hearing that your favorite band broke up.People can feel numb in terms of their feelings and emotions. For example, if you've had your heart broken lots of times, you start to become numb the breakups don't upset you so much. Numb can also describe being so frightened that you can't move, like being numb with fear when you saw the bear near your campsite. Numb can also means ""to make insensitive,"" like when the dentist numbs your gums so you won't feel any pain."

misfortune

"On a gloomy day, you may feel compelled to list your misfortunes: a broken umbrella, a broken heart, a broken toe. Misfortune means bad luck or the state of having bad luck.Break misfortune into its parts and you get mis- meaning bad and fortune meaning chance or luck. Sometimes it can feel like misfortune follows you. Picture it as a gloomy psychic named ""Miss Fortune"" who can only see the bad things in your future."

obvious

"Something obvious is plain to see and easily understandable. It was obvious that you didn't enjoy your meal because I found it rolled in a napkin and shoved under the rug. Tasty MorselsList of the Week: Learn Latin Roots!Learn five new Vocabulary Lists focused on Latin roots ""vocare,"" ""portare,"" ""sci,"" ""struere,"" and ""via.""Continue reading... There's nothing vague about the adjective obvious it's right there in front of your eyes! It describes something that's easy to figure out or the most straightforward option. If someone states the obvious, you're likely to respond with a sarcastic ""No duh!"" or ""Thanks Sherlock."" If obvious isn't the obvious word of choice, you can try a synonym such as ""evident"" or ""apparent."""

accurate

"Something that is accurate is exact and true. It's important to be accurate in the kitchen with your measurements and in the courtroom with your testimony.The adjective accurate comes from the Latin roots ad curare, meaning ""to take care,"" and that is precisely what you do when you make sure something is accurate. You take care to make sure it is perfectly correct: an accurate answer, an accurate headcount, an accurate assessment of the problem. By adding the Latin root in, meaning not, you can make the antonym inaccurate (not accurate)."

violent

"Something that's violent involves physical force or emotional intensity. If you hate violent movies, it means that you don't want to watch scenes of people being hurt or killed.Physically violent behavior ends in someone getting hurt or something being destroyed or damaged. You can also have violent emotions, like a violent burst of anger toward the slow driver in front of you, and you can use violent to describe something that's visually intense, like a violent orange-colored minivan. The word has gained in force since developing from the Latin word violentia, which means ""vehemence or impetuosity."""

appoint

"The President can appoint someone as ambassador to another county; that means to give them the job or recommend them for it.It must be nice to be appointed. Usually, people who want a job have to send in applications, do interviews, and jump through lots of hoops. Appointing is different: someone with the power to appoint can usually just give you the job. In some cases, appointing isn't a sure thing and means something closer to ""recommending"" but it still beats filling out all those applications. It takes power to appoint people, which is why world leaders are often the ones appointing."

expensive

"The adjective expensive means high in price, like the expensive basketball sneakers you had to work all summer to save up enough money to buy.Expensive comes from the 1620s, when it meant ""given to profuse expenditure."" Back then, it was the people doing the buying who got called ""expensive."" Now it's the costly things they buy or take part in. For example, sailing is an expensive hobby. If someone tells you, ""I have expensive taste,"" it means that person likes things that cost a lot of money, whether they are purchased or just admired from the shop window."

popular

"The adjective popular describes something that is well-liked or admired by a lot of people. Sometimes when you read a bestselling novel, you wonder why it's so popular.Popular comes from the Latin word populus, which means people. Anything that is popular is liked by many people. When you're talking about popular music or art, you may sometimes shorten the word popular to ""pop,"" as in pop music or pop culture. Popular also describes things by or for the people, or the general population, such as the popular vote or a popular revolt."

utter

"The adjective utter is often used as an intensifier to mean ""total"" often with negative connotations (like ""utter failure""). As a verb, the word has a totally unrelated meaning: to speak or to articulate a sound.If you utter something, you give it voice. You could utter a cry or utter complete sentences; either way, you are expressing yourself. However, if you declare someone an utter moron, you are saying he is a complete and total moron; not that he is a moron expressing himself. Don't confuse the spelling of utter with udder the latter is the part of the cow that you milk."

attract

"To attract is to draw together, like a magnet to a fridge. You might know the phrase, ""opposites attract."" This means you might be drawn to a personality type that is completely unlike yours.With attract comes the sense that the pull you feel towards someone or something is not entirely voluntary. It's quite possible to say that you are attracted to someone, but you don't really like them. Low prices can attract buyers into a store they would not normally go into, and standing on a street corner screaming loudly will probably attract quite a bit of attention, but not the good kind."

baffle

"To baffle is to confuse. If you are completely puzzled as to what baffle means, you might say that this word baffles you.Baffle means ""confuse,"" but it can also mean ""amaze."" A magician might baffle you with an impressive magic trick. Additionally, this verb can mean ""to spoil, thwart, or defeat by means of confusion."" In a debate, you might baffle the opposition by introducing new information that your opponents are not familiar with. Baffle can also be used like stump. If you are stumped by a question on a test, then youve been baffled by that question."

aware

"To be aware means to know about. I am aware of the dangers of smoking, yet I continue the habit. You can be environmentally aware or socially aware.Aware is a close relative of beware, ""look out for."" Beware the ides of March, Julius Caesar is famously warned. Too bad he's not aware of why. Beware and aware share the root ware, from an Old English word meaning ""careful, wary). Be aware of your purse at all times, and beware of the snatch-and-grab thief."

beckon

"To beckon means to use a physical gesture to indicate to call someone to come to you. Universally recognized gestures to beckon include crooking the finger or nodding the head toinvite someone over.We get the word beckon from the Old English gebecnian, meaning ""to make a mute sign,"" which comes from bacen, meaning ""a sign or beacon.""(Remember that ""beacon"" is a noun whilebeckon is a verb).When you beckon to someone, you give them a physical sign to ""come here.""Figuratively, an ice cream sundae might beckon you, calling you away from your diet."

cease

"To cease is to stop or end. Your gym teacher may have trained the class so well that all chattering will cease every time she blows her whistle.Cease comes from the Old French cesser, which means ""come to an end,"" ""go away,"" ""give up,"" or ""yield."" Although cease often appears in the past tense with ""-ed,"" cease is common for talking about things as they come to an end. A dead plant has ceased living, and if you cease watering the rest of the plants, they will cease to exist too."

circulate

"To circulate is to move continuously in a specific circuit, often in a circle. A ceiling fan circulates cool air around the room on a warm day.Blood circulates through your body, pumped from your heart through veins and arteries your circulatory system and delivering oxygen to your tissues. This system is closed, meaning the blood stays in your body, bringing oxygenated blood back to your heart. People circulate when they move around a room at a party, chatting with different people, and rumors circulate when they're passed in a circle, from person to person. Circulate comes from the Latin circulare, ""to form a circle."""

collapse

"To collapse means to fall over, cave in, or totally crumple. After finding out that the stock market has collapsed and your investments along with it, you'd probably collapse to the ground and sob uncontrollably.From the Latin collapsus, meaning fall together,"" comes our English collapse, a word that functions as both noun and verb. Empires collapse after revolutions, and your dog will eventually collapse from exhaustion if he keeps chasing his tail in circles. But if a company falls apart after the boss retires, or you have a total breakdown cramming for exams, that's a kind of collapse, too."

deceive

"To deceive means to trick or lie. A crafty kid might deceive his mother into thinking he has a fever by holding the thermometer to a light bulb to increase the temperature.Deceive is the trickier cousin of lie. You might lie about why you were late to school. But if you simply don't explain to your mom that you were late in the first place, you are deceiving her. Deceive carries with it a feeling of both craftiness and betrayal. When you deceive someone, forgiveness can be hard to come by. Have you heard of the spelling rule, ""i before e except after c"" that has so many exceptions? Well, deceive follows that rule."

deliberate

"To deliberate means to carefully think or talk something through it also means slow and measured, the pace of this kind of careful decision making. If you chose deliberately, you make a very conscious, well-thought-through choice.The verb deliberate ends with an ""ate"" sound at the end of a trial, after the evidence is presented, the twelve members of a jury retreat to a room to deliberate, i.e., talk through the trial and come to a verdict. The adjective deliberate ends with an ""it"" sound. If you walk with a deliberate pace, you're slow and steady."

denounce

"To denounce is to tattle, rat out, or speak out against something. When you stand on your desk and tell the class that your partner is cheating, you denounce him or her.The prefix de- means ""down,"" as in destroy or demolish (tear down). Add that to the Latin root nuntiare, meaning ""announce,"" and destroy plus announce equals denounce. It's a word that shows up in the headlines often, as a country might denounce a corrupt election. Politicians love to denounce each other's shady doings, or denounce some underhanded activities of people in their party in order to separate themselves. Denounce can also mean the official end of something, like a treaty."

depart

"To depart is to go away or to choose a different direction. If you are catching a plane, you are soon to depart. And, if you are wearing a kilt instead of jeans, you depart from your usual look.Airports and train stations have gates for arrivals and departures. Airplanes and people coming in ""arrive"" while those going out depart. You also can depart without going anywhere, as when you change your mind and depart from an earlier decision. To ""depart from the norm"" is an expression for doing something different than expected, like giggling during a tear-jerker of a movie."

devise

"To devise is to figure out a plan. Men twirling long mustaches might devise a plan to tie someone to the railroad tracks.To devise a plan is more than just making one; there's a lot of figuring out to do, such as: ""Phoebe devised a bus route that picked up kids in alphabetical order."" There's a method to the madness of devising. The chemistry class devised a plan to make the fire alarm go off. Devise can be positive, too, meaning to find a creative solution: ""The design team devised a plan to make the trailer home look like a medieval castle."""

disrupt

"To disrupt is to interrupt or throw something into disorder. If you don't turn your phone off before a play, it might ring and disrupt the actors and the audience.Disrupt goes back to the Latin root disrumpere, ""to break apart."" When you disrupt, you break someone's concentration, break up a routine, or break apart a system or order, as when bad weather disrupts the travel plans of people in airports. Even if your headphones keep the music in your ears only, singing out loud can disrupt those around you. A larger interruption would be if a war were to erupt. That would disrupt the peace of an entire region and its people."

drench

"To drench something is to get it thoroughly wet. You might drench your sister with the garden hose to pay her back for squirting you with her water pistol.When you're sailing a small boat on a stormy day, waves might drench you, and a torrential rain storm can also drench you, if you leave your umbrella at home. If your dog is crazy about swimming, he might drench himself often by plunging into whatever body of water you're near. Drench comes from the Old English drencan, which means both ""submerge or drown"" and ""give drink to or make drunk."""

embrace

"To embrace something is to welcome it with open arms, hold, hug, accept completely. You might embrace your sweetheart, or even changes in technology.Embrace is from the French verb embrasser, which started out meaning""to clasp in the arms"" (but now includes kissing). You embrace someone by giving her a giant hug, and when you embrace a new idea, it's like your brain gives it a hug. The noun and verb form are similar: If you embrace someone who isn't your sweetheart, you might get caught in an embrace. In Henry IV, Shakespeare writes about a really, really tight embrace: ""I will embrace him with a soldier's arm/That he shall shrink under my courtesy."""

expose

"To expose means to uncover or allow to be in the open air. If you take off your coat and expose your bare arms to the terrible cold, your tattoos might freeze off. (Note: We dont actually know if this is physically possible.)When you pronounce expose as its spelled, it can mean to leave out in the air, to put in peril (when you expose someone to danger), or to uncover. All of those examples are actions. However, when you pronounce it as though there is a French accent on the final ""e,"" ex-poh-ZAY, it means the unmasking or exposure of something hidden (and usually bad or fraudulent), as when you watch an expose on 60 Minutes about the evils of frozen orange juice or some other toxic substance."

finance

"To finance something is to pay for it, like using the money you earn at your part-time job to finance your cell phone bill.As a verb, it carries two very different meanings: ""to pay for"" or ""obtain on credit."" So, if you can finance your trip, it means you have the money to pay for it. Anyone who works in finance, meaning the banking and investment industry, will tell you plenty of people get in trouble by letting credit cards finance things like vacations."

molest

"To molest someone is to attack or abuse them. A rowdy group of protesters might be tempted to molest the police officers who are controlling the crowd by shouting angrily or throwing things at them.While the verb molest can be used to talk about any kind of persistent harassment, it more commonly describes an unwanted or aggressive sexual attack. To molest someone in this in way is a very serious criminal assault. The word originally meant simply ""to cause trouble or grief,"" and it comes from the Latin word molestare, ""to disturb, trouble, or annoy."" It wasn't used to mean ""attack sexually"" until about 1950."

mount

"To mount is to climb up something, like a ladder, or get on the back of something, like a horse. You can also mount something on another object, like a camera on a tripod or a sticker on a notebook.The word mountain can help you remember that one way to mount is to climb. You can mount a mountain or a flight of stairs. You can also mount a pony by getting on its back or a bicycle by climbing onto it. The oldest meaning of mount is, in fact, ""mountain,"" from the Old French word mont, which has its root in the Latin montem for mountain."""

mourn

"To mourn is to grieve for someone who has died, especially a loved one. One of the hardest experiences of childhood is when you mourn the loss of a beloved pet.You can also mourn for things that you've lost, not only pets and people who have died. If your local library branch is forced to close, you might mourn its loss, missing being able to walk there from your house. The Old English root word of mourn is murnan, which means not only to mourn, but also to be anxious. Related words include ""mourner"" and ""mournful."""

opt

"To opt is to choose. Given the alternative, most kids will opt for a cupcake over a ham sandwich.When you're signing up for next semester's classes, you might opt for another history class, or instead opt for advanced biology. Whenever you have more than one alternative, you have the chance to opt for something. You can also opt out of something, or choose not to do it at all. Opt comes from the French verb opter, ""to choose,"" from the Latin root optare, ""desire,"" and it's related to option."

panic

"To panic is to become filled with fear and anxiety. Someone in a panic is totally freaking out.Have you ever heard someone say ""Don't panic""? That's easier said than done. People panic when they lose control over themselves because of fear, stress, or danger. A pilot who runs into turbulence and then flees from the cockpit has panicked. A surgeon who makes a mistake might panic for a second, before chilling out and helping the patient. It's hard to do a good job when you panic. Panicking is pretty much the opposite of relaxing."

penetrate

"To penetrate is to force into or pierce through. If the fog is thick as pea soup, your flashlight wont penetrate it. If you stubbornly ignore good advice, people might say nothing can penetrate that thick skull of yours.We get penetrate from the Latin word penetrare, which combines penes (""within"") and intrare (""to enter""). Penetrate crops up most often to describe entering or permeating. Blaring music penetrated every corner of the dorm and we wondered how anyone could study with that racket. Penetrate can also mean to decipher or understand: ""Careful study allowed us to penetrate the mysteries of Pig Latin."" Finally no surprise, given its Latin roots the word can be used to describe sexual intercourse."

postpone

"To postpone something is to put it off till later. You can postpone an appointment today and reschedule it for tomorrow.Anything you're putting for is being postponed: people postpone things they don't have time to do or just don't want to do. Since doctor and dental appointments are no fun, people postpone them a lot. You can postpone small things, like going to the store or watching a video. The government can postpone big things, like the passing of bills or the invasion of another country. People who procrastinate are constantly postponing. When you see the word postpone, think ""Later!"""

precede

"To precede is to come before. A short speech will precede the dinner. As you walk down the garden path, the bed of roses precedes the holly bush. When marching into the room, the younger kids precede the older ones. Choose Your Wordsprecede / proceedThese two words have similar sounds. They also have similar definitions, encompassing anidea of forward movement. This leads to some confusion.Continue reading... Precede is one of many verbs ending in ""-ceed"" or ""-cede"" that trace their roots back to the Latin word cedere which means ""to go."" For precede, know that it's pre ""first"" + cedere ""go."" When you precede, you go first. You might precede your best friend in line, lunch might precede math class, a joke might precede a lecture, and radio preceded television. Anything that goes first or comes before precedes."

predict

"To predict is to say what you think is going to happen in the future.If you predict that you'll win the poker championship, you're either really confident in your poker skills or you're cheating.The prefix pre means ""before."" Dict comes from the Latin dicere, which means ""to say"", yet you can use predict to refer to things that can't say anything at all.Darkening skies can predict a coming storm, for example, and a runny nose can predict a cold.You can predict something based on factual evidence, or on a crystal-ball reading, or just on plain intuition."

proceed

"To proceed means to go or continue forward. But somehow ""ready, set, proceed!"" doesn't quite have the same ring to it. Choose Your Wordsprecede / proceedThese two words have similar sounds. They also have similar definitions, encompassing anidea of forward movement. This leads to some confusion.Continue reading... From the Latin procedere, meaning go forward, advance, proceed is a verb that simply means to keep going, particularly after theres been an interruption. Synonyms include progress and advance. People who constantly interrupt make it really difficult for the conversation to proceed smoothly. And proceed with caution when crossing a busy street, but if the light turns red, you better move it fast!"

relieve

"To relieve is to ease a burden or take over for someone. An aspirin can relieve a headache, and a substitute can relieve the teacher who fell asleep on her desk after lunch.Relieve comes from the Latin word relevare meaning ""to help"" or ""make light again."" An ice pack might relieve a pain in your elbow, but you can also be relieved of your duties if you get fired (or taken out to lunch). A thief might even relieve you of your wallet. Like thief, relieve is the rare word that actually follows the ""i"" before ""e"" rule (""i"" before ""e"" except after ""c"" or when sounded as ""a"" as in ""neighbor"" and ""weigh""). Aren't you relieved?"

scorch

"To scorch is to burn something fiercely, to the point where its surface your face, prairie grass, a steak on the grill chars or otherwise changes color.Although scorch usually refers to burning something (whether it's the sun or a blowtorch doing the burning), that's not always the case. An army can scorch an enemy territory meaning raze everything in sight, without technically setting it on fire. Scorch can also mean to quickly overpower something or somebody, as in: ""We're gonna scorch the other team tomorrow."""

acknowledge

"To show that you know something is to acknowledge it. Waving ""hello"" to acknowledge a friend and nodding your head ""yes"" to acknowledge that you agree with what's being said are both acts showing knowledge or acceptance of someone or something.Dictionaries acknowledge that the word acknowledge has roots in the 15th and 16th centuries and is a combination of roots meaning ""accord,"" ""recognize,"" and ""understand."" Whereas ""knowledge"" is what you know, acknowledging is showing that you know. You might acknowledge that the world is round and that the moon is not made of cheese. You also can acknowledge, or give recognition, to the people who discovered these truths."

signify

"To signify means to ""mean."" When Paul Revere looked for the lanterns in the church tower, he knew that one would signify that the British were coming by land and two would indicate that they were coming by sea.When objects are endowed with symbolic meaning, they are said to signify things. A dove signifies peace, a six-pointed star signifies Judaism, a frog signifies fertility, a trident signifies the Hindu Shiva or the Greek Poseidon."

skim

"To skim is to remove something from the surface of a liquid. Some cooks skim the fat off of the top of their chicken noodle soup, others skim the cream off milk to make skim (or skimmed) milk.Cream is what you skim off the surface of milk, and if you don't like the whipped version, you might skim it from your hot chocolate. Another way to use the word skim is to mean ""read quickly,"" like when you skim the newspaper, catching just the headlines as you search for the comics section. Skim has an Old French root, escumer, ""remove scum,"" from escume, ""scum."" The ""glance through a book"" meaning came later, in the late 1700s."

snub

"To snub is to ignore or refuse to acknowledge someone. If you want to snub your former best friend, you can refuse to even look at her when you pass in the hallway.When you snub someone, you deliver an insult by pretending to not even notice someone that you know. Theres an element of disdain and rejection to a snub, as if youre too good to even acknowledge the person. As a noun, a snub is that act of cold rejection. Your former friend probably noticed the snub, and shell probably snub you from now on. Snub also means ""very short,"" like the nose on a bulldog."

soar

"To soar means more than just to fly; it means to rise swiftly, to feel the wind slipping below you as you ride it higher, higher, higher. Flying is just moving through the air. Soaring, though, suggests exhilaration, even joy.Think about the anticipation you feel when you buy a lottery ticket your hopes soar as you contemplate the possibilities. It's the same wonderful feeling you get when someone you have a crush on notices you, when you land that perfect job, when you hold your child. The word soar comes from the Latin, ex-, which means ""out,"" and aura, meaning ""breeze, air,"" together meaning ""out of the air,"" which is precisely how it feels to soar."

subside

"To subside is to die down or become less violent, like rough ocean waves after a storm has passed (or your seasickness, if you happened to be sailing on that ocean).Subside comes from the Latin prefix sub- (meaning ""down"") and the Latin verb sidere (meaning ""to settle""). Subside is often used when a negative situation has improved significantly. For example, violence, disease, and unemployment can all subside. Here's hoping that they do."

surpass

"To surpass means to outdo someone or something, to go beyond what was expected. If you do better than you think you will, you will surpass your own expectations.Some words seem to exist just to give an extra oomph to your speech, and surpass is one of these. While you could just say passed or even outdid"" saying surpass seems to indicate that a person (or some other thing that performs, like a company) has really gone beyond anything you anticipated. People tend to use this word a lot before the words expectations and predictions among others, because of course surpassing is all about ""surpassing something."""

tempt

"To tempt is to lure or entice. You might tempt your runaway dog back inside with pieces of cheese.The verb tempt often has negative implications: ""Don't let those bullies tempt you into picking on smaller kids!"" When something tempts you, it's often with the knowledge that it's not the best idea, however attractive it might be. Tempt was originally a religious term, meaning ""to entice to evil or sin,"" while today it's more likely to be a slice of cake that tempts us than the devil."

underestimate

"To underestimate is to guess that something is worth less or is smaller than it really is. You might underestimate the size of a one-pound hamburger until you realize it's too big to fit in your stomach.When you ""estimate"" you take a guess at something, and when you underestimate, your guess falls short or below. If you underestimate how much something costs, you might show up at a store without enough money, and if you underestimate the strength of an opponent who is small, you might find yourself on the ground wondering what hit you. Often when we ""assume"" something, we make a guess based on how things appear that's one way to underestimate."

utilize

"To utilize is to use what you have or what's available, and it's a three-syllable word meaning the same thing as the one-syllable ""use.""The word utilize is often a more formal way to express ""putting something to use."" If you dont have time to go to the store but you need to come up with a science project, you might utilize what's already in the kitchen. Most of the time you can use the verb use as a synonym for utilize. You can utilize a shorter word to make a sentence easier to read."

wager

"To wager is to bet: you might say to your fellow train passengers, ""I'll wager ten dollars that we won't get to Chicago on time.""You can use the word wager as either a noun or a verb, to mean ""place a bet"" or ""the amount of money being risked in a bet."" So you could offer a wager at the poker table, or ask if anyone wants to wager on Monday's football game. Either way you use it, wager is a Middle English word that comes from the Old North French wage, ""to pledge."""

toil

"Toil is another word for work. You toil as a customer service rep all day, but you'd prefer to work as a rock goddess. Unfortunately, there weren't many ads in the employment section for goddesses rock or otherwise.Although toil means ""work"" (in both its noun and verb forms), it usually has the added meaning of hard work, especially physical labor.If you'd lived during the Great Depression, you might have toiled on roadwork and conservation projects. Your toils would have created roads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, for example.Thanks for all your hard work!Now, relax and enjoy the scenery."

tragedy

"Tragedy is a noun that indicates disaster or bad fortune. It would be a tragedy to lose your job, but an even greater tragedy to fall ill while unemployed and without health care.First recorded in the late 14th century, the noun tragedy originally referred to a play with an unhappy ending. About a century later it also came to mean an unhappy event or a disaster.The playwright George Bernard Shaw wittily observed, ""There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it.The comedian Mel Brooks defined tragedy as follows: ""Tragedy is when I cut my finger.Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die."""

uneasy

"Uneasy describes an uncomfortable feeling. You might feel socially uneasy when dining with your girlfriend's parents if they don't like you very much. Your stomach may also feel uneasy at that same dinner and gurgle in an embarrassing way.The adjective uneasy has many shades of meaning, most involving mild discomfort. It can refer to a lack of a sense of security. If McDonald's and Burger King team up to develop a new sandwich, that would be an uneasy alliance, because neither side would fully trust the other. Uneasy can also describe causing someone to feel anxious or nervous. If you see someone staring at you mumbling, ""That's him, that's the one,"" you might feel uneasy."

vocation

"Unless you can find someone to pay you to sip fancy tropical drinks on the beach, your vocation is not likely to be a ""vacation."" Rather, the word means something you know how to door what you do for a living. Tasty MorselsList of the Week: Learn Latin Roots!Learn five new Vocabulary Lists focused on Latin roots ""vocare,"" ""portare,"" ""sci,"" ""struere,"" and ""via.""Continue reading... The word vocation derives from the Latin vocare ""to call."" To become a priest, you need to feel that you have been ""called"" to the ministry directly by God. Their job is their calling, or vocation. An avocation is something you do because you love it. Everyone should make it their goal to have their avocation become their vocation."

unruly

"Unruly means lacking in restraint or not submitting to authority. Spitballs, shouting kids, a shouting teacherthese are all signs of an unruly classroom. Often, one unruly student is all it takes.It's easy to see how un- ""not"" and ruly ""rule"" create a word that is all about not following rules. An unruly person refuses to obey authority, while an unruly piece of hair might refuse to stay inside a clip."

coeducational

"Use the adjective coeducational to describe something that includes or allows both boys and girls. A coeducational summer camp, for example, has both male and female campers.Schools that aren't coeducational are known as ""single-sex."" Many women's colleges have begun admitting men over the years, gradually becoming coeducational. The most common way to use the word is to abbreviate it as ""coed"" or ""co-ed."" The adjective coeducational has been around since the 1880's, which is around the same time that many United States colleges and universities, previously open only to men, started accepting female students."

urban

"Use the adjective urban to refer to cities or people who live in cities. It carries a suggestion of grittinessurban style involves darker colors.The terms city and town are sometimes used inconsistently. If it is large enough, a town is considered to be an urban area. Communities where people live outside cities are called suburban. Urban is from a Latin adjective formed from urbs ""city."""

wholesale

"Use the adjective wholesale to describe something that's done on a big, broad scale, like wholesale changes made by a new government that affect an entire country.It's pretty common to see the phrase ""wholesale destruction,"" especially when historians are talking about the overwhelming effects of war or ecological disasters. When wholesale is a verb, it has a very different meaning to sell things in bulk, usually to someone who is going to sell it again at a higher retail price. The earliest meaning of the word was ""in large quantities,"" combining whole and sale into the phrase ""by whole sale."""

repetition

"Use the noun repetition to describe something that is repeated over and over, like the repetition of singing the alphabet song several times a day to help young children learn the letters.To correctly pronounce repetition, accent the third syllable: ""re-peh-TIH-shun."" Repetition and the closely related repeat come from the Latin word repetere, meaning ""do or say again."" It can be a very effective tool in public speaking, such as the repetition of ""I have a dream that one day . . ."" in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech."

pursue

"Use the verb pursue when you're chasing after someone or something. A hungry lion might pursue a zebra, the paparazzi might pursue a celebrity, and a young dancer might pursue her dream of becoming a prima ballerina.Pursue originally meant ""to follow with hostile intent,"" from a Latin root word, prosequi, ""follow, accompany, follow after, or follow up."" Today, when you pursue someone, it's not necessarily with bad intentions. A police officer, for example, might pursue a criminal, and your dog might pursue your cat around the house just for fun. If you pursue a career in journalism, you are working to achieve it. Likewise, you pursue a strategy or a hobby if you do it consistently."

unite

"Use the verb unite to describe two or more things merging into one, like several angry citizens who unite to form a political group.If two countries come together to form one country, they unite. This happened in 1990 when East Germany and West Germany merged into one united Germany. If several people act as one, joining for a common goal, they also unite. The word has been used in English since the fifteenth century, and it came from the Latin unitus, ""to unite,"" which in turn has its roots in unus, which means ""one."""

calamity

"Use the word calamity to describe an event that causes great harm and misery, or a general state of distress or misery: the calamity of war.Near synonyms are catastrophe and disaster. The noun calamity is from Middle English calamytey, from Latin calamitas, a word which might be related to Latin clades ""destruction."" Calamity Jane was the nickname of a 19th-century woman living on the U.S. frontier. She claimed to have some very exciting adventures."

final

"Use the word final when something is over and done with. If you pester your parents too much, they may say, ""You aren't going out and that's final!"" End of discussion.What is the last thing you do at school? You take final exams. Before leaving for a trip? You do a final check of your suitcase to make sure you have everything you need. Then you know you're finished packing. Both final and finish come from the Latin word finis, meaning ""end."" Now you know why some European movies show fin instead of the end before the credits roll."

vermin

"Vermin is a catch-all term that can be used for any small animals or insects that we think of as pests. The cockroaches you found in your bathroom were the grossest vermin you'd ever seen.The word vermin originally came from the Anglo-French word of the same spelling, meaning ""noxious animals"" definitely a negative term. Rats, mice, cockroaches, along with pests to farmers and the animals they raise, like coyotes and weasels, are vermin. Annoying people who cause problems are also sometimes called vermin, like the vermin who bully others."

vertical

"Vertical describes something that rises straight up from a horizontal line or plane. A telephone pole or a tree can usually be described as vertical in relation to the ground.The walls of your house unless there's some terrible problem are vertical. They rise straight up from the foundation, at a ninety degree angle. When you're standing up, you're vertical, as opposed to when you lie down in a horizontal position on the couch. The terms vertical and horizontal often describe directions: a vertical line goes up and down, and a horizontal line goes across. You can remember which direction is vertical by the letter, ""v,"" which points down."

weary

"Weary as an adjective means ""very tired or worn out,"" like weary students who finished a long week of studying and taking tests.Weary comes from the Old English word werig, meaning ""tired."" It can also describe being extremely bored and sick of something, like on a long drive, you might grow weary of your father's singing voice. As averb, weary means ""to exhaust or wear out,"" like when the children you are babysitting weary you with their game of running away every time you tell them to get ready to leave the park."

dwindle

"What do love, money, and the earth all have in common? All can dwindle, or shrink away, if we don't handle them properly.The word dwindle has a wonderfully descriptive, almost childlike sound to it, as though it belongs in a nursery rhyme. That might help you remember the meaning, which is to shrink away gradually, like the Cheshire Cat in ""Alice in Wonderland,"" who dwindles away until nothing is left but his grin."

refrain

"When someone burps in a quiet classroom it can be hard to refrain from laughing. Use the verb refrain if you have a sudden impulse to do something, and you have stopped yourself from doing it.It's usually hard to refrain from doing something, because this word is used to describe habits, like smoking, or uncontrollable urges, like laughing. The Latin word refrnre is formed from the prefix re- ""back"" plus frnre ""to hold a horse back with a bridle."" There is a noun refrain, but that's a different and unrelated word."

linger

"When someone lingers, he or she takes an unexpectedly long time to depart, as Romeo lingers when bidding Juliet farewell (or as annoying houseguests almost always tend to do).In addition to its primary meaning of ""taking a long time to depart,"" linger has the additional meaning of ""persisting while gradually weakening."" In this sense, linger can refer to feelings or sensations that slowly fade away, like the smell of perfume that lingers in an elevator after the passengers have exited."

annual

"When something is annual, it happens once a year. An annual holiday party should be a time for fun, but it also can be a sad yearly reminder of the passage of time.An annual event happens every year: ""I always forget to take sunglasses to my annual eye exam and am left wearing those horrible disposable shades."" Annual earnings are made over the course of a year: ""His annual income is on a steady decline.""And an annual plant lives for only a year: ""My neighbor Shirley always plants the most garishly bright annuals instead of more subdued perennials."" Whether it's eye exams, income, or plants, you can expect to see something annual again in about 365 days."

vapor

"When something that is normally liquid like water becomes a visible, gas-like substance floating in the air, it's a vapor.The fog that often settles across your town in the mornings is one kind of vapor. Mist is also a vapor, as is your frozen breath when you can see it on a cold winter day. The Latin root word is vaporem, ""exhalation, steam, or heat."""

obstacle

"When the road is blocked ahead of you, that blockage is an obstacle that keeps you from getting where you want to go.The Latin word that is the source of the word obstacle combines parts that mean ""to stand in the way of,"" so an obstacle is something that stands against what you want to do. In a dramatic piece, the obstacle is the person or thing that keeps a character from achieving his or her goal. This creates the conflict in a play: since conflict is what drama is all about, the obstacle is the source of all drama."

coincide

"When things happen at the same time, they are said to coincide. Often, this is because they're intentionally coordinated""the bake sale coincided with Parent Day""but not always.Coincide can also mean happen together in other ways. ""My mother's views on appropriate teen fashion do not always coincide with mine"" is an ber tactful way to say she hates your clothes. You could also describe two roads coming together as coincidingthough it's more poetic to talk about when they diverge."

depict

"When you depict something, you draw a picture of it, describe it, or show what it looks like. So grab a crayon, a paint brush, or even an Etch-A-Sketch and start depicting.From the Latin depictus, meaning to portray, paint, sketch, describe, depict is a way to communicate what you see. To explain to an alien what a banana is, you can either depict it with drawings, describe it in words, or both. But be careful. Writes author Joyce Maynard, ""The painter who feels obligated to depict his subjects as uniformly beautiful or handsome and without flaws will fall short of making art."""

encourage

"When you encourage someone, you give him or her the courage or confidence to do something, like when you encourage your little brother to play harder by yelling his name from the sidelines of the soccer field.The word encourage comes from the Old French word encoragier, meaning ""make strong, hearten."" When you encourage the tomato plants in your garden, you water them to promote their growth and health. Encourage can also mean to inspire with hope, like when you encourage your friends to try out for the school play by complimenting their singing and acting talents."

evade

"When you evade something, you escape it. You could evade a police chase by slipping into a secret alley, or you could evade your mother's questions about the missing cookies by slipping into another topic.Other things people like to evade? Death. Taxes. Creepy ex-boyfriends. The verb evade comes from Latin roots ex (""away) and vadere (""to walk""), meaning literally ""to walk away or to escape."" Definitely what you want to do with creepy ex-boyfriends."

forbid

"When you forbid something, you refuse to allow it. You might have heard your parents say things like, ""I forbid you to play ball in the house!"" or ""I forbid you to have any more parties when we're not home!""Forbid comes from the Old English word forbeodan, meaning ""forbid, prohibit."" Forbid can also mean ""prevent"" or ""keep from happening."" The spare tire on your car will forbid you from driving any faster than 40 miles an hour any faster and the car will shake. You may have heard forbid used in the expression ""God forbid . . ."" This refers to something you hope will not happen, so much so that you're asking God for a little help."

theory

"When you have a theory, you have a set of beliefs or principles that might not be proven yet. Does anyone have a good theory for where missing socks go when you do laundry?A theory is a set of accepted beliefs or organized principles that explain and guide analysis and one of the ways that theory is defined is that it is different from practice, when certain principles are tested. For example, you could be a musician who plays well but who doesn't have a lot of experience with the theory of music. This word is a noun and comes from the Greek theoria, which means ""contemplation or speculation."""

kneel

"When you kneel, you rest your bent knees on the ground. People kneel to pray, to work in the garden, and to do yoga.Kids often kneel on the living room rug to play, and adults kneel to tie a child's shoelaces, to vacuum under the sofa, to play with a puppy, to exercise, and for many other reasons. A great thing about the word kneel is that its meaning is easy to see the word knee is obvious when you look at it. The Old English root word, cnowlian, simply means kneel, and it comes from cnow, or ""knee."""

lubricate

"When you lubricate something, you make it a little bit greasy so it can easily move or slide. You might need to lubricate a rusted bolt in order to unscrew it, for example.Mechanics who work on cars need to lubricate engine parts all the time, to remove old ones and attach new ones. Oil is commonly used to lubricate metal surfaces so they don't stick against each other. All different kinds of machines and engines from jumbo jets to sewing machines need to be lubricated in order to work properly. The Latin root word is lubricatus, ""to make slippery or smooth,"" from lubricus, or ""slippery."""

reveal

"When you make something visible or make it public information, you reveal it. For example, if you want to plan a picnic, wait until forecasters reveal the weather that is predicted.The verb reveal comes from the Latin word revelare meaning ""unveil,"" like when you take off your hat to reveal your new haircut, or when you reveal information about your past that will shock or amuse your friends. You might also be familiar with the noun form of reveal, makeover show-speak for the moment viewers see the newly renovated room or someone's dramatic new look, as in saving the reveal for the end of the show so people keep watching."

confirm

"When you need to make sure before you leave that you have a reservation, you often call ahead to confirm, that is, to make sure that your tickets or space are set aside for you.The firm in confirm should give you a clue as to the word's meaning: to shore up or verify something. When you make sure something is set, or firm, you confirm it. The word comes from the Latin con- ""together, altogether,"" and firmre ""make firm,"" so confirm originally meant roughly ""to make (something) altogether firm."""

reject

"When you reject something, you rule it out or dismiss it. If you're trying to pick a fancy restaurant to go to for your birthday, you'll probably reject the diner you went to just yesterday.The verb reject has several shades of meaning Reject can mean to refuse to accept or agree with something. If you don't believe space aliens are living on earth, you reject the idea you just don't believe it. Reject can also mean to turn down something with contempt. If the ""cool kids"" in your high school reject you, they'll ignore you in the halls and also show contempt by making fun of you behind your back."

scowl

"When you scowl you make an angry face. The angry face you make is also called a scowl. Lighten up.Scowl is an expressive word: it shares ""ow"" with frown, and if you say it like you mean it you might end up scowling yourself. Being scowled at is more unsettling than being frowned at. A scowl is like an angry frown you would give someone if you disapproved of them. A frown expresses sadness, but a scowl expresses disdain."

nominate

"When you suggest a person for a position in the government, or propose a theme for your school's prom, you nominate that person or idea, especially if it's done in an official way.In the United States, political parties hold primary elections and conventions to nominate candidates for president. The word nominate originally meant ""to call by name,"" from the Latin word for ""name,"" nomen , but by 1600 it began to be used to talk about politics."

verify

"When you verify something, you show that it's true. Do you have a photograph to verify your claim that there's a dinosaur in your backyard?Physical evidence and records are often used to verify what's happened. Your receipt verifies that you purchased the tall, striped hat you'd now like to return. You can also verify something verbally. Can you verify that your cat was home all evening on the night of the canary's ""accident""?"

adequate

"When you want to say that something is enough or good enough for a particular need, use the adjective adequate. You might have an adequate amount of flour for a batch of pancakes, but not a lot extra.Adequate can also describe something that is acceptable or satisfactory, but not any better than that. You might say that a student's grades are adequate but need improvement. This word is from Latin adaequre""to make equal,"" from the prefix ad- plus aequare ""to equal."""

devour

"When you've gone all day without eating anything, you'll probably devour your dinner, especially if it's your very favorite homemade lasagna. Devour means to eat greedily and hungrily.The meaning of devour has grown to include the consumption of things other than food. If you sit down to start a book and look up ten hours later having turned the last page, you have devoured that book. If your after school job devours all your free time, chances are your grades are going to drop. The Latin root, devorare, means ""to swallow down."""

mortal

"You are a mortal because you are mortal. This means that you are an individual destined to die because you are susceptible to death.The word mortal has one of the most ancient genealogies of any word in English or any other language. It is related to English words like ""murder"" and ""mortuary,"" and to the French, Italian, Spanish, and Russian words for ""death."" Something that can kill you can also be described as mortal. If you're in mortal danger, you're in a deadly situation. Action heroes often think they are dealing their enemy a mortal blow, but sometimes the enemy manages to come back to life. People are called mortals because at some point, they die."

feeble

"You know how you feel when you cant open a jar of pickles? And then grandma walks in and does it in one shot without even grunting? Thats called feeling feeble, or lacking strength.In fact, feeble, comes from the Latin word flebilis, which means ""lamentable"" or ""unsatisfactory."" But dont let it get to you. Your puny, inferior muscles are nothing compared to the guy who makes feeble attempts at humor. Lame-o jokes are way more lamentable than inadequate biceps."

identify

"You might identify a Ming dynasty vase, a suspect in a bank robbery, or an ivory-billed woodpecker. Whatever it is, when you recognize the identity of someone or something, you identify it.The word identify is easy to . . . well . . . identify when you notice how much it looks like the word identity (a noun, meaning who or what something is). Only one consonant separates the two words in spelling (""f"" v. ""t""), and they are close relatives in meaning as well. You can easily remember the meaning of identify, a verb, when you recognize that its just a way to express the act of establishing identity in other words, saying who or what something is."

lottery

A lottery is a contest where players buy tickets and have a random (and low) chance of winning. Finding true love and getting hit by lightning are often said to be as likely as winning the lottery.A lottery can be a state-run contest promising big bucks to the lucky winners, or a lottery can also be any contest where the winners are selected at random. For example, some schools choose students by using a lottery system. Regardless of the type of lottery, a lottery works where there is great demand for something and only a limited number of winners.

lunatic

A lunatic is someone who is either clinically insane or just acting really crazy. Someone driving too fast and zigging in and out of traffic is driving like a lunatic.The root of this word is luna, which means moon. That's because lunatic originally meant someone who went crazy with every phase of the moon, kind of like a werewolf. Most people these days don't believe in moon-caused insanity, but we still talk about lunatics, sometimes meaning clinically insane people. More often this is a slang term, used mainly in exaggerations, for anyone who seems wild and out of control.

precaution

A precaution is a careful action you make in advance. You might want to take the precaution of bringing lots of water and sunblock if you're going on a desert hike.Precaution means exactly what it sounds like. The prefix pre- means before, and caution means carefulness in the face of danger. People use glasses when they're on a computer as a precaution because there are links to long hours on a computer and vision damage. A fire drill is a precaution so that you know what to do in case of a real fire. Someone who is always careful exhibits precaution.

vandal

A vandal is someone who harms or destroys other people's property. Someone who paints graffiti on your door is a vandal.Vandalizing is the damaging of someone else's possessions or property. A person who vandalizes is a vandal. A vandal doesn't steal, but they reduce the value of what someone owns by harming it. Vandals slash tires and key cars. Vandals paint on buildings. Vandals break windows. A vandal might have a grudge against a particular person, or sometimes teenagers become vandals out of boredom. The worst kind of vandal might be the kind who desecrates tombstones.

vein

A vein is a blood vessel. If you've ever donated blood, you know that having a needle put in your vein by a health care worker is not nearly as scary as it sounds.Although it mainly describes part of the body's circulatory system, vein can also refer to a pattern that looks like a vein in your body. For example, you can describe the streaks of color that run through blue cheese as veins of greenish-blue. Similarly, a theme or idea that continues appearing throughout a book could be called a vein. The trickiest thing about the word vein is trying not to confuse it with its homophones vane (as in weather vane) and vain (as in conceited).

villain

A villain is a bad person real or made up. In books, movies, current events, or history, the villain is the character who does mean, evil things on purpose.Today a villain is a wicked person, whether in fact or fiction. In the 1300s, villain described a low-born rustic. It came from the Medieval Latin word villanus, or farmhand. Just why a word would evolve from meaning farmer into evildoer is a little mysterious, although it probably has to do with farmers not being chivalrous, like the knights who were so admired in those days.

beneficiary

A beneficiary is simply the recipient of money or other benefits. So when your big sister finally moves away to college and you get to move into her bigger bedroom? You become a lucky beneficiary.In other words if you benefit from something, you are a beneficiary. This word pops up most commonly when people are creating their wills and trusts you have to choose beneficiaries as the people who will get what you have when you die. But it isn't always so morbid. You can be the beneficiary of someone's kindness, the beneficiary of a good education, or even the beneficiary of your own hard work.

budget

A budget is a sum of money set aside and divided up to cover particular expenses. Like allotting certain amounts for food, rent, movies, and manicures every month to make sure you don't run out of cash.From the Middle French bougette, the noun budget translated to leather pouch when it was first used in the early 15th century. Perhaps a leather pouch to hold gold coins? It wasnt until 1733 that the word took on the more specific financial meaning it has nowadays. You can budget all sorts of things, including time, money, and energy. Every year, Congress tries to balance the Federal budget but that's no easy task.

captive

A captive is something that has been captured and cant escape, like a prisoner of war or a panda in a zoo.To be captured on the battlefield, and held captive is not so great, but captive doesnt always describe things that are completely bad, like its synonym, hostage. If you fall in love you might say your heart is being held captive. Ideas that entrance you could be called captivating. Sometimes endangered animals are brought into captivity in order to breed larger populations, and then released into the wild.

censor

A censor takes out things that are objectionable or inappropriate, like the censors at the TV networks bleeping out all the bad words in a show. Choose Your Wordscensor / censureA censor hides information. A censure is harsh criticism. Theyre both judgments and they both stink.Continue reading... To put it simply, a censor judges. Originating in the 1530s, a censor was originally a Roman magistrate who took censuses and oversaw public morals. Censors today are hired by TV stations, publishers and the government to examine books, films and other material and strip out or flag all the amoral, offensive or otherwise bad stuff. Thankfully, in the U.S. free speech usually wins out over censorship.

abide

Abide means to be able to live with, or stand. If you can't abide with something, it means you can't stand it. If you can abide it, it means you can live with it.An old definition of abide is 'to live'think of abode, as in dwelling. If you abide by the rules, it means you live with them, and you will follow them. If you can't abide your sister's shrill violin playing, it means you can't live with it, you can't be in the house when she's practicing. You abide something you don't like, like your teacher's long stories about math. It's not a pleasant experience, but what choice do you have?

brawl

A bar fight is a brawl. A fight in the cafeteria which turns into a free-for-all can also be called a brawl. A brawl is a noisy fight in a crowd.Brawl can also be used as a verbpeople who are fighting can be said to be brawling, whether or not they are using their fists. Similarly, you can use the word to suggest that a war of words is rough, in the manner of a bar fightthe bride and her mother were engaged in a brawl over the guest list for the big day.

blunder

A blunder is an embarrassing mistake. Accidentally called your new boyfriend by your old boyfriend's name? Ouch. That's a blunder you don't want to repeat.Has an embarrassing mistake ever made you feel like youre stumbling around with your eyes closed? If so, it wont surprise you to learn that blunder comes from the Old Norse word blundra, meaning to shut one's eyes. It wasnt until the eighteenth century that blunder came to refer to a stupid or embarrassing mistake, or as a verb, to describe making such a mistake, as in I tend to blunder when I'm nervous.

calculate

Calculate derives from the Latin word for countit means either to figure out an equation, i.e., to count it up, or to count on something happening.You might calculate on having your friends taking your side in a fight with a bully, or you might calculate on reaching home before nightfall, when you're on a road trip. You might calculate the answer to a simple equation in your head but need a calculator to figure out something more complex.

weird

Call something weird when its strange, bizarre, or strikes you as odd. Putting peanut butter on pizza is weird. So is most abstract, conceptual performance art.Our definition of weird is rooted in Germanic mythology, where the weird sisters were three funky-looking goddesses that controlled fate and destiny: We dropped the idea of destiny and clung to how weird the weird sisters looked. In todays slang we even use weird as a verb, as in to weird someone out or make them feel uneasy.

charity

Charity is the donation of something, like money, to a cause or person in need. Before offering charity to someone, make sure he is, in fact, needy, and not just some fashion fiend dressed like a homeless person!Charity comes in many forms including monetary donation, volunteering, or providing clothes and food for those less fortunate. The Greek poet Homer said, The charity that is a trifle to us can be precious to others. Think of charity, then, as something that may cost you a little, but can benefit someone else greatly. Charity also refers to a nice way to treat people, an organization that helps people, or a plant with blue and white flowers.

confine

Confine is all about setting limits. If you are confined to the house, it means you can't leave it. If you're really sick, you might be confined to your bed.Confine can be used abstractly as well. In writing a term paper, your teacher might tell you to confine your examples to ones that you can support with direct evidence. In the 19th century, pregnancy and childbirth were often referred to as a woman's confinementa time when she couldn't get up or out.

harsh

Harsh means severe or strict, particularly when referring to punishment. It would be a harsh punishment, if you got grounded for two weeks just for coming home a little late for dinner.There are many shades of meaning for the word harsh depending on its context, but all imply that something is more unpleasant than it needs to be. Harsh lighting hurts your eyes. A harsh disciplinarian gives out punishments that are too severe. Whereas constructive criticism is usually helpful, a harsh critique will only make you upset. The harsh reality of the world today is that millions of people are starving while others have too much.

hasty

Hasty means speedy and brash. If you try to make a hasty exit after breaking up with someone, youll seem like a jerk.Hasty, meaning speedy, quick, first came onto the scene in the mid 14th century. Later, it found itself paired with pudding to form hasty pudding, a dessert that only takes a short amount of time to make. Note that hasty, unlike fast, has negative connotations. If someone accuses you of having completed an assignment in a hasty fashion, it means your work appears careless.

defiant

Have you ever seen a picture of a protester who is about to be carried off by police but is still shouting or resisting, fighting to the bitter end? That person is defiant.Someone who is defiant is bold, even in the face of defeat. A defiant person is usually fighting a powerful enemy. People who protest in countries controlled by dictators are defiant. Rosa Parks was defiant when she refused to give up her seat on the bus, even though the law at that time dictated that black people had to stand when whites needed a seat. Small children are defiant too, sometimes over nothing more than a request to share their toys.

visible

If you describe something as visible, you are saying you can see it. Certain things are not visible to the naked eye, but that doesn't mean they are invisible, you may just need a microscope or telescope to see them.The adjective visible also means obvious to the eye. You'd use this sense if you want to point out obvious flaws in an object such as a car with visible dents and scratches. A third meaning for the adjective is easily available or accessible: You may try to be a visible presence in your kids' lives although sometimes they would prefer that you blend into the woodwork so that they know they can count on you and come to you with any problem.

excel

If you excel at math, you are doing it better than anyone else. You might even be moving so much faster than the rest of your class, you're put into a special, accelerated math program.Excel derives from the Latin excellere, which is all about going beyond the high. Someone who excels at the violin might practice five hours a day because they are striving for excellence, meaning outstanding-ness. You could describe their performance as excellent, or fantastic. That doesn't mean you yourself want to practice five hours a day. Excel means to stand out, and some of us are pretty happy standing right where we are.

minority

If you have eight pennies and twelve dimes, the minority of your coins are pennies. The word minority is often used to describe people when their race or religion is shared by less than half of a nation.If you have red hair, you are in the minority as most people have blonde or brown hair. Because white people of European descent make up the majority of the population in the U.S., pundits refer to the minority vote when they talk about the political candidates that non-whites prefer in political elections. Majority is the opposite of minority.

lack

If you lack something, you need or want something that's missing. When there's a lack of food, people starve.There are a lot of things lacking in the world. If you have no video games, then you're lacking them. People who are thirsty and starving lack food and water. Many people lack money and health care. A lack of something is the opposite of an abundance of something. If you have plenty of books, then you don't lack them though you may lack enough time to read them all.

client

If you pay for something, you are a client. If you pay to get your dog groomed, you are a client of the dog groomer (and so is your pooch).If you shop at a certain store or use the services of a particular business, then you are a client of that store or business. If you want to go into acting, for example, you'll need to become a client of a talent agent.In computer terms, a client is a computer that makes a request of another computer, called a server. The term client is especially used in networks where one server may handle multiple requests from multiple clients.

rave

If you rave about a book you just read, you're telling people you think it's great, or you're giving it a rave review.Rave has two levels, one that implies you're very excited about something and the other that you are too excited, so you seem crazy. While raving about a movie means to talk it up, being a raving lunatic means you are engaging in a lot of crazy talk. When you rave about a performance, you talk enthusiastically about it. Take that enthusiastic talking to the next level, and you might be called raving in the crazy sense.

peril

If you realize mid-climb that your rock climbing rope is frayed, you might be in peril. The word peril means imminent danger to life and limb.Peril comes from the Latin peric(u)lum, meaning danger. Today it's often used in tandem with the word mortal, which relates to death. For example, you're in mortal peril when you're flying down a cliff-side trail on your mountain bike and you hit loose gravel. Peril can also describe dangers of a less physical sort, though it's less common. If your employer sinks your 401K into what turns out to be a Ponzi scheme, he's put your retirement in peril.

promote

If you work for a marketing firm, your job is to promote new products to publicize them and to try to get the public to buy them.The verb promote can also mean to advance to a higher position. Because of your hard work, your boss might decide to promote you. In school, passing students are promoted each year when they enter a higher grade. In chess, the verb promote is used when a pawn is exchanged for a higher ranking piece. Make sure you promote your pawn to a queen, giving you two queens on the board and a strong advantage in the game.

solitary

If you're a lone wolf, a one-man band, a rugged individualist, or an island unto yourself, you prefer to be solitary in other words, alone or single. The term can be used to describe a person, a place, or a thing.Solitary comes to us from the Latin solus, which means alone. Note its similarity to words like solo and, for all you card players out there, solitaire. You can take a solitary walk, during which you don't utter a solitary word, but pause to admire a solitary green shoot peeping through the snow. Solitary is also common in the prison world: Inmates on Alcatraz who were deemed too dangerous to mingle with their fellows were put in solitary confinement cells.

observant

If you're observant, youre paying close attention to the details.If you're really observant, you would notice the little blob of mustard on your boss's jacket and brush it off for him before he goes to his business dinner.Your mother may be so observant that she notices every bit of dust you miss when you vacuum. But if you're so observant that you notice every coin on the sidewalk, you might soon have enough money saved to buy your mom a robo-vac. Observant can also mean that you're careful to follow laws and customs to the letter. If youre an observant Jew or an observant Catholic, youre following your religions rituals and practices very strictly.

sneer

If your smile is contorted with contempt or your upper lip curled with distaste and disdain, you're probably sneering. And you should stop, because it isn't nice.Many things can elicit a sneer:a terrible red carpet outfit, a disgusting plate of food, a stupid joke told for the third time. But sneers aren't just meant to show disgust. They're mean-spirited, mocking and often downright snooty. So now that you know the definition of sneer inside and out, resist the temptation to sneer at those who don't!

transmit

If youre an international spy, you might transmit secret messages using a special code written in invisible ink. If you arent a spy, you could probably just use email. Whatever your circumstances, when you transmit information, you send.You can transmit things from person to person or from one thing to another. The airwaves can be used to transmit radio or TV signals, for example, and computers can transmit messages over a network. This verb often describes messages or data being sent, but you can also transmit ideas, beliefs, or attitude. In addition, transmit can describe the spread of disease, like mosquitoes that can transmit disease when they bite.

vast

If youre in a boat out on the water and you cant see any land, then the body of water youre in is probably vast, or enormous.Things that are described as vast include oceans, seas, the heavens, deserts, and the surface of the moon. Even places that can't be seen or touched, like imaginations, are called vast, because of the endless ideas that come out of them. Someone with a vast imagination is very creative, and a place with a vast landscape is very large. Possibilities are vast, and so are the vocabularies of the world, filling vast volumes.

ignite

Ignite is a verb that means to start heat or a flame. Trying to ignite a match inside a dark fireworks factory is a really bad idea one that can get you blown sky high.The literal definition of ignite is to cause something to catch fire or burn. Dousing a house in gasoline and putting a lit match to the front door will surely cause the home to ignite. In its more figurative sense, ignite means to inspire intense feelings. A passionate kiss can ignite a fiery romance, but if one of the people doing the kissing is married to someone else, that kiss could ignite a spouse's fury.

maintain

Maintain means to keep the samekeep steady, keep up, or keep going. Sure, you can ride your bike super fast on a flat surface, but it can be hard to maintain that speed, or keep the same speed, going up a hill.When you maintain a strict study schedule, you stick to it. When you maintain your car in good working order, you take good care of it. If you maintain records of your business activity, it means you make notes of your sales and expenses. If a teacher maintains order in the classroom, she never lets disruptions get out of hand. If you maintain your family, you keep them in food, shelter and clothing. If you maintain that eating animals is cruel, you keep that position.

majority

Majority means most of, or the biggest part. Does the majority of what owls eat mice, rats, squirrels, moles sound appetizing to you? If not, youre probably in the majority of people.In an election, victory usually goes to whoever wins the majority of votes, or more than half of them. The opposite of majority is minority. A majority of the more than one billion Roman Catholics in the world live in Latin America; a small minority of all Roman Catholics live in Asia.

massive

Massive means enormous. Obviously, Mt. Everest is massive, but a massive budget cut isn't necessarily big in physical mass; it's something that is imposing in scale or power. A massive budget cut can do a lot of damage.Unless someone is referring to your intellect, massive is not a word you want used in a description of your attributes. Massive is a nice one to trot out when huge, gigantic, and enormous sound too over-the-top.Politicians use it often. Massive could also be the best way to describe the wave you surfed on your Hawaiian vacation or the size of the fish you nearly caught on that trip with your friends.

vicinity

If something is in your vicinity, it's in the surrounding area or nearby region it's in the neighborhood, so to speak. If there's a garbage dump in your vicinity, you'll certainly smell it.The noun vicinity evolved from the Latin vicinitas, which means of or pertaining to neighbors or a neighborhood. Not until 1796 did the word expand in meaning to also describe a surrounding district. Said American author Washington Irving, A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles. Slang for vicinity include neck of the woods and turf.

masculine

If somethings masculine, its related to men. When you hear a masculine voice outside greeting your neighbor, you know its your dad and not your mom.Masculine can describe people or things that have qualities often associated with men. If someone has a masculine appearance, the person is probably tall and strong. If your new jacket has masculine tailoring, that means its cut like a mans jacket. Masculine can also refer to words. In many languages, words especially nouns are given a gender. If youve studied French or Spanish, you know you need to figure out which article to use with a masculine noun.

tyrant

If you accuse your parents of being tyrants, you are saying they abuse their control of youthey are cruel, overly restrictive of your freedoms, and unfair. A tyrant is a ruler who is cruel and unjust.Here's an idea for a game: list all the tyrants in history and vote for the worst tyrant of all time. Don't limit yourself to 20th or 21st century ones like Hitler and Stalin and Saddam Hussein. Maybe put Attila the Hun on your list. You could also name a few minor tyrants in your life, such as your boss or another person with unreasonable demands.

authority

If you have the authority to do something, you have the right or power to do it. You are the big cheese. Or, if you know more about a topic than most, you are an authority on that topic.Giving someone authority grants them the power to make important decisions or have accepted opinions. When you leave your kids with a babysitter, you give her the authority to put them to bed at 7 p.m., no matter how much they insist you let them stay up until midnight. You'll feel more confident leaving the babysitter in charge of bedtime decisions if she's written two books on the subject and is an authority, or renowned expert, on children's sleep habits. Being an authority on children's sleep habits helps your babysitter enforce that 7 p.m. bedtime, but it may not convince the kids.

vague

If your grasp of physics is vague and you've got a test coming up, it's time to hit the books.When something is vague, its unclear, murky, and hard to understand.Vague comes from the Latin vagus, which means wandering or rambling. Think of a vagabond, someone who wanders around the world with only a vague idea of where he's going. There are a few big, impressive words for vague, including ambiguous, nebulous, and tenebrous.

decade

She was so nervous to see her high school sweetheart at their reunion: it had been a decade (ten years) since she'd seen him at graduation, and she still got butterflies thinking about him.A decade is a period of ten years. Decade contains dec, which is used in words that have to do with tens. The Marty Paich Dectet was a band with ten players. A decahedron is a shape with ten faces. And the decimal system is based on the number ten.

unforeseen

Something unforeseen is something that could not be predicted and was not expected. It's a surprise.If something was foreseen, you saw it coming and it wasn't a surprise. Something unforeseen is the opposite: no one saw it coming. Accidents are usually unforeseen events: no one expects to get in a car or bike accident on a given day. Winning the lottery, since it's so unlikely, would be an unforeseen event. If something was unanticipated or out of the blue, it was unforeseen. Unforeseen events can be good or bad, but theyre all surprises.

sinister

People who are left-handed might feel unlucky having to use a desk designed for right-handers, but there probably wasn't any sinister, or evil, intent behind the design. Or was there?In the 15th century, when the word sinister came into use in English, people who were left-handed were thought to be bad luck or even evil. In his play Hamlet, Shakespeare wrote of the villain holding a human skull in his sinister i.e., left hand. It would seem to be sinister, or wicked, enough to see a human skull in the right hand, not to mention unlucky for the person missing a head in the first place.

bait

People who go fishing arent the only ones to use bait. When you hold a yard sale, place your best stuff closest to the sidewalk to serve as bait. Bait can be anything from the worms that hide a hook to a stereo that tempts shoppers to stop and browse.Bait can also mean the act of getting someone or something to do what you want. For generations, students have baited their teachers into wasting class time with a question about a personal interest or obsession: This talk about integers is very fascinating, Mr. Green, but what do you think about last nights Penguins game? Bait comes from the Old Norse, word beita to cause to bite. Asking Mr. Green what other Viking words he knows might be interesting, and provide bait for his next off-topic musing.

pollute

Pollute is a verb that means to make something dirty or impure. You can pollute a river by pouring waste into it, or you can pollute your body by eating way too much candy.Pollute comes from the Latin word pollut-, meaning soiled. When you pollute something, it's soiled or contaminated, often by something poisonous. You might have heard the word pollution pollution is the stuff that pollutes the environment. The word pollute can be used more figuratively to describe something that corrupts or degrades. For example, reading articles about celebrity weddings can pollute your mind.

stationary

Stationary means not moving. A stationary bike is the kind you find in the gym you pedal and pedal, but you just dont go anywhere. Choose Your Wordsstationary / stationeryMake sure youre stationary,or still, while you jot down a love letter on your fancy stationery, so the writing isnt all squiggly.Continue reading... Something stationary is staying right where it is, like that bike, or anything else that doesnt budge. If your car crashes into a stationary van, its probably your fault because that van was parked. If your aunt is sick and in the hospital and has been that way for a while, the doctor might say her condition is stationary. Animals that dont migrate are stationary. Troops that arent marching are stationary. Something stationary is still.

migrate

To migrate means to move from one place to another, sometimes part of a back-and-forth pattern, and sometimes to stay. Choose Your Wordsemigrate / immigrate / migrateGoing somewhere? Emigrate means to leave one's country to live in another. Immigrate is to comeinto another country to live permanently. Migrate is to move, like birdin the winter.Continue reading... When we think of the word migrate we think of movement from place to place. Sometimes that movement is seasonal, as when birds migrate north in summer and south in winter. But sometimes a person or group will migrate from one place to another with the intention of settling there. In both cases, there is a definite shift in locales, one temporary, the other permanent.

mumble

To mumble is to talk quietly and indistinctly. When people speak in a mumble, it's hard to understand them.Mumbling is a way of speaking thats a little like whispering. Like whispering, mumbling is usually done with a low voice. However, mumbling is harder to understand than a whisper. When we mumble, we don't form out words clearly. Mumbling is the opposite of speaking clearly. Some people mumble because they lack confidence. Others might mumble because they're tired or not feeling well. If you want to be a good public speaker, you'd better learn to not mumble.

prosecute

To prosecute is to participate in or pursue something to completion, like a governments intention to prosecute a war. Prosecute is most often used for bringing legal action against an accused person or group. Choose Your Wordspersecute / prosecuteWhatis it about pursuing legal action that makes people think of harassing someone?Although we're not sure, it turns out that people have been confusing persecute and prosecute from the start.Continue reading... Prosecute comes from the Latin, prosesutus, meaning follow after. The legal sense of the word first appeared in the 1570s. A district attorney will often prosecute, by bringing legal charges and action against a person or group (watch any TV legal drama, and the prosecution will no doubt prosecute eventually). A company may prosecute by suing to protect against damages. Prosecute should not be confused with the word persecute, which means to harass or oppress.

provide

To provide means to give or supply. When you stay in a bed and breakfast, the innkeeper will generally provide you with a meal in the morning as part of the price of the room.The verb provide generally means to make available or even to allow. The Constitution, for example, provides for protected freedom of speech. But you've probably also heard people talking about getting a job to provide for their family in that case, to provide means to make money to pay for food and bills, or in other words, bring home the bacon.

resent

To resent something is to feel anger or bitterness toward it. You might resent someone who has treated you poorly.To resent is a strong, negative feeling.You may resent the accusation that you were stealing cookies, or when a teacher yelled at you for whispering, even though everyone else was too. You might resent a friend who has more money or friends than you. Lots of people resent celebrities because they're famous and wealthy.If your friend borrowed a sweater and didnt return it, you would probably resent it. Resenting is the opposite of being grateful.

resign

To resign is to quit or retire from a position. You can also resign yourself to something inevitable, like death meaning you just accept that it's going to happen.When people resign, they're leaving something, like a job or political office. Congressmen resign after a scandal. Coaches resign after a really terrible season. Regular folks simply resign when they're ready to go. In those cases, resign is a nicer way of saying quit. Being resigned is another sense of this word it's a type of acceptance. If your team is losing 80-20, you might as well resign yourself to losing. That just means you aren't in denial.

resist

To resist something is to keep it at bay or to fend off its influence or advance. You might not be able to resist the temptation to sneak out to the dance in spite of your parents' objections.The verb resist comes from the Latin word resistere, meaning to take a stand, or withstand. People who are able to put up a wall be it mental, physical, philosophical, emotional, or otherwise to defend themselves or their group against a threat can be said to resist. The Amish community is still able to resist the influence of technology. Many a child will resist the suggestion to use a napkin. You might resist a second helping of pie.

revise

To revise means to alter or improve a preliminary draft of something, usually a text. When you want your writing to be really great, you must revise it several times until it is perfect.The word revise sounds like the related word revisit, and revising a piece of work does in fact require revisiting it. Planning out a project includes estimating how much it will cost and when it will be done. If something unforeseen happens, you might have to revise your estimates of cost and completion date. You can also use revise as a noun. Once you finish the first draft of an essay, you can begin working on the revise.

revive

To revive something is to provide it with new energy or life, like when you revive a drooping plant by watering it, or when you revive a boring party by breaking out the karaoke machine.Revive comes from the Latin roots re-, meaning again, and vivere, meaning to live. So, the word revive means live again.While the possibility of bringing folks back from the dead isnt something were qualified to comment on, we will note that revive can be used in a sense thats very close to its literal meaning; specifically, revive can mean cause someone to regain consciousness.

soothe

To soothe is to relieve or to bring comfort. If the pounding in your head is driving you mad, it sounds like you might need an aspirin or two to soothe your headache.Soothing is meant to make you feel better, both physically and emotionally. Spend too many hours on the beach without sunblock? You'll need some aloe to soothe that sunburn. Had a bad breakup with a boyfriend? Soothing that broken heart might take something stronger chocolates, a gabfest with good friends, and sappy movies are usually just what the doctor ordered.

squander

To squander means to spend extravagantly, thoughtlessly, or wastefully. If you need to save for college, don't squander her income on nightly sushi dinners.Squander used to mean scatter, and the way we use it now implies throwing something (like money) all over the place. You can squander time as well as money. If you have a big deadline but you are chatting away or looking at social networking sites, you are squandering your time. If you have a big chance to play for a major league baseball team, but show up to the tryouts hung over, you have squandered your chance.

survive

To survive something is to live through it or endure it. You can survive a car accident, or you can survive your little brother's four-hour violin recital.The verb survive is from the Latin word supervivere, live beyond, or live longer than. Originally to survive was used in the legal context as in you survive your wife and therefore inherit her kingdom. However, nowadays you might say that you were able to survive a holiday at your in-laws, that your brother survived his first round of job interviews, or that you will never survive another all-day trip to the zoo in ninety degree heat.

tact

To talk carefully without hurting anyones feelings, thats tact.Politicians have tact, which makes them good at speaking about sensitive matters without making fools of themselves.At least, sometimes they have tact.Around a friend whos afraid of snakes, you use tact when talking about reptiles because you dont want to upset them.The Latin root word tangere means touch, and a person with tact avoids touching dangerous words like they are an electric fence.When you say something without tact, you put your foot in your mouth, as the phrase goes.You dont literally put your foot in your mouth, although if you did youd avoid offending people with words.

thrust

To thrust is to push forward quickly and forcibly, like the way a pirate would plunge or thrust a sword into his enemy.Thrust is often used when you're talking about knives or swords or jabbing someone with something. In fact, a thrust refers to a sharp blow or stab. Violence aside, thrust can be any kind of forceful push or driving force. Aggressive street vendors thrust their wares on you and young movie stars are thrust into the limelight at an early age which may be disconcerting, but certainly is not as frightening a knife thrust in your direction.

unearth

To unearth something is to dig it up. You could unearth a coffin, or even a tee shirt buried in the bottom of a drawer.To put something in the earth is to bury it, to unearth it is to take it back out. When digging in the yard youll probably unearth creepy-crawlies and, with luck, a lost treasure will surface. To bring anything hidden into the light is to unearth it. You can unearth the secret affairs of your lover, you can unearth the lies of a corrupt government, and you may even unearth a childs secret candy stash from under the mattress.

vaccinate

To vaccinate is to immunize someone against a disease. Babies are usually vaccinated against many diseases soon after birth.A vaccine is a type of medicine that makes you resistant (immune) to a disease like polio. To give someone such a medicine is to vaccinate them. You can use this word in a few ways. A doctor is usually the person who vaccinates a child (or older person) by administering a vaccine. You can also say the parents have vaccinated their children by making the decision to do so. Animals can be vaccinated too, like dogs are vaccinated against rabies.

volunteer

To volunteer means to freely offer up your time and service to help. So a volunteer might offer to water a neighbor's plants while he's on vacation or sign up to serve dinner at a local homeless shelter.When it came into usage circa 1600, the noun volunteer referred to a person who offered himself up for military service. It wasn't until a few decades later that the word was first used in a non-military sense. And a little over a hundred years after that, volunteer expanded from functioning as just a noun to also playing the role of verb. A volunteer is someone who volunteers: willingly performs a task or offers a service.

wail

To wail is to let loose a long loud cry. If you're feeling truly miserable, take a deep breath and wail as loudly as possible.When it comes to expressing unhappiness, wailing lies at the extreme end of the spectrum. So, it's best to save this response for life's most unpleasant moments unless you're a jazz musician. In jazz terminology, wailing on one's instrument is actually a good thing. What's the connection between an eardrum-shattering expression of misery and a hot jam session? The answer to that question may depend on your personal musical preferences.

drought

When there is a drought somewhere, there's not enough rainfall. In certain areas, a drought can last for weeks, months, sometimes even years! Forget about running your lawn sprinkler during a drought; the water is more needed for human hydration and toilet flushing.Another way drought can be used is to refer to a shortage of something (other than rainfall) that lasts for a long period of time, like a drought in job growth during a recession. Typically a drought is not a good thing and something you hope to avoid. For example, if your friend Kenny hasn't gone on a date in five years, it's safe to say that he is having a romantic drought.

humid

When there is a lot of moisture in the air, it is humid out. The air in a rain forest is humid, the air in a desert is dry.People like to say that it's not the heat that bothers them, it's the humidity. They say this because when it is humid, or when there is a lot of water in the air, the heat feels hotter. It also makes wavy hair frizzy and straight hair limp. Air that is cold and moist is called damp, so when people talk about humid air, think tropical, as that's usually how the word is meant.

dense

When woods are dense, the trees grow close together. When fog is dense, you can't see through it. And if someone calls you dense, they think nothing can get into your thick skull.Dense comes from the Latin densus which means thick and cloudy. In general, the word means packed tight and gives the sense that something is difficult to get through. Text can be dense in two different ways: when the words are packed closely together on the page, and when the text is filled with big words and complicated thoughts. Either way, reading dense text is just no fun.

bigamy

When you are married to two people at the same time, thats called bigamy. For example, if someone gets remarried before his or her previous marriage's divorce is finalized, that's bigamy.The noun bigamy originates in the Greek as a combination of the prefix bi-, meaning double, and gamos, which means marrying. There are some cultures and religions that promote, encourage and otherwise allow polygamy, but where its illegal, which is most of the Western Hemisphere, its called bigamy.

betray

When you betray someone or something, you provide information whether you mean to do it or not, like the loud growling of your stomach that betrays your hunger or the secret you tell about your friend that betrays her trust.When you betray someone or something, you reveal something, like a secret or your true feelings. You may betray your impatience, for example, if you sit at your desk tapping your fingers. There is another meaning of betray that is just the opposite: lie. You betray your friend if you pretend that something is true just to trick him into doing what you want. In this case, betray means the same thing as deceive.

conceal

When you conceal something, you are keeping it from being discovered: To avoid another argument with his cousins, Jonathan worked hard to conceal his disappointment at the outcome of the race.The verb conceal can be used to describe the hiding of feelings (as in to conceal anger) or facts (as in to conceal identity). Conceal also can be used to describe the act of hiding or covering an item to prevent discovery. If you eat the last piece of chocolate cake, for example, you may want to conceal the evidence by removing the icing-stained plate from your room.

discard

When you discard something, you get rid of it. If your closet is overflowing with clothes you haven't worn since 1992, why not discard some of them?When the verb discard first entered the English language in the sixteenth century, it referred to card playing and meant to throw a card away. Discard is still used to describe getting rid of unlucky cards, but today, youll also hear it used in a broader sense we discard, or throw away, things that are undesirable or no longer useful. You might discard a worn out shoe, for example.

exaggerate

When you exaggerate you stretch the truth. Fishermen tend to exaggerate the size of their fish. And children tend to exaggerate the seriousness of their cuts, in order to get a cute Band-Aid.We all have a tendency to exaggerate. It makes our stories funnier, or more dramatic. After all, when you exaggerate, you're not really lying you're just overstating things. The word exaggerate can also suggest that a particular characteristic is overdone or almost larger than life. If you describe someone as having an exaggerated limp, he or she might be walking like a gorilla.

inhabit

When you inhabit a place, you live there. When actors inhabit their roles, they seem to become the characters, no longer actors reciting their lines. It is like they live the life of the character.The verb inhabit comes from the Old French enhabiter, meaning dwell in. You can inhabit an actual place, like a home, a cave, or a neighborhood. You can also inhabit an imaginary world, like those who choose to inhabit cyberspace with a made-up persona, telling about experiences that are nothing like the person's real life. Actors who truly inhabit their roles sometimes struggle to return to reality after a movie or television show wraps.

nourish

When you nourish your imagination or your body, you give it what it needs to stay healthy and flourish (hey, that rhymes!).Whenever you eat a nutritious meal, you nourish your body. You can also nourish your dreams by allowing yourself to take chances and try what interests you, even if you're not sure what the outcome will be. To transform the verb nourish into an adjective, you can just add ing. Then, you can describe things that nourish you like protein shakes or good poetry as nourishing.

preserve

When you preserve something, you maintain its condition, like trying to preserve your good health by exercising regularly and eating right.The verb preserve describes keeping something as it is now, without a decline in quality. It can also refer to keeping something safe from harm, as in The group worked hard to preserve the regional ecosystem. When you preserve food, such as fruit, you keep it from rotting. Jellies and jams are preserves, the noun form. A preserve can also be lands set aside, or preserved, as animal habitats.

reform

When you reform something, you change it for the better.If you're running for President, you might promise to reform government, although it's easier to promise reform than to actually accomplish it.If you take the parts of reform, re- and form, you can see that it means to shape again. We often use it to talk about correcting what's wrong in a system, and if you reform something, you make it better and more fair.Juvenile delinquents might be sent to reform school to become better people. Someone fighting alcoholism might try to reform her ways. It's not always about morals: in chemistry, you reform molecules by breaking them apart.

preoccupied

When you're preoccupied, you're completely focused on whatever it is that you're doing. It's good to be preoccupied when you're driving, as long as you're preoccupied with the road and not with your cell phone.Have you ever been so preoccupied with another person that you couldn't hear or see anyone else when you were in the same room as them? Well, it sounds like you were in love! You can be preoccupied with a person, a place, or even a hobby, like collecting baseball cards or seashells. Preoccupied can also mean that you are wrapped up in your own thoughts, which is good if you find yourself to be the most amusing person in the world.

victorious

When you're victorious, you've won something. A victorious team is triumphant.Every year, one team in the Super Bowl is victorious, the winner. A victorious team or person has achieved victory, won the game, and defeated the other side. People can be victorious by winning elections, contests, games, and just about anything competitive. People who overcome diseases such as alcoholism are victorious, as are countries that win wars.

defect

A flaw in something is a defect. At certain stores you can buy clothes with slight defects. You have to be careful because the defect can be minor, like a missing button, or major, like sleeves of uneven lengths.In a person, a defect is an imperfection, which can manifest itself mentally or physically. If you are diagnosed with a heart defect, you will have to seek the advice of specialists. A hearing defect might leave your dad deaf in one ear. If you are becoming forgetful, you can joke that you are developing a mental defect, but if it continues, you'll probably want to have your head examined.

bulky

A giant box you need to carry to the post office, clothes you wear in the snow both of these things are bulky or large and difficult to deal with.Inside the word bulky you see the word bulk which refers to the size of something, usually something large. When something is bulky, it has a lot of size or heft, though it is not necessarily heavy. Pillows, for example, are bulky. It's just big in an inconvenient way. Thick yarn, or a sweater made from thick yarn, is also said to be bulky. It's thicker than your average yarn.

gleam

A gleam is a bright flash of light. If you were lost on a dark, stormy night, you'd be hugely relieved to see the gleam of a roadside diner's sign up ahead.Use the verb gleam when something is shining as if it were wet or glinting with light. Your new toothpaste might make your teeth so white that they gleam. You can also describe an emotion that appears briefly as a gleam, like a gleam of hope. And as you hatch a plan to toilet-paper the neighbor's yard, mischief might gleam in your eyes.

guide

A guide is someone who shows you the way. You'd be lucky to have a kind older sibling to act as your guide through middle school, giving you advice and helping you figure out the school and social scenes.A guide often leads tourists through a city, taking them to important sites, or assists a group of mountain climbers. Another kind of guide is a book of helpful instructions about what to see in a particular country, how to get along with your teenager, or the best way to grow orchids. When you guide people, you help them find their way, whether it's through the New York subway system or through the steps of building a campfire.

casual

"""Oh, no, are you kidding me? He's not my boyfriend, we're just in a casual relationship,"" means that our relationship lacks serious intent or commitment.A synonym for casual is ""everyday"", meaning nothing special, unusual, serious, or eventful. If you're going to your friend's house for a dinner of burgers and beer, they might say, ""It's just a casual night at home."" Or, ""Dress casual, we're just going to be serving ourselves."" Don't run out to buy a special outfit, because what you're already wearing is probably just fine. It's what you wear every day, all the time; it's casual.If you treat a person or a subject in a casual way, you're not paying close attention or treating them as special. That's not always a bad thing, by the way."

corpse

"Another name for a dead body is corpse. You might hear it on TV crime shows, but a corpse doesn't have to be a crime victim, just any lifeless body.The words corpse and ""corps"" are often confused, and with good reason both came from the Latin word corpus, meaning ""body,"" and up until the 19th Century, both referred to a dead person. Around that time, the word with the ""e"" at the end was established as the word for a person's remains, while the other spelling was relegated to a ""body"" of people working together or in a military division, and very much alive!"

appeal

"Appeal means to ask, or address. If you appeal to someone's better nature, you're asking them for mercy. If a shirt doesn't appeal to you, you could also say it doesn't ""speak"" to you, or more simply, you don't like it.Appeal also means to call upon a higher court to review a lower court's decision. If you appeal a court's conviction of you for shop lifting, you're asking a higher court to throw the decision out. Appeal descends from the Latin appellare ""to address, call upon."""

prosper

"As any fan of Star Trek knows, live long and prosper is good advice. The verb prosper means to do well, succeed, or thrive.The verb prosper commonly means to generate wealth like, the bank aims to prosper from its new investments. But more generally it means grow stronger or ""flourish"" such as after a slow start, fall crops prosper, or we hope the animals will prosper in their new environment. You can prosper from good advice or a wise decision, for example, cheaters never prosper is one piece of advice that you can prosper from."

eliminate

"As eliminate means ""get rid of or do away with,"" it has become used to refer to the end of a problem or even an entire species. We need to eliminate sources of pollution in order to maintain a healthy world.The original literal meaning of eliminate was ""to thrust over the threshold and out of doors, to kick out,"" but the 18th century saw the word expand to mean ""to exclude,"" and later to ridding the body of waste. The verb then came to refer to getting rid of anything, such as a problem or foul odor. The word took an ominous turn in the 20th century, when we saw man-made pollution eliminate whole species, and war, hate, and famine nearly eliminate whole groups of people."

baggage

"Baggage is another word for the bags you put your stuff in when you travel. Its also known as ""luggage"" or ""suitcases."" If someone says you have baggage but youre not holding anything, theyre talking about emotional baggage.Baggage is the fancy suitcase you collect from an airport carousel or the duffel bag you get out of the trunk. Its any travel bag you have your personal belongings in. Baggage can also refer to emotions from the past that get in the way of the present. In military terminology, baggage is any equipment that can be carried or hauled along. This is the original definition, from the Old French baggage, ""military equipment,"" from bague, for ""bag or bundle."""

thrifty

"Being thrifty means being careful of your money and how you spend it. Think twice before you spend, but if you must shop, hitting the sales and using coupons are good ways to be thrifty.Note the similarity between the adjective thrifty and the verb thrive, and you'll realize that being careful with your money might be an important survival tactic. Everyone worries about having enough look at how thrift shops have become important sources of clothing and other goods for many people, allowing them to buy without spending a fortune. Being thrifty is a solid virtue, as suggested by the old German proverb, ""Prudent men woo thrifty women."""

maximum

"Both a noun and an adjective, maximum takes it to the max: it means the most, the fastest, the biggest.""The most you can have is the maximum"": that's the noun. In ""the maximum amount is the most you can have,"" it's used as an adjective. You might be familiar with the shortened version of the word: the ""max."" If you take something ""to the max,"" you're doing as much of it as possible. You take it to the limit. You take it to the maximum."

subsequent

"For something that comes after something else in time or order, choose the adjective subsequent. If the entire class fails an exam, the teacher will hopefully make subsequent ones a little easier.Subsequent comes from the Latin subsequi ""to follow closely"" and means just that - following or coming after. If you say, ""in 1990 and subsequent years,"" it includes 1990, whereas ""the years subsequent to 1990"" do not include it. When you mention a car crash and subsequent traffic jam or a scandal and subsequent investigation, one follows the other in order but a cause and effect relationship is implied too."

glance

"Glance involves quick contact. When you glance at someone you take a quick peek at them. When a knife blow glances off you, it doesn't penetrate, but hits at an angle.When you glance at someone, it's often because you don't want to be caught staring. Remember: ""Strangers in the night/exchanging glances..."" In certain circles, if someone is caught glancing at someone else's girlfriend, he'll find himself in a fist fight, praying only that his beefy opponent will deliver only a glancing blow."

gloomy

"Gloomy means ""dark and dreary."" A cloudy day, a sad song about lost love, your downbeat mood after your team loses a big game all of these can be called gloomy.Have you ever been called a Gloomy Gus? If so, you must have been acting depressed or sulky. But you aren't the first to be called that after all, Gloomy Gus was a comic book character who first appeared in 1904. By the 1940s, this nickname caught on, describing and possibly adding to the misery of those who are less happy-seeming than the people around them."

heed

"Heed is an old word, meaning to listen to and follow. It can also be used as a noun: ""Take heed of my instructions, little boy,"" said the old bearded man. ""My potion will only work for the one who wears the ring.""The most common use of heed is with warnings. The word derives from Old English hdan and is related to the Dutch hoeden and German htenfrom Germanic cultures where fairy tales with mysterious warnings and magical consequences abound."

horrid

"Horrid things are absolutely dreadful they horrify or disgust you. A horrid dream can make you wake with a gasp and lie there with your heart pounding.You might cover your eyes during a particularly horrid scene in a scary movie, or skip past the horrid photos of a war zone in the newspaper. Things are also horrid when they're just plain bad: ""That wallpaper in your bedroom is absolutely horrid."" In the 1400s, horrid meant ""hairy, shaggy, or bristling."" The word stems from a Latin root, horrere, ""to bristle with fear."""

warden

"The person who works at a jail as the boss of all the prison guards is called the warden.A warden's job is to manage a prison so while she may be uniformed and armed like a guard, her actual tasks may look more like a desk job. The noun warden has traditionally been used to talk about someone in an official supervisory position, especially in British English, but the prison guard definition goes back to the early thirteenth century, when it meant ""one who guards."" The root is the Old English word weard, ""a watchman or sentry."""

valiant

"It was pretty courageous of the automaker Plymouth to name a car the ""Valiant"" in the 1960s and 70s because that term usually refers to a hero or describes a really determined, or valiant, effort that doesn't end well.Synonyms for valiant include ""heroic"" and ""courageous,"" so it isnt surprising that those who serve in the military often are called valiant. The 14th-century French origins of the word are ""bold"" or ""of worth,"" which makes the adjective valiant a good one for describing ordinary people who put all they have into something, making their efforts valiant, even if they fail. The Plymouth Valiant, by the way, was considered a strong and successful car, though valiant usually refers to people."

jeopardize

"Jeopardize means to put at risk or pose a threat. Jeopardize your career by posting silly pictures of yourself on Facebook. Jeopardize your friendships by posting silly pictures of your friends on Facebook.Jeopardize stems from the Old French jeu parti, which literally translates to a game with divided, or even, chances.An even chance of winning hardly seems a risky endeavor, but maybe our forefathers weren't big risk-takers. Whatever the reason, jeopardize has come to mean the act of putting yourself or something at risk, through circumstance or behavior. Think of double-jeopardy on the gameshow ""Jeopardy"" and you'll better understand what it means to jeopardize your savings."

legible

"Legible describes readable print or handwriting. If someone tells you that your writing looks like ""chicken scratch,"" it might not be legible, except to other chickens.Legible goes back to the Latin word legibilis, meaning ""that can be read."" If you can read someone's handwriting, it is legible. The person might not have perfect penmanship, but if you decipher the letters, the writing is legible. People's signatures are especially notorious for not being legible that's why we often must print or type our names below."

logical

"Logical describes something that comes from clear reasoning. Using a fire extinguisher to put it out a fire is a logical step. Trying to put it out with gasoline is not.The adjective logical is rooted in the Greek word logos, which means ""reason, idea, or word."" So calling something logical means it's based on reason and sound ideas in other words, thought out with mathematical precision and removed from emotion. Sounds strict and boring, but it's the orderliness and consistency of logic that helps you write a great argument or figure out how to solve a problem."

majestic

"Majestic things display great dignity, befit a great ruler, or are simply far superior to everyday stuff. Compared with a peasant's hut, for instance, a king's palace is quite majestic.The adjective majestic has origins in the Latin word majestatem, meaning ""greatness, dignity, honor, or excellence."" It's often used to describe things connected with kings and queens (whom, you'll remember, we often address as ""Your Majesty""). We also like to refer to the great creatures and places of the natural world as majestic: Mt. Fuji in Japan for example, or a bald eagle flying over the Grand Canyon."

qualify

"Make sure you know the context when using the word qualify. In one sense, it means to be right for, to measure up. In another sense, though, qualify means to change something slightly, to limit it or add a condition to it.If you want to qualify for your driver's license, remember not to drive through that final stop sign without stopping. I guarantee you that if you don't stop you will not qualify. You don't just get your Eagle Badge. You have to qualify for itthere's a lot to do before you get it. The word might be used in its other sense like this: If you plan to get married, keep your vows simple: say ""I do."" Don't qualify them by saying something like ""I do...except sometimes, when I don't."" If you have to qualify your wedding vows, don't get married."

matrimony

"Matrimony is just a fancy way of saying ""marriage."" When a couple ties the knot, they are engaging in matrimony.You can describe the actual wedding celebration as matrimony, and also the state of being married, although it's a formal word most often used in documents and in the words of the ceremony. The Latin word for matrimony is matrimonium, which comes from combining mater, ""mother,"" with the suffix monium, ""action or condition."" In the old days, matrimony was basically the same thing as making a woman into a wife and mother."

anticipate

"To anticipate something is to be expecting it. Your dog might be waiting by the door, anticipating his next walk or squirrel chase.""Anticipating something"" also often implies that you are preparing to take some action because of your expectations like when you anticipate your chess opponent's next move and plan a counterattack. The word anticipate can also mean ""to come beforehand"" as in a certain musical trend anticipating another."

pauper

"Pauper is an old-fashioned word for someone who is poor really poor, like the paupers described by Charles Dickens or Mark Twain.The noun pauper has been around for over 500 years, but today, the word tends to mostly crop up in literature. If people use it in conversation, they tend to use the word self-deprecatingly. ""I'm sorry, I can't afford to go with you to the movies. I'm living like a pauper this week, until I get paid."""

perish

"Perish means to die, but it suggests a slow, gradual, nonviolent death. Starving to death is perishing. Getting hit by a bus is just plain getting killed.Perish is the kind of word you can imagine being spoken by a helpless princess in a fairy tale or any other damsel in distress""If I am not rescued soon by my valiant knight,"" she might say, ""I shall perish if I'm left alone up here in this tower to starve."""

population

"Population means the number of people in a geographic area. It can also be used for subgroups of people or animals. The city's population has passed 8 millionwho knows what that means for the rat population living off their garbage? Ugh.The word populationand also the word populacederive from the Latin populus, ""people."" To remember that population is connected to people, think about the words popular, populist, pop culture, pop music. Don't think about pop cornunless you're thinking about the movie-going population that lives on it."

rage

"Rage is a really intense anger. Some frustrated drivers let their emotions boil over into road rage when another car cuts them off, for example.If you're full of rage, you're full of anger powerful, extreme, sometimes even violent anger. Rage can also be a verb: you might rage against something you hate or as the poet Dylan Thomas pleaded, ""Rage, rage against the dying of the light."" Things that rage are out of control, like a raging, roaring fire or a wild storm. Another meaning involves the latest, greatest trend you'd say it's ""all the rage."""

rapid

"Rapid means happening with great speed or in a brief period of time. Think of Rapid Eye Movement (REM sleep), when your eyes are darting back and forth quickly trying to follow your fast-paced dreams.Rapid comes from the Latin word rapere, which means ""to hurry away"" or ""to seize."" If you are first to raise your hand in class with the correct answer, your teacher will be pleased with your rapid response. Your pulse may be rapid after you run a quick sprint, and after a rapid run-up in the stock market you may decide to sell some shares and lock in the profit."

recede

"Recede means to pull back, retreat, or become faint or distant. Flood waters recede, as do glaciers, and even abstractions like ""panic"" and ""hope."" Think ""receding hairline."" (That means bald.)Cede means to yield. Politicians, after losing an election will ""cede the field"" or ""concede the race."" Recede means to yield back. Over time it has collected a sense of fading, or growing faint, as in ""The ghostly vision of a woman receded into the fog."""

rural

"Rural means ""relating to or characteristic of the country or the people who live there."" If you move to a rural area, you won't see a lot of skyscrapers or taxis but you'll probably see a lot of trees.You may have known people who live on country roadsmail to their houses must be addressed to a rural route, abbreviated as RR. Rustic is a near synonym but emphasizes the supposed qualities of country people: being simple, awkward, and even rude and rough. The adjective rural descends from Middle English, from Old French, from Latin rrlis, from rs ""the country."""

illegal

"Something illegal is against the law or breaks the rules. If you're reading this in jail, you've probably done something illegal, and if you're not in jail, there's plenty of time to obey the law.You can use the adjective illegal to describe breaking the rules, as when you head-butt someone in a game. Acts that go against the law, such as robbing a bank, are also illegal. There is a wide range of things called illegal, from small acts to big ones, but no matter the seriousness, if it is against the law, it is illegal. This adjective also describes people who enter countries without official government approval, they are called ""illegal immigrants"" or ""illegal aliens."""

sensitive

"Sensitive describes something or someone who reacts quickly and strongly. It's often something to protect like baby skin, government documents, or a fragile ecosystem.Anything sensitive should be treated with special care. It can mean ""raw or hurting"" when talking about a part of the body. After people visit the dentist, their gums are often sensitive because of the way that big angry lady cleaned their teeth. Sensitive people get their feelings hurt easily. Sensitive documents have big secrets that shouldn't get out. A sensitive tape recorder catches all the little background sounds. Now you should have a sense of the word sensitive."

tempest

"Shakespeare's The Tempest begins with one a tempest, or a violent and windy storm. Word CountStormy Weather: A Tempest of Meteorological TermsGiven how much our day-to-day lives are influenced by weather and especially by storms perhaps it's not surprising that we have a rich vocabulary for these natural phenomena.Continue reading... The meaning of tempest has expanded over time to include the idea of anger or fighting. A ""tempest in a tea pot"" means a passionate fight over something that is in fact fairly trivial. For example, a passionate discussion about whether to use cloth or paper napkins at Thanksgiving could be considered a ""tempest in a tea pot"" to some."

innovative

"Something innovative is new and original. If you love to experiment and find new ways to do things, you are an innovative person.Innovative, like nova, novel, and novice, comes from the Latin novus, which means new. Something innovative renews or alters the way something has been done. You can use innovative to describe the thing or the person that made it. If your English teacher objects to your experimental writing style, tell him, ""I'm an innovative writer making innovative sentences!"" Antonyms are unoriginal and hackneyed."

approach

"To approach is to get near something. An airplane is cleared for a final approach just as the wheels approach the landing strip.Approach comes from the Latin word appropriare which means ""go nearer to."" You can physically approach something, like a waiter going to a table. Or, you can approach a subject, usually one you're a little nervous about like a new employee might approach her boss about getting a raise. Time can also approach, like winter, midnight, or even old age."

fugitive

"Someone who flees or runs away from the police to avoid capture is a fugitive. ""Authorities were looking for three men who escaped from prison today. Authorities believe the three fugitives may be disguised as nuns and advise the public to be careful.""Although a fugitive can specifically be someone fleeing from the police, the noun can also refer to anyone who is fleeing from an untenable situation. ""The family asked for asylum in the United States because they were fugitives from their own oppressive government."" As an adjective, the word can mean ""fleeing or fleeting."" ""Many people helped the fugitive slaves to safety."" ""At night, he was plagued with fugitive thoughts: they seemed important when he woke from sleep, but by morning he had forgotten them."""

complacent

"Someone who is complacent has become overly content the junk-food-eating couch potato might be feeling complacent about his health.The literal meaning of this word's Latin root is ""very pleased,"" but even though complacent people may seem pleased with themselves, we are rarely pleased with them. They are unconcerned by things that should concern them, and they may neglect their duties. A complacent person might be heard saying, ""Ehh, don't worry about it!"" when there really is something to worry about."

economical

"Someone who is economical avoids wasting things, like money or food. So if someone sees you wrapping up a bite of food that could be part of tomorrow's lunch, don't let him call you ""cheap."" Tell him you are economical. Choose Your Wordseconomic / economicalEconomic is all about how money works, but something economical is a good deal. You might take an economic studiesclass to understand theebb and flow of cash in the world, but if you buy a used textbook for it,youre being economical.Continue reading... The adjective economical often describes someone who is frugal with money, but the word can apply to those who avoid wasting resources of any kind. An economical speaker, for example, avoids wasting words and doesnt talk any more than is absolutely necessary. Someone who is economical with his time gets things done efficiently, just as an economical dishwasher uses the precise amount of water and electricity."

mature

"Someone who is mature acts grown up, like an adult. However, when one sister says to another, ""That's so mature,""she's usually using the word sarcastically, because her sister has done something very immature, like sticking out her tongue.The adjective mature doesn't only describe advancing age, although the residents of a senior citizens' home could definitely be considered mature. Anything that is fully developed, like an aged cheese or bottle of wine, can also be called mature. The word can also refer to something that is only appropriate for people who are considered legal adults, like the movie that is for ""mature audiences only."""

jolly

"Someone who's jolly is extremely cheerful. Your jolly French teacher might spend a large part of each class laughing out loud at his own jokes if only you understood French, you could laugh along with him.Santa Claus might be the mythical figure best known for being jolly he's especially famous for his jolly ""Ho ho ho!"" Anyone who tends to be merry or festive is jolly, and when you want to cheer up a less-than-jolly friend, you can jolly them, teasing or kidding until they smile. The Old French root is jolif, ""festive, merry, or pretty."""

appropriate

"Something appropriate is correct and fits the situation. A sweater-vest with reindeer on it is appropriate holiday apparel, even if it's totally embarrassing.The adjective appropriate is used when something is suitable or fitting. It comes from the Latin appropriare, which means ""to make something fit, to make something one's own."" Going back even further, appropriate is related to the Latin word proprius, ""to belong to a person, thing, or group."" Another appropriate way to use this word is as a verb, meaning to steal or seize something, the way you'd appropriate your sister's sandwich if she left it sitting near you."

audible

"Something audible can be heard. Sometimes things that people don't want others to hear become audible, such as a growling stomach during a quiet moment at the movies.Coming from the Latin audre, ""to hear,"" audible is an adjective meaning ""heard"" or ""hearable."" A scream is audible, a barking dog next door is audible, and a siren is audible. Why do some writers use the expression ""a barely audible whisper?"" Isnt that what a whisper is something you can barely hear?"

idle

"Something idle is not active. If your car is idling, it's running but not moving. If someone calls you idle, it either means they think you don't have enough to do or that you're just plain lazy.Idle can also mean having no value or purpose: idle rumors are rumors that people make up when they're bored, but have no grounding in fact. As a verb, idle can also refer to a car engine that is running while the vehicle is not moving. The adjective descends from Middle English idel, from Old English del ""empty."""

campus

"The land and various buildings that make up a college are its campus. If you live on campus, you'll be close to your classes.When you hear the word campus, you generally think of a college or university, which include libraries and labs and classrooms and dormitories, all of which make up a campus. Other institutions, including hospitals, high schools, and some companies' office buildings, also have campuses. The word campus is Latin for ""a field"" or ""an expanse surrounded."""

dread

"The noun dread describes the fear of something bad happening, like the dread you feel when walking alone on a deserted street in the dark.Dread is a feeling of fear, but it can also be the desire to avoid something. For example, many people feel dread at the very thought of speaking in front of an audience. As a verb, dread means ""to fear or not want something to happen,"" like students who did not study and as a result, dread getting their graded tests back. As an adjective, dread means ""frightening or terrifying,"" like a dread monster."

homicide

"The noun homicide means a murder. If you kill another person, you are committing a homicide. The level of the homicide is legally defined as murder if the act was intentional and as manslaughter if it was unintentional.Remember the meaning of homicide by remembering that cide, from the Latin cida, refers to killing, while the Latin homo means ""man. So homicide means killing a man.You can see another example in this quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes: Life and language are alike sacred. Homicide and verbicide that is, violent treatment of a word with fatal results to its legitimate meaning, which is its life are alike forbidden."

conclude

"The verb conclude means two related things: coming to a decision, and bringing to a close.Conclude is related to the word close, which is related to an old Latin word for ""barrier"" or ""bolt"" the kind you put on a door.When you conclude something, it's as though you're pulling a door shut and bolting it. If your girlfriend concludes an argument by leaving the room and slamming the door, you can conclude that she's angry at you."

detect

"The verb detect means to discover or observe the existence of something. If you walk into your house and detect the odor of burnt food, you can deduce from the evidence that you will be going out to dinner tonight!The verb detect comes from the Latin word detegere, which literally means ""to uncover"" or more figuratively, to discover. You may detect the presence of a new dog in your house if you note a water bowl, chew toys, and grooming tools. Of course, the large woofing beast that greeted you at the door with a wagging tail might be a big clue as well."

expand

"The verb expand means to make something bigger or wider. It might refer to something concrete, as when you blow into a balloon and make it expand, or something more abstract, as when you study to expand your mind.Expand is a combination of the Latin words ex-, meaning ""out,"" and pandere, ""to spread."" The idea of spreading out was always there, though the current idea of something actually becoming larger was first recorded in the mid-17th century. Expand is a versatile word that can refer to anything getting bigger, from a nation's growing influence in a neighboring country to a waistline that needs a larger belt."

hinder

"The verb hinder means to block or put something in the way of, so if youre in a high-speed car chase with the police, they might put up a blockade to hinder your progress.The word hinder came from the Old English hindrian, which means to""injure or damage."" That's a little more extreme than what it means today, because, now it just means to get in the way of something or someone. People might not like you too much if you make it a practice to hinder their progress or get in the way of things they want, even it's a small hindrance like blocking someone from getting to the cookie jar."

fertile

"The word fertile means ""able to reproduce,"" but like so many words, that's just the beginning. The fact that she gave birth to eight kids was proof that she was fertile; her fertile imagination explained their unusual names.The distance between fertile's literal meaning (able to make babies) and its figurative ones (productive, prolific, full of potential) is small. A child's mind is a fertile place; an idea can grow there very easily. Rabbits are famously fertile creatures; they can spawn several generations in a matter of months. And ""fertile ground"" can be arable land or a situation that provides the perfect opportunity. The Latin root, fertilis, means ""bearing in abundance, fruitful, or productive,"" from ferre, ""to bear."""

oral

"The word oral means having to do with the mouth or speaking. When you give an oral report in school, you stand in front of the class and talk. Choose Your Wordsaural / oral / verbalAural refers to the ear or hearing,and oral to the mouth or speaking. Something verbal isexpressed in words, either spoken or written. Listen to the aural sensations of songs from outer space when youve been gassed for your oral surgery. Then stay non-verbal because you cant use words for along time after the dentist wakes you up.Continue reading... Use the adjective oral to describe something that's spoken aloud, like an oral exam or an oral history passed between generations through bedtime stories. Oral is also good for referring to other things you do with your mouth your dentist may drive you crazy talking about ""oral hygiene,"" or keeping your teeth clean. The roots of the word oral go back to the Latin word for ""mouth,"" which is os."

assemble

"To assemble means to bring together, as in people or parts. The volunteers assembled to assemble the bikes for the needy kids.The U.S. Constitution guarantees in something in the Bill of Rights called ""the right of assembly."" This means that people are allowed to come together for any purpose they chose. In countries without this right, groups who assemble can be disbanded with the idea that they may be assembling a revolution."

related

"Things are related when there's some connection or similarity between them. The fact that you caught a cold might be related to the fact that the kids you babysat sneezed and coughed all night long.People are related when they share a family connection, and other things are related by different kinds of connections. One poem is related to another if they come from the same school or movement of poetry, and a boy's dislike of baseball is probably related to the fact that his first coach yelled a lot. The verb relate is at the root of related, from the Latin relatus, ""brought back."""

thorough

"Thorough describes something that is painstakingly complete, like a thorough search for your missing keys in which you look for them in coat pockets, under the table, in the refrigerator in every single place you can think of.Thorough rhymes with ""burrow"": ""THUR-oh."" It looks a lot like through but remember thorough is an adjective, so you might use it to describe a thorough investigation or a thorough review. In contrast through is used most often as a preposition you might look through every drawer, for example, in a search or as an adverb you might see a hole in your pocket where coins fall through."

abandon

"To abandon something is to give it up completely. If youre in a cabin and a forest fire approaches, youd better get in your car and abandon your cabin, or else be prepared to abandon your life.If you abandon something, you let it go, so when you describe someone as ""acting with abandon,"" it means they have let go of restrictions or inhibitions. Maybe you like to dance with abandon in the privacy of your own room. But abandon could also mean people have abandoned their senses. To ""drive with abandon,"" for example, means to drive recklessly."

abolish

"To abolish is to get rid of or annul. So when the principal yells at you for the 100th time for not having your shirt tucked in, it's safe to wish they'd just abolish the silly dress code.The word abolish might stir up some historical connotations, since in the U.S. it's commonly associated with bringing an end to slavery. In fact, those who opposed slavery were called ""abolitionists."" Coming to us from the Latin word abolere, meaning to ""destroy, cause to die out, or retard the growth of,"" these days abolish is used bring a final and official-sounding end to laws, codes and other non-crowd pleasing practices."

debtor

A debtor is someone who owes money. If you borrow from a bank to buy a car, you are a debtor.Most of us are debtors at some point in our lives. We borrow money to buy houses or cars, to attend college, or to tide us over when we're between jobs. Businesses and large institutions can also be debtors, and even countries are often debtors. If a developing country borrows money from a wealthier one, the borrower is a debtor. The opposite of a debtor is a creditor.

commuter

A commuter is someone who has a lengthy trip to work, usually from a suburb to a city.Some people are lucky enough to work at home or live very close to where they work. Others are commuters: commuters need to commute travel to work. Being a commuter isn't easy, because it might take anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours to get from home to work and then back again, both times during rush hour. Usually, a commuter lives in the suburbs and commutes to the city, where many jobs are.

conflict

A conflict is a struggle or an opposition. If you and your best friend both fall in love with the same person, you will have to find some way to resolve the conflict.Conflict comes from the Latin word for striking, but it isn't always violent. Conflict can arise from opposing ideas. If you want to turn your empty lot into a community garden but your wife envisions a shooting range, you have a conflict. If you're torn between two different desires, you're conflicted. Conflict can also be a verb. If you schedule a dentist appointment that conflicts with a meeting, you'll have to cancel one of them.

municipal

A municipality refers to a village, town, or city that's usually governed by a mayor and council. From this noun, we get the adjective municipal, which you can use to describe something that relates to a town or its government.Your town's city council may have offices in the municipal building downtown. If you want to fight city hall, that would be the place to go. Municipal also more generally describes anything related to the town or city itself. If you live within the city limits, for example, your house may be hooked into the municipal water supply, but if you live outside the city limits you may have to have your own well.

mythology

A mythology is a collection of myths or stories about a specific person, culture, religion, or any group with shared beliefs.Most people dont consider mythology to be entirely true, but they still take it seriously.A myth is a story about the olden days, often featuring supernatural characters, and a mythology is a bunch of myths that are related to each other.Greek mythology is filled with tales about relationships between gods and humans, usually with gods pulling pranks all the time.Christian mythology tells the story of God creating the Earth and everything after.Mythology can also mean the study of myths in an academic situation, like studying mythology at a university.

pension

A pension is a regular payment, usually from a company you worked for, that allows you to survive without working after you retire.People used to work for the one company, then retired at 65 and receive pensions: regular payments of enough money to live on in old age. Nowadays, not that many jobs offer pensions, and it's hard for companies that do to pay for them, which is why you're likely to hear this word when people are arguing about budget cuts. It's also a verb: if you pension your employee, you give them a pension. How nice of you!

architect

A person who designs buildings is an architect. If you become an architect, you'll be responsible for drawing the blueprints, planning the work, and sometimes even overseeing the construction of a building.Frank Lloyd Wright was a famous architect who helped complete over 500 projects in his lifetime, including private homes, skyscrapers, museums, churches, and schools. Architects work on buildings of all types, and the Greek root arkhitektn literally means chief builder.An architect can construct other things too, like the architects who design a video game, or the architect of your misfortune who dumped green slime on your head at a school dance.

loyalty

A person who feels loyalty to a nation, cause, or person feels a sense of allegiance, commitment, dedication toward them.Loyalty is you guessed it! the quality of being loyal. People demonstrate their loyalty to a sports team by cheering for it, win or lose. People demonstrate their loyalty to a political party by voting only for the people of that party. Brand loyalty is the notion (or hope) that once consumers identify strongly with a particular brand or product, like a car or computer, they'll stick with that brand or maker when it comes time to buy new products.

pioneer

A pioneer is one of the first settlers in a new place. If you desperately want to experience life in space, maybe you will be one of the pioneers who live in the first moon settlement.Pioneer comes from the old French for foot soldier or laborer, and particularly for groups of soldiers that would go out ahead of the rest of the troops to prepare the way. The European settlers who came to America in the 16th century are known as pioneers, as are the later groups who traveled West in the 18th and 19th centuries. We also use pioneer for anyone who takes initiative in a field, such as science or education.

pledge

A pledge is basically very serious formal promise. You can pledge allegiance to your country, you can pledge to keep a secret, and you can pledge a sum of money to a cause.Pledge can be used as both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it can be a solemn promise you've made. Or even the person who makes that promise, like the freshman pledges who take an oath to join a fraternity in college. As a verb, it describes the act of promising. I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people, vowed Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States.

prompt

A prompt is a cue that gives forgetful actors a hint for their next line, or students the topic of the essay they will write. It can also be the act of inspiring action, like your letter to the editor that prompts others to join your cause.When you prompt someone, you might offer a reminder, some assistance, or even inspiration to do something. For example, honking your car's horn prompts your friend to get moving, or your standing up for a classmate that prompts a bully to change his ways. When you prompt someone, you expect action now. This sense of speediness is also found in the adjective form of prompt, as in the prompt response that is required to win a contest.

reptile

A reptile is one of those mostly scaly and slimy animals that are cold-blooded and have backbones. Lizards and turtles? Yep both reptiles. Puppies and kittens? No way.There are many classes of animals. People are part of the mammal class. Another class is reptiles, which are all cold-blooded vertebrates (meaning they have backbones). Snakes, salamanders, frogs, turtles, and crocodiles are all reptiles. You'll see plenty of reptiles at the zoo, and you'll see replicas of some at a natural history museum since dinosaurs were reptiles.

rival

A rival is a competitor or contender that you want to defeat, whether in an actual competition or for another goal. It may be a tennis rival or a rival for your true loves affections.There are all types of rivals, but they tend to show up a lot in sports. For example, in college football, the Army and Navy have been rivals since their first meeting in 1890. Something that is able to rival something else is seen as comparable to it in quality, and something that is said to be without rival is unmatched, or better than everything else.

estimate

A rough calculation or appraisal is an estimate. When you hit another baseball through the kitchen window, your parents will get an estimate of the repair costs. And you should estimate being grounded for approximately 3 weeks.An estimate is kind of like a very educated guess. Making an estimate takes good evaluation skills, and usually estimates are pretty close to the actual outcome. If the garage bill is way higher than the estimate they gave you, for example, you have a right to be angry. But if you forgot to factor in rush hour traffic when you estimated the drive from Boston to New York, that's your own fault.

shrill

A shrill sound is high pitched and sharp, like the squeak of the mouse in your cupboard or the sound of your eek when you hear it.Closer to a shriek than a trill, a shrill tone is one that might make you cover your ears, usually because the tone is so high and sharp. A high pitched voice, a classroom of excited first graders, or the sound of chalk scraping the board can all be shrill, as can a color or light that looks as sharp and intense as a shrill tone sounds.

site

A site is a location. The leader of a Zombie Army might remind his underlings: Your web site is just a collection of pages at one address on the Web. Your burial site is where you find more soldiers! Choose Your Wordscite / site / sightAll are good for research papers: cite is short for citation, site is a place, and sight is what your eyeballs are for. TheWeb has a lot to answer for, good and bad. One item in the minus column is theincreased popularity of site andpeople throwing these sound-alikes all over the place!Continue reading... Site can also refer to a specific parcel of land, such as a building site or a burial site. Although a website has no physical location, it does have a virtual one, which is reached the same way a physical location is: by going to an address.

swarm

A swarm is a good word for a large group of bees going on the attack not good news. Like bees, any group of people or animals can be considered a swarm if they act together and quickly even fiercely.On a hot day, when an ice-cream truck shows up, it's usually greeted by a swarm of hot, hungry kids. People at a concert can be a swarm and people in the swarm can be hurt, because there's lots of pushing and shoving. When tickets for a popular movie go on sale, a swarm of people will swarm the theater. As you can see, swarm works as either a noun or verb, and people could teach bees a thing or two about swarming.

sympathetic

A sympathetic person is one who's motivated by compassion. You can imagine that most of the people who work for the Red Cross are sympathetic types.In literature and film, the sympathetic character is the one who is likable or who evokes feelings of sympathy from the audience. The sympathetic character in a romantic comedy is probably the romantic male lead who keeps getting ignored by the beautiful women. Eventually the sympathetic character will get noticed and the leading lady will fall in love with him, then they will live happily ever after.

tendency

A tendency is an inclination to do something. For example, dogs have a tendency to bark at strangers and the mail man.We all have tendencies: things we're inclined to do, or like to do, or just can't help doing. Morning people have a tendency to get up early. Basketball players usually have a tendency to go right or left. Optimists have a tendency to look on the bright side of things; pessimists have the opposite tendency. Other things have tendencies too, like how the stock market tends to go up and down.

ambush

An ambush is a sneak attack. To ambush your enemy, hide and wait for him to come near and then pounce on him.In war or in backyards, an ambush is a great way to surprise someone.Ambush comes from a Latin word meaning to place in a wood, and hiding in the woods behind a tree is a classic starting point for an ambush.The actual attack is called an ambush, but ambush is also a verb, so you can ambush your mom by dropping water balloons on her head from a tree.Please dont tell her where you got that idea.

exhibit

An exhibit is an item that is shown off for the public, such as a painting on display at a gallery or a historical document shown under glass at a museum.The main thing to remember about an exhibit is that it refers to something presented formally and in a public setting. For example, if you put an action figure on a side table in your apartment and your friends come by and notice it, well, its just an action figure on a side table. Put that same action figure on a pedestal in a fancy gallery, arrange it just so, and voil! Its an exhibit. People may even look it over and discuss its meaning in hushed tones. Students of law or people who watch a lot of TV will know that when used in a legal context, the word exhibit can also refer to an item presented as evidence in a legal court.

oath

An oath is a promise. If you want to borrow your brother's car, you may have to swear a solemn oath that you will bring it back unharmed.An oath is a solemn promise, sometimes made in front of a witness, or a vow in a court of law that you will tell the absolute truth. No matter what the circumstances are, swearing an oath is serious business. That's why it's odd that an oath can also be an angry outburst of obscene words. Your brother might mutter an oath under his breath and clench his fists angrily if you return his car to him with a broken side mirror.

debate

Another word for formally discuss is debate. Cheese lovers often debate the merits of gorgonzola, triple creme brie, and gouda. Of course, they need to accompany their arguments with a taste test!A debate is a kind of respectful, well reasoned argument over opposing points of view, although tensions can run high and voices can be raised. In fact, the verb evolved from the Old French debatre, meaning to fight. Most formal debates, during a political campaign for example, keep the battles to a minimum. But if you find yourself in the midst of a debate between a Red Sox fan and a Yankees fan, things could get ugly!

torment

By repeatedly trying to make someone miserable you torment them. The noun torment is the result of the verb torment.After stealing the old lady's purse, you might expect to be tormented by many sleepless nights. Those nights without sleep will torment (tor-MENT) you. They are your torment (TOR-ment). Perhaps you shouldn't have done that.You'll doubtless notice the relationship between torture and torment. But the subtle difference between them is that to torment someone is to torture them repeatedly. Often this is used metaphorically. For example, calling someone over and over to demand payment isn't actually torture, but it's certainly a way to torment them.

decrease

Decrease means to lower or go down. If you are driving above the speed limit, you should decrease your speed or risk getting a ticket. Students always want teachers to decrease the amount of homework.The opposite of decrease is increase, which means to raise. In science, you often are measuring increases and decreases. Is there a decrease in the time it takes water to boil when you begin with water as a liquid rather than water in its ice-cube form?

diminish

Diminish means to make smaller or lesser. If you cover a lightbulb with a dark lamp shade, the light from the lamp will diminish.It can also mean become less important. Once the light has been dimmed, its role in lighting the room is diminished. If you look at diminish, you see 'minis' which comes from the Latin word minus, as in subtraction. Other words that share this root are miniature and minuscule, all of which mean something that is small, or at least smallish.

disclose

Disclose means to reveal or expose information that has previously been kept a secret like a politician might be forced to disclose his finances or former scandals while running for office.When a politician, corporate executive, or celebrity announces that he or she has something to disclose, the public listens. They know that the information they're about to hear was kept secret for a reason. Something incriminating or juicy is about to be revealed, like a secret affair or plummeting company profits.

fierce

Fierce is ferocious and forceful, like a lion. When you are fierce, opponents fear you. Despite their loss, the talented JV team put up a fierce fight against the varsity squad.Fierce comes from the Latin ferus 'wild animal.' It means strong, proud, dangerous and ready to roar. Fierce can also be used to mean intense. The family was known for their fierce pride. If you have a fierce work ethic, you don't rest until you finish the job. And a fierce storm can really devastate a community.

harmony

Harmony is the sound of things that go together well people singing in harmony are in tune with each other. Best friends should be in harmony most of the time if they want to stay best buds!Harmony is a noun that describes an agreement, such as in feeling, sound, look, feel, or smell. Its necessary for roommates to be able to live in harmony in a small space, or theyre in for a wake-up call.In music, harmony is a pleasing combination and progression of chords. If it makes you wince, its lacking harmony. Synonyms for harmony include accord, concord, cooperation, like-mindedness, and unanimity. Antonyms, on the other hand, range from clash and disagreement to discord.

prior

Generally you should eat dinner prior to going to brushing your teeth. Use the adjective prior for things that exist earlier in time or that happen first in time or order.This is a formal word that is often used in legal language. A prior claim is a person's right to something that is considered more important or valuable because it came first. If you're looking for a less formal synonym, choose the word previous. Prior is from a Latin word with the same spelling.

burden

Getting hired as the assistant to a pastry chef seemed like a dream come true. But one week and 100 cupcakes later, its become a hard-to-bear burden accompanied by a permanent stomachache.Burden is one of those words that doubles as a noun and a verb. Defined as something you carry or withstand with much difficulty when used as a noun, and as the act of weighing down, overloading, or oppressing when used as a verb, its a word with a negative charge. Now that you know what it means, youre equipped to make sure you dont take on unnecessary burdens (getting pressured into always carrying your neighbors groceries upstairs), or become one yourself!

fortunate

If you are lucky, you are fortunate. You can be fortunate to have avoided something terrible and you can be fortunate to have acquired, won, or been bestowed with something better than those around you, like wealth and good looks. Choose Your Wordsfortunate / fortuitousGet our your lucky rabbits foot! Fortunate is lucky, but fortuitous means by chance or accident.Silly rabbit, these words arent the same.Continue reading... The adjective fortunate comes from the Latin word fortunatus, meaning prospered, prosperous, lucky, or happy. Fortunate is related to the word fortune and they have similar meanings, in the sense that those fortunate enough to have a fortune most likely have gobs of money and are sometimes called the fortunate. When it comes to predicting the future, you could get bad news from a fortune teller about whats in store for you, but if youre fortunate shell say something good.

quote

If a journalist is interviewing you and you blurt out something inappropriate, you will have to ask her not to quote you on that. Sometimes the word quote is used as shorthand for quotation, a passage of speech or writing thats repeated word for word. Choose Your Wordsquote / quotationIfyou quote someone, do you create a quote or a quotation? To quote is to transcribe what someone said or wrote, creditingthat person.Continue reading... As a verb, to quote means to repeat someones words, attributing them to their originator. If youre giving a speech on personal organization, you might want to quote Ben Franklin in it hes the master. When you write out a quote, you put the other persons words in quotation marks (Aha!). Sometimes a price estimate is called a quote, like when a mechanic looks at your engine and gives you a quote for the cost of repair.

fragile

If it's delicate and easily broken, like a rare glass vase or the feelings of an overly emotional friend, it's certainly fragile.Back in the 1500s, fragile implied moral weakness. Then around 1600, its definition broadened to mean liable to break. It wasnt until the 19th century that the word started to mean frail and was used to describe people. Today we use it to describe things like spider webs, unstable political systems, and insecure egos. Synonyms include flimsy, vulnerable, and brittle.

hazy

If it's hazy, it's definitely not clear there's fog, mist, smoke or something like that blurring the view.Hazy usually describes a sky that's fogged over or otherwise unclear. But if you're feeling a little uncertain or unsure about something, with only a bleary outline in your mind, you could say you're a bit hazy on the details.

menace

If it's threatening you or otherwise posing some sort of danger, then it's a menace. Angry rabid dogs, smog clouds, and annoying little brothers are all probable menaces.The word menace works as both a noun and a verb, but it wasn't used to describe threatening or bothersome people until 1936. Before then, common menaces probably included things like the plague, locusts, and roving bands of pirate ships. Today, a bad reputation can menace an otherwise promising career, weeds can menace your garden, and burglars are a menace to society.

hardship

If something is a hardship, it causes suffering or unpleasantness. After all the hardship you endured while training for the marathon, you really hope that youll do well or at least finish!The word hard in hardship is a tip-off to its meaning: something thats a hardship is hard. It could be hard work that you do for a larger goal like training for the marathon or it could be a situation thats hard to endure. If you lose your job, you could end up experiencing financial hardship. Sometimes a hardship is something that just happens, like the hardship people suffer following a disaster.

recent

If something is recent, it happened in the immediate past or not long ago. You are a recent fan of yoga if you just started liking it in the past week or two.If you talk about something that happened in recent months or years, it means the last one to three months or years. Otherwise, recent means new or just happened. Its particularly useful when you dont know exactly when something happened, but you know it wasnt long ago. Perhaps you have been a recent guest star on a show, and your recent movies have been very successful. You know it wasnt long ago at all and you are still a star!

pierce

If something pokes your hand, you will probably look at your hand to see if it pierced the skin. To pierce means to go right through, especially with something sharp.Pierce has several meanings, but they all involve something sharp penetrating something else, like scissors through a plastic bag or a pen through a pocket. You can also pierce confusion by saying something that makes everything clear. Another meaning has to do with sound. Much like a knife, a sharp sound can pierce the silence and a loud, high shriek will pierce your ears.

obedient

If you always do what youre told, you can be described as obedient. Authority figures love to have obedient followers.When you realize that the word obedient comes from a Latin word meaning to obey, its easy to remember what obedient means. Use obedient to describe someone who knows the rules, toes the line, and follows instructions. The word can refer to people (an obedient student), a group (obedient citizens), or even animals (an obedient dog).

distress

If you are in distress, you are in trouble. You're hurting either physically or mentally.See the word stress hanging out at the end of distress? There's a good reason for that. The noun distress refers to a state of severe anxiety or strain, often brought about by failing to study for an exam, harassing grizzly bears, or borrowing your sister's clothes without asking. When used as a verb, to distress means to cause all that pain, suffering and anxiety in other words, to stress somebody out.

blend

If you blend red and blue, you get purple. To blend is to mix together thoroughly. If you put this color in your hair, you'll blend with the people at a punk rock concert!Used as a noun, the word blend means the thing you mixed together or the act of mixing something together. Purple is a blend of red and blue. When you see this word, picture the blender on your kitchen counter. If you use it to give ice cream, fruit and fruit juice a blend, it'll mix things together well to make a very tasty blend.

frigid

Like the North Pole on the coldest day of winter, frigid is an adjective that means extremely chilly. It applies to both temperatures and personalities.Frigid comes to us from the Latin frigidus, meaning cold, chill, cool or indifferent. That explains why it's used to describe both arctic weather and someone's particularly unfriendly demeanor. So the inside of your ice box is certainly frigid, but so is a stern boss who refuses to smile or say hi when you hop in the same elevator. His glare is so emotionally frosty that it freezes you in your tracks.

miserly

Miserly people are stingy with their money and not likely to be generous, like Ebenezer Scrooge himself.The adjective miserly evolved from the Latin word miser, which means unhappy, wretched. Nowadays, it's generally used to describe someone who hoards their money and presumably miserable because of it. But be careful not to mix up the word miserly with misery even though it can often be the unfortunate mental outcome of interacting with a miserly individual.

morality

Morality is a concern with whats right or wrong. Your sense of morality prevents you from cheating on your school exams, on your taxes, or on your spouse.Youll notice the word moral is in morality. And you might remember reading fairy tales that ended with the phrase, The moral of the story is Thats because stories for children are often intended to instruct kids as to what the good or right decision is in a situation. For example, Cinderella teaches kids that if their foot fits the glass slipper, they can end up marrying a prince. How's that for morality?

editor

Newspaper editors don't write the stories, but they come up with the story ideas, assign them to writers, read all of the drafts, and correct and change them to make them ready to be published.You can be an editor without working at a newspaper. Magazines and books are all worked on by editors. There are photo editors and film editors, who splice together the footage and determine a movie's pacing. Even if you just correct your friend's spelling mistakes, you're editing her work.

obtain

Obtain means to get something that is not so easy to come by such as knowledge, rights, or a large amount of money. You wouldn't say you obtained a pair of pants, unless they were one of a kind.At times in its history, obtain has meant to be victorious or to succeed. Today, it mostly means to acquire, but keeping its prior meanings in mind helps you to use it in the right way. College degrees are something that you obtain as is permission from your parents to go to a party. When you obtain something, you have worked hard to get it, so you are pretty happy to have it.

retain

Retain means to hold on to or keep. People who can retain a lot of information are often mistaken for geniuses, but really they just have very good memories.To retain is to keep or maintain, whether in mind, possession or a certain condition. If you have a great personal assistant, you'll probably want to retain him for as long as you can. If your body is retaining water you might look a little plump. The verbs restrain and detain sound similar, but they mean to keep something by force.

quantity

Quantity tells you how much. If you're concerned with quantity not quality, it's more important how many you have than how good they are.If you get confused about quantity vs. quality, remember that quant is close to count. In Latin, quantus means how great or how much. When you count how many oranges are in a bowl, you know the quantity. When you count the grains of sand in a desert, you're counting a very large quantity . . . and you need a new hobby.

quench

Quench means to put out, put an end to, or satisfy. If you're stranded in the middle of the desert with nothing drink, you're probably dreaming of a nice big glass of ice water to quench your thirst.Quench originally meant extinguish fires. That meaning still works today, but we've expanded it to also apply to quenching the fiery thirst of a summer marathon runner or quenching the hot flames of passion. If you want to get deep about the word quench, consider what Voltaire said: Superstition sets the whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them.

severity

Severity is a plain, no-frills hardnessor the degree of hardness. You might talk about the severity of the northern winter, or the severity of your grandfather's discipline.Severity, with its root in severe, has several nuances. It can mean a hardship, like wars severity. It also refers to an extreme plainness. Think of the severity of Amish life: no phones, cars, or other modern technology. And you might use it to describe your math teachers manner: his severity is indicated by his short, clipped sentences, angry stare, and propensity to fail students without mercy.

absurd

Something absurd is really silly, absolutely ridiculous, or total nonsense. Thinking you can wear flip flops and a bikini to the North Pole is an absurd idea, for example.If you run into someone dressed in an absurd outfit or watch a movie full of absurd jokes, you'll probably have a good laugh. But find yourself dealing with the absurd; you'll likely be stuck in a depressing existential crisis. The absurd describes a state of being where human life has no purpose and everything is completely irrational.

customary

Something customary is done according to practice. When a bride walks down the aisle, it's customary for everyone at the wedding to rise out of respect.Every culture has its own customary traditions.In American culture it's customary for a child who loses a tooth to put it under her pillow and wait for the Tooth Fairy to arrive. In Greece, on the other hand, it's customary to throw a child's lost tooth onto the roof for good luck. Customary can also reference habitual things a person does, like taking your shoes off when you come home, or writing in your diary before bed.

ingenious

Something ingenious shows creativity and inventiveness. If someone compares you to Einstein, they're implying that you, too, are ingenious. Choose Your Wordsingenious / ingenuousIngenuous means innocent, artless, simple, while ingenious refers to something original, creative, inventive.Continue reading... Ingenious comes from the Latinwords for inborn talent. It started off meaning someone who was talented or incredibly smart, but has come to mean inventive, or clever. If you can solve 146,392 * 27,453 in your head, people might call you a math genius. But if you come up with a way to turn water into fuel, you will be praised as ingenious. Ingenious can also describe thing, like an ingenious device.

jagged

Something is jagged when it has an uneven edge or quality to it. Teeth can be jagged, saw blades can be jagged, and the edges of leaves can be jagged.Jagged comes from 16th century English/Scottish and originally referred to a cloth, cut in a way so that the edge is not straight, but that is toothed. Imagine a tipsy seamstress trying to cut cloth in a straight line, but her sheers stray this way then that. Shes leaving a jagged edge on the cloth. Or perhaps you have a crush on the seamstress, but she is seen kissing another. Here, shes leaving a jagged wound on your heart.

sacred

Something sacred is holy, devoted to a religious ceremony, or simply worthy of awe and respect. Jerusalem is a sacred place for many religions, just as Fenway is a sacred place for Red Sox fans.Sacred is an adjective used to describe a person or thing worthy of worship or declared holy. It usually appears in a religious context, but an object or place set aside for a particular purpose can also be sacred. Sacred spaces and items are intended to be treated with care and respect even if it's just your shrine to Brad Pitt.

slender

Something slender is slight, or skinny. A young colt is slender compared to the full grown horse it will grow into.Slender can be used in both positive and negative ways. If someone tells you you have a slender figure, you'll probably be happy, unless you're going for muscle-mass. A slender portion of potatoes will not cheer a hungry growing boy. If you don't know much about something, you can say your knowledge of it is slender. And if you become an artist, get used to living on a slender budget. Now that's a nice way to put it.

flexible

Something that is flexible is easily bent without breaking. The flexible drinking straw was invented in the 1930s by a man who saw his daughter struggling to drink a milkshake with a straight paper straw.The word flexible can refer to bendable physical objects or to intangibles like a person's mind, which can be changed. It can even refer to work environments that can adapt schedules and benefits to fit a worker's individual needs. Being physically flexible usually means good health, with no pain in movement. In all, it's great to be flexible, to be able to bend without breaking and bounce back, ready to keep going.

possible

Something thats possible is something that can happen, something that can be done, or something capable of existing.You can use possible to talk about anything that might happen. If you work really hard for a test, and you show you know the material, its possible that youll get an A. For a really hard problem like inventing a car that doesnt use gas, youll need to pursue many possible solutions. If you write science fiction, you like to imagine possible worlds. Anything is possible, if you just put your mind to it!

undeniable

Something undeniable is clearly true: it's undeniable that water is wet and the sky is blue.Undeniable things are obviously, clearly, totally, blatantly true, so true that it would be crazy to deny them. If you spilled soup in your lap, it's undeniable that you're wet and probably embarrassed. It's undeniable that a lot of dogs like chasing squirrels. On the other hand, it's undeniable that not everything is that simple. One person might deny what another thinks is flat-out undeniable.

maim

To maim something is to disfigure it through force or violence. Wartime battles have a tendency to maim soldiers.The verb maim is related to mayhem, which, historically, was the act of hurting another person so badly that they couldnt defend themselves. To maim a person or animal, even if its an accident, is to render them defenseless or disfigured, and it frequently includes the loss of a limb. The goal of driving defensively is to avoid an accident that could maim you, your passengers, or other people on the road.

harvest

The harvest is the time when you reap what you sow. As a verb, to harvest something means that you pick or gather it. You might harvest your sweet corn late in the summer.As a noun, harvest means the time of year when crops are ripe and ready to be gathered. The picked crop is also called a harvest: a bumper crop is a plentiful harvest, and a poor harvest is when things didnt grow as well as expected. As a verb, to harvest something is to gather, trap, or cull it. You can harvest a soybean crop, you can harvest beaver pelts, or you can harvest tissues or organs for transplants.

minimum

The minimum is the lowest or smallest amount possible or acceptable. If you do the minimum amount of work at your job, you might not get fired but you definitely won't get promoted.Minimum is Latin for smallest, so clearly English speakers have done less than the minimum amount of messing with the meaning of this word. Obviously, the opposite is maximum. At minimum, you should know that the word means the smallest limit of something. At most, you should be able to talk about its Latin roots.

source

The noun source describes an origin, like the source who gave the journalist the information that broke a new story, or the place something originates, like the source of a river, or the Web site that is your source for celebrity gossip.The noun source can also refer to information obtained from documents, such as books, letters, newspapers, and journals. For example, when you write a research paper, you read, paraphrase and quote from sources. A source can also be a place where you get things, like a certain store being your source for discount sneakers or something that provides, like oranges, a good source of Vitamin C.

ban

The verb to ban means to forbid something from being or happening. The word can also be used as a noun. A school board might put a ban on all books that refer to Jefferson's mistress if they don't want anyone reading about her.If your parents are upset by how much time you spend online, they might ban computers in the house. But if you're smart, you can just use your phone or laptop at school. To ban something is to put a ban on it. Something with a ban on it is said to be banned. A ban can vary from your grandmother's ban on people wearing shoes in her house to a government's ban on printing certain stories in the newspaper.

bachelor

There are two criteria needed in order to be a bachelor: one is that you cant be married, and the other is that you have to be a man.Any people outside of these criteria are some other word.The origins of bachelor are unclear, but some similar Latin words are baccalris (farm hand), baccalrium (dairy farm), and bacca (cow).Maybe some bachelors spent a lot of time milking cows before getting married in the olden days.The phrase eligible bachelor means a guy who would make a great husband, and the phrase confirmed bachelor describes a man who is having so much fun being single that hell probably never marry.Either way, pronounce it like this: BATCH-uh-lur.

insist

To insist on something is to demand or swear to it. You can insist that you didn't eat the last piece of cake, and then insist that your brother show your mom the bits of frosting on his fingers.The verb insist comes from the Latin insistere, meaning persist, dwell upon, or stand on. To insist on something, like a room with a view, is to say that you must have it. To insist that you never met that man before in your life even though there's a picture of the two of you together is to claim that you're telling the truth. To insist on tapping your foot on the chair leg is annoying.

magnify

To magnify is to make something bigger, whether in size or in significance.A magnifying glass makes things look bigger and when anything is magnified, it gets larger in some way. If your hunger is magnified, you've gotten hungrier. Wearing a heavy coat on a hot day will magnify the heat: you're feeling hotter and hotter. Also, non-physical things get magnified. The press could magnify a story by discussing it over and over, making it a bigger story than it was originally. All types of magnifying make things bigger.

absorb

To absorb is to take in or suck up like a sponge. If you don't hear your mother calling because you are reading, you could say you were absorbed in the book.If your parents buy groceries for a party you are throwing and don't make you pay, you could say that they decided to absorb the cost of the food. Young minds absorb information easily. The word, absorbent, describes something that is capable of absorbing something else. When you go swimming on a chilly day, it's best to carry an absorbent towel so that all of the water is absorbed from the surface of your skin.

frank

To be frank is to be honest. Also, it's a hot dog. Eating a frank at the ballpark is, to be frank, an all-American experience.If you're open, honest, and candid, you're frank that can mean refreshing honesty or too much information. Frank also has some lesser known uses. It can also mean to stamp with a postmark, or to pass someone through for free like how your museum job lets you frank your friends into the planetarium. The most delicious meaning is for what you may know as a dog, frankfurter, hot dog, hotdog, weenie, wiener, or wiener-wurst.

unstable

To be unstable is to lack stability, meaning things could change without warning, like an unstable bookshelf that is likely to fall down. If you are unstable emotionally, you might be ecstatically happy one minute and horribly depressed and angry the next.The adjective unstable means the opposite of stable. Stable is derived from the Latin base word stare meaning to stand. If a building, family, person, bridge, or chemical solution is stable it will stand still, even if something unexpected happens. On the other hand, if a person or thing is unstable and stress is applied, he, she, or it is likely to shift position, possibly in a dangerous way.

cancel

To cancel means to call off or postpone indefinitely. Which is probably what you would do if the hotel you were planning to stay in has an infestation of bedbugs.Scrub, scratch, or strike down those are all other ways of saying cancel. People often cancel plans, deciding not to do something they had already scheduled. In math, if the numerator and a denominator of a fraction have common factors you can cancel the factors out, which means delete them. To cancel a debt means to get rid it. A cancel on a postage stamp is the mark that shows it has been used.

defraud

To defraud is to con someone out of money. Defrauding is a sneaky crime.If you know that a fraud is some kind of a scam, then you're on the way to understanding what defraud means. If someone defrauds you, they are cheating you out of money. Ponzi schemesalso known as pyramid schemesare a type of defrauding. A guy trying to sell you a bridge is a type of defrauding, as is a foreign prince asking for money via email. Be wary!

emerge

To emerge means to come out into view or come forth. You might hope to emerge from an epic perming session looking like a beauty queen, but chances are it will just look like you got electrocuted.From the Latin emergere, meaning to rise out or up, bring forth, bring to light, emerge is an intransitive verb that might bring to mind the image of a whale rising up from the depths of the sea, or of a person popping out from a dark corner to spook you. Appear and peep are synonyms, while dip and sink are antonyms.

hesitate

To hesitate is to pause before doing something, often out of concern or worry.If you're playing basketball and have a wide-open shot but don't take it right away, you hesitated. Maybe you felt too much pressure to shoot the ball. When people are nervous or worried, they tend to hesitate. Hesitating while speaking is common. In class, if you're not sure you have the right answer, you'll hesitate. When giving bad news, people often hesitate. Sometimes it makes sense to hesitate and sometimes you just need to do what you have to do.

ignore

To ignore something is to disregard it. If you ignore the rules of grammar, you're likely to be misunderstood.It's easy to see the relationship between ignore and a word such as ignorant. To be ignorant of something is to know nothing about it. A good way to be ignorant about something is to ignore it. In other words, if you want to be ignorant about a certain subjectthat is, if you want to know nothing about itthen by all means ignore it. Pay it no mind.

illustrate

To illustrate is to make something more clear or visible. Children's books are illustrated with pictures. An example can illustrate an abstract idea.The word illustrate comes from the Latin illustrare 'to light up or enlighten.' Pictures in a book enlighten the reader, and a good example can enlighten someone on a complex topic. Another use: The government's actions illustrate how out of touch it is with the people. The history of this word illustrates how language changes over time, and how knowing the original meaning can help you understand the word in a deeper way.

tradition

Traditions are longstanding customs and practices. It might be a family tradition to open Christmas presents on Christmas Eve, started because your parents were too impatient to wait.The noun tradition has Latin roots in the word tradere, which means hand over or hand down. So think of a tradition as something that is handed down from one generation to another. Fireworks on the Fourth of July are a national tradition, and playing your school's fight song at the start of the football game is probably a longstanding tradition designed to get the fans excited for the game.

typical

When something is typical, it is common, regular, expected hanging out with friends and playing computer games are typical activities of American teens.To be typical is to be of a type, meaning that a person or thing has the same characteristics of everyone or everything else in the group, like a typical student, trying to talk the teacher out of giving homework over break. Something that is typical is what you can expect, like reading a guidebook about a faraway country you will visit to learn the typical weather and kinds of food you will encounter while you are there.

brutal

Use brutal to describe something beastly and harsh, like training for a triathlon, a really cold winter in the Arctic, or a mean bouncer at a club who throws people out for no reason.First used in the mid 15th century to refer to the brutish nature of animals, brutal is now also used to describe other things like human behavior, weather, or even music. Rock n Roll, said Frank Sinatra, is the most brutal, ugly, desperate, vicious form of expression it has been my misfortune to hear. If someone is brutal, watch out she's violent and mean. The truth can be brutal, too, if it's something you don't want to hear.

frequent

Use the adjective frequent to describe something done often and at regular intervals. If your family likes to read, you may be a frequent visitor to the library. You may also have frequent arguments with your family about who gets to read a book first.The adjective form of frequent also means regularly and often encountered. If you live on the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii, you may experience frequent rain showers. As a verb, frequent means to be a regular visitor or to patronize. You can frequent the trails of the National Parks. You may prefer to frequent locally-owned businesses.

narcotic

Use the noun narcotic to talk about a pain relieving or sleep inducing drug and the adjective narcotic to describe anything that has these same effects.Patients who have their wisdom teeth removed are often given a narcotic to ease their pain afterward. A numbing drug is usually just what they need to recover that and plenty of ice cream. If a hot bath and a cup of tea make you incredibly drowsy, you can say that they have a narcotic effect on you. In the United States, narcotic drugs are illegal without a doctor's prescription narcotic often has a negative connotation, especially when it's used in news reports.

vicious

Vicious is an adjective that means intentionally harmful or nasty. If you spread vicious rumors about a person, you're telling people things that will hurt her feelings or ruin her reputation. Cut it out!If you're described as vicious, you're someone who does brutal things on purpose, out of ill-will towards others, like beating up defenseless puppies or poisoning the drinking water for a town. You're worse than just mean if you are vicious in fact, you're evil! People (and puppies) will be wise to keep their distance. Other things, like gossip, animals, or cars from horror movies can be vicious, too.

envy

Wanting what someone else has and resenting them for having it is envy. If your best friend comes to school with the silver backpack youd had your eye on all summer, you want to be happy for her, instead you feel bitter envy. Choose Your Wordsenvy / jealousyIts no fun to feel envy or jealousy becauseboth make you feel inadequate. Envy is when you want what someone else has, but jealousy is when youre worried someones trying to take what you have. If you wantyour neighbors new convertible, you feel envy.If she takes your husband for a ride, you feel jealousy.Continue reading... Envy comes from the Latin word invidere, which literally means look upon. You know when you say something funny or smart and someone gives you the evil eye? Envy all the way. Envy can be used as a noun or as a verb: Envy (noun) is the feeling you have when you envy (verb) what someone else has.

vacant

You can use the adjective vacant to describe something that is empty an apartment with no tenant or furniture, a job with no worker, or a person with no brainpower.Vacant has its roots in the Latin word meaning empty or free. It can mean unoccupied, such as that seat next to you on the train even if youve put your coat there. A vacant look or stare, however, is one that shows no intelligence or the slightest spark of interest. One might find this vacant gaze in the eyes of a zombie or in the eyes of a teen who has spent the past five hours gaming.

scald

You could scald yourself if your bathwater is too hot. To scald something is to burn it with hot liquid. However, if a recipe tells you to scald the milk, it means to heat it to the moment just before it boils.The verb scald comes from the Late Latin word excaldare, meaning bathe in hot water. For example, if you scald a tomato in boiling water for one minute, it will be easy to peel. In medieval times, or any era when people protected their castles by pouring hot oil from the turrets, they scalded their enemies. Nice.