GRE Words

dossier

a collection of files.

exactitude

meticulousness

cogitate

think deeply about something; meditate or reflect.

pontificate

talk in a dogmatic and pompous manner Example: the vice president would often pontificate about economic Theory as if no one else in the room were qualified to speak on the topic

nepotisim

favoritism granted to relatives in politics or business.

baneful

Deleterious Harmful, Detrimental, Noxious, Nocuous, Injurious, Pernicious, Baneful, Pestilent

finicky

exacting especially about details Example: a finicky eater

flair

استعداد

tempestuous

A tempest is a storm, so you can use the adjective tempestuous to describe anything stormy or volatile — from a tempestuous hurricane to a tempestuous romance. Example: At the time of those incidents, Ash and Chapman's marriage was routinely described as "tempestuous" or "turbulent".

constancy

Constancy= loyalty, the state of being unwavering

penurious

Don't have two nickels to rub together? You're penurious — a lovely long way of saying you're flat broke. Example: New York City being New York City, and the Mets being the Mets, it was inevitable that a master of the universe would finally push the penurious Wilpon family into the mists of history.

Histrionics noun

Histrionics are dramatic, overdone, emotional actions and words that are done to influence someone. It's like putting on a little show to get attention. theatrical example: But there was no histrionics on Saturday from the stocky 29-year-old as the Internationals finished the job at the 15th. She has a penchant for histrionics , but her dramatic flair is a large part of her charm

improvident

Marty was improvident, never putting money aside for the future but spending it on decorating the interior of his home.

saturnine

Medieval alchemists ascribed to the planet Saturn a gloomy and slow character. When people are called saturnine, it means they are like the planet — gloomy, mean, scowling. Not exactly the life of the party. morose, gloomy example: When "Studio 54" screened at Sundance in 2018, the audience hissed every time Mr. Cohn's saturnine image flashed on the screen.

capitulation

Primary Meanings ofcapitulation 1.the act of surrendering (usually under agreed conditions) "Society would just march on parliament. War is still going on. It would be seen as capitulation." 2.a summary that enumerates the main parts of a topic recap, recapitulation, review

bane of one's existence

The source or cause of one's misfortune, unhappiness, frustration, or anxiety, usually used hyperbolically. Example: I swear, this project is the bane of my existence.

tuck away something

To hide or store someone or something in a safe or secluded space. A noun or pronoun can be used between "tuck" and "away." Example: He quickly tucked the winnings away inside his coat pocket, lest he draw unwanted attention to himself.

prude

a person who is or claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity.

Denouncement

a public act of denouncing Example: Loyal fans bemoaned the possibility that the Top 40 song was Morris's denouncement of her country roots.

bumbling

acting in a confused or ineffectual way; incompetent. Example: War is, of course, a lot harder to prevent than the hijacking of four large airplanes by nineteen rather bumbling immigrants.

buoyancy

an optimistic and cheerful disposition

prolixity

boring verbosity If someone likes to talk but they're really boring, they've got prolixity. It's not something to be proud of. Example:

doughty

brave and persistent. bold, courageous Example: Then along came a doughty and persistent conservationist who fought to save the city's history: just what the doctor ordered.

equitable

fair to all parties as dictated by reason and conscience

contravention

infringement, violation

slapdash

marked by great carelessness haphazard, slipshod, sloppy Example: In times of crisis, some think it's enough to throw something slapdash together, serve it to the world and hope it heals some people.

fell

of terrible evil or ferocity; deadly. example: Sometimes, the wind also brought unnervingly fell sounds with it, as if a chorus of unholy demons was singing in the distance.

dip into something

take some money from an amount that you have saved, especially when you should not. You'd better stop dipping into your savings.

budge an inch

to change your opinion about something; to make someone change their opinion Example: .He won't budge an inch on the issue

unassailable

unable to be attacked, questioned, or defeated. Example: Will we be forced to rely on carefully worded arguments filled with unassailable reasoning? He is so self-assured to seem arrogant, presenting each and every opinion as an unassailable fact.

unforthcoming

uncooperative, not willing to give up information

effervescent

vivacious and enthusiastic. Example: After the sales results, the manager was in an effervescent mood, letting several employees leave work early that day.

upheaval

تحول a violent or sudden change or disruption to something. Example: Educational upheaval Few people believed that the Empire could continue unchanged after the upheavals of the war.

lascivious

شهوت انگیز - شهوانی feeling or revealing an overt sexual interest or desire.

improbable

غیر محتمل not likely to be true or to happen. unlikely, implausible Example: Colombian diplomatic sources say it is unlikely that any of the three went to Cuba.

hale

strong and healthy Example: Perhaps more intriguing, those people were fairly healthy — most were hale and hearty enough to be pilgrims, yoga students or river-rafters.

blather

talk long-windedly without making very much sense.

Denunciatory tone

public condemnation of someone or something.

unruliness

the trait of being prone to disobedience and lack of discipline.

fall short of sth

to be less than what you need, expected, or hoped for, or to fail to reach a satisfactory standard

sophomore

دانشجوی سال دوم دانشکده A sophomore is in their second year, either in high school or college. Once you became a sophomore, thinking you now knew everything, you pitied the freshmen for their confusion over how to write college papers. Example: He leads the team with 10½ sacks, ranking 15th in the country, and the redshirt sophomore may enter the NFL draft.

gleaming

درخشان و نورانی، مشعشع shine brightly, especially with reflected light. Example: dictators gleaming military uniform and imperial paraphernalia shortly contrast with the unostentatious fashion favored by most of other contemporary political leaders

vindicate

دفاع کردن ، تایید کردن ، محق دانستن ، رفع اتهام کردن acquit, exonerate, exculpate Example: These revelations certainly vindicate the concerns he expressed at the time. Ms Hanley vowed to continue the fight to vindicate her late father's name and reputation.

peddle

دوره گردی کردن Definition: Travel around while selling; sell illegally; give out or disseminate Usage: After an unsuccessful year spent peddling cutlery door-to-door, he turned to peddling drugs, thus landing himself in jail. / "I don't want these people peddling lies to our children," said Mrs. Hoffman, protesting an event in which fringe political candidates were invited to speak to kids. Related Words: A peddler or vendor sells things, as does a fishmonger, ironmonger, etc. (although a scandalmonger doesn't so much sell scandals as promote them).

hideous

زشت abhorrent Example: The characters are either utterly hideous or desperately beautiful.

detractor

بدگو depreciator, disparager, knocker one who disparages or belittles the worth of something A detractor is someone who puts you down. When you're proposing ideas at work, your detractor is the person who finds fault with everything you say.

winnowing

غربال کردن blow a current of air through (grain) in order to remove the chaff. Example: a combine cuts, threshes, and winnows the grain in one operation

imbibe

فهمیدن ، قبول کردن ، نوشیدن ، استنشاق کردن absorb or assimilate (ideas or knowledge). Plato imbibed Socrates' teachings to such an extent that he was able to write volumes of works that he directly attributed, sometimes word for word, to Socrates.

Hyperbole

مبالغه ، اغراق exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Example:

truancy

مدرسه گریزی the action of staying away from school without good reason; absenteeism. Example: he had a history of truancy and expulsion from school

lampoon

مسخره کردن ، مورد تمسخر و انتقاد قرار دادن ، دست انداختن Definition: A harsh satire (noun); ridicule or satirize (verb) Usage: "As a Democrat," said Bob, "I can't say I appreciated watching that comedian in the Obama mask lampoon the State of the Union address." Related Words: To satirize is to use ridicule, sarcasm, etc. as a form of criticism. Parody is similar but often not as harsh—the key difference is that a parody is actually a copy (the Scary Movie series parodies the horror genre).

incontrovertible

مسلم ، بی چون و چرا ، غیرقابل بحث impossible to deny or disprove Example: Unless you can provide incontrovertible evidence, I will remain skeptical.

tractable

مطیع Definition: Easily controlled or managed, docile; easily shaped or molded Usage: He's a tractable fellow—when I asked if we could see a different movie than the one we'd come to see, he shrugged and said "Cool." / The clay had hardened overnight, but adding water made it tractable again. Related Words: Malleable, Pliable, and Plastic can also mean physically bendable, or metaphorically bendable, as in "easily influenced or shaped by others." Mutable means changeable. Complaisant means "obliging, eager to please." More Info: "Tract" in Latin means "manage, handle" and also occurs in treat and tractor.

mundane

معمولی ، بی هیجان Definition: Common, ordinary, everyday Usage: Dominique had been excited to visit France for the first time, but she was soon disappointed at how mundane the stay with her relatives was: they shopped at the market, cooked dinner, chatted with one another, and occasionally went shopping. Related Words: Quotidian can simply mean daily, or can have the more negative meaning of mundane.

proscribe

ممنوع اعلام کردن - توقیف کردن forbid, prohibit, ban Definition: Prohibit, outlaw; denounce; exile or banish Usage: Plagiarism is proscribed by every college's code of conduct. Related Words: Censure (strong disapproval or official reprimand), Circumscribe (encircle or confine, set limits) More Info: The "scribe" in proscribe means "write" (as in script, scribble, scripture, etc.) The sense is that to proscribe is to publish a record of someone's punishment—to condemn or sentence that person publicly. Don't confuse proscribe with prescribe, which means "order, set down as a rule" (like a doctor's prescription)—the two words are opposites!

aloof

منزوی ، کناره گیر ، بی تفاوت ، دور Definition: Distant physically or emotionally; reserved; indifferent Usage: Perceiving her parents as cold and aloof, the child was naturally drawn to her warm, genial aunt. Related Words: Detached (impartial or aloof), Standoffish (cold, unfriendly) More Info: A common stereotype is that dogs are affable, while cats are aloof.

detritus

waste or debris of any kind. rubble Example: Everywhere she turned was destruction, debris and detritus , scattered and heaped around.

chagrin

ازردگى ،غم وغصه ،اندوه ،الم ،تنگدلى ،اندوهگين کردن ،ازرده کردن 1. strong feeling of embarrassment Example: Much to the timid writer's chagrin, the audience chanted his name until he came back to the stage 2. cause to feel shamed, hurt the pride of Example: She never cared what others said about her appearance but was chagrined by the smallest comment from her mother.

tentative

not definite or certain, because you may want to change things: provisional Example: I passed on my tentative conclusions to the police. The government is taking tentative steps toward tackling the country's economic problems.

sterling

highest in quality Synonyms:greatest, superlative sterling record

satiate

اشباع کردن - سیر کردن Definition: To fully satisfy; to go beyond satisfying to the point of excess (possibly inducing disgust, tiredness, etc.) Usage: I usually just eat a tiny salad or something while I'm at work, but since I had a half day off, I went to the Indian buffet and stayed for a whole hour! I've never been more satiated (or sated) in my life. / To maintain a healthy weight, stop eating before you reach the point of satiety. Related Words: Blasé (bored from overindulgence), Ennui (feeling of weariness, boredom, etc. often caused by satiety)

saturate

اشباع کردن ، پر کردن در آب خیساندن ، در روغن خواباندن Definition: Soak or imbue thoroughly; cause a substance to unite with the greatest possible amount of another substance Usage: We got married on a rainy beach, and my dress was saturated. Although the pictures were a bit dark, the photographer was able to increase the saturation in Photoshop, making our wedding photos ultimately look quite vivid! / I simply cannot dissolve any more sugar into this iced tea—it's saturated! More Info: Saturate comes from the root "satus," (meaning "enough"), which also gives us satisfy, satiate, sated, etc.

fumble

اشتباه use the hands clumsily while doing or handling something. Example: fumbling through technology that leaves her confused and her daughters frustrated ust one fumble during a tyre change could separate the winners from the losers

Proletariat

workers or working-class people, regarded collectively (often used with reference to Marxism).

phlegmatic

آرام ، خونسرد ، با آرامش بلغمی مزاج (of a person) having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition. Example: "Our lives are political, and we can't sit back and be phlegmatic," she said.

imperturbable

آرام ، خونسرد ، بی تشویش Definition: Calm, not able to be upset or agitated Usage: Having seen pretty much everything, the kindergarten teacher was truly imperturbable: a morning containing a discipline problem, two bathroom accidents, one fight, and one temper tantrum didn't bother her in the least. Related Words: Impervious (impenetrable, not able to be harmed or emotionally disturbed, as in "impervious to criticism"), Stoic (not having or showing feeling, esp. in response to suffering) More Info: Of course, a person who can be upset is perturbable and has been perturbed. Perturb contains a root from the Latin "turbare" (to disturb); this root also appears in turbulence and turbid (muddy and choppy, as a turbulent body of water).

placid

آرام و متین Definition: Peaceful, calm, tranquil Usage: Famed Spanish tenor Placido Domingo has an unusual name—literally, "Peaceful Sunday." It's certainly not a coincidence that Placido looks so much like placid. Related Words: Quiescent (quiet, still) More Info: The movie Lake Placid is about a lake containing a man-eating crocodile, which is really NOT placid. Lake Placid is a real place in New York, though, and seems to have been named with much the same thought in mind as the Pacific Ocean (pacific also means peaceful).

mollify

آرام کردن ، فرونشاندن ، کاهش دادن appease, placate, pacify, conciliate, soothe, calm (down Definition: Calm or soothe (an angry person); lessen or soften Usage: The cellular company's billing practices were so infuriating to customers that the customer service representatives spent every workday mollifying angry customers. Related Words: Appease, Placate, and Assuage are near-synonyms. More Info: Mollify shares a root ("soften") with emollient, an ointment or lotion.

mitigate

آرام کردن. تسکین دادن Definition: Make less severe; lessen or moderate (damage, grief, pain, etc.) Usage: Sadly, his illness could not be cured, but the nurses made every effort to mitigate the symptoms. Related Words: Ameliorate, Palliate, and Alleviate are near-synonyms, all of which could take the place of mitigate in the sentence above. More Info: Exacerbate and aggravate are antonyms, referring to making something worse.

assuage

آرام کردن. تسکین دادن Definition: Make milder, relieve; soothe, pacify, or calm Usage: After losing a million-dollar account, he tried to assuage his furious boss by pointing out that he was close to winning a new account worth at least as much. Related Words: Placate, Mollify, and Appease are near-synonyms More Info: Assuage shares a Latin root (meaning "sweet") with suave, which today means smoothly agreeable or polite.

appease

آرام کردن. تسکین دادن Definition: Pacify, satisfy, relieve; concede to belligerent demands, sometimes at the expense of principles Usage: My mother is so angry she wasn't the first person we called when the baby was born—I'm hoping to appease her by spending Christmas at her house this year. Related Words: Placate, Mollify, and Assuage are near-synonyms More Info: "Appeasement" is commonly associated with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policy towards Germany between 1937-1939 —as it turned out, giving the Sudetenland to Hitler didn't actually create "Peace in Our Time." Today, appeasement is associated with cowardice and giving in to bullies.

recrimination

اتهام متقابل an accusation or insult that's hurled back at someone. mutual accusation Example: And Pelosi's party was mired in recriminations and embarrassment after a disastrous delay in reporting the first voter results of the 2020 campaign.

to dispense with sth

dispense with sth/sb. to get rid of or stop using something or someone that you do not need Example: They've had to dispense with a lot of luxuries since Mike lost his job.

mawkishness

insincere pathos bathos Example: But the death of a child, generally treated with mawkishness, is handled here with riveting creepiness — not to mention a hint of bad taste. Ms Kilalea sketches this sad, slightly surreal situation without mawkishness or morbidity.

cronysim

When someone hires a friend to do a job, whether or not she's the best candidate, that's cronyism. A governor appointing his inexperienced daughter to an important staff position is one example of cronyism.

enjoin

give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority To enjoin is to issue an urgent and official order. If the government tells loggers to stop cutting down trees, they are enjoining the loggers to stop. Example: Bans are in effect in two but are permanently or temporarily enjoined in nine states because of legal challenges.

auspicious

فرخنده conducive to success; favorable. favorable, propitious, rosy Example: But auspicious beginnings are not always reliable predictors of sustained success.

quell

فرونشاندن ، خواباندن quench, squelch

hurdle

مانع obstacle, difficulty Example: Technological hurdles

elegiac

If there's one song on your playlist that always brings tears to your eyes, maybe it's because it has an elegiac quality. Elegiac means "mournful or sad." Example: This is primarily a period piece and, as you might expect from the elegiac nature of the film, the pace is appropriately funereal.

Scrutiny

Scrutiny is when you look at something really closely, like when you are checking a test for mistakes.

flummery

empty compliments; nonsense.

condign; meet

fitting or appropriate and deserved; used especially of punishment Condign Punishment

modicum

اندک - مختصر - محدود Definition: A little bit or limited quantity Usage: In her first five years in Hollywood, she experienced only a modicum of success as an actress, appearing twice in commercials and once as a waitress on Desperate Housewives. Related Words: An iota, mite, or tad of something is also a small amount (as in, If you had one iota of decency, you would have come to the funeral, or I had the tailor shorten the sleeves just a tad). More Info: Modicum shares a root with moderate.

gainsay

انکار کردن - رد کردن Definition: Declare false, deny; oppose Usage: The professor is quite doctrinaire—she's been known to lower the grade of any student who dares gainsay her. Related Words: Dissent (disagree or take an opposing view, esp. in relation to a formal body such as a government)

resurgence

اوج مجدد Definition: Having a revival, renewing, rising or surging again Usage: Burlesque has experienced a resurgence in the last decade, as young women dress in old-fashioned finery and perform routines appropriate for the vaudeville halls or nightclubs of previous decades. Related Words: Recrudescent (revival, breaking out into renewed activity), Renascent (reviving, becoming active again)

heterodox

بدعت گذار - نامتعارف - بدعت آمیز heretic, iconoclastic, maverick, nonconformist not conforming with accepted or orthodox standards or beliefs. Example: But people with heterodox beliefs were not always poor and persecuted.

salient

برجسته ، مهم ، چشمگیر Definition: Obvious, standing out; projecting, protruding, jutting out Usage: The attack on our organization was mostly just partisan bickering, but it did have a few salient points that I think we should respond to. / The windowless prison's side wall had only one salient feature, a sculpture of the state bird jutting out from the building. Related Words: Jut means to project (out from something) or stand outward or upward from the main thing, as in I snagged my clothes on a nail jutting out from the wall. More Info: Don't confuse with sapient, meaning "wise, having good judgment."

aggrandize

بزرگ نمودن-افزون بر-بالابردن Definition: Make greater; exaggerate Usage: I can't stand when my coworker aggrandizes her role in our group projects. / Stop it with your constant self-aggrandizing—we don't care how many automobiles you own! Related Words: Augment (to make larger) More Info: An opposite of self-aggrandizing could be self-deprecating or selfeffacing.

occlude

بستن - مسدود کردن Definition: Stop up, close, shut in or shut off Usage: This drain guard is here to make sure nothing (like silverware) ends up occluding your garbage disposal. / Don't eat that enormous wad of gum! I'm no doctor, but what if it occludes your intestines or something? Related Words: Occult (to hide, to shut off from view) More Info: Occlude shares a root (shut, close) with close, cage, and claustrophobia.

fulminate

به شدت اعتراض کردن - تشر زدن - محکوم کردن Definition: Explode, detonate; attack verbally in a vehement, thunderous way Usage: Please don't bring up anything related to gun control around my family, or my dad will fulminate for hours about the Second Amendment. Related Words: To rail against or rail at is to issue a bitter denunciation of. More Info: Fulminate comes from a Latin word for "hurl lightning." When you fulminate, you are as angry as the Romans imagined Jupiter to be, hurling lightning bolts in your fury!

optimal

بهينه Definition: Best, most desirable or favorable Usage: Many believe that the U.S. Constitution's genius lies in its striking and optimal balance between freedom and order. More Info: Since prime means "of first importance," Transformers hero Optimus Prime's name seems a bit redundant, but gets the message across—he's best and first!

pallid

بى رنگ و رو, رنگ پريده Definition: Abnormally pale (as skin); lacking color or vitality Usage: When Eric left the office mid-day, we knew from the pallor that had overtaken him that he really was getting sick. / We need this blog to really hit hard against the special interest groups ruining our country, and your pallid writing isn't doing it—you're going to bore people to death with this wimpy prose. Related Words: Wan (abnormally pale), Sallow (sickly-yellow in color)

unparalleled

بى همتا، بى نظير، خاص If something's unparalleled, there's never been anything like it — such as a brilliant musical performance or a record-breaking time for an athlete. Example: Experts said the current protests were unparalleled in recent Indian history.

inanity

بى‌مغزى. حماقت total lack of meaning or ideas mindlessness, pointlessness, senselessness, vacuity Example: "Trust Exercise," which won the National Book Award for fiction, exaggerates some of the indignities and inanities of theater training.

unprecedented

بی سابقه Definition: Never before known or seen, without having happened previously Usage: When Nixon resigned, American bravado was at an all-time low—the resignation of a sitting President was disgraceful and unprecedented. Related Words: Novel (new, fresh, original) More Info: It's not hard to unpack this word—the base word precedented looks a lot like precede, "to come before." If something is unprecedented, nothing has come before it. In law, a precedent is a ruling in a similar case that a judge would draw on or reference in writing a decision.

pathogenic

بیماری زا Definition: Capable of producing disease Usage: Many common and legal food additives are pathogenic, known to lead to diabetes or even cancer. More Info: "Pathos" means "disease" (as in pathological, "diseased") and "gen" means "producing" (as in generate).

timorous

ترسو ، بزدل ، بزدلانه Definition: Fearful, timid Usage: An expression describing a timorous person is "quaking in his boots"— that is, a scared person would shake or shiver from fear. Related Words: Intrepid means fearless and did, in fact, come from the rare word trepid, meaning fearful. Craven and pusillanimous mean cowardly.

craven

ترسو. بزدل Definition: Very cowardly, lacking courage Usage: The nervous soldier feared he would turn craven in his first firefight, but he actually acted quite bravely. Related Words: Timorous (timid, fearful), Pusillanimous (cowardly), Dastardly (cowardly in a treacherous, sneaky way)

palliate

تسکین دادن ، آرام کردن ، تخفیف دادن Definition: Make less serious or severe; relieve symptoms of an illness Usage: The doctors said it would be pointless to subject Uncle Al to continued treatments when there was no hope of a cure, so we gave consent for him to be transferred to the palliative care wing where he would be made as comfortable as possible in his final weeks or months. Related Words: Ameliorate, Mitigate, Alleviate, and Extenuate also refer to lessening something bad without eliminating it. More Info: Palliate comes from the Latin "pallium," a cloak, which covers up. To palliate a crime is to try to make it seem not as bad, such as by introducing extenuating circumstances.

sap

تضعيف كردن Definition: The inner fluid of a plant or any essential body fluid; energy, vitality; a person taken advantage of (noun); undermine, weaken, tire out (verb) Usage: I really thought that if I clicked on that Facebook ad and entered all my information, I would get a free iPad to test and keep! I feel like such a sap. / In order to make maple syrup, you must drain sap from a sugar maple tree—they call this "sapping" the tree, which I can understand, because I feel pretty sapped doing it! Fortunately, it's just a metaphor.

counterfeit

تظاهر كردن، جعل كردن a fraudulent imitation of something else; a forgery. fake, phony, factitious Example: These coins could be shrink-wrapped with an embedded microdot to assure authenticity, preventing counterfeits or forgeries.

construe

تعبیر کردن ، تلقی کردن ، قابل تفسیر بودن Definition: Interpret or translate Usage: I don't know how you construed my comment as an insult. All I said was, "Wow, I never knew you could sing." More Info: To misconstrue is to misunderstand or misinterpret.

ruminate

تفکر کردن ، نامل کردن ، تعمق کردن ، در فکر فرو رفتن Definition: Turn over in the mind, reflect on; chew cud (as a cow) Usage: Oh, I just don't know about that... let me ruminate on it for a few days and I'll get back to you. More Info: A cow is a ruminant—it has four stomachs and has to digest its food in stages (and thus, very slowly).

antedate

تقدم داشتن Definition: Be older than, precede in time; assign to an earlier date Usage: Dinosaurs antedate the first human beings by about 65 million years. / Jamal didn't get around to writing the "Best Vocabulary Words of 2010" blog post until January 3rd, 2011, but he antedated the post for December 31st so at least the infrequent readers wouldn't notice. More Info: Postdate (antonym—"I will write this check now, but I'm postdating it for two weeks from now because I don't have the money in my account yet.")

whit

Whit means a small tiny part of something. If you don't even have a whit of courage, you are most likely a chicken. example: I wasn't smiling much that fall, but my handwriting didn't improve a whit thereby. After hanging up, Mr. Sondland said that Mr. Trump did not care a whit about Ukraine but was focused on "big stuff," like getting "the Biden investigation," according to Mr. Holmes.

botch

carry out (a task) badly or carelessly. سرهم بندی کردن bungle The task might have been botched by a less savvy salesperson, who might have treated it like just another sales call.

nettlesome

causing irritation or annoyance Example: When her pledge to obey a voluntary campaign spending cap proved nettlesome, Ms. Harris did not hesitate to reverse herself, earning a hefty ethics fine.

disparity

dissimilarity, discrepancy

bemoan

express discontent or a strong regret Some people love to complain, don't they? Complainers also tend to bemoan things, which can be translated to "Oh no! Why me?" bewail, lament Example: On a recent episode she bemoaned that most of the media coverage is "so anti-Bernie it's just remarkable."

irreverent

showing a lack of respect for people or things that are generally taken seriously.

unflinching

someone who's fearless and steadfast, even when they're facing something very difficult. unblinking, unintimidated, unshrinking fearless, unafraid Example: It also offers an unflinching window into what is happening in China, a country where even the leadership doesn't always trust the information it gets.

cow

to intimidate Example: Do not be cowed by a 3000-word vocabulary list: turn that list into a deck of flashcards.

apposite

درخور | مناسب | به موقع | به هنگام appropriate, suitable, apt Example: It is an apposite question, the answer to which changed, fundamentally, that day in December.

annul

خنثی کردن. باطل کردن Definition: Make void or null, cancel, abolish (usually of laws or other established rules) Usage: Can we appreciate the art of a murderer? For many, the value of these paintings is annulled by the artist's crimes. Related Words: Nullify, Void (synonyms); Abort (stop part way through, remain in an undeveloped state) More Info: Most people associate "annul" with marriage—to get an annulment rather than a divorce, most states require that the marriage have been based on fraud, or that at least one person was not mentally competent to form a contract.

winsome

دلکش Definition: Charming, engaging, esp. in a sweet and innocent way Usage: It's hard for some to believe that Lindsay Lohan was once the winsome young starlet in Freaky Friday. Related Words: Ingenuous, Guileless, and Artless are all related to being genuine and sincere (perhaps a bit naive). An Ingénue is a young—presumably innocent —actress or other female performer. Memory Trick: Being winsome will help you "win some" friends.

offset

خنثی کردن، جبران کرد Definition: Counteract, compensate for (verb); a counterbalance (noun) Usage: Property taxes did go up this year, but the hit to our finances was offset by a reduction in fees paid to our homeowners association. More Info: Something offset is "set off" against something else, such as by acting as a counterweight. A carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases that can be applied to compensate for emissions made someplace else. That is, a company that sends out a lot of carbon dioxide can compensate for polluting by financially supporting energy efficiency or wind turbine projects.

somnolent

خواب آلود ، خواب آور Definition: Causing sleep; sleepy, drowsy (adj); something that causes sleep (noun) Usage: I was excited to take a class with Professor Baria because I had enjoyed her books, but sadly, she is a better writer than speaker—her lectures are soporific. / I was so distressed after the crash that the doctor gave me a soporific—and, sure enough, I was able to think more clearly after sleeping. Related Words: Somnolent is a synonym. More Info: Sopor is a rare word meaning an abnormally deep sleep. A much more common word is the similar sounding stupor, meaning a state of numbness or not making sense (for instance, a drunken stupor).

virtue

خوبی، (ر) حسن، مزیت This is not a morality based on obedience as a primary virtue , but rather a moral law about how to govern ourselves recognising that we are social individuals.

anathema

تکفیر ، امر نفرت انگیز ، لعن Something that one absolutely and positively cannot stand is anathema. Garlic is anathema to vampires (ditto for stakes and daylight). So is kryptonite to Superman or a silver bullet to a werewolf. Example: Supporting impeachment is anathema for Republicans.

substantiate

ثابت کردن ، اثبات کردن ، مستند ساختن Definition: Support with evidence or proof; give a material existence to Usage: You say you were at home when the crime occurred two towns over—is there anyone who can substantiate your claim? / Your business ideas are interesting, but you never substantiate them—you haven't put a single plan into action. Related Words: Corroborate (support, add evidence to), Verify (prove true)

absorbing

جاذب، جالب capable of arousing and holding the attention Example:

wan

رنگ پریده ، بیمار ، گرفته ، بی نور ، ضعیف Definition: Unnaturally pale, or showing some other indication of sickness, unhappiness, etc.; weak, lacking forcefulness Usage: Are you okay? You're looking wan. / Bryan's wan attempt at asking for a raise was easily brushed off by his boss. Related Words: Pallid (abnormally pale, lacking color or vitality), Sallow (sickly-yellow in color) More Info: A wan smile is a weak, forced smile that people use to pretend they're okay when they're not.

straightforward

رک و بی پرده - سر راست uncomplicated and easy to do or understand. Example: What had been agreed was in my view straightforward and understood in exactly the same way by both parties.

pious

دیندار Definition: Devout; religiously reverent and dutiful Usage: Some matrimonial websites catering to conservative religious groups contain listings for young women that feature testimonials from the woman's relatives about her piety. Naturally, only similarly pious suitors need apply.

nascent

(especially of a process or organization) just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential. Example: And there are signs of nascent political and economic reforms, albeit small, tentative ones.

factitious

ساختگی ، مصنوعی ، غیرطبیعی artificial, fake, phoney If you create a "diamond" out of plastic, then you've created a factitious diamond, meaning that it's a phony. example:

judicious

سنجیده ، مناسب Definition: Using good judgment; wise, sensible Usage: In his will, the old titan of industry left little to his hard-partying younger son, and left the bulk of his estate to the more judicious older son, with instructions that the older son see that the rest of the family was taken care of. Related Words: Prudent (wise, careful in providing for the future), Circumspect (cautious, careful to consider the circumstances and consequences) More Info: The related judicial means "relating to judges, courtrooms, justice, etc." While a judicious person is wise, a judicial attitude would probably be cold, impartial, detached.

iniquity

شرارت ، ظلم ، بی عدالتی Definition: Injustice, wickedness, sin Usage: The preacher's sermon about loving your neighbor was regarded by some as a welcome departure from his usual fiery homilies railing against iniquity. / Iniquitous corporations, such as those that spill oil into our oceans, must be punished. Related Words: Peccadillo (small sin or fault) More Info: Don't confuse with inequity, meaning "lack of equality, unfairness."

probity

شرافت - صداقت integrity, honesty and decency Definition: Honesty, integrity Usage: After losing the last election when their candidate's string of mistresses came to light, this time, the party would only nominate a candidate whose probity was beyond any doubt. Related Words: Scrupulous or principled (having high moral standards), Veracious (honest, true) More Info: Normally we think of a "probe" as sort of medically unpleasant, but the real purpose of a probe is to get information—for instance, a government probe might investigate corruption, or probe for the truth.

restorative

شفا بخش، درمانى، درمان بخش Restorative things give you energy or make you feel better. Your dad might have a favorite restorative chicken soup he makes you whenever you have a cold. Syn: , tonic, renewing, revitalizing, revitalizing, reviving invigorating

enervate

ضعیف کردن - سست کردن - بی حال کردن To enervate is to weaken, wear down, or even bum out. example: In his resignation letter, Mr. McAleenan attributed his exit to "personal and family reasons" and described his tenure as "galvanizing and enervating."

speculative

1.engaged in, expressing, or based on conjecture rather than knowledge. 2.(of an investment) involving a high risk of loss. Example: When I did no more than dumbly blink back he straightened and gave me a rather speculative look before finally breaking into a slow smirk. Such reasons should be empirically based and not just speculative . This notion is speculative and demands further research. If you want to win then you need to look at more speculative ventures.

hobble

1.walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury 2.hamper the action or progress of Example: The Republican Party is hobbled in California, and many moderate Republicans believe it will only become less influential in years ahead.

prolix

طولانی وخسته کننده Definition: Excessively long and wordy (of a person, piece of writing, etc.) Usage: My mother is incredibly verbose. She'll tell a boring, prolix story for five whole minutes, and at the end, it turns out that the point was that she got a fifty cent discount on a box of spaghetti at the store. Related Words: Loquacious and Verbose are synonyms. More Info: "Pro" means "forth" and "lix" comes from the Latin for "liquid." Words just "pour" right out of a prolix person.

fathom

Definition: Measure the depth of (usually of water) as with a sounding line; penetrate and discover the meaning of, understand Usage: I cannot even remotely fathom how you interpreted an invitation to sleep on my couch as permission to take my car on a six-hour joyride! Related Words: Sound and Plumb (used as verbs) are synonyms.

expunge

محو کردن ، زدودن ، حذف کردن To expunge is to cross out or eliminate. After Nicholas proved he had been in school on the day in question, the absence was expunged from his record. example: Put it all together, and the term "prostyle quarterback" should be expunged from the vocabulary of all talent evaluators.

multifarious

مختلف، متنوع، گوناگون Definition: Diverse, having a lot of variety Usage: Last year's jewelry line was all metal and neutrals, but this year's presents a multifarious array of brilliant colors. Related Words: Heterogeneous (different in type, incongruous; composed of different types of elements)

likewise (adv)

Definition: Also, in addition to; similarly, in the same way Usage: Chip was baffled by all the silverware set before him, so when his host began eating salad with the smallest, leftmost fork, Chip did likewise. Related Words: Moreover (in addition to what has been said, for instance "His actions cost us the job; moreover, he seriously offended our client)." More Info: In conversation, likewise can mean "Me, too." When someone says "Nice to meet you," you could say, "Likewise."

viable

عملی ، قابل اجرا ، ماندنی Definition: Capable of living (or growing, developing, etc.); practical, workable Usage: I have three screenplay ideas, but the studio head said only one was commercially viable. Apparently, it's important to have a human lead character and a satisfying ending. / Due to leaps forward in technology, premature babies are considered viable earlier and earlier—currently around 24 weeks. Related Words: Feasible (possible; logical or likely; suitable), Plausible (credible, having the appearance of truth) More Info: The Latin root for "life" ("vi") gives us vivid, survive, revive, vivacious, and convivial. And also the Spanish word for "life" and thus the Ricky Martin classic, "Livin' La Vida Loca."

patent

عيان, واضح, مشخص, آشكار، تابلو، (معنی منفی دارد) Definition: Obvious, apparent, plain to see (adj); a letter from a government guaranteeing an inventor the rights to his or her invention (noun) Usage: Her resume was full of patent lies: anyone could check to see that she had never been president of UNICEF. Related Words: Blatant means obvious or flagrant and is used to describe something bad (blatantly disregarding the rules). More Info: Patent comes from a Latin root for "openness," also appearing in petal. A "letter patent" was once an open letter, and this is the origin of "patent" as a record of idea ownership—if you have a patent, there is an "open letter" (patent for all to see) attesting that your invention belongs to you.

hauteur

غرور- بزرگ منشی haughtiness of manner; disdainful pride. Example: But they soon got used to my low-key presence and stared at me with supercilious hauteur. Middle-class people can claim neither the heroic struggles of the proletariat nor the cultural hauteur and effortless savoir-faire of the aristocracy.

untenable

غیر قابل دفاع If something is untenable, you can't defend it or justify it Example: They knew that slavery was untenable.

inexplicable

غیرقابل توضیح unable to be explained or accounted for. Example: I couldn't look at her face, flushed with complete bewilderment and even some inexplicable anger.

copious

فراوان ، زیاد ، پرکار Definition: Plentiful, bountiful Usage: Although she took copious notes in class, she found that she was missing a big picture that would have tied all the information together. / The fertile, copious land yielded a rich harvest. Related Words: Profuse (giving or done in a free, abundant way) More Info: Copious shares a root with cornucopia, a "horn of plenty" (the symbol of the American Thanksgiving holiday).

intelligible

قابل درک و شنیدن Definition: Able to be understood, clear Usage: You are doing a disservice to all music by listening through those horrible speakers! None of the lyrics are even intelligible! I'll bet you have no idea what this song is even about! Related Words: Legible applies to handwriting and means "able to be read." Intelligible can be used for speech, writing, or ideas. Lucid means clear and applies to people as well as ideas. As in, "After brain surgery, it will take awhile for the anesthesia to wear off and for her to become lucid. Then we can test whether her handwriting is intelligible, which will help pinpoint any loss of functioning."

misogyny

زن ستیزی

proxy

نماینده Definition: Agent, substitute, person authorized to act on behalf of another Usage: She was in the hospital, but certainly didn't want to miss voting on the proposal, so she sent a proxy to the board meeting to vote "yes." Related Words: Legate or Emissary (agent or official person sent to represent someone else) More Info: Often used in the expression by proxy, as in voting by proxy.

paradigm

نمونه ، الگو Definition: Model or pattern; worldview, set of shared assumptions, values, etc. Usage: Far from being atypically bawdy, this limerick is a paradigm of the form —nearly all of them rely on off-color jokes. Related Words: Prototype (original model serving as the basis for future copies or versions), Exemplar (example, item that is representative or typical, something worthy of imitation) More Info: "Para" means "beside." Paradigm comes from two Greek word parts meaning "beside" and "show" and combined into the Greek "paradiegma" for "pattern or example."

complicit

همدست guilt as an accomplice in a crime or offense Example: the careers of those complicit in the cover-up were blighted While the grand jury cleared the Senator of all criminal charges, in the public mind he was still complicit in the corruption.

enormity

هنگفتی- وقاحت 1.the great or extreme scale, seriousness, or extent of something perceived as bad or morally wrong. Example: The full enormity of the tragedy has now emerged, and large sums of money have been pledged. 2.a grave crime or sin. Example: the enormities of the regime

precursor

پیش درآمد - مقدمه Definition: Something that comes before, esp. something that also announces or suggests something on its way Usage: We cannot ignore this warning sign—it is clearly a precursor of larger problems to come. / The new CEO decided to do things differently from his precursors. Related Words: Antedate (be older than, precede in time; assign to an earlier date) More Info: The "cursor" in precursor is the same as in currency—the root means "run." A precursor can be thought of as a "before-runner," or forerunner (a synonym).

forestall

پیش دستی کردن(جلوگیری)(صفت مفعولی) Definition: Delay, hinder, prevent by taking action beforehand Usage: Our research has been forestalled by a lack of funding; we're all just biding our time while we wait for the university to approve our grant proposal. Related Words: Waylay (attack after lying in wait, intercept unexpectedly), Obviate (prevent, make unnecessary), Preclude (prevent, make impossible, exclude), Stymie (hinder, thwart) More Info: "Fore" means "before" and stall means thwart, stop, or hinder, as in "She was stalled in traffic for hours."

trite

پیش پا افتاده ، کهنه مبتذل Definition: Lacking freshness and originality, lacking effectiveness due to overuse, cliché Usage: The topic of your speech is "Children are the Future"? That's pretty trite. Maybe you should think harder and come up with something original. Related Words: Banal, Hackneyed, Inane, and Insipid all mean "lacking freshness and originality, shallow." Shopworn also means this (or can also literally mean something marred from being handled in a store). Bromide and Platitude are nouns for a cliché or shopworn expression.

callous

پینه بسته ، بی عاطفه ، بی احساس ، سنگدل A callous person is insensitive or emotionally hardened. If you laugh at your little sister while she's trying to show you her poetry, you're being callous. indurate, pachydermatous

outright

کلا ، آشکارا ، یکباره If you do something outright, you do it in a wholehearted, unrestricted way. If you declare outright that you're never eating another cupcake, that's the end of that. If you eat one anyway, you told an outright lie. Example: They knew they couldn't fund campaigns outright saying climate change is not real.

abridge

کوتاه کردن ،مختصر کردن Definition: Reduce or lessen; shorten by omitting parts throughout while retaining the main idea Usage: Our romantic vacation was abridged when the babysitter called to say that the kids were sick and we should come home. / Audio books are almost always abridged, since few people want to listen to a 200-hour book. Related Words: Truncate (shorten by cutting off a part) Memory Trick: When you abridge a book, you cut out sections from all over (hopefully without being too obvious)—that is, you create a bridge from the last part you kept in to the next part you kept in, so people don't notice the missing bits. An abridged book still tells the whole story; a truncated book is missing the ending!

peripatetic

گردش‌ كننده‌، سالك‌ دوره‌ گرد، پياده‌ رو Definition: Journeying from place to place; traveling on foot Usage: He quit his office job to become a peripatetic musician, traveling from town to town playing in bars and sleeping on couches. Related Words: Itinerant and wayfaring are synonyms. Peregrinate is a verb for being peripatetic. Transient also means moving around, but is more associated with homeless people or those on the fringe of society (whereas itinerant is more associated with people who travel for a job). More Info: "Peri" means around (as in perimeter) and the rest comes from a Latin word meaning "to walk." Peripatetic was originally associated with Aristotle's school of philosophers, who would walk while teaching.

parvenu

a person who has suddenly risen to a higher economic status but has not gained social acceptance of others in that class upstart example: His mother, "born of samurai stock" and married to "a parvenu beneath herself," succumbed to mental illness six months after Ryunosuke's birth.

debauch

destroy or debase the moral purity of; corrupt.

indomitable

invincible, not easy to subdue

gratuity

انعام ، پاداش ، مبلغ بازخرید tip

tumultuous

آشفته، پر هرج و مرج، به هم ريخته، پر آشوب و هرج و مرج

deface

از شکل انداختن. خط خطی کردن. کثیف کردن (با آشغال و ...) Definition: Vandalize, mar the appearance of Usage: Ernest was charged with three counts of vandalism after being caught defacing a row of townhouses with spraypaint. Related Words: Depredate (plunder, lay waste to), Efface (wipe out, erase) More Info: To deface can also be "to mark a check or monetary instrument" in order to make it invalid ("She defaced the check so it couldn't be cashed.")

immutable

تغییر ناپذیر Definition: Unchangeable Usage: Studies of the brains of stroke patients have shown that our identities are not fixed and immutable; rather, physical injuries to the brain can drastically change our personalities. Related Words: Immalleable (not moldable or adaptable) More Info: Immutable shares a root (meaning "change") with mutation and transmute.

prankster

کسی که شوخی زننده می کند a person fond of playing pranks. Example:

incendiary

(of a device or attack) designed to cause fires. Definition: Setting on fire, pertaining to arson; arousing strife, rebellion, etc.; "inflaming" the senses Usage: The college suspended him for creating an incendiary website, encouraging sit-ins and protests, but the ACLU defended his right to freedom of speech. / It is illegal to bring incendiaries on a plane—there are many good reasons why you may not have a stick of dynamite in your carry-on. Related Words: Kindle (ignite, cause to begin burning; incite, arouse, inflame), Rouse or Foment (incite, stir up)

escapade

An escapade is an adventure, tinged with a hint of danger. A road trip could be an escapade, or a few weeks making a living as a professional gambler, or posing as your twin sister and taking a test for her in math.

pat answer

A very simple, concise, or straightforward answer, especially one that fails to fully or adequately explain or respond to something.

mystique

An air of mystery around someone gives that person a certain mystique, like your glamorous next door neighbor who's rumored to work for the CIA Example: As an artist committed to mystique, Bowie doesn't share much about their upbringing.

drift

As they cooked and ate, in warm kitchens or restaurants, their conversation drifted to their families, their childhoods, their pasts.

bay

Definition: Howling in a deep way, like a dog or wolf Usage: The lonely dog bayed all night. / The mob bayed for the so-called traitors to be put to death. More Info: Bay comes from an Old French word meant to actually sound like the baying of an animal. In a related expression, when a person is "at bay" or "brought to bay," that means that the person is in a captured position, powerless and unable to flee.

antagonize

Definition: Make hostile or unfriendly Usage: "Josie! Stop antagonizing your little brother! Give him back that firetruck and tell him you're sorry for pulling his hair!" Related Words: Provoke (anger, enrage, stir up, incite to action) More Info: When discussing literature or films, the protagonist is the main character and the antagonist is the main adversary (The Joker is Batman's antagonist).

fanatic

Excessively devoted, enthusiastic, or zealous in an uncritical way Usage: Mrs. Becker was fanatical about grammar, once deducting fifteen points from a student's paper for a misused semicolon—and it was a physics class! Related Words: Ardent (very passionate), Zealous (full of fervor or dedicated enthusiasm for a cause, person, etc.). Also Fervent, Fervid, and Perfervid all mean "passionate, fiery, deeply enthusiastic."

feckless

If a newspaper editorial describes a politician as feckless, you might wonder, "What is feck, and why doesn't he have any?" In fact, the columnist is accusing the politician of being irresponsible and incompetent. Example: "During that time, the Los Angeles Times reported that 25 Ukrainian soldiers lost their lives in combat. The gravity of this feckless decision is clear and stunning," he wrote. Two years after graduation, Charlie still lived with his parents and had no job, becoming feckless with each passing day.

opprobrious

Opprobrious is a heavy-duty word to describe something taunting or shameful. opprobrious words abusive Example: The opprobrious words in use among French boys would not strike the boys of New York or London as being very exasperating.

facile

آسان- سهل الحصول arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth That might suggest a facile victory for the favourites, but nothing could be further from the truth. The truth itself is far more complex than these facile comparisons, which also makes it more durable.

foment

برانگیختن ، دامن زدن ، ایجاد کردن Definition: Incite, instigate, stir up, promote the growth of; apply medicated liquid to a body part Usage: The revolutionary group was quietly fomenting a rebellion, galvanizing student radicals, leading unions in revolutionary songs, and anonymously pasting incendiary posters in every quarter of the city. Related Words: Rouse (wake up; incite, stir up)

emotiveness

Something described as emotive shows feeling. If you consider women more emotive than men, you think that women are more comfortable sharing their feelings than men. Example: "I would argue that some people are given more room to be emotive than others," he said in an interview with the New York Times editorial board.

hardscrabble

Something described as hardscrabble is difficult and challenging. Many people overcome a hardscrabble childhood and go on to achieve their dreams. Example: "the sharecropper's hardscrabble life"

inviolable

مصون ، مقدس ، محترم ، غیرقابل تخطی never to be broken, infringed, or dishonored. Example: The one would be amenable to personal punishment and disgrace; the person of the other is sacred and inviolable.

intimation

The noun intimation means a hint or an indirect suggestion. Your teacher's intimation that there could be a quiz the next day might send you into a panic, while your friend sitting beside you might not even notice. a slight suggestion or vague understanding Example: The slightest intimation of discomfort sends someone scurrying to your table. At first the hostess tried intimation, praising the benefits of cutlery, when Cecil continued eating with his hands, the hostess told him to use a fork at dinner.

conciliate

The verb conciliate means to placate, appease, or pacify. If you are eating at a restaurant and the waiter accidentally spills a drink on you, the manager may try to conciliate you by picking up the tab for your meal. Example: When members of the physics community tried to conciliate by calling the subunits "quark-partons", Gell-Mann prevailed.

profess

To profess is to declare something, often insincerely.

flippant

When a parent scolds a teenager for missing a curfew or blowing off a test and the teen snaps back, "Whatever," you could say the teen is being flippant. His reply was casual to the point of sarcasm and disrespect. Example: We weren't stereotypical millennials, they said, flippant about money and unwilling to sacrifice.

inviolate

must be kept sacred, untouched Example: While the literary critic subjected most of the classics to harshest reviews, he regarded Cervantes as inviolate and had nothing but praise for him.

mordant

bitting and harsh in thought and manner Example: Each dictator's life is offered with neat, mordant compression.

work over

to subject to thorough examination, study, or treatment Example: shelf stock worked over by shoppers

meander

stroll, ramble, wander To meander means to wander aimlessly on a winding roundabout course.

hagiographer

the author of a worshipful or idealizing biography

earnest

جدی example: he was earnest about his invention's benefits: how weightlessness contributed to health and well-being.

illustrious

مشهور و برجسته widely known and esteemed eminent, prominent, outstanding

compendium

Definition: Concise but complete summary; a list or collection Usage: I could hardly bring my whole collection of poetry books on vacation, so instead, I brought a lightweight poetry compendium containing a few selections each from thirty or so poets thought to represent various styles and eras. / This movie review is unusually compendious—although a scant 500 words, it tells every single thing that happens in the entire film. Related Words: Digest (a periodical containing shortened versions of works published elsewhere), Recapitulation (summary or the act of summing up), Précis (summary or abstract)

lissome

Definition: Flexible, supple, agile Usage: The actress exercised and stretched every day, but was ultimately told by the casting director that she wasn't lissome enough to play a ballet dancer. The actress had to agree—"I walk like an ogre," she said. Related Words: Nimble (moving quickly and lightly; alert) More Info: Lithe (limber, flexible) is a synonym—in fact, lissome originated as a variant of lithesome.

repertorial

Definition: Pertaining to a repertory or repertoire, a stock of available things or a number of theatrical performances presented regularly or in sequence Usage: One theater observer noted that repertorial community theater can tie together different plays for a repeat audience: seeing the same actor as Hamlet one night and Romeo another prompts interesting parallels between the two plays. More Info: Don't confuse repertorial with reportorial, "characteristic of news reporters."

fawn

Definition: Show affection or try to please in the manner of a dog; try to win favor through flattery and submissive behavior Usage: Although he was only president of a chain of grocery stores, he was used to being fawned over like a king or rock star. "You are truly king of the lowpriced produce world," said the regional manager. "May I wash your car for you?" Related Words: Sycophant, Lackey, Toady, and Myrmidon are all words for a person who fawns, such as the regional manager in the sentence above. The adjective Obsequious means fawning. The verb Truckle means to act subserviently and Kowtow means to fawn—or, literally, to bow until one's forehead touches the floor.

dilatory

Definition: Slow, late; procrastinating or stalling for time Usage: Jack was supposed to start his presentation ten minutes ago and he isn't even here? I'm not surprised—he's a dilatory fellow. Related Words: Tardy (late), Temporize (stall for time)

Euphemism

Definition: Substitution of a mild, inoffensive, or indirect expression for one that is considered offensive or too direct Usage: Many euphemisms surround death and disease; rather than "Joe died of cancer," many people feel better saying "Joe's suffering is finally over." / When potty training their children, some parents use hilarious euphemisms for body parts. More Info: The antonym of euphemism is dysphemism, an unnecessarily bad name for something. The internet division of the publishing company dysphemistically referred to the print magazine as the "dead tree edition."

hoary

Definition: Very old, gray or white as from old age Usage: Hoary with age, his white beard making his age obvious even from the top of the bleachers, the old man surprised everyone when he was able to make a free throw. / Dad, I've heard your hoary old college fraternity stories a hundred times. Related Words: Grizzled (graying), Wizened (withered or shriveled, as from age), Antediluvian (very old; literally, from before the Biblical flood)

G-rated

General audiences - All ages admitted

objurgate

How dare you! To objurgate is to scold or reprimand. Don't objurgate yourself, or beat yourself up if you didn't know it — it's an old word that people don't use much anymore. Example: The manager spent an hour objurgating the employee in the hopes that he would not make these mistakes again.

to have a bent for

If you have a knack or aptitude for doing something, you can say you have a bent for it. Perhaps you have a bent for woodworking, creating fabulous desserts, or writing poetry, you are good at it.

labyrinthine

Labyrinthine is a good word to describe a place that feels like an enormous maze. A new student at a huge, sprawling high school is likely to find the building labyrinthine as she wanders the halls looking for her math class. example: While France's official retirement age may be 62, the actual age varies widely across the country's labyrinthine system.

demagogue

Definition: A leader who lies and gains power by arousing the passions and especially prejudices of the people Usage: Political demagogues lie and twist the facts, depending more on their natural charisma and ability to determine exactly what their audience wants to hear than any actual understanding or perspicacity. Related Words: A Propagandist or Provocateur influences the public in ways that are probably more emotional than logical. More Info: The Greek root "demos," for "people," also appears in democracy, demographics, and demotic (populist, pertaining to the people).

sorbiquet

Definition: A nickname Usage: James Brown, often referred to with the sobriquet "The Godfather of Soul," scored numerous smash hits and was also known for his feverish dancing. Related Words: An epithet can be a descriptive nickname or an "add-on" to a name—for instance, "Alexander the Great" is an epithet for Alexander III of Macedon. Epithet can also mean "insult"—a "racial epithet" is a slur and is always bad.

To blunt the effects

To blunt the effects, Japan's government is offering financial help to parents, small businesses and health care providers.

Hector

To bully or intimidate Example: He pounced right away with a hectoring, condescending tone, repeatedly using the phrase "purity tests" and then applying one of his own, trying to shame Warren for making money in her private legal career. The boss's hectoring manner put off many employees, some of whom quit as soon as they found new jobs.

strut

Definition: A structural support or brace Usage: Looking out the window of the small biplane, Maureen could see the struts, the vertical connectors between the lower and upper sets of wings. Related Words: Bolster or fortify (strengthen or support), Buttress (a support against a building; to strengthen or support), More Info: Of course, strut as a verb means to swagger or walk in a showy or pompous way, such as in a fashion show. Adam Lambert has a song called "Strut" ("Strut for me and show me what you're working with").

machinate

To machinate is to scheme or plan something. You might, for example, machinate a way to defeat the more popular candidate in an election for school president. Example: The rebels gathered dark in the night in an abandoned barn to machinate

take sth off the top

To take a portion from the gross. Similar to "skim off the top" but without the secrecy. Example: Whatever you guys bring in, us five get one each, off the top. So you bring in 30, us five get one each, which leaves 25 to spread around and whatever's left, you keep.

biding time

To wait patiently and quietly for the right moment to arrive

weeks on end

When something happens for hours, days, weeks, or years on end, it happens continuously and without stopping for the amount of time that is mentioned. Example: He is a wonderful companion and we can talk for hours on end.

recrudesce

When something that's bad comes back to haunt you, call it a recrudescence. It's not a word you'll hear often, but it's useful. a return of something after a period of abatement Example: One concerns the recrudescence of a variety of nationalism that is Orientalist whenever it arises in the Asian context.

doctor

You see doctor, and you think of someone doing good — like the medical doctor who saves lives. However, a person who doctors or tampers with a document is adding something wrong or harmful to it, like a lie. Example: In one egregious example, a former FBI lawyer doctored an email by claiming that Page was not a source for another U.S. intelligence agency, when in fact he was a source for an extended period.

arriviste

a person who has suddenly risen to a higher economic status but has not gained social acceptance of others in that class parvenu Example: The article, which describes old-fashioned Wasps feuding with glamorous arrivistes, is a safari of rich people behaving badly. the city center was aflutter with arrivistes who tried to outdo one another with their ostentatious sports cars chic evening dress.

forsaking all others

abandon (someone or something). Example: But at some point in life, you must abandon books, forsake the forewarning words of others, and find out for yourself.

recapitulation

an act or instance of summarizing and restating the main points of something. Example: Every point of the professor's lesson was so clear that the student felt his concluding recapitulation was not necessary.

to outsource a task

contract (work) out. example: you may choose to outsource this function to another company or do it yourself

lacerated

deeply hurt the feelings of Example: It shows Ms. Malikzada's lacerated body surrounded by a forest of cloaked figures. The teacher was fired for lacerating a student who wrote a poor essay. Across the Atlantic, the New York Times says the duchess faced "lacerating criticism" from Britons who "like their royals to be dutiful and traditional" and from the tabloid press.

obstreperous

defiant and noncompliant Obstreperous means boisterous, noisy, aggressive, defiant. You've probably seen an obstreperous child in the grocery store, pulling away from her mother, screaming at the top of her lungs. Example: He took whatever means he needed to express a vision that was alternately empathetic and obstreperous, as contradictory as the man himself.

quail

draw back, as with fear or pain Example: Webster's bosses quailed at his orders for $2,500 lasers and other equipment.

douse

drench Use the verb douse to describe covering something with water or other liquid. When you're camping, you douse the campfire with water when you're done with it. Example: His seditious remarks led to an insurrection and fierce competition between political parties that seems hard to drouse.

unstinting

given or giving without restraint; unsparing. Example: Although the Iranians were severely strained by American sanctions, imposed to stop the regime from developing a nuclear weapon, they were unstinting in their efforts to save Assad.

know sth inside out

know something very thoroughly. Example: she knows the moor inside out

anemic

lacking energy and vigor Sometimes you can tell just from looking at someone's pale face and lips that they're anemic. If you're anemic, your body has a shortage of healthy red blood cells. Example: After three straight shows, the actress gave an anemic performance the forth night.

unimpeachable

not able to be doubted, questioned, or criticized; entirely trustworthy. Example: His track record is unimpeachable and there can be no doubt that he knows the game inside out.

incarnadine

Definition: Blood red or flesh-colored Usage: The police took the body to the morgue; all that was left at the murder scene was an incarnadine stain on a pillow. Related Words: Vermilion means bright red or reddish-orange; the word comes from the Latin for "little worm," specifically the insect used for the dye. More Info: Incarnadine shares a root (meaning "flesh") with carnal, carnage, and incarnate. Don't confuse with Incarnate (embodied, personified; put into concrete form, embody, take on a human body).

smother

suffocate, stifle

exasperate

آزار دادن، عصبانى كردن، ناراحت کردن، عصبی کردن irritate intensely; infuriate. Example: What you have to do with a book, a simple, obvious, exasperating difficult thing, is, read it.

autocratic

استبدادی Autocratic describes a way of ruling, but not in a nice way. An autocratic leader is one who rules with an iron fist; in other words — someone with the behavior of a dictator. Example: the constitutional reforms threatened his autocratic power

remonstrate

اعتراض کردن - مخالفت کردن to make objections while pleading Example: When I remonstrated with him, he became abusive and quite terrifying.

prohibitive

بازدارنده. گزاف/گران Definition: Tending to forbid something, or serving to prevent something Usage: I was admitted to NYU, but it was prohibitively expensive, so I ended up at state school instead. / My parents installed a high fence as a prohibitive barrier against the neighborhood hooligans. Related Words: Exorbitant means excessive, especially by being outrageously expensive.

whet

برانگیختن ، تحریک کردن Definition: Stimulate, make keen or eager (esp. of an appetite) Usage: Dinner will take another twenty minutes, but maybe this cheese plate can whet your appetite? Related Words: To pique a person is to anger or annoy, but to pique one's interest, curiosity, etc., is to whet or stimulate that emotion. More Info: To whet is literally to sharpen (a knife or cutting tool) using grinding or friction, such as on a whetstone, which can also be used metaphorically (Debate camp was a whetstone that sharpened the teenagers' critical faculties).

in an of itself

به خودی خود Intrinsically, considered alone. Example: In and of itself the plan might work, but I doubt that it will be approved.

idle

بی کار ، بی اساس (especially of a machine or factory) not active or in use. Example: I was starting to get sick of being under-motivated, lazy, and idle .

transgress

تخطى كردن infringe, breach Definition: Violation of a law, moral rule, order, etc.; sin Usage: His transgression was so serious that his family disowned him: no one would be visiting him in prison. Related Words: Contravene (violate, act counter to, oppose), Err (be mistaken, sin) More Info: Transgress, from Latin, is literally "to step across," similar to the expression "cross the line," as in You've really crossed the line this time. The "line," of course, is a rule, principle, etc.

conflate

تلفیق combine (two or more texts, ideas, etc.) into one. Example: in a recent book the author conflict several genres, the detective story -the teen thriller and the vampire romance to create a memorable read

malingerer

تمارض کننده Have you ever pretended to be sick or hurt to get out of taking a test or doing a chore? Then you, my dear, are a malingerer, and should be ashamed of yourself. Shape up! Example: Until this point, soldiers bearing psychic wounds tended to be dismissed by the military as cowards and malingerers.

exalt

تمجید کردن hold (someone or something) in very high regard; think or speak very highly of. extol,praise,acclaim Example: And one should never mention nor hear the mention of the name without adding praise or responding amen to one who exalts God.

Paradox

تناقض گویی ، ضد و نقیض Definition: Contradiction, or seeming contradiction that is actually true Usage: Kayla was always bothering the youth minister with her paradoxes, like "If God is all-powerful, can He make a burrito so big He can't eat it?" Related Words: Conundrum (a riddle, the answer to which involves a play on words; any mystery), Enigma (puzzle, mystery, riddle; mysterious or contradictory person) More Info: The root "doct/dox" means "opinion" or "teach, know" and occurs in doctrine, doctor, and doctrinaire (person who applies doctrine in an impractical or rigid and close-minded way).

browbeat

تهید کردن، نهیب زدن intimidate (someone), typically into doing something, with stern or abusive words. Example: There, barring a few bad eggs whom you rarely get to hear about, most students are interested in education rather than browbeating other students.

pristine

خالص ، سالم Definition: In an original, pure state; uncorrupted Usage: Having grown up in a rural area, Billy had been in plenty of forests where people regularly left beer cans and shotgun shells behind. So it truly took his breath away, after hiking hours through the Himalayas, to visit a pristine forest, seemingly untouched by humans. Related Words: Unadulterated and unsullied are near-synonyms.

asperity

خشونت ، تندی ، کلفتی ، بدی harshness of manner Example: The editor was known for his asperity, often sending severe letters of rejection to amateur writers.

synopsis

خلاصه a brief summary or general survey of something. Example: Although we will not reveal much about the movie, here's a brief synopsis .

solicitous

دلسوز - دلواپس Definition: Concerned or anxious (about another person), expressing care; eager or desirous; very careful Usage: A solicitous host, Derek not only asked each person how he or she was doing, but asked by name about everyone's spouses and kids. / Solicitous of fame, she would do anything to get near celebrities. More Info: Don't confuse solicitous with soliciting, which means selling, asking or entreating, or acting as a prostitute. Signs on homes and businesses that say "No Soliciting" are telling salespeople to stay away.

spurn

رد کردن to reject with disdain Example: One by one the Spurs players filed past, clutching their vanity bags and refuelling snacks, politely spurning all interview requests.

disabuse

رفع شبهه کردن - از اشتباه در آوردن Definition: Free someone from a mistake in thinking Usage: Do you really believe that toilets flush one way in the Northern hemisphere and another way in the Southern? Any physicist would be happy to disabuse you of that silly notion. More Info: Disabuse is almost always used in the pattern "to disabuse (person) of (idea)." Memory Trick: When someone disabuses you of a belief, they both "dis" and "abuse" your false ideas.

contrived

ساختگی If you see something that seems fake since it was too perfectly planned out, call it contrived. If you can easily predict the final minutes of a made-for-TV movie, then call it contrived. Planned

militant

ستیزه جو combative and aggressive in support of a political or social cause, and typically favoring extreme, violent, or confrontational methods.

tenacity

سرسختى‌، مقاومت‌، چسبندگى‌ Example: Her tenacity , her fight for life, surprised even the doctors.

celerity

سرعت ، چابکی ، تحرک swiftness of movement Example: The overwhelming celerity with which the everyday perpetually transforms its packaging, the excessively rapid turnover of signs has condensed our historical perspective

bristle

سیخ شدن مو (مجازا یعنی : خشم خود را بروز دادن ) react in an angry or offended way Example: Instead, they bristled at an attempt by Mr. Romney to gather enough signatures to circumvent the convention.

charlatan

شارلاتان ، آدم حقه باز ، شیاد a person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill; a fraud.

chasm

شکاف a deep fissure in the earth, rock, or another surface. Example: Here, during the rainy season, rapid bubbling rivers flow along the bottom of these chasms . At some point, however, it will become increasingly difficult to bridge the chasm between their faith and their values.

thrifty

صرفه جو (of a person or their behavior) using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully. frugal, economic

gerrymander

غیر منصفانه تقسیم کردن - دخل و تصرف کردن - تقلب کردن در to manipulate voting districts in order to favor a particular political party example: Years ago, savvy politicians have gerrymandered the city center to ensure their re-election

doleful

ماتم زده ، گرفته ، غمگین ، تیره ، غمبار filled with or evoking sadness to be down in the dumps Example: With its quiet beauty and doleful hymns, this season made intuitive emotional sense to me.

pecuniary

مالی ، مادی ، پولی monetary Example: The defendant was found guilty and had to serve a period of community service as well as pay pecuniary damages to the client.

impede

مانع شدن Definition: Hold back, obstruct the progress of Usage: I didn't realize business school would be entirely group work—sadly, there's always at least one person in every group who impedes the group's progress more than helps it. Related Words: Hinder and Hamper are synonyms.

elusive

مبهم ، مرموز ، اغفال گرا ، گذرا difficult to find, catch, or achieve. Example: the cure for the common cold has been so elusive that it has become a modern symbol of futility

wary

محتاط ، مواظب Definition: Watchful, motivated by caution, on guard against danger Usage: Be wary of anyone who tells you that "anyone" can get rich with some special plan or scheme. Related Words: Chary is a synonym (there are very few rhyming synonyms in English!), Leery (suspicious or wary), Vigilant (keenly watchful or alert in order to guard against danger)

decry

محکوم کردن. تحقیر کردن denounce, condemn Example: The entire audience erupted in shouts and curses, decrying the penalty card issued by the referee.

adverse

مخالف ، نامساعد ، ناخوشایند Definition: Opposing, harmful Usage: Pioneer women persevered despite adverse circumstances, even when fording a river—baby in one arm, leading a horse with the other—against an adverse current. Related Words: Antagonistic (hostile, acting in opposition) More Info: Adverse appears in "adverse criticism," although that expression is a bit redundant. Adverse is also related to adversary (an opponent, foe).

scrimp

مضایقه کردن be thrifty or parsimonious; economize. Example: Ms. Gao, 48, stopped working to watch her daughters and started scrimping on household expenses.

Equitable

منصفانه‌، متساوى‌ Equitable distribution means everyone gets their fair share of something.If you work on a group project in class, you want an equitable share of the credit. fair to all parties as dictated by reason and conscience opp of biased Example: That's true of my mayor's office, and it's true of my campaign staff, which is more equitable because it's over 50 percent women.

discredit

مورد تردید قرار دادن - بی اعتبار کردن Definition: Injure the reputation of, destroy credibility of or confidence in Usage: Congresswoman Huffman's opponent tried to use her friendship with a certain radical extremist to discredit her, even though the Congresswoman hadn't seen this so-called "extremist" since sixth grade summer camp. Related Words: Slander, Traduce, and Defame all mean "to speak maliciously and falsely of." Note, however, that slander is always wrong (slanderous statements are, by definition, lies), whereas it is possible (and sometimes for the greater good) to discredit someone by exposing the truth about that person—for instance, a lying political candidate, or a fake "expert" giving damaging advice. More Info: The root "cred" means "belief" and also appears in credit, credible, creed, credo, credulous, incredulous, and accreditation.

makeshift

موقت Definition: A temporary, often improvised, substitute (noun); improvised for temporary use (adj) Usage: Lost in the woods for over 24 hours, the children were eventually found sleeping under a makeshift tent made from branches and old plastic bags. / I don't have a ladder, but I can stack up some boxes as a makeshift. More Info: The expressions "thrown together" or "slapped together" express a similar idea of "making do" with the resources on hand. To "jury rig" something is to assemble it quickly with whatever materials you have available.

disingenuous

ناصادق. ناصادقانه Definition: Insincere, not genuine Usage: Christine used the fact that her mother spoke limited English as an opportunity to be disingenuous. When her mother asked, "Will there be boys at this sleepover?" she replied "There won't not be boys there!" Related Words: Dissembling (misleading, concealing the truth, acting hypocritically), Prevaricating (misleading or lying) More Info: Disingenuous appropriately describes misleading behavior that isn't quite lying, like when you say "Let's do the dishes!" when you really mean "Why don't you do the dishes?" The opposite of disingenuous is ingenuous, or genuine.

pervasive

نافذ - فراگیر Definition: Tending to spread throughout Usage: Poverty is pervasive in our school system; 65% of students receive free or reduced-price lunch. Related Words: Omnipresent and ubiquitous mean existing everywhere.

hallmark

نشان a mark stamped on articles of gold, silver, or platinum by the British assay offices, certifying their standard of purity. Example: invention was a hallmark of the work of the ancient Greek historians whose writings were filled with long and often purely fictitious speeches

vestige

نشان ، رد ، اثر ، کمترین اثر ، بازمانده Definition: Trace or sign of something that once existed Usage: They hadn't officially broken up, but she felt their relationship was running on fumes—that only vestiges of their former affection remained. Related Words: Scintilla (a tiny bit or trace), Residue (remainder, leftover part after something has been removed) More Info: Vestigial features in biology are those left over from a previous stage of evolution—for instance, the hind limbs of whales and snakes, and the tailbone in humans. Thus, when a baby is born with a protruding tailbone, it is called a vestigial tail (as featured in the 2001 film Shallow Hal).

tirade

نطق آتشین Definition: Bitter, abusive criticism or verbal attack Usage: I hate that television show where that commentator goes on angry tirades about all the liberal conspiracies taking over America. Even my conservative friends find his ranting embarrassing. Related Words: Diatribe, Tirade, Harangue, and Fulmination are all words for bitter, angry speeches or attacks.

impervious

نفوذناپذیر - مقاوم Definition: Impenetrable, not able to be harmed or emotionally disturbed Usage: The problem with arrogant people is that they are impervious to criticism of their arrogance; anything you say to them just rolls right off. Related Words: Impermeable (impassable, not allowing passage through), Stoic (not having or showing feeling, esp. in response to suffering) More Info: Impervious contains the roots "in/im" (not), "per" (through), and "via" (road).

Cartography

نقشه کشی carved out for himself an indispensable position in Europe

ravage

هجوم ، غارت ، تاخت و تاز cause severe and extensive damage to. A corollary of Hurricane Sandy which raveged the east coast of the U.S., is a push to build higher sea walls to protect against future hurricanes.

ineffable

وصف ناپذیر indescribable, inexpressible Example: If (the scripture) had not used such words, how then could we have learnt of these ineffable mysteries?

palatial

پر عظمت‌، شكوهمند، مجلل‌ Definition: Suitable for or resembling a palace, magnificent Usage: After a career spent in budget hotels, she was thrilled when the client put her up in a palatial room at a five-star hotel. She raided the minibar and then promptly fell asleep on the 600-thread-count duvet. Related Words: Olympian (suitable for the gods; majestic, aloof), Stately (majestic; very elegant, dignified, or imposing)

tortuous

پر پیچ و خم ، پیچ در پیچ ، پیچیده Definition: Twisting, winding, complex; devious, not straightforward Usage: If I can follow your tortuous logic, you're saying that people who want the new law protecting the environment are actually hurting the environment because the majority of people deliberately do the opposite of laws? What? / The children found the tortuous path of the roller coaster both terrifying and exciting. Related Words: Convoluted (having many overlapping folds or coils, as certain kinds of seashells; intricate, complex)—also often used to describe "twisty" reasoning, as in the first sentence above. More Info: Don't confuse with torturous, meaning relating to torture or the type of pain caused by torture.

garrulous

پرحرف ، وراج ، طولانی Definition: Talkative, wordy, rambling Usage: Uncle Bill is so garrulous that our dinner conversation lasted three hours—and the only person who said more than ten words was Uncle Bill. Related Words: Prolix, Verbose, and Loquacious all mean talkative or wordy. Garrulous adds the sense of going off-topic or being tiresome. For instance, a very long-winded but informative academic paper would be prolix or verbose, but not garrulous.

pugnacious

پرخاشگر ، ستیزه جو ، جنگجو Definition: Inclined to fight, combative Usage: Amy had hoped to avoid inviting Uncle Ed to the wedding, as he was a pugnacious fellow—and, sure enough, he managed to start a fistfight with the best man. Related Words: Belligerent, bellicose, and truculent are synonyms. More Info: Pugilism (boxing, fistfighting) and pugnacious come from the Latin "pugnus," for "fist."

buttress

پشتیبانی کردن - تحکیم کردن Definition: Support or encourage (verb); a support or prop, esp. projecting from and supporting the wall of a building (noun) Usage: A self-defense class really helped to buttress Elaine's confidence. / David used his Ph.D. as a buttress against criticism. "I have a doctorate," he would say. "I just don't think you can understand." Related Words: Bolster originally was a type of pillow and now is also a verb meaning "support or strengthen." Fortify is most associated with protecting against military attack but also means "strengthen or support."

dissemble

پنهان کردن - کتمان کردن - تظاهر کردن conceal one's true motives, feelings, or beliefs.

Scurvy

پوشيده از شوره ، پست ، منفور ، کمبود ويتامين سی Definition: Contemptible, mean Usage: Our neighbor is so scurvy that he deliberately broke my little brother's bicycle because, as he said, "You kids are too loud!" Related Words: Reprobate (disreputable or unprincipled person) More Info: Scurvy is also a disease caused by lack of vitamin C and resulting in anemia, bleeding gums, and other pretty horrible symptoms. Scurvy was common in sailors on long sea voyages in centuries past (before they figured out the cause and started taking lemons with them to sea).

ascertain

پی بردن به ، دریافتن ، فهمیدن ، معلوم کردن ، تحقیق کردن Definition: Find out with certainty Usage: Hopefully, the investigation will allow us to ascertain who is at fault here. Related Words: Discern (perceive or recognize; tell two or more things apart), Descry (discover, see by looking carefully) More Info: Ascertain is easy to remember—it means "make certain" and has the word "certain" contained inside it.

intricacy

پیچیدگی elaborateness, involution Example: The intricacy of the art lies as much in its dyeing as in the design.

chastise

چزوندن: به شدت انتقاد کردن از. به شدت سرزنش کردنِ... rebuke or reprimand severely. berate, reprove, reproach, reprimand Example: Communities lead with their moral voice, appreciating those who act responsibly, and chastising those who do not

adhere

چسبیدن‌، پیوستن‌، وفادار ماندن‌ Definition: Stick (to), such as with glue, or to a plan or belief Usage: I have a message board that adheres to my refrigerator with magnets; on it, I've written some affirmations to help me adhere to my diet plan. Related Words: Abide by (follow, conform to), Cohere (become united, hold together as part of the same mass) More Info: Use adhere for attaching two different kinds of things together, and cohere for things of the same kind (good cookie dough coheres instead of crumbles).

sloth

کاهلی reluctance to work or make an effort; laziness.

delimit

Definition: Fix, mark, or define the boundaries of Usage: The role of an executive coach is delimited by our code of conduct—we may not counsel people for psychological conditions, for instance. Related Words: Demarcate (mark the boundaries of, separate) More Info: Delimit is one of those words where the "de" doesn't seem to be doing much—the definition is pretty close to that of limit.

bonhomie

Definition: Friendliness, open and simple good heartedness Usage: By the end of the summer, the campers were overflowing with bonhomie, vowing to remain Facebook friends forever. Related Words: Amity (friendship, peaceful agreement) More Info: Bonhomie is from French—bon homme means "good man." In English, bonhomie is pronounced "bon-uh-MEE" or "BON-uh-mee" (somewhat ironically, there is no "homey" in bonhomie).

amortize

Definition: Gradually pay off a debt, or gradually write off an asset Usage: A mortgage is a common form of amortized debt—spreading the payments out over as long as 30 years is not uncommon. / On his company balance sheet, Joe amortized the value of his patent, estimating that the patent's value as an asset would decline steadily over the course of the year as competitors patented competing products. More Info: Amortize contains the root "mort," meaning death. Amortization is when a financial obligation dies a long, slow death.

innocuous

Definition: Harmless, inoffensive Usage: While it's quite acrid in here, fortunately the fumes that come from our factory are completely innocuous—you don't need a face mask unless you'd like one. Related Words: Benign (harmless, favorable)

invidious

Definition: Hateful, offensive, injurious Usage: School bullying has become a serious problem, with ongoing invidious behavior driving students to suicide. Related Words: Malicious and Malevolent both mean "intending ill will towards another." More Info: Invidious comes from the Latin word for envy. Don't confuse invidious with insidious, which means deceitful, tricky, intended to entrap or ensnare.

desultory

Definition: Lacking consistency or order, disconnected, sporadic; going off topic Usage: Lulu said she'd been studying for the GRE for a year, but she had been doing so in only the most desultory way—a few vocab words here and there, then nothing for a month, and practice tests whenever she felt like it, which was rarely. / Don't mind my daughter—there's no need to let a toddler's desultory remarks pull an adult conversation off track. More Info: Desultory comes from the Latin "desultor," a circus rider who jumps from one horse to another.

missive

Definition: Letter, written message Usage: While Don was overseas fighting in World War II, he lived for the missives from the wife he had left behind. More Info: The Latin "mittere" (to send) also gives us transmit, remit, and mission.

Penumbra

Definition: Outer part of a shadow from an eclipse; any surrounding region, fringe, periphery; any area where something "sort of" exists Usage: The Constitution doesn't specifically mention a right to privacy, but some experts consider this to exist in the penumbra of the Constitution, as a guarantee of privacy is needed in order to exercise the rights that are enumerated. / The rent in Chicago was too high, so they moved to a suburb in the penumbra of the city. Related Words: Hinterland (remote or undeveloped area)

pulchritude

Definition: Physical beauty Usage: Marilyn Monroe's mystique is based not only on her obvious pulchritude, but also on her mysterious death and likely dalliance with JFK. Related Words: Comeliness is a synonym. Aesthetic (concerning the appreciation of beauty or good taste, pertaining to the science of what is beautiful) Memory Trick: This word is so ugly sounding! Would you ever have guessed it meant beauty? Imagine a man telling a woman she is the epitome of pulchritude. Unless she has a very good vocabulary, it probably won't go very well.

contextualize

Definition: Place in context, such as by giving the background or circumstances Usage: Virginia Woolf's feminism is hard to truly understand unless contextualized within the mores of the highly restrained, upper-class English society of her time. More Info: Context, from the Latin, can simply be thought of as "the text that comes with." The root "text" itself is the same in both "textbook" and "textile"—it means "weave," just as we would weave either cloth or a story.

monastic

Definition: Relating to or resembling a monastery (where monks or nuns live), esp. by being quiet, secluded, contemplative, strict, and/or lacking luxuries Usage: Christine decided that the only way she was going to finish her Ph.D. was to live a monastic lifestyle: she broke up with her boyfriend, cancelled her cable service, left the house only when necessary, and ultimately had a draft of her dissertation a few months later. Related Words: Austere (severe in manner or appearance; very self-disciplined, ascetic; without luxury or ease; sober or serious), Ascetic (abstinent or austere in lifestyle or a person who lives such a lifestyle), Hermit or Anchorite (person who lives away from society, esp. for religious reasons), Recluse (person who lives in solitude)

abrasive

Definition: Rough, suitable for grinding or polishing (such as sandpaper); causing irritation or annoyance Usage: Could the inside of this mascot costume be any more abrasive? It's rubbing my skin raw! I have some seriously abrasive remarks for whoever designed this thing. Related Words: Caustic (capable of burning or corroding; extremely critical or sarcastic), Excoriate (to rub the skin off of; to criticize very harshly) More Info: Like caustic and excoriate, abrasive can be used literally or metaphorically. You scrub a dirty pan with something abrasive, such as steel wool. Harsh criticism is abrasive, like being scrubbed with steel wool.

appropriate

Definition: Set aside or authorize (such as money) for a particular purpose; take for one's own use Usage: The School Board appropriated money for new textbooks. / In putting together the perfect outfit for "Career Day" at her high school, Mackenzie appropriated her mother's stethoscope and her little brother's stuffed pig, making it clear to everyone that she wanted to be a veterinarian. Related Words: Arrogate (claim or take presumptuously or without right) More Info: The last syllable of the more common adjective "appropriate" is pronounced "it"; the last syllable of the verb appropriate is pronounced "ate."

cosset

Definition: Treat as a pet, pamper Usage: The cosseted toddler was lovingly wrapped up in his snow gear, so much so that he could barely even move his arms enough to make his first snowball. Related Words: Coddle (treat tenderly or indulgently) More Info: As a noun, a cosset is a pet lamb or any pet. The root in cosset actually comes from a word meaning "to kiss."

ersatz

Definition: Artificial, synthetic; being an inferior substitute Usage: I hate this health food restaurant! I do not want to eat some ersatz meatballs made of textured vegetable protein! Related Words: Apocryphal, Faux, Bogus and Specious are all words for "fake or dubious." Factitious can mean "made by humans" or "artificial, sham." More Info: Ersatz comes from German. Ersatzbrot, or "replacement bread" (made of the lowest quality ingredients sometimes mixed with sawdust) and Ersatzkaffee (a substitute made from grain) were served by the Germans to POWs during World War II.

attune

Definition: In harmony; in sympathetic relationship Usage: Research shows that new mothers are keenly attuned to their babies' cries; even those who were formerly heavy sleepers often find that they now wake up immediately when their babies need attention. / In the sixth week of Melanie's foreign study program, she finally attuned herself to life on a French farm. More Info: Attuned is almost always followed by "to."

subside

Definition: Sink, settle down, become less active; return to a normal level Usage: When her terror subsided, she realized that the house wasn't really haunted. / It is a chronic illness—symptoms will flare up and subside over one's lifetime. Related Words: Abate (reduce, diminish) More Info: From the Latin for "sink to the bottom," subside is related to sediment (material at the bottom of a liquid) and sedentary (not moving around, as a person with an inactive lifestyle).

braggart

If you know someone who is a real show off and is always bragging about how great they are, then you might call this boaster a braggart. Example: "I never liked him: I think he is a bully, a braggart, a big mouth, and a not-so-merry prankster, but this is very, very unfair. This is a process crime."

Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist is the spirit or essence of a particular time. In the 1920s, flappers and speakeasies contributed to that era's Zeitgeist. Example: I knew he loved movies; that, perhaps, was a way into this kind of crazy Bannon Zeitgeist.

Yurt

a circular tent of felt or skins on a collapsible framework, used by nomads in Mongolia, Siberia, and Turkey. Example: One family in Inner Mongolia packed up its yurt and migrated elsewhere in the grasslands for a better web connection, a Chinese magazine reported.

split-second decision

a decision that must be made in an instant

prophylactic

a medicine or course of action used to prevent disease. Example: Under these conditions antibiotics are given as a prophylactic because there is the reasonable expectation disease would occur if no action was taken.

Sherpa

a member of the Himalayan people living in Nepal and Tibet who are famous for their skill as mountaineers Example: Cleanup duty on the world's tallest mountains should only be handled by the experts, Nepalese Sherpas are warning.

epigram

a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way. Example: She lets one pithy epigram after the next fall flat, sadly clouding the brilliance of this real gem of a play.

repository

a place, building, or receptacle where things are or may be stored. Example: It is the repository of 'reasons' of which Owen speaks in the above quoted passage.

Hominid

a primate of a family ( Hominidae ) that includes humans and their fossil ancestors. Example: It may be possible to extract DNA from the bones of human ancestors and other hominids who died up to one million years ago, researchers believe.

atavism

a reappearance of an earlier characteristic Example: The result is civilization, art, music, scientific reasoning and philosophy, which often attempt to mitigate and improve on our genetic atavism.

semblance

an outward or token appearance of sth, esp when the reality is different. Semblance is all about illusion Example: Those who listen and show some semblance of understanding what their coach wants will play.

ad hominem

appealing to personal considerations (rather than to fact or reason) commenting on or against an opponent, to undermine him instead of his arguments. Example: "Those ad hominem attacks lack any substance and do not trigger the right to a remedy or a hearing before this court," Pauley wrote.

cliquish

befitting or characteristic of those who incline to social exclusiveness and who rebuff the advances of people considered inferior snobby Example: K.T. described the old Vine forums as cliquish, and then, in their final days, gripped, like so many communities online, by politics.

stultify

cause someone, through routine, to lose energy and enthusiasm Example: As an undergraduate Mark felt stultified by classes outside of his area of study

ethereal

characterized by lightness and insubstantiality Example: Because she dances with an ethereal style, the ballet critics have called her Madame Butterfly.

collegiality

companionship and cooperation between colleagues who share responsibility. Example: he advised his team of officers to nurture the spirit of collegiality among them

proselytize

convert or attempt to convert (someone) from one religion, belief, or opinion to another. Example: A central plank of this policy is that the sharing of personal belief 'must not include proselytizing (seeking to convert) others about a particular faith.

dissimilitude

dissimilarity or diversity example: The boxes were as like to one another as peas, but Wogan discovered a great dissimilitude of defects.

approbatory

expressing or manifesting praise or approval Example: Amazement, approbatory or the reverse, at this spectacle is the beginning of surprises which the spectral visitor would find in store.

gut-wrenching

extremely unpleasant or upsetting. Example: The film is a gut-wrenching portrait of domestic violence.

vitriolic

harsh or corrosive in tone Example: When McMillian died, the Monroe Journal—a newspaper whose vitriolic coverage of his trial and its aftermath is well documented in both books—ran an obituary that did not mention his trial. "Her impeachment of the 45th president of the United States is born not of truth, facts or evidence, but rather of a historic vitriolic hatred usually reserved for an enemy of the state."

enthrall

hold spellbound, fascinate Example: Theater exposes spiritualism's artifice, spiritualism lays bare theater's attempts to persuade and enthrall an audience.

execrate

loathe, despise, hate, curse The word means to despise or also to curse. example: In a letter quoted by Shapreau, he execrated "the notorious questionnaire" whose inquiries he said included "'Are you of German blood, or kindred race, or non-Aryan?'"

antic

ludicrously odd Example: The clown's antic act was too extreme for the youngest children, who left the room in tears.

emulate

match or surpass (a person or achievement), typically by imitation. Example: Do you have any comment for the critics who claim you're just trying to emulate Jackson's startling success? They will do very well if they emulate the success of their legendary father.

sparingly

meagerly He acknowledged that the Defense Production Act "should only be used sparingly to order companies to do things."

Hubris

overbearing pride or presumption Hubris is an excess of confidence: a boxer who shouts "I'm the greatest!" even though he's about to get pummeled by a much stronger opponent is displaying a lot of hubris. Example: Looking at the award, he said, "This is not going to help my hubris issues. It was a work of enormous talent, exciting promise and considerable hubris

prognostication

prediction about future Example: The front-runners for adapted screenplay are all men, with the exception of Gerwig, according to Gold Derby, an awards prognostication site.

afford

provide or supply (an opportunity or facility) Example: There is a shaded area at the top of a hill nearby that affords a good view, is quiet and is very pleasant. With its combination of images and sound, it affords the greatest opportunity to influence people.

gussy up

put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive

rapprochement

reestablishment of cordial relations reconciliation Example: The increase in tensions follows the remarkable rapprochement since relations plunged into crisis over the downing of the Russian warplane near the Syrian border.

gumption

resourcefulness and determination If you easily give up, and don't have a lot of confidence or smarts, then you are lacking in gumption. Example: That's why they so seldom show the gumption to shut rural post offices down.

derisory

ridiculously small or inadequate. The derisory pay offer was the last straw for workers.

valediction

the action of saying farewell (goodbye) Example: He waved in valediction and closed the door quickly. The girl looked at me, slack-jawed, and didn't even say 'Cheers', the typical London valediction .

the final/last straw

the last in a series of unpleasant events that finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation Example: Losing my job was bad enough, but being evicted was the final straw.

to hold sth. against sb.

to like someone less because they have done something wrong or behaved badly Example: It was his mistake, but I won't hold it against him.

get one's point across

to make people understand what one is saying

bristle at something

to show sudden anger or other negative response to something. (Alludes to a dog or cat raising the hair on its back in anger or as a threat.) She bristled at the suggestion.

droop

آویزان شدن ، خم شدن droop=wither, wilt

casual

بی تفاوت ، سطحی ، تصادفی ، غیرعمدی relaxed and unconcerned. Example: Behind his casual attitude lies the strict discipline a teacher asks of a pupil.

conquer

تسخیر کردن 1.to take control over surmount, overcome 2.defeat subdue, vanquish, overcome

nasty

زشت، زننده، ناخوشایند highly unpleasant, especially to the senses; physically nauseating.

torrent

سیلاب ، رگبار ، توفان ، موج flood, deluge

forthcoming

قریب الوقوع-آینده imminent, impending, upcoming

minuscule

كوچك, كم اهميت insignificant, tiny, diminutive Example: That is a minuscule fraction of the nearly 330 million people living in the country today.

rescind

لغو کردن ، باطل کردن Definition: Annul, repeal, make void Usage: The governor rescinded his proclamation making September 10th "Pastafarian Day" once someone told him it wasn't a real religion. Related Words: Negate (deny or refute; make void or cause to be ineffective), Nullify (make void or invalid)

pensive

متفکرانه ، غرق در فکر ، فکربرانگیز See that person staring out the window who looks so sad and lost in thought? He is pensive, the opposite of cheery and carefree. syns: brooding, contemplative, ruminative

disband

منحل کردن (of an organized group) break up or cause to break up and stop functioning. Example: St. Fintan's have since disbanded due to falling numbers.

day in and day out

همیشه ، همه وقت

languish

پژمرده شدن (of a person or other living thing) lose or lack vitality; grow weak or feeble. wilt=droop=wither Example: Stranded in the wilderness for four days, the hiker languished, eating protein bars and nuts.

infidel

کافر a person who does not acknowledge your god

resignation

کناره گیری ، تسلیم the acceptance of sth unpleasant but inevitable Example: My mother's unwavering faith in the higher powers unsettles me; it suggests resignation.

table

Definition: Lay aside to discuss later, often as a way to postpone discussion indefinitely Usage: I see we're not going to agree on whether to scrap our entire curriculum and develop a new one, so let's table that discussion and move on to voting on the budget. More Info: In American English, to table something means to postpone discussion of it until later, but in British English, to table a bill is the opposite —to submit it for consideration.

sleazy

of a person or a situation that is sordid, immoral, and corrupt Example: Every person who abetted or acquiesced in this sleazy crime must receive a tantamount punishment.

regal

of, resembling, or fit for a monarch, especially in being magnificent or dignified. Exqample: Inside the audience chamber the sovereign was a picture of regal splendor.

scour

subject (a place, text, etc.) to a thorough search in order to locate something. Example: Her days now consist of helping her children with homework and scouring supermarkets for fast-disappearing pasta, rice and canned food.

purview

the scope of the influence or concerns of something. The question of awards and damages should be the purview of state legislators.

baleful

threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments menacing, threatening Example: The experience of Labour is casting a baleful shadow over Sanders's chances, notwithstanding his undoubted ability to sway even Republican-leaning audiences with his savage but persuasive indictment of today's American capitalism.

do a disservice

to do something that makes people's opinion of someone or something not as good as it should be Example: To describe her as just a journalist is to do her a disservice.

fiery

آتشین consisting of fire or burning strongly and brightly. blazing Example: A fiery ball was all that was left of the surrounding cars.

preachy

having or revealing a tendency to give moral advice in a tedious or self-righteous way. Sanctimonious

obscene

(of the portrayal or description of sexual matters) offensive or disgusting by accepted standards of morality and decency.

echelon

Definition: A level, rank or grade; the people at that level Usage: Obtaining a job on Wall Street doesn't guarantee access to the upper echelon of executives, where multi-million dollar bonuses are the norm. / I'm not sure I'm cut out to analyze poetry; I find it hard to dig beyond the most accessible echelon of meaning. Related Words: Stratum (a layer, esp. one of a number of parallel layers, such as in sedimentary rock or the Earth's atmosphere; plural is strata, as in "Of all the strata of society, the middle class is the stratum hit hardest by the recession.") More Info: The original meaning of echelon is a formation of troops or war vehicles so as to resemble steps; similarly, birds flying in such a pattern are flying in echelon.

dichotomy

Definition: Division into two parts or into two contradictory groups Usage: There is a dichotomy in the sciences between theoretical or "pure" sciences such as physics and chemistry, and the life sciences, which often deal more with classifying than with theorizing. Related Words: Binary (consisting of or involving two), Duality (a dual state, existence in two parts, as in "Descartes posited a duality between mind and body") More Info: Dichotomy comes from the Greek "dicha" (apart) and "tomos" (cutting).

convoke

Definition: Call together, as to a meeting Usage: The dean has convoked this gathering to discuss the Honor Code. Related Words: Convene is a synonym More Info: The root "voc/vok" in convoke means "to call" and also appears in words such as vocal, invoke, and vocation.

imperious

Definition: Commanding, domineering; acting like a high ranking person; urgent Usage: Her friend were peeved by her imperious attitude and talked about her while she was in the ladies' room: "Who does she think she is, not only picking the bar and the meeting time but also telling us where to sit?" Related Words: Overbearing is a synonym. Autocratic refers to absolute rule and Despotic and Tyrannical refer to the abuse of absolute rule. More Info: The related imperial means "pertaining to an empire or emperor." Imperious behavior can be appropriate when practiced by an emperor, but generally, imperious just means arrogant and bossy.

stark

Definition: Complete, total, utter; harsh or grim; extremely simple, severe, blunt, or plain Usage: The designer's work is appreciated for its stark beauty, but most people prefer to live in a cozier, more welcoming home—the kind with carpets and pillows, for instance. / She is stark raving mad! / The stark reality is that we will have to begin burning our furniture for warmth if we are to survive. Related Words: Austere (severe in manner or appearance; very self-disciplined, ascetic; without luxury or ease; sober or serious) More Info: A common expression is "stark naked" (here, stark adds emphasis). In British slang, "starkers" (American: "streakers") are people who run naked through a public place for amusement. In many cultures, such an act would be a stark violation of public decency.

confer

Definition: Consult, compare views; bestow or give Usage: A Ph.D. confers upon a person the right to be addressed as "Doctor" as well as eligibility to pursue tenure-track professorship. / Excuse me for a moment to make a call—I can't buy this car until I confer with my spouse. Related Words: Vest can mean "grant an authority or right," as in "The ownership of 51% of the stock vests her with the right to make decisions for the company."

harrow

Definition: Farming tool that breaks up soil (noun); painfully disturb or distress (verb) Usage: Let's start our garden together—you harrow, and I'll follow behind you planting the seeds. / The bus ride across Siberia was a harrowing experience— the roads were all ice, and the ancient, barely heated vehicle seemed to be lacking both headlights and brakes. More Info: Shakespeare may have been the first to use harrow in a metaphorical way ("I could a tale unfold whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul"— Hamlet).

slew

Definition: A large number or quantity Usage: As soon as we switched software packages, we encountered a whole slew of problems. Related Words: Myriad can also mean a very great number of something (probably bigger than a slew). More Info: From the Irish "sluagh," a crowd or army.

fatuous

Definition: Foolish, silly, esp. in a smug or complacent manner Usage: Sadly, every philosophy class seems to have one person who responds to every discussion, from metaphysics to ethics, with the fatuous question, "But what if we don't really exist?" Related Words: Inane (lacking sense, silly; empty), Waggish (merry, roguish), Risible (laughable, related to laughing), Jocular, Jocund, or Jocose (jesting, jolly), Droll (funny in an odd way) More Info: Don't confuse fatuous with facetious, meaning "joking, humorous, esp. inappropriately." Facetious people can be smartly sarcastic; fatuous people are dull and dim-witted. Fatuous comes from a word for gaping—as in, having one's mouth hang open like a very stupid person.

principled

Definition: Having high moral standards Usage: Donna was only an intern, but she was also quite principled—although she knew it would kill her shot at a full-time job, she was the one who alerted the authorities when asked to violate federal law via corrupt accounting practices. Related Words: Scrupulous can mean principled (strictly following moral rules), or can mean precise, exact, careful about the details. More Info: A principle is a moral rule. A principal is the head of a school, and principal as an adjective means first or most important (the money you owe on student loans, not including the interest, is the principal). Thus, you could say something like My principal principle is never to lie.

post hoc fallacy

the logical fallacy of believing that temporal succession implies a causal relation Example: That means anti-trans policies must be supported by an "exceedingly persuasive justification," one not "hypothesized or invented post hoc in response to litigation." However, post hoc and subjective statistical inference is susceptible to conflicts of interest.

obtuse

the quality of being slow to understand Example: Jackson was the most obtuse member of the team: the manager's subtle ironies were always lost on him.

malapropism

the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar example: "Ironic" is set in a high school writing workshop: One character reads her poetry about "rain on your wedding day" to the class, and her peers pick her apart for the malapropism.

kowtow

to act obsequiously and subservient Kowtow, which describes the act of kneeling and touching one's head to the ground to show respect, used to be a custom in Chinese culture. Now it refers to acting like you're doing that, whether you actually bow or not.

doom

(verb)condemn to certain destruction or death. death, destruction, or some other terrible fate. Example: What made it useful in an earlier world is dooming it in this one. So the prophets are split neatly between impending economic doom and postponed blight.

per se

(لاتين‌) درنفس‌ خود، بخودى‌ خود، فى‌ نفسه‌، مستقيما Definition: Intrinsically; by itself; in itself Usage: The policy isn't sexist, per se, but it has had a disproportionate impact on women that deserves further study. More Info: From Latin, often written in italics. Per se is often used to indicate that while something isn't naturally or the same as something else, it still has the same effect

stalwart

1. having rugged physical strength; inured to fatigue or hardships Example: proud of her tall stalwart son 2.possessing or displaying courage Example: a stalwart knight 3.dependable, loyal Example: a stalwart supporter of the UN

bridle

1.The act of restraining power or action or limiting excess rein in 2.to react with anger or to take offense Example: New curfew laws have bridled people's tendency to go out at night 2.Voters also bridle against voting for Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term.

turgid

1.swollen, distend ( because of pressure from inside) 2.pompous and tedious Definition: Swollen, inflated; or, metaphorically "inflated," such as in overblown, pompous speech Usage: His prose was so turgid he used the phrase "synchronous repast" to mean a lunch break. / Jimmy carefully carried the turgid water balloons to the balcony, ready for a serious splash attack on members of the rival fraternity. Related Words: Tumid (synonym), Distend (swell, expand), Balloon (swell or puff out; increase rapidly) More Info: Don't confuse turgid with turbid (turbulent), tepid (lukewarm), or torpid (sluggish).

penumbra

1.the partially shaded outer region of the shadow cast by an opaque object. 2.a peripheral or indeterminate area or group.

maunder

1.wander aimlessly 2. speak about unimportant matters rapidly and incessantly Example: In the process, "The Twice-Born" becomes a moving, if maundering, riff on what it means to be modern.

demure

A demure person can be described as polite and a little shy. A demure outfit is a modest one — think high neckline and low hem. Example: She now plays Bets, a seemingly demure housewife on Showtime's "On Becoming a God in Central Florida," a dark, sunstruck dramedy.

gambit

A gambit is a strategic move, often in chess but also in politics or business, where a player sacrifices something up front for future gain. ploy, stratagem Example: Often, in closely fought elections, there's a gambit that changes the course of the race.

gibe

A gibe is an insulting comment. To gibe is to insult. jeer, taunt, mock, scoff, sneer Example: For his part, Reagan ignored the gibes, playing the part of the disciplined moderate.

purveyor

A purveyor is someone who supplies goods — often food or drinks. If you're a seafood purveyor, you will always smell a bit fishy — which is no surprise, considering that you sell cod and haddock all day long.

gaffe

A socially awkward or tactless act solecism A gaffe is a mistake that embarrasses you in front of others. If you run into a friend out with her grey-haired father, and you blurt out, "Oh, hi, you must be Tara's grandfather!" then you've made a gaffe. Example: The gaffe ended a promising drive by the Packers, who desperately need some points before this NFC championship game slips away from them altogether.

apothegm

An apothegm is a short instructive saying that's easy to remember and sometimes even slightly witty, like "haste makes waste." An apothegm often expresses a fundamental truth or general rule. Example: One of my father's favorite apothegms was that "you can't argue with success."

phantasmagorical

Anything phantasmagorical feels or looks like a crazy dream. If you see a psychedelic music video that looks like it was shot through a kaleidoscope, you can call it phantasmagorical. illusive, unreal psychedelic example: Her confinement turns abruptly from horrific to phantasmagorical.

aplomb

Aplomb is the ultimate test for cool: grace under pressure. Use aplomb to show great restraint under even the most trying circumstances. In retail, it's always a good idea to handle the angry customers with aplomb. cool example: She deputized it to speak freely and with diplomatic aplomb. The two actresses are relentlessly graceful, endowed with physical aplomb, contemplative insight, and strong emotion.

bombastic

Definition: (Of speech or writing) far too showy or dramatic than is appropriate; pretentious Usage: Professor Knutsen's friends joked that he became quite bombastic after a few drinks, once asking a woman in a bar, "Is your daddy an aesthete? Because you are the epitome of ineffable pulchritude." She replied, "I'm not impressed by your bombast." Related Words: Declamatory (pompous, merely oratorical), Magniloquent and Grandiloquent (speaking in a lofty, grandiose style) More Info: The origin of bombastic is related to the idea of being inflated, a metaphor that also comes into play with the related words turgid and tumid, synonyms that can mean literally inflated like a balloon, or using language much too fancy for the sentiment or occasion.

yoke

Definition: A burden or something that oppresses; a frame for attaching animals (such as oxen) to each other and to a plow or other equipment to be pulled, or a bar across a person's shoulders to help carry buckets of water, etc. (noun); to unite together or to burden (verb) Usage: The speaker argued that humanity had traded the yoke of servitude to kings and tyrants for the yoke of consumerism, which enslaves us just as much in the end. More Info: The Bible exhorts followers to "be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." Here, yoked is a reference to marriage, which certainly unites (whether it burdens is a matter of opinion).

dirge

Definition: A funeral or mourning song or poem Usage: It was supposed to be a wedding march, but when the organist started playing, the reluctant bride thought the song sounded more like a dirge for her former, carefree life. Related Words: Lament (express sorrow, mourn), Requiem (musical service or hymn for the dead), Threnody (poem or song of mourning), Elegy (song or poem of sorrow, esp. for a deceased person) More Info: Dirge is simply a version of the first word ("Direct, O Lord, my God...") from a Latin prayer cycle said in the Roman Catholic Church for a deceased person.

maxim

Definition: A general truth or fundamental principle, esp. expressed as a proverb or saying Usage: My favorite maxim is "Seize the day!" How much would it cost to get that on a tattoo? How much more for "Curiosity killed the cat"? Related Words: Dictum, Apothegm, and Adage are all words for a proverb, saying, or truism. A saw is also a maxim and often appears as "an old saw." Platitude is more negative, meaning a cliched or trite statement. More Info: Maxim shares a root with maximum; the idea is that a maxim is an expression of the "biggest," most fundamental truth.

pedantry

Definition: A mark of indication of quality, purity, genuineness, etc.; any distinguishing characteristic Usage: Signature red soles are the hallmark of Christian Louboutin's shoes. / Fast-paced rhymes, an angry tenor, and personal attacks on celebrities are hallmarks of Eminem's music. Related Words: An earmark is also any distinguishing mark, such as a mark on an animal's ear to show ownership. Earmark can also be a verb meaning "allocate or set aside" (to earmark funds for a project). An earmark is neutral, but a hallmark generally has more positive connotations. More Info: The Goldsmiths' Company of London made gold and silver articles stamped with a mark. The company was located in Goldsmiths' Hall—thus, a "hall mark."

repast

Definition: A meal (noun); to eat or feast (verb) Usage: After a light repast in a country inn, the men got back on their horses and rode away. Related Words: Comestibles (food), Gustatory (pertaining to taste) More Info: From a Latin root for feeding, also found in pasture (where farm animals eat).

disposition

Definition: A person's general or natural mood; tendency Usage: She was possessed of a kind and helpful disposition—she wouldn't just help you move, she'd bring home-baked muffins to the affair. / I could really use some help in the kitchen, if you are so disposed. Related Words: Penchant and Predilection mean "tendency, preference" (a penchant for fast cards, a predilection to get angry easily). More Info: Disposed and disposition are slightly old-fashioned words and occur in old-fashioned expressions: "possessed of a ____ disposition" and "so disposed" (meaning "inclined towards the kind of activities I just mentioned").

whitewash

Definition: A substance used to whiten walls, wood, etc. (noun); deception, covering up of wrongs, errors, misdeeds, etc. (verb) Usage: The journalist accused the government of trying to whitewash the scandal, implying that the officials covered up the incident out of concern for national security rather than to protect themselves. Related Words: Gloss over, paper over, and whitewash are all expressions for covering up a problem, insult, etc. rather than addressing it or fixing it. Because gloss is slippery (think of lip gloss), gloss over often has the sense of trying to smoothly and quickly move on to something else, as in "He made a snide remark about short people and then tried to gloss over it when he realized his 5'2" boss had overheard."

interregnum

Definition: A time in between two reigns or regimes during which there is no ruler; a period during which government does not function; any period of freedom from authority or break or interruption in a series Usage: When the king died with no heir, his ministers ruled in the interregnum as the nobles argued over which of the king's nephews should rule next. / In the interregnum between Madonna and Lady Gaga, there was no single female pop star who commanded such titanic audiences. Related Words: Interrex (person holding supreme authority during an interregnum), Hiatus (break or gap in an activity), Abeyance (temporary suspension, inactivity) More Info: The Latin root "reg" (kingship, rule) also occurs in regal, regulate, regime, regiment, regicide (killing a king), and regale (entertain, amuse).

scintilla

Definition: A tiny bit or trace Usage: With not one scintilla of food in the house, the pioneer woman resorted to desperate means, boiling weeds and even shoe leather to feed her children. Related Words: A Modicum, Iota, Mite, or Tad of something is also a small amount (as in, If you had one iota of decency, you would have come to the funeral, or I had the tailor shorten the sleeves just a tad). A Vestige is a leftover trace or remaining evidence of something that no longer exists. More Info: Scintilla is Latin for "spark." Spark can still be used metaphorically in a sentence where scintilla would also work—for instance, "I had not even a spark of an idea."

fledgling

Definition: A young bird that has just recently gotten its feathers, an inexperienced person (noun); new or inexperienced (adj) Usage: The zoo's EagleCam will hopefully be able to catch the moment the fledglings fly out of the nest for the very first time! / The Society of Engineers is available for career day presentations in elementary schools, where we hope to encourage fledgling talents in the applied sciences. Related Words: Tyro (beginner, novice) More Info: The verb fledge means to nurture, as one would a young bird until it is ready to fly, or to cover with feathers or adorn.

dither

Definition: Act indecisively (verb); a state of fear or trembling excitement Usage: "Stop dithering," said the mother to her daughter. "Pick which sweater you want so I can pay for it and we can get out of here." / The haunted house brought the children to a dither from which it was difficult for their parents to calm them down. Related Words: Vacillate and Equivocate also mean "act irresolutely," or in common parlance, "flip-flop" in making a decision. More Info: Dither may be related to dodder, meaning to shake or tremble, usually used in the sense of "a doddering old man."

egress

Definition: An exit or the action of exiting Usage: It is against the fire code to put those boxes there—you can't block a primary or secondary egress from the building. Related Words: Outlet can mean an exit or vent, or a means or expression or publication. "You can't grill in the house—there's no outlet for smoke! You obviously need an outlet for your frustrated desire to be a chef." More Info: Egress shares a root with grade, meaning "move or step." Just as you exit fifth grade to enter sixth grade, or as the land grades into the sea, egress involves a shift in position. The opposite of egress is ingress, meaning "entering."

impugn

Definition: Attack the truth or integrity of Usage: I hate to impugn the motives of the volunteers, but I think that some of them are here for personal gain, not to help. Related Words: Slander, Traduce, and Defame all mean "to speak maliciously and falsely of." (Impugning, in contrast, can sometimes help to uncover the truth). More Info: Impugn comes from the Latin "pugnare" (to fight), which also gives us pugnacious (combative, belligerent).

besiege

Definition: Attack, overwhelm, crowd in on or surround Usage: The regiment was besieged by attackers on all sides and finally surrendered. / I cannot go out this weekend—I am besieged by homework! Related Words: Harry (harass or annoy), Hound (harass or pursue relentlessly, as if with hunting dogs), Beleaguer (surround, as with difficulties or attackers) More Info: Besiege is equivalent to the expression "lay siege to" (although that expression is used more in the military sense and less in the metaphorical sense).

meretricious

Definition: Attractive in a vulgar or flashy way, tawdry; deceptive Usage: The singer performed her concert draped in what looked from far away like precious jewels. Up close, though, the fan could see that the accessories were just meretricious plastic, glittery junk, like what little girls buy at the mall. Related Words: Showy means showing off and could be good or bad (a showy car). Garish refers to something much too bright, vivid, or fancy (makeup that looks okay in a nightclub looks garish in the office). Gaudy items stand out in a cheap, tasteless, or overly colorful way (wearing too much big jewelry looks gaudy). More Info: Meretricious comes from a word for "prostitute." The definition "deceptive" is related to the idea of something looking better than it really is. Keep in mind that all of these word origins are based on very old-fashioned ideas, some of them as old as the Romans.

canonical

Definition: Authorized, recognized; pertaining to the canon, or body of accepted rules, standards or artistic works Usage: School boards often start controversies when replacing canonical books in the curriculum with modern literature; while many people think students should read works more relevant to their lives, others point out that Moby Dick is part of the canon for a reason. More Info: Canon comes from a Greek word similar to "measuring rod" and which also gives us cane.

hedge

Definition: Avoid commitment by leaving provisions for withdrawal or changing one's mind; protect a bet by also betting on the other side Usage: While he coaxed and cajoled us all into seeing "the best movie ever," he hedged once we were in the theater: "I don't know if you all like this sort of thing," he said. "I mean, you can make up your own minds." / When the professor called on him to take a stand on the issue, he hedged for fear of offending her: "Well, there are valid points on both sides," he said. Related Words: Equivocate, Waffle, Vacillate, and Tergiversate (waver, use unclear language to deceive or avoid committing), Ambivalent (unable to decide, or wanting to do two contradictory things at once), Palter (talk insincerely; bargain or haggle) More Info: A hedge fund is an investment fund that hedges risk with a variety of methods, such as short selling and derivatives.

curmudgeon

Definition: Bad-tempered, difficult person; grouch Usage: The college students' party was hampered by constant complaints from a curmudgeonly neighbor who insisted that making noise after 8pm was unreasonable, and called the police over a single beer can on his lawn. Related Words: Crotchety (grouchy, picky, given to odd notions), Cantankerous (disagreeable, contentious), Crank (an unbalanced person who is fanatical about a private, generally petty cause) More Info: Curmudgeon, like crotchety, is almost always used to describe old men (a fact that is perhaps unfair to old men).

presumptive

Definition: Based on inference or assumption; providing reasonable grounds for belief Usage: The dictator's favorite nephew is the presumptive heir to power, but anything could happen. / He's the presumptive winner of the election—we haven't counted all the votes, but at this point it's almost mathematically impossible for the other guy to win. Related Words: Ostensible or ostensive (professed, evident, or pretended; outwardly appearing in a certain way), Putative (supposed or reputed) More Info: Don't confuse presumptive with presumptuous, meaning assuming in an arrogant way. He's presumptively a nice guy, at least from what I've heard—my sister said he wasn't presumptuous at all.

denote

Definition: Be a name or symbol for Usage: The company's brand denotes quality; the marketing team has done a fantastic job of associating the company's image with fine service. / There's nothing in the denotation of "crotchety" (grumpy, having strong and irrational preferences) that indicates any particular group of people, but due to the expression "crotchety old man," the word connotes, for many people, an image of an especially unpleasant male senior citizen. More Info: A denotation is the literal meaning of a word; a connotation is the feeling that accompanies that word. For instance, many special color words, such as "lilac" or "cerulean" have a positive connotation.

spearhead

Definition: Be the leader of Usage: Lisa agreed to spearhead the "healthy office" initiative, and was instrumental in installing two treadmills and getting healthy food stocked in the vending machines. Related Words: Avant-garde or vanguard originally referred to the soldiers at the front of an army, and now can mean anyone who innovates or is on the forefront (as in the expression "ahead of their time"). More Info: A spearhead can, of course, be the sharp head of a spear. It can also be a person at the front of a military attack, or a leader of anything.

ossify

Definition: Become bone or become hard like bone; become inflexible in attitudes, opinions, etc. Usage: I remember having many broad-ranging discussions with him back in college, but since then, his opinions have ossified—sadly, he is now the most close-minded person I know. Related Words: Doctrinaire (person who applies doctrine in an impractical or rigid and close-minded way), Dogmatic (close-minded, expressing one's own opinions as though they were facts) More Info: Ossify shares a Latin root ("bone") with osseous (bony), osteoporosis (condition in which the bones become fragile), and ossuary (place for bones of the dead, such as a cemetery or urn).

disparage

Definition: Belittle, put down; bring shame upon, discredit Usage: An Ad Hominem attack is a logical fallacy in which the arguer disparages his opponent rather than addressing the opponent's ideas. / Your shoplifting arrest has disparaged this family! Related Words: Denigrate (belittle, attack the reputation of) More Info: The root "par" means "equal" and appears in peer and parity, meaning "equivalence or equality," as well as disparate, meaning "distinct, different."

partial

Definition: Biased, prejudiced, favoring one over others; having a special liking for something or someone (usually partial to) Usage: Although I grew up in New York, I've always been partial to country music. / His lawyers are appealing on the grounds that the judge was partial to the plaintiff, even playing golf with the plaintiff during the trial. Related Words: Partisan (partial to a particular party, group, etc., esp. in a biased, emotional way). Predilection, Propensity, Proclivity, and Bent are all words for a preference or inclination (He has an arrogant bent about him, and a propensity to offend others). More Info: Of course, partial can also mean "not complete." The connection between the two meanings is that, if you are partial to pumpkin pie, for instance, you are "one-sided" about it.

skirt

Definition: Border, lie along the edge of, go around; evade Usage: Melissa spent all of Thanksgiving skirting the issue of who she was dating and when she might get married and make her mother a grandmother. It was exhausting changing the subject two dozen times! / The creek skirts our property on the west, so it's easy to tell where our farm ends. Related Words: Circumvent (go around, avoid, bypass, such as circumventing the rules) More Info: This word is a metaphor related to the clothing item skirt, which passes around a person's body in a somewhat circular manner.

offhand

Definition: Casual, informal; done without preparation or forethought; rude in a short way, brusque Usage: I was pretty happy with my salary until my coworker Deena mentioned offhandedly that she was thinking about buying a house now that she made six figures. Related Words: Extemporaneous and Impromptu (done with no or little preparation), Ad-lib (to improvise; something improvised)

coagulate

Definition: Cause a liquid to become solid or semisolid Usage: Hemophilia is a medical condition in which the blood doesn't coagulate, meaning that a hemophiliac can easily bleed to death from a small wound. / When making jam, use pectin to get the fruit to coagulate. Related Words: Curdle also means "go from liquid to solid" but tends to be used to describe milk spoiling, or metaphorically, as in "Her scream made my blood curdle." Clot has the same definition as well, and often describes blood (a blood clot in an artery can cause a heart attack). Some desserts involve clotted cream.

alienate

Definition: Cause to become unfriendly, hostile, or distant Usage: The talk-show host was trying to help, but only alienated her viewers when she suggested that they cope with a tough economy by checking themselves into a spa. Related Words: Disaffect (cause to lose affection or loyalty), Estrange (make hostile or indifferent—"He hasn't spoken to his estranged son in a decade.") More Info: In law, alienate means to transfer property to another owner. An inalienable right is one that you cannot give away or sell (for instance, it is not possible for a person to sell himself into slavery).

catalyst

Definition: Causer of change Usage: The young manager was a catalyst at the stodgy old company—once he introduced employee laptops, telecommuting, and mobile workstations, even the most conventional of employees totally changed the way they worked. / Reaching 500 pounds on the scale was a catalyst for Marcus to really change his lifestyle. More Info: In chemistry, a catalyst causes or accelerates a chemical reaction but is not, itself, affected (the opposite is an inhibitor). Metaphorically, a catalyst is a person or event that causes a reaction.

grievous

Definition: Causing grief or suffering; very serious, grave; flagrant, outrageous Usage: While people certainly do injure themselves on hot stoves, such burns rarely compare to the grievous injuries sustained by people who do not observe safety procedures with twelve-gallon deep fryers. Related Words: Dire (causing suffering or fear; ominous; urgent or desperate, as in "a dire emergency requiring immediate response") More Info: "Grievous bodily harm" is a term in English law. General Grievous is a fictional villain in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

bilk

Definition: Cheat or defraud Usage: The con artist bilked many elderly people out of their savings, promising to cure illnesses from diabetes to cancer with only 36 monthly payments of $99.99—for which the victims received nothing but useless placebo pills. Related Words: Hoodwink, Swindle, Con, and Fleece are all verbs for cheating others. Fleece is perhaps more severe, having the connotation of taking everything from the victim, the way one sheers all of the fleece from a sheep. More Info: Bilk can also be a noun for the person who cheats others ("I hope that bilk goes to jail!") More obscurely, bilk can mean to escape from, frustrate, or thwart. The word comes from the card game cribbage, where it means to play a card that keeps an opponent from scoring.

coffer

Definition: Chest for storing valuables; financial resources, a treasury Usage: The dishonest employee called it "dipping into the company coffers," but the arresting officer called it "embezzlement." / Rather than rent a safetydeposit box, I keep my priceless antique coins in a coffer here at home. Related Words: A strongbox is also a chest for storing valuables. More Info: Coffer comes from the same root as "coffin," another type of box. When used metaphorically, coffers is generally used in the plural.

cardinal

Definition: Chief, most important Usage: The cardinal rule of Fight Club is that you don't talk about Fight Club. Related Words: Principal (first, highest in rank) More Info: Cardinal can also mean an official in the Catholic church, a bright red bird, or a deep red color. Cardinal comes from a Latin word for "hinge"— as in, a thing which other things "hinge" or depend on.

arrogate

Definition: Claim or take presumptuously or without the right to do so Usage: In order to build the oil pipeline, the government arrogated the land of many small farmers who are still fighting for compensation. / The bride's mother arrogated the right to decide on the venue, the food, and even the wedding dress! Related Words: The verb Appropriate has two meanings: set aside or authorize for a particular purpose; take for one's own use. The second meaning is a synonym for arrogate. Memory Trick: To arrogate is to arrogantly take what doesn't belong to you.

exonerate

Definition: Clear from blame or accusation; free from a responsibility Usage: When the defendant was exonerated after a long trial, his family wept for joy. Related Words: Exculpate and Vindicate also mean "free from blame." More Info: Exonerate shares a root with onerous and onus, meaning "burden or obligation." Since "ex" means "out," exonerate can be thought of as removing a burden (generally, that of guilt).

clamber

Definition: Climb awkwardly or with difficulty, scramble Usage: The hiker had spent the last hour plodding lethargically up the side of the mountain, but when she caught sight of the summit, she excitedly began to clamber up even the steepest inclines. More Info: Clamber comes from the same root as climb. Don't confuse it with clamor, which means "noisy shouting or protest."

succeeding

Definition: Coming after or following Usage: After the sale of the company, you will receive 5% of the profits from the current year, and 1% in all succeeding years. / In 1797, George Washington was succeeded by John Adams. Related Words: Subsequent is a synonym and often appears as the adverb subsequently, as in He took the poison and subsequently fell into a coma. More Info: Relatedly, a successor is someone who comes after, usually in holding an office, as in After losing his bid for reelection, the outgoing President handed over the White House to his successor.

equanimity

Definition: Composure, evenness of mind; mental or emotional stability, esp. under stress Usage: As she had worked for many years in mental hospitals, her equanimity was unparalleled—you could throw a chair or a bowl of spaghetti at her and she would just say, "Settle down, now." Related Words: Sangfroid (calmness, self-possession, esp. under strain), Aplomb (self-possession, poise, total confidence even under stress), Imperturbable (not able to be upset or agitated, calm) More Info: Don't confuse equitable and equity with equanimity and equanimous; the first set is about equality, the second set about being eventempered.

metaphysical

Definition: Concerned with abstract thought, related to metaphysics (branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the nature of being and of the world); very subtle or abstruse Usage: My poetry class has all kinds. In contrast to Gary's poetry about dogs and horses, Neil's poetry is very metaphysical, exploring the relation of mortal humans to a timeless universe. It's a little over Gary's head. Related Words: Ontology is part of metaphysics and is concerned with the investigation of the basic categories of being and their relation to one another. More Info: Metaphysics is much older than science—to the Greeks, all inquiry was "philosophy." Today, of course, science does a lot of the explaining of the world, so metaphysics can be understood as a non-empirical study of those topics. Empirical means "based on experience or experimentation; not purely based on theory."

precis

Definition: Concise summary, abstract Usage: Just as scientific journals publish abstracts of their articles online (and then charge for access to the full version), the entrepreneur decided to publish a précis of her whitepaper online, while charging for access to the full version. Related Words: Digest (a periodical containing shortened versions of works published elsewhere), Recapitulation (summary or the act of summing up), Compendium (concise but complete summary; a list or collection) More Info: Related to the word precise and coming from French, précis has the sense of efficiently (and precisely) expressing the essentials.

patronize

Definition: Condescending, having a superior manner, treating as an inferior Usage: I'm not surprised that Professor McDougal used to teach kindergarten. His patronizing tone has been driving me crazy. Not only does he assume we can barely add or subtract, he also makes us put our heads down and have a moment of silence. More Info: As a verb, patronize means to be a patron of—that is, to support with money. You can be a patron of the arts, and restaurants sometimes have signs thanking you for your patronage. This meaning is positive, while being patronizing is negative. What's the connection? This word (along with patriotic) comes from the Latin "pater," for "father." Even in Roman times, fathers had a certain stereotype—they give you money, but they also talk to you like you're a little kid.

speculate

Definition: Contemplate; make a guess or educated guess about; engage in a risky business transaction, gamble Usage: During the Gold Rush, speculators bought up land, sometimes with borrowed funds, expecting to prospect the land for gold and get rich quickly. / She speculated that, in zero gravity, showers would have to exist as closed rooms in which a giant bubble of water formed, and a person got inside it. More Info: Speculate comes from a root ("look at") also found in spectacle, spectator, inspect, and many others. To speculate is to try to "see" into the future or a situation about which not much is known.

pusillanimous

Definition: Cowardly, timid Usage: He was so pusillanimous that not only was he afraid to ask his boss for a raise, he was even afraid to tell the waitress that he didn't like sugar in his tea. Related Words: Craven (cowardly) More Info: What an interesting origin this word has—"pullus" was Latin for a young animal, and "pusillus" added the idea of being small and weak. The root "animus" (animation, etc.) means "spirit." Thus, a pusillanimous person has the spirit of a weak baby animal.

grovel

Definition: Creep or crawl with one's face to the ground, prostrate oneself as a token of subservience, degrade or abase oneself Usage: Most of the laid-off employees packed their things and left the building —only one was seen groveling, literally on his knees asking his boss not to fire him and even offering to wash the boss's car. Related Words: Sycophant, Lackey, Toady, and Myrmidon are all words for a fawning person (colloquially, a "bootlicker"). Truckle means to act subserviently and Kowtow means to fawn—or, literally, to bow until one's forehead touches the floor. Genuflect also means bow, but often in a courtly way, such as a knight bowing to the king. Memory Trick: When you kneel down to grovel, your knees get all scratched up from being in gravel.

imprecation

Definition: Curse; prayer for harm to come to someone Usage: The haunted house features a "wicked witch" chanting imprecations at all who pass through. Related Words: Malediction (synonym) More Info: Imprecation proceeds from the Latin "precari" (pray). As a verb, imprecate means to curse or call down evil upon.

Mores

Definition: Customs, manners, or morals of a particular group Usage: An American in Saudi Arabia should study the culture beforehand so as to avoid violating deeply conservative cultural mores. Related Words: Ethos (the character, personality, or moral values specific to a person, group, time period, etc.) More Info: Pronounce this word as two syllables (rhymes with "more ways").

abscission

Definition: Cutting off; sudden termination; the separation of leaves, petals, or other parts from a plant or animal Usage: The abscission of leaves from the trees is normal in fall. / An inflamed appendix calls for an immediate surgical abscission. Related Words: Ablation (removal of growths, etc., by surgery or other mechanical means) More Info: "Ab" means "away." The "scissio" root in abscission means "cut" and is the same as in scissors, excise (cut out or censor), and incision (cut into).

quotidian

Definition: Daily; everyday, ordinary Usage: He was so involved in his quest for spiritual enlightenment that he regularly forgot more quotidian concerns—sure, he meditated for six hours today, but he hasn't done laundry in weeks. Related Words: Mundane is a synonym. Pedestrian and prosaic mean commonplace, dull, or lacking imagination. Diurnal means occurring every day or happening in the daytime.

aspersion

Definition: Damaging remarks, defamation, slander Usage: He could no longer work with his duplicitous business partner, who acted friendly to his face but then spewed aspersions about him behind his back. / If you asperse me one more time, I will sue you for libel! Related Words: Slander, Traduce, and Defame all mean "to speak maliciously and falsely of" More Info: Aspersions is often used in the phrase "to cast aspersions," which has the sense of throwing or tossing insults or malicious lies about someone. One additional (rare) meaning of aspersion is "to sprinkle, such as for baptism." So, it's not a long leap to imagine spattering or sprinkling someone with insults.

ingrained

Definition: Deep-rooted, forming part of the very essence; worked into the fiber Usage: Religious observance had been ingrained in him since birth; he could not remember a time when he didn't pray five times a day. Related Words: Inculcate (teach persistently, implant [an idea] in a person)

counterproductive

Definition: Defeating the purpose; preventing the intended goal Usage: The candidate's attempt to win swing votes in Ohio was actually counterproductive—following his speech in Toledo, his poll numbers actually went down 5%. Related Words: Feckless (ineffectual), Bootless (unsuccessful), Inimical (unfavorable, harmful, as in "Drinking unclean water is inimical to health.")

parry

Definition: Deflect or avoid (esp. a blow or attack); skillfully evade (a question) Usage: When asked by a reporter if rumors of his infidelity were true, the candidate parried, answering that he had always supported legislation bolstering the sanctity of marriage. Related Words: Riposte is also a fencing term that has made it into common use. When an opponent thrusts (with a sword), your move to defend yourself is a parry; then, the short thrust you make back in retaliation is a riposte. Outside of fencing, a riposte is a witty comeback or swift reply. More Info: Parry shares a root ("make ready, produce, bring forth") with prepare, although this root came through Italian and French to mean "to ward off, defend."

abase

Definition: Degrade or humble; to lower in rank, status, or esteem Usage: After messing up at work, the man faced a thorough abasement from his boss; when he realized he had forgotten his own wedding anniversary, he further abased himself in front of his wife. Related Words: Defame (attack the reputation of), Belittle (put down, disparage) Memory Trick: Abasement means degradation or lowering of status—that is, abasement makes you feel like you should go hide in a basement.

debase

Definition: Degrade; lower in quality, value, rank, etc.; lower in moral quality Usage: You have debased yourself by accepting bribes. / Members of the mainstream church argued that the fringe sect was practicing a debased version of the religion, twisting around its precepts and missing the point. / I can tell from the weight that this isn't pure gold, but rather some debased mixed metal. Related Words: Base (morally low, of little value, crude or fake), Adulterate (make impure), Debauch (corrupt morally), Vitiate (ruin, make faulty, corrupt) More Info: To "debase a currency" is to lower its value, such as by a government wishing to print more money for its own ends, thereby lowering the value of the money held by citizens.

abscond

Definition: Depart suddenly and secretively Usage: A robber absconds with stolen goods. People who eat in a restaurant and run out without paying—or criminals who jump bail—could also be said to be absconding. Related Words: Decamp (to depart from camp, or to abscond) More Info: "Ab" means "away" and the rest of abscond comes from a Latin word meaning "to put."

discomfit

Definition: Disconcerting, confusing, frustrating Usage: His fiancee's family said they were comfortable with the fact that he was of a different religion, but he found their constant probing about his beliefs quite discomfiting./ He hates telemarketers so much that he likes to discomfit them by asking them personal questions and suggesting he call them at their homes instead. Related Words: Abash (destroy the confidence of, make ashamed, disconcert), Disquiet (disturb or cause anxiety to, as in "The anonymous phone message disquieted him.") More Info: Discomfit originally meant "defeat in battle" but today is closer to disconcert—possibly, over the years, people confused discomfit and discomfort, causing the shift in meaning.

undaunted

Definition: Discourage, dishearten, lessen the courage of Usage: Amazingly undaunted after his accident, Devon vowed to complete a marathon in his wheelchair. Not even a dented rim on mile 19 could daunt him —he dauntlessly completed the race anyway. Related Words: Cow (intimidate, destroy the courage of) More Info: Daunt shares a root with domesticate, "to tame."

parley

Definition: Discussion, negotiation, esp. between enemies (noun); to have such a discussion (verb) Usage: The industry trade show is our chance to parley with our competitors. We do go out for drinks together, but really, we're just hoping someone slips up and tells us about their new product line. Related Words: Armistice (truce, mutual agreement to temporarily stop fighting) More Info: French speakers will note parley's similarity to the French verb parler. The same root ("speech") also occurs in the English parable, parlance, and parliament.

squalid

Definition: Disgusting, filthy, foul, extremely neglected Usage: Social Services removed the children from the home due to the squalid conditions, including rats running freely in the kitchen and spoiled food all over the house. Related Words: Sordid can mean squalid, or morally squalid, as in "The recovered junkie told a sordid tale of his time on the streets, full of every type of degradation."

cloying

Definition: Disgustingly or distastefully sweet Usage: I do like visiting our grandmother, but I can't stand those cloying movies she watches—last time it was some heart-tugging story where an orphan saves a suffering pony. / I do like cake, but I find that honey-covered angel food cake positively cloying. Related Words: Treacly and Saccharine are synonyms. Maudlin means "overly tearful and sentimental," and might also possibly describe the orphan/pony movie described above.

reprobate

Definition: Disreputable, unprincipled, or damned person (noun); shameless, depraved (adj) Usage: The police joked that they had so many mug shots of the old reprobate that they could assemble them into a photography book called, "Faces of Petty Crime, 1976-2011." Related Words: Dissolution (sinking into extreme hedonism, vice, and degradation), Roué (a dissolute, lustful man, often a womanizer) More Info: In the original meaning, God would reprobate someone to hell. Today, a reprobate is a wrongdoer unlikely to change.

Dissoloution

Definition: Dissolving, the state of having been dissolved; breaking bonds or breaking up of a group of people; death, disintegration; sinking into extreme hedonism, vice, and degradation Usage: Raoul went from garden-variety hedonism to utter dissolution—his three-day drug benders cost him his job and may land him in jail. / Following the dissolution of the corporation and the liquidation of our assets, each investor will receive a cash payment proportional to his or her shareholding in the company. Related Words: Licentiousness (excessive freedom, extreme hedonism), Profligacy (reckless extravagance, shameless behavior)

disparate

Definition: Distinct, different Usage: He chose the college for two disparate reasons: the strength of the computer science program, and the excellence of the hip-hop dance squad. Related Words: Divergent (different, deviating), Incommensurable (not comparable, totally disproportionate) More Info: The root "par" means "equal" and appears in peer and parity, meaning "equivalence or equality," as well as disparage, meaning "belittle."

pronounced

Definition: Distinct, strong, clearly indicated noticeable, conspicuous Usage: Aunt Shirley claimed we would never know that her "secret recipe" for brownies involved lots of healthy vegetables, but the brownies had a pronounced asparagus flavor. More Info: Of course, we pronounce a word, but pronounce can also mean declare, as in, He pronounced the book the best thing he had ever read.

Polarized

Definition: Divided into sharply opposed groups Usage: The school board was used to rationally discussing issues, but when it came to the teaching of evolution in schools, the board was polarized, immediately splitting into two camps, with the discussion devolving into a shouting match within minutes. Related Words: Faction (group or clique within a larger organization), Partisan (partial to a particular party, group, etc., esp. in a biased, emotional way), Cabal (a conspiratorial group) More Info: In science, polarized objects have positive electric charges in one area and negative electric charges in another.

ridden

Definition: Dominated or burdened by Usage: The neighborhood was ridden with crime. / In this corruption-ridden nation, you simply have to pay bribes if you want anything to get done. More Info: In the phrase disease-ridden slum, it's pretty obvious that the meaning is bad, but actually, adding -ridden to anything makes the meaning bad. If someone said an equality-ridden society, it sounds as though that person is actually against equality!

hegemony

Definition: Domination, authority; influence by one country over others socially, culturally, economically, etc. Usage: The discovery of oil by a previously poor nation disrupted the larger, richer nation's hegemony in the region—suddenly, the hegemon had a competitor. Related Words: Autonomous (self-governing, independent), Fiat (dictate or authoritative order, as in "The king rules by fiat."), Sovereignty (supreme power, autonomy)

extemporaneous

Definition: Done without preparation (esp. of a speech), or with some preparation but no notes; improvised, done on the spur of the moment Usage: The way the Public Affairs Forum works is that the moderator will announce a topic, and then anyone who wishes may speak extemporaneously on that topic for a few minutes—as you can imagine, our members are very well-read. / Lost in the jungle, the hikers fashioned an extemporaneous shelter from palm leaves. Related Words: Impromptu (done with no or little preparation, esp. of musical or other performance), Ad-lib (improvise; something improvised) More Info: Extempore is a variant with the same meaning. "Off-the-cuff" is an expression that means extemporaneous.

declivity

Definition: Downward slope Usage: Not just any declivity can serve as a wheelchair ramp—I'm pretty sure this thing is too steep to pass regulations. Related Words: Declination (downward slope, deterioration, deviation from the norm, refusal) More Info: The opposite of declivity is acclivity, an upward slope.

languid

Definition: Drooping from exhaustion, sluggish, slow; lacking in spirit Usage: We signed up for a fitness boot camp, but after a single hour of exercise in the heat, we all felt so overcome with languor that we refused to go on. Turns out the reason we need a fitness boot camp in the first place is that we're pretty languid people. Related Words: Torpid and slothful mean slow and lazy. Indolent means habitually lazy, such as a person who chooses never to work. Lassitude is weariness or lack of caring.

aerie

Definition: Dwelling or fortress built on a high place; the nest of a bird of prey, such as an eagle or hawk, built on a mountain or cliff Usage: The billionaire smoked a cigar out his window and watched the riots in the streets below, safe in the aerie of his penthouse apartment. Related Words: Stronghold (a well fortified place, especially the central place of a controversial group, as in "Police raided the smugglers' stronghold.") More Info: Aerie may also be spelled aery, eyrie, or eyry. It shares an origin with "airy," coming from a Latin word pertaining to an open field.

appreciable

Definition: Enough to be perceived, considerable Usage: She ruefully concluded that the "Pot Pie Diet" was a scam and had made no appreciable difference in her appearance—after four weeks, she had lost three-quarters of a pound. Related Words: A near-antonym is Negligible—both words can refer to small amounts, but an appreciable amount or difference is large enough to matter, and a negligible amount or difference is so small it can safely be ignored.

stasis

Definition: Equilibrium, a state of balance or inactivity, esp. caused by equal but opposing forces Usage: Edie felt that her career was in stasis: her boss made it clear she wasn't getting promoted, but she also couldn't leave because of her health insurance situation. Related Words: Status Quo (existing state or condition), Stationary (not moving), Static (fixed, not moving or changing, lacking vitality) More Info: From the Greek for "standing still."

jingoist

Definition: Excessive, loud patriotism and aggressive, warlike foreign policy Usage: He is such a jingoist that he's always yelling at the TV, calling even the most conservative commentators "wimps" for failing to suggest that we simply nuke, burn, pillage, and otherwise extirpate our so-called "enemies." Related Words: Hawkish (advocating war), Chauvinism (fanatical patriotism or blind enthusiasm for military glory; undue or biased devotion to any group, cause, etc.) More Info: The opposite of a jingoist is a pacifist (someone opposed to war) or possibly a cosmopolite (someone who considers him or herself a citizen of the entire world).

fastidious

Definition: Excessively particular, difficult to please; painstaking, meticulous, requiring excessive attention to detail Usage: Steve was a fastidious housekeeper, fluffing his couch pillows at least twice a day and never allowing the tiniest speck of dust to settle on any exposed surface. Related Words: Meticulous (taking extreme care with details; fussy), Exacting (severe in making demands; requiring precise attention) More Info: Fastidious comes from a Latin word for disgust. Fastidious people are easily disgusted by regular people's housekeeping, manners, work standards, etc.

opine

Definition: Express an opinion Usage: After all was said and done, he opined that he wished he had never tried to sail around the world in a canoe, and he was sorry that the rescue effort was so expensive. Related Words: Expatiate (to expand or elaborate on a topic, to explain in detail), Excogitate (think through in detail)

default

Definition: Failure to act, neglect (noun); fail to fulfill an obligation, especially a financial one (verb) Usage: The government is cracking down on for-profit colleges where a large percentage of the graduates cannot use their degrees to gain employment and end up defaulting on their student loans. / You must elect a new health plan by December 31st or by default you will be re-enrolled in the plan you selected last year. More Info: In law, a "judgment by default" is when someone loses a case for failing to show up in court.

affectation

Definition: Fake behavior (such as in speech or dress) adopted to give a certain impression Usage: I'm annoyed whenever Americans move to England and suddenly start speaking with an affected British accent; such affectations, when practiced by celebrities, are only likely to alienate their fans. Related Words: Artifice (trickery, especially as part of a strategy) More Info: In slang, some people call affected behavior "being a poser" (or poseur).

Chauvinism/Chauvinistic

Definition: Fanatical patriotism or blind enthusiasm for military glory; undue or biased devotion to any group, cause, etc. Usage: He's such a chauvinist that he denies that any other nation could be better than ours at anything—he insists our wine is better than France's, our ski slopes are better than Norway's, and even that we grow more rice than China! Absurd. Related Words: Bigot (obstinately prejudiced person), Xenophobia (fear of foreigners), Jingoism (extreme chauvinism plus warlike foreign policy) More Info: Don't confuse chauvinism with sexism—a "male chauvinist" is just one kind. The original chauvinist was Nicholas Chauvin, a possibly fictional soldier wounded 17 times while serving in Napoleon's army (he really loved Napoleon).

distaff

Definition: Female, esp. relating to the maternal side of the family; women or women's work; a staff that holds wool or flax for spinning Usage: In completing your medical history, please try to remember which illnesses occurred on the distaff side of your family. / Medical studies using all male study groups may produce results that cannot be replicated in distaff subjects. More Info: If using a word related to spinning wool to mean "women" seems offensive, some would agree, although the word is generally not offensive when discussing science and medicine; the NY Times has recently referred to "distaff subjects" in a medical study.

resolve

Definition: Find a solution to; firmly decide to do something; decide by formal vote (verb); firmness of purpose (noun) Usage: She was resolved to find a marrow donor for her son, and led a stunningly successful drive to get people to sign up for a national donor registry. Even when no match was found for her son in the first year, her resolve was undampened. Related Words: Resolute (firmly determined), Unequivocal (clear or decided), Resolution (the quality of being firmly determined; resolving to do something; a formal judgment, esp. decided by a vote) More Info: To lose your resolve means to become unsure or to lose your nerve.

upbraid

Definition: Find fault with, criticize or scold severely Usage: I'm not surprised they got divorced—you can't upbraid someone every time he forgets to put a water glass in the sink and then expect him to stick around. Related Words: Admonish means scold or mildly criticize. Reprove, Reproach, Reprimand, Rebuke, Excoriate, and Castigate are all words for criticizing or scolding more harshly. Censure means strong disapproval or official reprimand. More Info: Upbraid is related to braid (intertwined hair)—the root relates to twisting, darting, or being quick (such as in battle). The idea is that, when you upbraid someone, you bring up his or her faults quickly and sharply—almost as a weapon. Of course, now we're imagining braided hair twisting like a sneaky enemy.

panache

Definition: Flair, style, swagger; a flamboyant or grand way of acting Usage: Not only did he quit, but he did so with panache, actually delivering a Powerpoint presentation that we thought would be about the budget, but which turned out to be quite obscene. He then pulled out a flask, guzzled its contents, and walked out. That guy's kind of a legend. Related Words: Verve (vigor, spirit, liveliness) More Info: In French, a panache is literally a tuft of feathers, such as you might display on a (rather ostentatious) hat. The figurative use of panache dates from the tale of Cyrano de Bergerac (played by Gerard Depardieu in 1990's Cyrano de Bergerac) and is often associated with him.

dictum

Definition: Formal or authoritative pronouncement; saying or proverb Usage: "A stitch in time saves nine" is an old dictum meaning that it's easier to solve a problem before it gets too big. / The king's dictum stated that each feudal lord must provide a certain number of soldiers within three weeks' time. Related Words: Maxim, Apothegm, and Adage are all words for a proverb, saying, or truism More Info: The root "dict" comes from "dicere" (to say) and also appears in dictator, dictionary, indict (connect to a crime), malediction (curse), benediction (blessing), and many others.

Phalanx

Definition: Formation of soldiers carrying shields close together for defense; any very close group of people Usage: To even enter the embassy, the diplomats had to make their way through a phalanx of protestors. Related Words: The expression "rank and file" (or just "ranks" of people) is also a military term referring to an orderly formation of soldiers in rows and columns. More Info: The plural phalanges refers to the bones in the hands and feet, which fit together closely, like soldiers in a phalanx.

erstwhile

Definition: Former, previous (adj); in the past, formerly (adv) Usage: A novelist and erstwhile insurance salesman, he told us his story of the long road to literary success, before he was able to quit his day job. Related Words: Bygone (past, former), Quondam (former, sometime) More Info: Erstwhile is related to the Old English ere, which means "before."

aseptic

Definition: Free from germs; lacking vitality, warmth, or emotion Usage: It is very important to perform surgery in an aseptic environment, lest a patient contract sepsis (a systemic infection) and die. / Not only did Marlene dump Tom via email, but the email was so aseptic she might as well have been sending an interoffice memo. "That was ice cold," said Tom. More Info: A septic tank is a place under a house where sewage is stored. Since putting "a-" before a word means "without," it makes sense that, if septic means "infected or putrefying," then aseptic would be the opposite.

orotund

Definition: Full, rich, and clear (of the voice or speaking); pompous, bombastic Usage: The actor James Earl Jones has long been sought after for voiceover work as well as acting jobs because of his dignified, orotund voice. Related Words: Sonorous (giving out a deep, rich, loud sound), Dulcet (melodious, agreeable to the ear), Mellifluous (richly and smoothly flowing, as "a mellifluous voice"), Stentorian (loud) More Info: Rotund simply means rounded—when applied to a person, it's a somewhat more polite word than "fat." The connection is the idea of "roundness"—orotund comes from the idea of speaking with a rounded mouth.

droll

Definition: Funny in an odd way Usage: The play was a droll production—not laugh-out-loud hilarious, but funny especially because it was so strange. Who's ever seen a fairy be mistaken for a block of cheese? Related Words: Waggish (merry, roguish), Risible (laughable, related to laughing), Jocular, Jocund, or Jocose (jesting, jolly) More Info: Droll comes from a Middle Dutch word for imp, a mischievous demon.

livid

Definition: Furiously angry, enraged Usage: Diane was livid when she discovered that her daughter had borrowed her wedding dress to wear to an '80s party. "I have never been angrier in my life," she said. Related Words: Irascible means easily angered and the related irate means angry (ire is anger). More Info: Originally from a French word for a bluish color, livid has the sense of turning blue from rage (although Americans would say that we turn purple with rage—same idea). Livid can also mean bruised or "black-and-blue," or even turning pale (from sickness) or red (from anger)—but whatever livid is, it's never good.

tawdry

Definition: Gaudy, cheap or cheap-looking; indecent Usage: Tara modeled her prom look after something she saw in a Pussycat Dolls video. Her mom didn't care for it, but her grandmother found it downright tawdry. Related Words: Showy means showing off and could be good or bad (a showy car). Garish refers to something much too bright, vivid, or fancy (makeup that looks okay in a nightclub looks garish in the office). Gaudy items stand out in a cheap, tasteless, or overly colorful way (wearing too much big jewelry looks gaudy). Meretricious means attractive in a vulgar or flashy way, tawdry; deceptive. More Info: This etymology is ridiculous—tawdry comes from a mispronunciation of "St. Audrey," as in "St. Audrey's lace," a lace necktie. The real St. Audrey died in 679 of throat cancer, supposedly because of her love of necklaces.

adumbrate

Definition: Give a rough outline of; foreshadow; reveal only partially; obscure Usage: When I took on the lead role in the movie, I agreed not to give away the plot, but I suppose I could give a brief adumbration of the premise. More Info: Adumbrate contains the root "umbra," Latin for "shadow." It may seem that "give an outline of" and "obscure" are opposites, but think of it this way—to adumbrate is to give a shadowy, vague picture of something, which could mean giving more information (if starting with nothing) or obscuring information (if starting with a clear picture) in order to reach that point.

accretion

Definition: Gradual increase; an added part or addition Usage: He was pleased by the accretion of money in his portfolio. / Some charitable funds keep the principal in their accounts untouched and use only the accretion for philanthropic purposes. Related Words: Augment (grow larger), Agglomerate (form into a mass or cluster, join together) More Info: Bank accounts accrue interest. Good deeds, ideally, accrue rewards.

hand-wringing

Definition: Grasping, squeezing, etc. of the hands as an expression of nervousness, guilt, etc.; extend debate over what to do about an issue Usage: There has been much hand-wringing (or wringing of hands) over falling test scores, with so-called "experts" acting as if the world will end if students do 1% worse in math and science.

bevy

Definition: Group of birds or other animals that stay close together; any large group Usage: The bar owner cringed when a bevy of women in plastic tiaras came in —"Another drunken bachelorette party," he sighed. Related Words: Covey (a group of birds, or any group), Brood (group of offspring born or hatched at the same time, esp. birds) More Info: Bevy is most commonly associated with birds, and often used to describe groups of people who stick together like a flock of birds—it usually implies a not-very-serious opinion about the group in question.

faction

Definition: Group or clique within a larger organization; party strife and dissension Usage: The opposition movement was once large enough to have a chance at succeeding, but it has since broken into numerous, squabbling factions, each too small to have much impact. / The caucus began in a spirit of unity but now, sadly, is marked by faction and petty squabbles. Related Words: Partisan (partial to a particular party, group, etc., esp. in a biased, emotional way), Cabal (a conspiratorial group) More Info: Faction contains the root "fact," meaning "make or do," also appearing in factory and factitious (made up).

lurid

Definition: Gruesome or excessively vivid; sensational, shocking, unrestrained Usage: I do like to keep up with what celebrities are doing, but that tabloid is just too lurid for me—just look at the cover: "Worst Cellulite in Hollywood" and "Exclusive Crash Photos." Truly horrible. Related Words: Gratuitous can mean free or voluntary (a gratuity is a tip in a restaurant), but the other meaning of gratuitous is "without cause or justification; uncalled for." Gratuitous sex and violence in the movies is that which doesn't add to the plot—it's just there because some people like to look at things that are lurid.

dyspeptic

Definition: Grumpy, pessimistic, irritable; suffering from dyspepsia (indigestion) Usage: The dyspeptic professor was so angered by a question from a student who hadn't done the homework that he actually stomped out of class. Related Words: Curmudgeon (bad-tempered, difficult person), Crotchety (grouchy, picky, given to odd notions), Cantankerous (disagreeable, contentious), Crank (an unbalanced person who is fanatical about a private, generally petty cause) More Info: Dyspeptic describes a physical condition but is often used metaphorically; indigestion does tend to make a person feel irritable. Similarly, myopia describes the physical condition of nearsightedness, but is often used metaphorically to mean "given to unwisely short-term thinking."

fortuitous

Definition: Happening by chance; lucky Usage: It was amazingly fortuitous that the exclusive beach resort had a cancellation for exactly the weekend she had wanted to get married, allowing her to have the perfect wedding after all. Related Words: Fluke (stroke of luck, something accidentally successful), Inadvertent (unintentional, characterized by a lack of attention) More Info: Fortuitous shares a root with fortune. It usually carries both the sense of "happening accidentally" and "fortunate," but can also mean happening by chance in a negative or neutral way.

discordant

Definition: Harsh or inharmonious in sound; disagreeing, incongruous Usage: In a graduation ceremony full of hopeful and congratulatory speeches, the salutatorian's address about the terrible economy struck a discordant note. Related Words: Dissonance (harsh, inharmonious sound; cacophony; disagreement) More Info: The opposite of discord is accord. Just as discord can be either about sound or ideas, accord can mean agreement or harmony, as in the sound of a (well-played) accordion.

cacophany

Definition: Harsh, discordant, or meaningless mixture of sounds Usage: The first day of elementary school marching band practice was nothing but cacophony, as students who hadn't learned to play their instruments at all nevertheless banged on or puffed air into them. Related Words: Din (loud, confused noise), Dissonance (harsh, inharmonious sound), Clamor (noisy uproar, as from a crowd) More Info: "Caco/kako/kaki" is the Greek root for "bad," occurring in such obscure but useful words as cacography (bad spelling or handwriting) and kakistocracy (rule by evil people). "Eu" is the Greek root for "good" and occurs in the antonym to cacophony, euphony.

reap

Definition: Harvest, such as by cutting; gather; get as a result of one's effort Usage: He worked night and day in the strange new country, never stopping to rest, for he knew he would reap his reward when his family greeted him as a hero for all the money he had sent back home. Related Words: Reap and sow are used together or separately as metaphors related to farming, and specifically the idea that the seeds that you plant (or sow) determine what you will later harvest (or reap). A common expression is You reap what you sow. More Info: The "Grim Reaper" is a fictional figure who uses a scythe (curved blade on a handle) to "cut down" lives as one would cut down grain.

militate

Definition: Have a great effect, weigh heavily (often as militate against) Usage: While his resume was stellar, his speech impediment militated against his performance in job interviews. Related Words: Inimical (hostile, adverse or harmful—something that militates against your success would be inimical to your success) More Info: Of course, militate is related to the military; it used to mean to fight for a side or belief. Today, it's more circumstances that militate (rather than people).

mannered

Definition: Having a particular manner, esp. an artificial one Usage: Although he grew up in rural Ohio, sometime before he got his own makeover show on television he adopted a mannered way of speaking, as though he had grown up in some very odd corner of Victorian England. Related Words: Affectation (fake behavior, such as in speech or dress, adopted to give a certain impression) More Info: Mannered is often part of compound words, such as ill-mannered, which just means having bad manners.

prescient

Definition: Having foreknowledge or foresight, seeing the future Usage: Mariposa swears she's prescient—she thinks she sees the future in her dreams. / The science fiction novel, published in 1955, was strangely prescient —it pictures the year 2000 as having no flying cars, but a communication system known as the "interconnect," used largely for online shopping and wasting time. Related Words: To Prognosticate or Augur is to tell the future. Prophetic means "relating to prophesy, predicting, ominous." More Info: Of course the "science" in prescience is the same as in the word science and omniscience (all knowingness)—the root means "to know." Prescience is to know in advance, either supernaturally, or just by having good judgment.

verisimilar

Definition: Having the appearance of truth, probable Usage: It's a verisimilar story, sure, but where's the proof? Related Words: Feasible (possible; logical or likely; suitable), Plausible (credible, having the appearance of truth) More Info: The root "ver" means "true" and appears in verify, veracious (truthful), aver (claim, assert), and verity or veracity (truth).

insinuate

Definition: Hint, suggest slyly; introduce (an idea) into someone's mind in a subtle, artful way Usage: "Where's your boyfriend? You didn't leave him home alone, did you?" asked Ming. "Are you insinuating something?" asked Helen. "If you have something to say, just say it." Related Words: Implicit and Tacit (implied, unspoken) More Info: Insinuate contains a root for "a curve, winding" that also exists in sinew and sinus. Insinuate can also mean to introduce yourself (rather than an idea) in a stealthy, covert way, as in "By researching where the bosses would be and what kinds of things they liked to talk about, Fitz was able to insinuate himself into the company's leadership."

homage

Definition: Honor or respect demonstrated publicly Usage: This structure I built in the backyard is not just a skateboard ramp; it is an homage to my hero Tony Hawk. I have dubbed it the "Tony Hawk Rocks Western Pennsylvania Skateboard Ramp." / I'm not copying Madonna's song—I am referencing it in my own song as an homage to her work. Related Words: Tribute (gift, testimonial, etc. as expression of esteem for someone; performance in someone's honor, etc.; rent, tax, etc. paid by a subject to a lord) More Info: Under the feudal system, a vassal was required to pay homage to his lord. The word probably comes from the word for "man" (French homme, Latin "homo"). The French origin is responsible for what is said by some as a silent "h" (hence "an homage").

inimical

Definition: Hostile, adverse, harmful Usage: Most people think that being shouted at in the freezing rain is inimical to learning; sadly, our boot camp instructor disagreed. Related Words: Conducive is an antonym and is also used with the word "to." Loud noise is inimical to studying, and a quiet environment is conducive to studying.

Nevertheless/Nonetheless

Definition: However, even so, despite that Usage: While losing the P&G account was a serious blow, we nevertheless were able to achieve a new sales goal this month due to the tireless efforts of the sales team in bringing in three new clients. / I really can't stand working with you. Nonetheless, we're stuck on this project together and we're going to have to get along. Related Words: Notwithstanding means "in spite of" or "all the same," as in "The ballerina kept dancing, notwithstanding her injuries."

modest

Definition: Humble; simple rather than showy; decent (esp. "covering up" in terms of dress); small, limited Usage: The reporter was surprised that the celebrity lived in such a modest house, one that looked just like every other plain, two-story house on the block. / Her first job out of college was a rude awakening—her modest salary was barely enough for rent, much less going out and having fun. Related Words: Paltry (extremely small or worthless, insultingly small—in terms of money, often "a paltry sum")باحيا،افتاده ،فروتن ،معتدل ،نسبتا کم

detached

Definition: Impartial, disinterested; unconcerned, distant, aloof Usage: He found her detached demeanor inappropriate for a funeral. It's fine to politely ask how someone died, but it's not appropriate to coldly question a relative on the medical history of the deceased. / The divorce proceeding was full of anger and recriminations, but the judge was able to make a detached decision. Related Words: Standoffish (cold, unfriendly) More Info: A detached house is one that does not have a wall in common with another building.

implicit

Definition: Implied, not stated directly; involved in the very essence of something, unquestionable Usage: He didn't have to be told to resign; it was implicit in his not getting the promotion that he had no future at the company. / I enjoy ice climbing with my father because, in such a dangerous situation, it's important to have a partner you trust implicitly. Related Words: Tacit also means implied, unspoken.

normative

Definition: Implying or attempting to establish a norm; expressing value judgments or telling people what to do (rather than merely describing that which is happening) Usage: The reason we are not understanding each other in this argument about grammar is that you are arguing normatively, telling me how people should talk, and I am simply reporting and analyzing how people actually talk. Related Words: Prescriptive is a synonym (a prescriptive take on nutrition would tell people how to eat, just as a doctor's prescription also tells you what to do). Memory Trick: Something normative is trying to make everyone be normal.

nugatory

Definition: Important or big enough to matter Usage: The chief of staff told the assembled doctors, "We all make mistakes. But this mistake was nontrivial, and there is going to be an investigation." Related Words: Trivial, of course, means "too small to matter," and has the synonyms trifling and nugatory. Trivia (as in the questions on Jeopardy) is called that because the questions are about small facts and details—that is, you never go on a trivia show and get asked about a nontrivial topic, like the meaning of life.

searchingly

Definition: In a searching or penetrating manner; while examining closely or probing for answers Usage: "I'm fired?" said Ron, looking searchingly at his boss. "I thought I was like a son to you." / Breaking up is hard to do, but the searching look of her brokenhearted soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend was just too much.

conversly

Definition: In an opposite way; on the other hand Usage: I am not here to argue that lack of education causes poverty. Conversely, I am here to argue that poverty causes lack of education. Related Words: The expression "to the contrary" is sometimes used in the same way as conversely. More Info: In logic, the converse of a statement is a simple reversal, from "Bachelors are unmarried men" to "Unmarried men are bachelors." The converse is not always true, such as in the case of "All schnauzers are dogs" and "All dogs are schnauzers."

inasmuch

Definition: In like manner, considering that (contraction of "in as much," generally followed by "as") Usage: Inasmuch as you missed my birthday party to do the Walk for the Cure, I am not angry at all. Good for you for doing that! / Normally, a student would graduate in four years, but inasmuch as you failed several courses in your first two semesters, that will now be impossible for you. Related Words: Whereas (while on the contrary, considering that)

inert

Definition: Inactive; having little or no power to move Usage: "All of the missiles at the military museum are inert, Timmy," said the tour guide, answering the question children always asked. "They're not going to blow up." / When she saw her father's inert body on the floor, she thought the worst, but fortunately he was just practicing very slow yoga. Related Words: Latent, Dormant (not active at this time)

apprise

Definition: Inform, give notice to Usage: I can't believe you failed to apprise me that my child was biting the other children in his preschool class! If I had known, I could've addressed this issue before all the other parents threatened to sue! More Info: If you know Spanish or French, this word might remind you of the verb aprender or apprendre for good reason—both mean "to learn." Don't confuse apprise with appraise, which means "to evaluate or assess the value of," as in "to have jewelry appraised before selling it at auction."

avarice

Definition: Insatiable greed; a miserly desire to hoard wealth Usage: It is hard to fathom the sheer avarice of a company that would fraudulently overcharge a struggling school system for new computers. Related Words: Cupidity (avarice or other excessive desire), Covetousness (greed), Rapacity or Rapaciousness (greedy or grasping; living on prey)

graft

Definition: Insert part of a plant into another plant, where it continues to grow; join living tissue (such as skin) to part of the body where it will continue to live and grow; attach as if by grafting (verb); the part so grafted (as in a graft of skin); the act of acquiring money or other benefits through illegal means, esp. by abusing one's power (noun) Usage: The part of the book describing the financial crisis is good, but the "What You Can Do" section seems grafted on, almost as though written by a different author. / It's not cool for your boss to pressure you into buying Girl Scout cookies from his daughter. If she were selling something larger, we'd call that graft. More Info: The "skin graft" sense of graft is related to the root "graph," for a writing or carving tool. This root also appears in graffiti, cartography (mapmaking), epigraph (inscription on a building, statue, etc.), and even cacography (bad spelling or handwriting).

inform

Definition: Inspire, animate; give substance, essence, or context to; be the characteristic quality of Usage: Her work as an art historian is informed by a background in drama; where others see a static tableau, she sees a protagonist, a conflict, a denouement. / Marjorie's desire to work in forensics is informed by a family history in the police department. More Info: Of course inform most commonly means "impart knowledge to"; thus, many students are confused when they see the word used in other ways on the GRE.

didactic

Definition: Intended to instruct; teaching, or teaching a moral lesson Usage: She might have been Teacher of the Year at work, but at home, her husband wished she would turn off her didactic personality. "Honey," he said, "I really don't need you to use everything as a learning opportunity." / The child was disappointed when the storybook turned didactic in the end, with the teddy bears—and the reader—being admonished never to lie. Related Words: Pedagogical (pertaining to teaching), Pedantic (showy about learning, excessively concerned with details, as in "He's so pedantic he corrects his friends' grammar.") More Info: Didactic can be positive or negative. Any teacher is didactic, but a person who is lecturing or moralizing in an unwanted manner can also be called didactic.

Prologue

Definition: Introductory part to a book, play, etc. Usage: The novel's prologue gives some historical background so the main story can be better understood in context. Related Words: Preamble (introductory statement, preface—such as the Preamble to the Constitution) More Info: An epilogue is a concluding portion added after a literary work. The "log" in prologue and epilogue is the same root ("logos," for "discourse or speech") as the "lect" in lecture, lectern, and dialect. Both prologue and epilogue can be used metaphorically—"If the blown tire was an unpleasant prologue to the evening, the food poisoning we came down with that night was an even worse epilogue."

Preamble

Definition: Introductory statement, preface Usage: The Preamble to the Constitution is a brief introduction that begins, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union..." / The unusual outfit the pop star wore to her first awards ceremony was a mere preamble to a career of full-blown crazy dressing. Related Words: A prologue is an introductory part, usually of a work of literature. More Info: Preamble literally means "walk before." The root for "walk" is also found in amble, ambulance, ambulatory, and circumambulate.

investiture

Definition: Investing; formally giving someone a right or title Usage: The former dean had her academic robes dry cleaned in preparation for her investiture as university president. Related Words: Divest (deprive or strip of a rank, title, etc., or of clothing or gear; to sell off holdings)

netttle

Definition: Irritate, sting, or annoy Usage: His first year in college, my little brother failed gym. How is that even possible? I always remind him about it just to nettle him. Of course, he usually strikes back by reminding me of that time I crashed an amusement park's gocart. Related Words: Irk and vex also mean to irritate or annoy. More Info: Literally, nettles are a stinging plant.

grating

Definition: Irritating; harsh or discordant (of a noise); scraping Usage: Folding jeans at the mall finally became unbearable when her kindly old supervisor was replaced with a young woman whose grating tone made commands like "Fold faster and then clean up this display!" sound like nails on a chalkboard. Related Words: Rasping is a synonym in all senses—irritating, relating to harsh noise, or scraping, as in "The bottom of the boat rasped the rocky ocean floor." A person with a sore throat often has a raspy voice. More Info: A grate, of course, can also be a frame of bars, such as to secure a window. A cheese grater shreds cheese. A grating voice is kind of like applying a cheese grater to your ears.

dovetail

Definition: Join or fit together Usage: When the neuroscientist married an exercise physiologist, neither thought they'd end up working together, but when Dr. Marion Ansel received a grant to study how exercise improves brain function and Dr. Jim Ansel was assigned to her team, the two found that their careers dovetailed nicely. Related Words: Converge (move towards one another or towards a point; unite) More Info: In carpentry, a "dovetail joint" fits together in a precise way and resembles the shape of a dove's tail.

jocular

Definition: Joking or given to joking all the time; jolly, playful Usage: He's certainly a jocular fellow—if we were friends, I'm sure I'd find his antics amusing, but as his professor, I do wish he'd contribute some serious comments to the class discussion instead of his constant stream of jocular comments. Related Words: Jocund and jocose come from the same root and mean the same thing. Waggish (merry, roguish), Risible (laughable, related to laughing), Droll (funny in an odd way)

mirth

Definition: Jollity, merriment; amusement or laughter Usage: Nothing could beat the mirth of the office holiday party—once everyone had heard how fat their bonuses would be, the delighted staff formed a conga line and drank and danced the night away. Related Words: Gaiety is a synonym. Memory Trick: The slang term mirthquake (circa 1928) means an explosive outburst of laughter. Of course, mirthquake won't be on the GRE, but it might help you remember mirth!

blithe

Definition: Joyous, merry; excessively carefree (so as to ignore more important concerns) Usage: Delighted about making the cheerleading team, she blithely skipped across the street without looking, and just narrowly avoided being hit by a bus. Related Words: Jovial (joyous, merry) More Info: Blithe can be positive or negative—it's nice to be merry, but not so merry that we thoughtlessly trample over other people, disobey the rules, etc.

arbiter

Definition: Judge, umpire, person empowered to decide matters at hand Usage: Professional mediators arbitrate disputes. / The principal said, "As the final arbiter of what is and is not appropriate in the classroom, I demand that you take down that poster of the rapper Ice-T and his scantily-clad wife Coco." Related Words: Adjudicator (judge or arbitrator, esp. a judge of a competition) More Info: An arbitrator is officially appointed to settle a dispute; an arbiter is more someone whose opinion is valued, as in the expression "arbiter of good taste."

arbitrate

Definition: Judge, umpire, person empowered to decide matters at hand Usage: Professional mediators arbitrate disputes. / The principal said, "As the final arbiter of what is and is not appropriate in the classroom, I demand that you take down that poster of the rapper Ice-T and his scantily-clad wife Coco." Related Words: Adjudicator (judge or arbitrator, esp. a judge of a competition) More Info: An arbitrator is officially appointed to settle a dispute; an arbiter is more someone whose opinion is valued, as in the expression "arbiter of good taste."

warrant

Definition: Justified, authorized (warrant can mean to justify or a justification, but can also mean to vouch for or guarantee) Usage: The pundit's comments don't even warrant a response from our organization—they were mere name-calling, not suitable for public discourse. / Your criticism of Anne is unwarranted—as your assistant, she has done everything you've asked her to do. / He doesn't have his documents with him, but I'll warrant that he is indeed a certified forklift operator. More Info: A warrant can, of course, be a legal justification (as in every cop movie ever)—such as permission given to police by a judge to enter and search a suspect's home.

acumen

Definition: Keen, quick, accurate insight or judgment Usage: His political acumen allowed him to bargain behind the scenes and get bills passed despite being in the minority party. Related Words: Perspicacity (acuteness of perception) More Info: Acumen comes from a Latin word for "needle"—hence the idea of being mentally "sharp."

conversant

Definition: Knowledgeable about or experienced with Usage: For an opera singer, she is unusually conversant in physics—she just explained to everyone the purpose of the Large Hadron Collider. Related Words: Abreast (keeping up with, staying aware of, or remaining equal in progress with) More Info: Conversant does NOT mean talkative—it means having enough knowledge to be able to carry on an intelligent conversation about a topic.

diffident

Definition: Lacking confidence, shy Usage: Natasha was so diffident that she never believed her comments could be worth anything in class, even when she knew the answer. Related Words: Timorous (fearful, timid), Self-Effacing (modest, downplaying one's own presence or accomplishments) More Info: Diffident contains the root "fid," for "trust," also appearing in fidelity, fiduciary, and infidel. The connection is that a diffident person may be mistrustful of others, and thus shy.

indolent

Definition: Lazy, slothful Usage: Having worked all his life, the CEO was constantly frustrated with his indolent son, who used his inherited wealth as an excuse to sunbathe and party. Related Words: Torpid, sluggish, idle, lethargic, loafing, and slack are all related to laziness or slowness. More Info: The Latin "dolere" means "suffer pain"—today, dolor means anguish or grief. Indolent arose from the idea of avoiding pain and now means laziness.

vanguard

Definition: Leading units at the front of an army; leaders in a trend or movement, people on the "cutting edge;" the forefront of a trend or movement Usage: While Google has won the search engine wars, in 1994, Yahoo was on the vanguard of search technology. More Info: The avant-garde (French for in front of the guard) were the leading soldiers at the front of an army. Vanguard is derived from avant-garde and means the same thing. Metaphorically, the avant-garde (noun or adjective) or vanguard (noun) are innovators, those "ahead of their time." Sometimes, the avant-garde seems a little crazy at first. For example, She arrived at the mixer in a dress that was a little avant-garde for the otherwise conservative Yale Club—she would have looked more appropriate at an art gallery or Lady Gaga concert.

fallow

Definition: Left unplanted (of land); not in use Usage: Crop yields were increased substantially when the villagers discovered that leaving a portion of their fields lie fallow allowed that unused part of the land to become renewed with minerals. / It is terribly important that we make college affordable for underprivileged students, lest great minds lie fallow, and the world never benefit from their genius. Related Words: Another GRE word related to farming is arable, which means "able to be farmed, fertile," as in "arable land." More Info: Fallow can mean "light yellowish-brown." Although this seems like a color that an untended field might turn, this meaning of the word comes from a different origin.

inquest

Definition: Legal or judicial inquiry, especially before a jury and especially made by a coroner into the cause of someone's death; the results of such an inquiry Usage: The family waited nervously for the results of the inquest, which finally returned a verdict of misadventure; that is, their grandfather had not been murdered, but rather died in a freak accident of his own doing. More Info: Inquest is simply a form of the Latin word for "inquire."

console

Definition: Lessen the suffering or grief of (verb); a control panel, or small table or cabinet (noun) Usage: I was unable to console Tina after she fell asleep at the console of her airplane and thereby failed her pilot's exam. Related Words: Succor (comfort, provide relief) More Info: As a verb, the word is pronounced "con-SOLE." As a noun, it's pronounced "CON-sole."

seraphic

Definition: Like an angel; serene, spiritually carried off or transported Usage: The gospel choir looked seraphic in their shimmering white robes. Related Words: Cherubic means like a cherub, an angel that resembles a chubby baby or child. Cherubic is generally used to describe chubby, rosycheeked babies. Beatific means showing celestial happiness, spiritual joy, etc. More Info: A seraph (in Christian writings) is a celestial being—various definitions suggest that a seraph has six wings, or is depicted as the winged head of a child.

hearken

Definition: Listen, pay attention to Usage: "Hearken, students!" said the old-fashioned music teacher. "We are going to practice 'Hark, the Herald Angels Sing." / The simple lifestyle and anachronistic dress of the Amish hearken back to an earlier era. More Info: Hark is a variant of hearken and has the same meaning. The expression hearken back or hark back is much more common in modern usage than hearken alone, and means to turn back to something earlier or return to a source.

harangue

Definition: Long, intense verbal attack, esp. when delivered publicly Usage: Look, I'll clean the gutters when I get a free weekend—I don't need you to keep haranguing me about it. Related Words: Tirade, Diatribe, and Fulmination are all words for bitter, angry speeches or attacks. Memory Trick: What do you call a large ape who always yells at you? A harangutan! (That's the worst joke on all of these flashcards—we promise).

retrospective

Definition: Looking to the past or backward; applying to the past, retroactive (adj); an art exhibit of an artist's work over a long period of time (noun) Usage: The proposed law is retrospective: anyone who violated the law before the law even existed can be prosecuted. More Info: The expression in retrospect is often used to express what the speaker would have done or thought in the past if he knew what he knows now. In retrospect, I should have realized that a Nigerian widow wouldn't want to leave me a million dollars for no reason, but at the time, I was very excited.

slack

Definition: Loose, negligent, lazy, weak (adj); neglect to do one's duties; loosen up, relax (verb); period of little work (noun) Usage: As the product of slack parenting, I never learned good time management skills—Mom and Dad never checked my homework or made me go to bed at a certain time. / The holidays represent a lull or slack in work at many companies. Related Words: Lax (not strict; careless, loose, slack), Lull (to calm, or a period of calm or quiet) More Info: The slang phrase "slacking off" comes from the word slack. In more formal English, "He is slacking off" might be "He is slacking in his duties."

emaciate

Definition: Make abnormally thin, cause to physically waste away Usage: After fifty days floating on a raft at sea, he was quite emaciated—his family was elated that he was alive, but shocked to see a formerly 165-pound man looking skeletal at just 125 pounds. Related Words: Atrophy (wasting away, degeneration, decline, esp. of a body part or organ, as in "Her leg muscles had atophied while her leg was in a cast.") More Info: The word emaciated frequently appears in the news in discussions of whether fashion models are too thin.

sully

Definition: Make dirty, stain, tarnish, defile Usage: The Senator did win his campaign for re-election, but his reputation was sullied when he was photographed shaking hands with the tobacco executives who apparently bankrolled his campaign. Related Words: Adulterate (make impure), Debauch (corrupt morally), Vitiate (ruin, make faulty, corrupt), Debase (degrade; lower in quality, value, rank, etc.; lower in moral quality)

clinch

Definition: Make final or settle conclusively; to fasten or hold together Usage: When their best player was benched, the team fell behind, but once he was allowed back in the game, the team was able to clinch the win. / These two pieces have been clinched together with a clamp while the glue dries. More Info: In sports, to clinch a championship is to gain so great a lead that it is impossible not to win. To clinch a contract is to lock it down. To clinch a nail is to flatten the part that sticks out—that is, to finish your work.

adulterate

Definition: Make impure by adding inappropriate or inferior ingredients Usage: Some bars adulterate top-shelf liquor by pouring cheaper brands into the more expensive brands' bottles. Related Words: Taint (contaminate, corrupt), Debase (reduce in quality or dignity) More Info: Adulterate is indeed related to adultery (cheating on one's spouse) —both come from a Latin word meaning "to defile."

quibble

Definition: Make trivial arguments or criticisms, find faults in a petty way, esp. to evade something more important Usage: Look, I am telling you some of the serious consequences of global warming, as predicted by the scientific establishment—I think you're just quibbling to complain that I said "carbon monoxide" when I meant "carbon dioxide." Related Words: Cavil (synonym), Carp (constantly complain, fret, and find fault), Peevish (annoyed, in a bad mood, stubborn) More Info: This word is often associated with lawyers.

calumny

Definition: Malicious lie intended to hurt someone's reputation; the act of telling such lies Usage: I've had enough of your calumnious accusations! Admit that you made up all those wicked things about me, or I will see you in court when I sue you for slander! Related Words: Slander is a synonym. Libel is the written version of slander. Traduce, Vilify, and Defame are verbs meaning "to slander, to damage a person's reputation with lies."

husband

Definition: Manage prudently, sparingly, or economically; conserve Usage: As we are dealing with cutbacks, I am calling on you as the office manager to husband our resources, parceling out office supplies and buying new ones only when absolutely necessary. Related Words: A Steward can be a household manager or a manager of food and drinks, such as on a train or plane; to Steward also means "conserve, use wisely." More Info: "Animal husbandry" is the practice of raising or breeding livestock.

tendentious

Definition: Marked by a strong point of view, biased Usage: It's hard to become absorbed in the world of a fantasy novel when the author is so tendentious—the planet of Xerxon is clearly meant to mimic the United States, and the author's politics intrude on the story on every page. Related Words: Partisan (partial to a particular party, group, etc., esp. in a biased, emotional way), Bigot (obstinately prejudiced person) More Info: A tendentious person is always tending towards some particular thing.

sound

Definition: Measure the depth of (usually of water) as with a sounding line; penetrate and discover the meaning of, understand (usually as sound the depths) Usage: The psychiatrist appointed by the court felt he would need more time to sound the depths of the defendant's tortured mind—clearly, she was mentally ill, but did she know on any level that what she was doing was wrong? Related Words: Fathom and Plumb (used as verbs) are synonyms. More Info: A sounding line or plumb line is a length of rope with a weight at the bottom; dropping it into water will allow the weight to sink and the depth of the water to be measured.

stratagem

Definition: Military maneuver to deceive or surprise; crafty scheme Usage: The party's stratagem was to dig up a scandal on their candidate's opponent, and then release the photos the day before the election, leaving the opponent no time to defend himself before voters took to the polls. Related Words: Ruse and Subterfuge are synonyms. Artifice (trickery, especially as part of a strategy), Finesse (use tact or diplomacy; employ a deceptive strategy), Duplicity (deceit, double-dealing, acting in two different ways for the purpose of deception), Wily (crafty, cunning) More Info: Strategy has generally positive connotations, but stratagem implies deception. The similar scheme often has negative connotations (a plot or scam).

Dissembler noun

Definition: Mislead, conceal the truth, put on a false appearance of Usage: Roxanne was used to dissembling in job interviews; when asked about the gap on her resume from 1999-2003, she would say, "Oh, I was out of the workforce fulfilling some obligations"—a somewhat misleading way to describe a prison stint. / He won so much money at pool halls by dissembling inexperience, pretending at first that he had no idea how to even hold a pool cue; once bets were placed, he handily defeated his opponents. Related Words: Disingenuous (not genuine), Prevaricating (misleading or lying)

pastiche

Definition: Mix of incongruous parts; artistic work imitating the work of other artists, often satirically Usage: The slickly-produced boy band's first album was deeply unimaginative, just a pastiche of every other boy band album ever produced. Related Words: Heterogeneous means "made up of diverse elements." Hodgepodge, Medley, Farrago, Potpourri, Pastiche and Olio are all words for mixtures of diverse things. Eclectic means "selecting the best of everything or from many diverse sources" and thus is more positive than pastiche, which indicates a sort of thrown-together mess of other people's work. More Info: From the Italian pasticcio, something made by mixing borrowed elements from other sources. Pasticcio is also a pasta dish—the idea being "a mess" or scramble of pasta.

hodgpodge

Definition: Mixture of different kinds of things, jumble Usage: The comedian's book wasn't a proper memoir, but more a hodgepodge of old bits, personal stories that went nowhere, random political opinions, and childhood photos. Related Words: Heterogeneous means "made up of diverse elements." Medley, Farrago, Potpourri, Pastiche and Olio are all words for mixtures of diverse things. More Info: Hodgepodge comes from hotchpotch, a stew of meat and vegetables.

Temperance

Definition: Moderation, self-control, esp. regarding alcohol or other desires or pleasures; total abstinence from alcohol Usage: After the end of the Civil War, economic change led to an increase in alcohol problems and the birth of the Temperance Movement, which ultimately led to Prohibition. / Grandma is a model of temperance—she drinks red wine every night, but only the 1/3 of a glass that she read was conducive to preventing heart attacks. Related Words: Teetotaler (person who doesn't drink alcohol at all), Abstain (hold back, refrain, esp. from something bad or unhealthy), Sobriety (temperance or the state of being sober; seriousness) More Info: To temper is to moderate, soften, or tone down, or to make less intense. Something untempered is not controlled or moderated. Of course, temper as a noun means a person's state of mind or tendency to anger.

qualified

Definition: Modified, limited, conditional on something else Usage: The scientist gave her qualified endorsement to the book, pointing out that, while it posed a credible theory, more research was still needed before the theory could be applied. Related Words: Tentative (done in order to test; uncertain), Temper (moderate, soften, tone down) More Info: Of course, everyone knows qualified in the sense of qualified for the job. Use context to determine which meaning is intended. A qualified person is suitable or well-prepared for the job; a qualified statement or feeling is held back or limited.

illiberality

Definition: Narrow-mindedness, bigotry; strictness or lack of generosity Usage: Students protested the illiberality of an admissions policy that made no allowances for those from disadvantaged areas or backgrounds who may not have had access to advanced classes and tutors. Related Words: Chauvinism (fanatical patriotism or blind enthusiasm for military glory; undue or biased devotion to any group, cause, etc.), Bigot (obstinately prejudiced person), Xenophobia (fear of foreigners), Jingoism (extreme chauvinism plus warlike foreign policy), Insular (pertaining to an island; isolated; illiberal)

endemic

Definition: Native, local; natural, specific to, or confined to a particular place Usage: Certain diseases—especially those that require a precise mix of environmental conditions and local plant and animal life to thrive—remain endemic to particular regions. Related Words: The antonym of endemic is pandemic, "widespread, universal," also generally of a disease or something bad. More Info: Endemic contains the Greek "en" (in) and "demos" (people). Don't confuse endemic with epidemic, which means "rapidly spreading" and is a near-synonym with pandemic.

propensity

Definition: Natural inclination or tendency Usage: He was an introvert with a propensity for solitary brooding, and thus was considered a bit strange or unfriendly by the others in his dorm. Related Words: Predilection, Proclivity, Penchant, and Bent are all words for a preference or inclination (He has an affable bent about him, and a proclivity for striking up conversations with strangers). More Info: Like its synonym penchant, this word shares a root (meaning "lean") with pendulum and penchant. A propensity is a "leaning" towards something.

myopic

Definition: Near-sighted; lacking long-term thinking, short-sighted Usage: To raise prices in a time of crisis is both wrong and deeply myopic— our profits would go up in the short term, but our customers' resentment would simmer for decades. / Myron's myopia is so strong that he cannot be helped by contact lenses and has to wear the heavy glasses he has worn for decades. Related Words: Improvident (not providing for the future) More Info: The "op" in myopia comes from a Latin root for "eye" and also appears in optometrist, optical, and ocular.

vociferous

Definition: Noisily crying out, as in protest Usage: He has always been a vociferous opponent of the estate tax, appearing on numerous news programs to rail against "double taxation." Related Words: Stentorian (loud), Clamor (vociferous uproar, as from a crowd) More Info: The root "voc" (from "vox") means "voice" and also occurs in vocal, equivocal, and vox populi (the voice of the people).

solecism

Definition: Nonstandard use of grammar or words; mistake, esp. in etiquette Usage: "I could care less" is a solecism—what the speaker really means to say is "I couldn't care less." / Apparently, Libby had committed a solecism by asking a man if he wanted to dance. "In Lubbock, Texas," said her friend, "we keep things traditional." Related Words: Malapropism (ludicrous mistake in word use), Faux Pas (social blunder) More Info: Solecism comes from the place name Soloi—the ancient Greeks considered the people from that region to speak in a horrible, substandard dialect.

untempered

Definition: Not toned down; not moderated, controlled, or counterbalanced Usage: The report was an untempered condemnation of the company's practices—the investigators didn't have a single good thing to say. Related Words: Qualified means "modified, limited, conditional on something else" (qualified optimism means the person is part optimistic and part unsure, perhaps waiting for more information). Thus unqualified can mean untempered —that is, not limited or restrained. If your boss gives unqualified approval for your plan, you can do whatever you want. More Info: To temper is to moderate, soften, or tone down, or to make less intense, esp. by mixing something good with something bad. Of course, temper as a noun means a person's state of mind or tendency to anger.

diurnal

Definition: Occurring every day; happening in the daytime (rather than at night) Usage: While many Americans rarely have a sit-down family meal, in many other cultures, dining as a family is a diurnal affair. / Wall Street is a diurnal neighborhood—hectic in the day, but quiet once people pile on the rush hour trains to go home. Related Words: Quotidian (daily; everyday, ordinary)

apocryphal

Definition: Of questionable authenticity; false Usage: I'm sorry, but this putative letter from George Washington that you found at a garage sale is clearly apocryphal—it is riddled with anachronisms (for instance, Washington was long dead by the time silent films were invented), and also, Washington most certainly didn't refer to Martha Washington as "hey baby." Related Words: Ersatz (artificial, synthetic, serving as a substitute), Faux (fake, imitation, as in "faux fur"), Specious (pleasing to the eye but deceptive) More Info: The word "Apocrypha" often refers to books that have been rejected for inclusion in (various versions of) the Bible, either due to dubious authenticity or because the Church considered them useful, but not divinely inspired. Obviously, different authorities disagree about what exactly is included in the Apocrypha.

Plebian

Definition: Of the common people Usage: I toured a luxury apartment building and I laughed when I saw that the apartments had luxurious walk-in closets and whirlpool bathtubs—but hilariously tiny ovens. Because, of course, the wealthy would never do something so plebian as cook their own food. Related Words: Demotic (same root as democracy) is a more neutral word for "pertaining to the people." Plebian is negative, often used in a joking way —"Oh, sorry to interrupt your studying of that opera libretto—I didn't mean to imply that you'd do something so plebian as watch hockey with us." Populist is generally meant in a positive way, as in championing the rights and interests of regular people. More Info: The term plebe, used to describe the incoming class at a military school, is a variant of plebian.

Umbridge

Definition: Offense or annoyance (usually as take umbrage, meaning become offended or annoyed) Usage: With thirty years' experience in the field and quite recent successes on a variety of projects, the executive understandably took umbrage when a coworker suggested that he was good to have around to remind others of "ancient history." Related Words: Pique also means anger or irritate. Note that to pique (that is, stimulate) someone's interest is positive, but to pique a person is always bad.

fringe

Definition: On the margin, periphery (adj); the people in a group who hold the most extreme views (noun) Usage: In America, reincarnation is a fringe belief, but in primarily Hindu countries, the belief is quite mainstream. / Stacey and Mark liked to say they lived on the fringe of the big city, but really they had just moved to the suburbs. Related Words: Penumbra (partial shadow in an eclipse; outer area, periphery)

analgesia

Definition: Pain relief; inability to feel pain Usage: While natural-birth advocates decline analgesia in childbirth, many women are very eager to take advantage of modern anesthesia. / A disease of the spinal cord can cause analgesia, which can be dangerous because the patient doesn't know when he has injured himself. Related Words: Anodyne (pain relieving medicine or anything that relieves pain)

bygone

Definition: Past, former (adj); that which is in the past (usually plural noun) Usage: At the nursing home, the time to reminisce about bygone days was pretty much all the time. / It's tempting to spend our whole high school reunion talking about bygones, but instead, let's toast to the future! Related Words: Erstwhile (former), Quondam (former, sometime) More Info: The expression "Let bygones be bygones" means to agree to let go of old disagreements.

vim

Definition: Pep, enthusiasm, vitality, lively spirit Usage: "I'm old, not dead!" said Grandpa Albert, full of vim and ready for his first bungee jump. Related Words: Vigor (synonym), Verve (vigor, spirit, liveliness), Sprightly (vivacious, full of life) More Info: Vim is usually heard in the expression "vim and vigor." Like so many of these "two-part" expressions (hale and hardy, for instance), the two words are more or less synonyms, and thus the expression is a bit redundant.

imbue

Definition: Permeate or saturate, as dye in a fabric; influence throughout Usage: After shearing the sheep and spinning the yarn, the next step is to imbue the yarn with dye. / His poems are imbued with a sense of longing for a lost homeland. Related Words: Infuse, Suffuse, and Pervade also mean "spread throughout." Inculcate means to teach persistently, implant (an idea) in a person, as in "to inculcate morals in children."

pedant

Definition: Person who pays excessive attention to book learning and rules, or who uses his or her learning to show off Usage: I hate when pedants interrupt you to correct your grammar, especially if what you're saying is important—and in my opinion, almost anything is more important than pedantic quibbles over whether it's okay to end a sentence with a preposition. Related Words: Didactic means "intended to instruct; teaching, or teaching a moral lesson." This is a perfectly positive quality for a teacher, but could be annoying coming from a peer. Fastidious means "excessively particular, hard to please." More Info: "Ped" means "child," as in pediatrician. A pedant was once a schoolmaster; now it's someone who acts like a schoolmaster in inappropriate situations.pe

dilettante

Definition: Person who takes up an art or activity for amusement only or in a superficial way Usage: The "arts center" in the rich neighborhood was populated by dilettantes—a sculpture here, a bit of music appreciation there, two weeks of painting class until they got bored and quit. Related Words: Dabbler is a synonym, although somewhat less negative (like hobbyist). As in, "Are you a poet?" "I wouldn't call myself a poet—I just dabble in poetry." More Info: Dilettante comes from the Latin "delectare," meaning "to delight" and also found in delectable and delicious.

epicure

Definition: Person with cultivated, refined tastes, esp. in food and wine Usage: A true epicure, he served only the finest wines, and bragged about how the pancetta was imported from Italy and the Stilton cheese from the English countryside. Related Words: Connoisseur (expert, especially in the fine arts; person of educated, refined tastes), Discriminating (judicious, discerning, having good insight) More Info: The Epicureans were Greek philosophers who did indeed hold that human pleasure was the highest good, although they believed that a simple life was key to that pleasure. Don't confuse modern epicures with hedonists, or those devoted to pleasure—one way to think of the difference is that, if your parents are epicures, you probably grew up eating very well, but if your parents are hedonists, you probably don't want to know about it.

bent

Definition: Personal inclination or tendency Usage: He had a pedantic bent—he was just naturally inclined to correct people's grammar and otherwise act like an imperious schoolmaster. / Even a vow of silence couldn't dampen the nun's garrulous bent—even her prayers were verbose! Related Words: Predilection (preference or inclination), Propensity (natural tendency or inclination) More Info: In the expression "to the top of one's bent," the word bent has the meaning of "the limits of one's endurance," as in "Although he didn't win, he ran the marathon to the top of his bent."

ranks

Definition: Personnel; a group of people considered all together Usage: Among the ranks of our alumni are two Senators and many famous authors. More Info: Many people know the word rank as "a level or grade," as in A general has a higher rank than a sergeant. The other use of ranks is also originally related to the military: the ranks or sometimes the rank and file means all the regular soldiers (not the officers). Ranks also refers to soldiers standing in a particular formation, so the expression to break rank means to rebel, disagree, or disrupt a situation in which everyone is doing the same thing, as in The author broke rank with her colleagues in the field of personal development by suggesting that "positive thinking" may be doing more damage than good.

bucolic

Definition: Pertaining to shepherds; suggesting a peaceful and pleasant view of rural life Usage: The play was set in a bucolic wonderland—while getting some shepherd's robes for the lead actor was no problem, the stagehands had a hard time bringing in a flock of sheep. Related Words: Pastoral, Idyllic, Georgic, and Arcadian are all words relating to a positive view of rural life and songs or poems on that theme More Info: Bucolic comes from a Greek word for "ox."

apostle

Definition: Pioneer of a reform movement (originally, an early follower of Jesus) Usage: In the 1980's, when low-fat diets were all the rage, Dr. Rubens became an apostle of the Mediterranean diet, high in healthy fats, and traveled the world proselytizing to groups of physicians and nutritionists. Related Words: Champion (person who fights for a cause), Expounder (person who presents an idea in detail), Paladin (leading champion of a cause; trusted military leader) More Info: When capitalized, "Apostles" usually refers to the original 12 disciples of Jesus. In lowercase, an "apostle" could be any major Christian missionary, or a spreader of a non-religious doctrine. Don't confuse apostle with apostate—the words are near-antonyms.

sportive

Definition: Playful, merry, joking around, done "in sport" (rather than intended seriously) Usage: After Will shot a ball entirely off the pool table, knocking a woman's purse off a bar stool, his friends laughed hysterically and called him "pursesnatcher" all night, but he took it as sportive and bought the next round of drinks. Related Words: Jocular, jocose, and jocund (joking or given to joking all the time; jolly, playful), Waggish (merry, roguish), Risible (laughable, related to laughing) More Info: Sportive certainly is related to sports and occasionally means "pertaining to athletics." Also related is the idea of being a "good sport," which generally involves having a sense of humor about yourself. Something done "in sport" is meant playfully.

euphony

Definition: Pleasing or sweet sound, especially as formed by a harmonious use of words Usage: Poetry in translation can keep its meaning, but often loses the euphony the poet worked so laboriously to create. Related Words: Dulcet (melodious, agreeable to the ear), Mellifluous (richly and smoothly flowing, as "a mellifluous voice") More Info: Euphony is simply a combination of two roots: "eu" for "good" and "phon" for "sound" (as in telephone, phonics, etc.) A euphonium is an instrument similar to a small tuba.

burnish

Definition: Polish, make smooth and lustrous Usage: Mr. Hoffenstotter replaced all of the rustic wood doorknobs with newer models made of burnished steel. "So shiny," said his delighted wife. Related Words: Gilded means covered with a thin layer of gold (and thus looking like solid gold, but actually only superficially so) and is used as a metaphor for things that look better than they really are. More Info: Burnish can also be used as a noun, meaning "luster or shine," as in "the beautiful burnish of her hair" or "the burnish of an Ivy League university."

puissance

Definition: Power, might Usage: When people asked the twenty-five year old bride what had attracted her to her commanding, sixty year old CEO husband, she replied that she had always been drawn to puissance. That tended to end conversations as people went to go look up "puissance." More Info: Puissant comes through French from the same Latin root ("power") as omnipotent (all powerful), potentate (ruler), and impotent (lacking power).

approbation

Definition: Praise or approval, especially formal approval Usage: In her speech for class president, she won the approbation of her peers by promising not only to save the prom, but to raise enough money to make it free for everyone. Related Words: Imprimatur (approval, a mark of approval, or especially a formal body's approval to publish a work) Memory Trick: Approbation begins with the same five letters as its near synonym approval.

supplicate

Definition: Pray humbly; ask, beg, or seek in a humble way Usage: She had been estranged from her wealthy father for years, but when she needed money for her daughter's medical care, she supplicated the old man for assistance. Related Words: Entreat, Beseech, and Implore are synonyms. More Info: Supplicate is related to supple (pliant, flexible). To supplicate is to attempt to "soften" another person or get that person to "bend" to your request.

gestation

Definition: Pregnancy; the period from conception until birth of an animal or (metaphorically) of an idea or plan Usage: The gestation period of an elephant is 22 months, more than twice as long as that of humans! More Info: Just as you can conceive of an idea, you can also gestate metaphorically—"I had the idea for this novel in 2001. After letting it gestate for a decade, I finally got started writing."

posit

Definition: Presume, suggest, put forward (an idea) Usage: For thousands of years, philosophers have thought of the self as a unified entity, but neuroscientists today posit the existence of a modular brain—a self that is a mix of different brain parts, with no central "coordinator." Related Words: Postulate is a synonym. Assert and contend are stronger words for putting forth an idea as true. To posit is sometimes as weak as merely introducing an idea for discussion, rather than making a strong argument for it. More Info: We pose a question, but we posit an idea.

engender

Definition: Produce, give rise to, cause to exist; procreate Usage: The television demagogue was blamed for engendering hate and divisiveness. / Having four wives helped the magnate engender 15 children. Related Words: Beget (cause or produce; make children, esp. as a male parent, as in "John Adams, father of John Quincy Adams, was the first President to beget another President.") More Info: Engender shares a root with generate, genus, gender, genocide and many others—"gen" can mean "birth, produce, race."

ostensible or ostensive

Definition: Professed, evident, or pretended; outwardly appearing in a certain way Usage: Ostensibly, she came to volunteer out of the goodness of her heart. However, I think she's really here because she has a crush on one of the other volunteers. / He's an ostensive candidate for the job, but we need to check these references before we move further. Related Words: Putative (supposed or reputed), Nominal (trivial; in name only, so-called) More Info: The Latin "ostendere" means "to show" and also occurs in ostentatious, meaning "showing off."

refute

Definition: Prove to be false Usage: She's not a very valuable member of the debate team, actually—she loves making speeches, but she's not very good at refuting opponents' arguments. Related Words: Gainsay (deny, refute, oppose), Negate (deny or refute; make void or cause to be ineffective) More Info: An opposite of refute is corroborate (confirm).

remedial

Definition: Providing a remedy, curative; correcting a deficient skill Usage: After harassment occurs in the workplace, it is important that the company take remedial action right away, warning or firing the offender as appropriate, and making sure the complainant's concerns are addressed. / For those who need remedial reading help, we offer a summer school program that aims to help students read at grade level. Related Words: Redress (setting something right after a misdeed) More Info: Something irremediable cannot be remediated.

insurrection

Definition: Rebellion or revolt against a government or similarly established authority Usage: Due to frequent insurrections, the nation has had six governments in just five years. / The principal prepared for insurrection as she announced that all teachers were to spend the rest of the year exclusively preparing for standardized tests. Related Words: Junta (small group ruling a country, esp. after a revolution), Cabal (a conspiratorial group), Sedition (incitement of dissent against a government; promoting rebellion by speech or writing) More Info: Insurrection contains the root "surge" (rise up), also appearing in resurgence and insurgent (one who participates in an insurrection).

contumacious

Definition: Rebellious; stubbornly disobedient Usage: The psychologist's book "Dealing With Your Contumacious Teenager" would have sold many more copies to parents of rude and rebellious youth if only people knew what "contumacious" meant. Related Words: Obstreperous, Recalcitrant, and Refractory are synonyms More Info: Contumacious and contumely are not as closely related as they sound: contumely means "contemptuous treatment or a humiliating insult."

requite

Definition: Reciprocate, repay, or revenge Usage: Ashley felt that her unrequited love for George would surely kill her. George barely noticed her—he cared about nothing but requiting his father's death. Related Words: Redress (setting something right after a misdeed; compensation or relief for injury or wrongdoing), Recompense (repay, reward, compensate) More Info: Most people only know this word in the phrase unrequited love. But anything you can "get someone back for," you can requite—kindness, murder, etc.

florid

Definition: Reddish or rosy; flowery, showy, or excessively fancy Usage: His writing was so florid that it was hard for modern readers to understand, and unintentionally humorous when they did. He once called a woman in a hoop skirt a "confection of gossamer-clad ephemerality, the bounty of her raiment ringing in my turgid heart like the tintinnabulation of so many church bells." Related Words: Ruddy (having reddish skin, in a manner indicating health), Bombastic (far too showy or dramatic than is appropriate; pretentious), Turgid and Tumid (inflated like a balloon, or using language much too fancy for the sentiment or occasion), Declamatory (pompous, merely oratorical), Magniloquent and Grandiloquent (speaking in a lofty, grandiose style), Rococo (ornate, florid) More Info: Florid, of course, shares a root with flower.

intransigent

Definition: Refusing to compromise, inflexible, having extreme attitudes Usage: "Even three detentions and a note home to your parents haven't convinced you to behave yourself in class!" the teacher said to the intransigent child. Related Words: Intractable, Obdurate, and Obstreperous are also used to describe people who are stubborn and hard to control. More Info: Intransigent shares a root with transaction—as in, intransigent people will not likely agree to a reasonable transaction.

rue

Definition: Regret, remorse (noun); to feel regret or remorse (verb) Usage: Movie or cartoon villains sometimes say, "You'll rue the day!" What they mean is,"I will make you regret that you did what you just did." / The couple broke up in high school for a foolish reason, and each hastily married another person. Twenty years later, they were still full of endless rue over having lost each other. Related Words: Contrite means remorseful for one's wrongs. Penitent means remorseful for one's sins, or a person who is remorseful. More Info: Rue is also an acrid herb used in medicine. It is likely from this plant that the female name Rue derives (as in Rue McClanahan of The Golden Girls).

synoptic

Definition: Relating to a synopsis or summary; giving a general view Usage: The movie studio had interns read screenplays and write up synoptic outlines for the executives to review. Related Words: Digest (a periodical containing shortened versions of works published elsewhere), Recapitulation (summary or the act of summing up), Précis (summary or abstract), Compendium (concise but complete summary; a list or collection) More Info: The root "sym/syn" means "together" and "op" comes from a Latin root for "eye" (optometrist, optical, ocular, myopia). Thus, synoptic literally means "see all together," which is what a good summary allows you to do.

vernal

Definition: Relating to the spring; fresh, youthful Usage: Alma's favorite part of gardening was the vernal reawakening that followed a frozen winter. Related Words: Primaveral is a synonym. (The dish pasta primavera is full of vegetables—that is, "spring pasta"). More Info: The vernal equinox is a moment in spring at which the Sun is directly over the equator; this is associated with a change of seasons.

effigy

Definition: Representation or image of a person, esp. a crude facsimile used to mock a hated person Usage: The dictator was disturbed to look out the palace window and see himself being burned in effigy. "That paper mache dummy doesn't even look like me!" he said. More Info: A scarecrow is a common type of effigy, intended to scare birds away and keep them from eating crops. Effigies are often large or life-sized. The expression "burned in effigy" is sometimes used as hyperbole, as in "After the university president announced a major tuition hike, I thought the students were going to burn him in effigy."

exigent

Definition: Requiring immediate attention, action, or aid; excessively demanding Usage: My boss said she would take me out to lunch and "mentor" me, but that idea always gets tossed aside in favor of more exigent matters. Related Words: Dire (causing suffering or fear; ominous; urgent or desperate, as in "a dire emergency requiring immediate response") More Info: Don't confuse exigent with expedient, which means either "suitable, proper" or "opportune; effective, often at the expense of ethics or other considerations," as in "In the face of an exigent problem, the boss risked a serious lawsuit by doing what was expedient instead of what was right."

rejoinder

Definition: Response or reply, esp. a witty comeback Usage: In retrospect, I could have come up with a better rejoinder than "I know you are, but what am I?" I always think of the perfect witty comeback hours after I actually needed it. Related Words: Riposte is a fencing term that has made it into common use. When an opponent thrusts (with a sword), your retaliation is a riposte. Outside of fencing, a riposte is a witty comeback or swift reply.

canard

Definition: Rumor, a false or baseless story Usage: The idea that we only use 10% of our brains is a tired, old canard; actually, even the dumbest people use all of their brains. More Info: Canard is simply the French word for "duck." The use of "duck" to mean, essentially, "urban legend" may come from an old French expression "to half-sell a duck." Sounds pretty sketchy! Just like a canard.

sacrosanct

Definition: Sacred, inviolable, not to be trespassed on or violated; above any criticism Usage: In our house, family dinners were sacrosanct—if being in the school play meant you would miss dinner, then you just couldn't be in the school play. More Info: From the root for "sacred" that also occurs in sanctify (make holy) and sanctuary (sacred place; refuge).

monotomy

Definition: Sameness or repetitiousness to the point of being boring; lack of variation, uniformity, esp. repetition in sound Usage: The monotony of working on a factory assembly line made her feel as though she would go insane from boredom. Related Words: Tedium (that which is tiresome due to being too long, dull, or slow, as in The plot moved at a tedious pace). More Info: Monotone comes from Latin parts for "one tone," like a dial tone on an old-fashioned phone, or a very boring public speaker. Now, we can use monotony for things other than sound—for instance, studying vocabulary can get a little monotonous if you don't make an effort to keep it interesting by writing your own fun sentences, practicing with friends, and thinking about the gloriousness of a high GRE score.

discrete

Definition: Separate, distinct, detached, existing as individual parts Usage: Be sure to use quotation marks and citations as appropriate in your paper in order to keep your ideas discrete from those of the experts you are quoting. / The advertising agency pitched us not on one campaign, but on three discrete ideas. More Info: Don't confuse discrete with discreet, which means "secretive, undercover."

scathing

Definition: Severe, injurious; bitterly harsh or critical (as a remark) Usage: The school superintendant gave a scathing criticism of the education bill, calling it "an attack on our community's children that will surely go down in infamy." / How is it possible that she flew off her bicycle like that and walked away unscathed? More Info: As you can see from the use of unscathed to mean "not physically injured," scathing originally referred to physical injury and now generally refers to injurious comments. A word used in a similar metaphorical way is excoriate, which literally means "to rub the skin off of" but is more often used to mean "to criticize very harshly."

licentious

Definition: Sexually unrestrained; immoral; ignoring the rules Usage: The licentious behavior Joe was accustomed to practicing at the local strip club was enough to get him thrown out of a nice restaurant and fired from his new job. Related Words: Hedonistic and sybaritic mean "pleasure-seeking." Debauched (excessively indulging in sensual pleasures) is worse and is closer to licentious. More Info: Licentious shares a root with "license." License is not just used in the sense of "driver's license" but can also mean "breaking the rules" or "exceptional freedom," as in "The licentious celebrity thinks he has license to do anything he wants, an attitude that landed him in court after his assistant sued him for harassment."

brandish

Definition: Shake, wave, or flourish, as a weapon Usage: The Renaissance Fair ended badly, with one drunken fellow brandishing a sword and refusing to leave the ladies' dressing tent. More Info: Brandish comes from the Germanic "brand," or sword.

molt

Definition: Shed or cast off, esp. to regularly shed skin, feathers, etc. (as a snake) Usage: Wow, the special effects in that movie were really cool! The actress grew scales all over her body and then molted, leaving behind a scaly skin covering shaped like an entire woman, and then she looked like herself again. Related Words: To slough or shed is also to lose an outer coating; for instance, some people exfoliate their skin to slough off dead skin cells. More Info: Molt shares a root ("change") with mutate and mutable.

refulgent

Definition: Shining, radiant Usage: Her new engagement ring was refulgent—she was so happy with it. I'll bet she polished it every night. Related Words: Burnish (polish, make smooth and lustrous), Gilded (covered with a thin layer of gold; superficially good) More Info: Effulgent is a synonym. The rare word subfulgent means "only slightly shiny."

politic

Definition: Shrewd, pragmatic; tactful or diplomatic Usage: Celebrities have to watch what they say, as even an offhand comment can end up splashed across the covers of magazines. When the starlet was asked what she thought of her ex-husband marrying the swimsuit model he left her for, she gave the politic reply, "I wish both of them the best." Related Words: Expedient (suitable, proper; effective, often at the expense of ethics or other considerations) More Info: The expression "the body politic" means the citizens of a particular government, considered as a group.

abreast

Definition: Side-by-side. The more common "abreast of" means keeping up with, staying aware of, or remaining equal in progress with. Usage: As the professor walked abreast down the street with her mentor, she was amazed that the old man, long since retired, still kept abreast of all the latest developments in neurobiology. Related Words: Conversant with (familiar by use or study), well versed in (experienced, skilled) More Info: You are conversant with a topic about which you know enough to have an intelligent conversation. Well versed is stronger, implying some expertise. Keeping abreast of a topic implies that you are continually updating your knowledge.

winnow

Definition: Sift, analyze critically, separate the useful part from the worthless part Usage: We got 120 resumes for one job—it's going to take me awhile just to winnow this down to a reasonable stack of people we want to interview. Related Words: Rarefy (make more pure, more exclusive, or thinner and less dense—rarefied air at the top of a mountain or a rarefied crowd at an exclusive event) More Info: Literally, winnowing is separating the edible part of wheat from the chaff, the outer husks. Relatedly, the expression "separate the wheat from the chaff" means to winnow, as in "The first week of our training program will really separate the wheat from the chaff—over 50% of recruits drop out in the first few days."

Defamation

Definition: Slanderous, injurious to someone's reputation Usage: One interesting issue in free speech law is defamation. / The political blogs are filled with defamatory language; it seems anyone with a computer and an opinion can destroy a politician's reputation these days. Related Words: Slander and Traduce also mean "to speak maliciously and falsely of." Aspersions are damaging remarks or defamatory speech. Memory Trick: Someone who made up vicious lies about Lady Gaga's hit album would have defamed "The Fame."

oblique

Definition: Slanting or sloping; indirect, misleading, or evasive Usage: After the fifteenth oblique reference that Bella made to George or George made to Bella, everyone in the office figured out that they were dating. / The serial killer loved to talk to interrogators, but gave only oblique answers that were useless in finding the bodies. More Info: In math, oblique lines are neither parallel nor perpendicular. Your obliques are the abdominal muscles (along the sides) that run at a slant. In botany, an oblique leaf has unequal sides. You should now be prepared to interpret oblique in any strange context—it's slanting, or metaphorically "slanting"!

acidulous

Definition: Slightly acid or sour; sharp or caustic Usage: Grapefruit juice is acidulous. / I'm skipping Thanksgiving this year just to avoid my mother's acidulous comments about what she thinks I ought to be doing with my life. Related Words: Acerbic (sour, harsh or severe) More Info: In Latin, "acidus" meant sour, so "acidulus," a diminutive version, meant "slightly sour."

torpor/torpid

Definition: Sluggishness, lethargy, or apathy; a period of inactivity Usage: Sam had hoped to be able to play in the game after having his wisdom teeth out, but the anesthesia left him in such torpor that he obviously couldn't play soccer. Related Words: Listless (spiritless, lacking interest or energy), Inertia (inactivity, lack of motion or progress), Loafing (idling away the time, lounging) More Info: Don't confuse torpid with turbid (turbulent), tepid (lukewarm), or turgid or tumid (swollen, bombastic).

peccadillo

Definition: Small sin or fault Usage: I'm going to propose to Melinda tomorrow—sure, she has her peccadillos, like anyone, but she's the perfect woman for me. More Info: "Pecado" is Spanish for "sin." Adding "-illo" to a Spanish word indicates "small" (a tomatillo resembles a small tomato, for instance). Thus, peccadillo means "small sin." English speakers pronounce the word like "armadillo," although of course Spanish speakers would use a "y" sound for the double l.

slight

Definition: Small, not very important, slender or delicate (adj); treat as though not very important; snub, ignore (verb); an act of treating in this way, a discourtesy (noun) Usage: She was very sensitive, always holding a grudge against her coworkers for a variety of slights, both real and imagined. / Natalie Portman has always been slight, but she became even thinner to portray a ballerina in Black Swan. / I felt slighted when my husband told you about his promotion before he told me. Related Words: Nominal (trivial, so small as to be unimportant; in name only, so-called), Inconsequential (insignificant, unimportant)

Reactant

Definition: Something that reacts; a substance that undergoes a change in a chemical reaction Usage: The two men had been rivals since high school; when both were elected to the city council, they became reactants in the worsening deadlock of an already-polarized city government. Related Words: Catalyst (causer of change—or, in chemistry, a substance that causes or accelerates a reaction but is not itself changed)

bane

Definition: Something that ruins or spoils Usage: Mosquitoes are the bane of my existence! They just love me, and by "love" I mean ruin my summer! / The closure of the hospital could not have been more baneful to the already strained community. Related Words: The opposite of bane is boon, a benefit or blessing. The words are often used together to ask a question, as in "The new regulations: bane or boon?" More Info: Bane can also mean poison, usually as part of more specific names, like wolfsbane or fleabane. Don't confuse baneful (destructive, ruinous) with baleful, which means threatening.

elegy

Definition: Song or poem of sorrow, esp. for a deceased person Usage: While composing an elegy is certainly old fashioned, the poet felt that it was a fitting way for her to honor her father at his funeral. Related Words: Dirge (a funeral or mourning song or poem), Lament (express sorrow, mourn), Requiem (musical service or hymn for the dead), Threnody (poem or song of mourning)

declaim

Definition: Speak in an impassioned, pompous, or oratorical manner; give a formal speech Usage: After a drink or two, Gabe will declaim all night about campaign finance reform—you won't be able get a word in edgewise in between all his grandstanding and "expertise." Related Words: Grandstand (perform showily as if to impress an audience) More Info: Don't confuse with disclaim, which simply means "deny, repudiate."

dispatch

Definition: Speed, promptness; send off or deal with in a speedy way Usage: So, you want to be a bike messenger? I need messengers who approach every delivery with alacrity, care, and dispatch—if the customers wanted their packages to arrive slowly, they'd use the post office. / Acting with all possible dispatch, emergency services dispatched a rescue squad to the scene. Related Words: Expediency (promoting a goal; advantageous, sometimes at the expense of morals or justice) More Info: A dispatch can also be a report from a journalist or something delivered by messenger, or the act of sending a messenger. To dispatch a person can also mean to execute him or her—presumably, in a speedy manner.

panoply

Definition: Splendid, wide-ranging, impressive display or array Usage: Our old cafeteria had only premade salads, but the new cafeteria has a salad bar with a panoply of toppings. More Info: Panoply contains the root "pan" ("all") as well as a root for weapons. A panoply was originally a full suit of armor and can still be military regalia or something that covers and protects (The sergeant arrived in full panoply).

glower

Definition: Stare in an angry, sullen way Usage: He couldn't figure out why his girlfriend was glowering at him throughout dinner. "Oh," he finally realized, "Is it your birthday? Oh, and I forgot you hate seafood. Sorry about the fishsticks." Related Words: Lower as a verb means "look angry, appear threatening." A person can lower (as in the girlfriend above), or, often, the sky lowers before a storm.

fluke

Definition: Stroke of luck, something accidentally successful Usage: It's amazing that I won the prize during halftime, but I guarantee you, it was just a fluke that I made that basket—if I tried a thousand more times, I'm sure I couldn't do it again. Related Words: Fortuitous (accidental, lucky), Windfall (unexpected, sudden gain or good fortune, as in "The prize winner's windfall more than solved his mortgage problem.") More Info: A fluke can also be a flatworm (a "liver fluke"), type of fish, anchor blade, barbed arrowhead, or even a lobe of a whale's tail. What all of these objects have in common is being flat (the old Germanic root means flat). The origin of fluke as a "stroke of good luck" is unknown—having flukes parasitizing your liver, for instance, sounds incredibly unlucky.

mired

Definition: Stuck, entangled (in something, like a swamp or muddy area), soiled Usage: Mired in her predecessor's mess and mistakes, the new CEO found it difficult to take the company in a new direction. Related Words: Morass and quagmire are also words (often used metaphorically) for soft, swampy ground that a person can sink into. The Vietnam War was famously called a quagmire. More Info: The expression muck and mire means, literally, "animal waste and mud" and is used in the sense, "The federal prosecutor spent weeks wading through the muck and mire of the scandal—every uncovered document showed that the corruption was deeper and worse than previously thought." To muck up is to mess up or get dirty, and to muck about or around is to waste time.

brook

Definition: Suffer or tolerate Usage: "You will do your homework every night before you go anywhere, you will do your chores, and you will be home by 9 p.m. I will brook no disobeying of these rules, young man!" Related Words: Condone (overlook or tacitly approve), Countenance (as a noun: face or facial expression; as a verb: approve or tolerate) More Info: Of course, a brook is also a small, freshwater stream. The two "brooks" come from different origins entirely; brook as a verb comes from a Latin root meaning "enjoy."

connote

Definition: Suggest or imply in addition to the precise, literal meaning Usage: The word "titanic" simply means large or majestic, but because of the word's association with the sunken ship, "titanic" has a negative connotation to many people. Related Words: Evoke (call forth, esp. of feelings or imagination) More Info: A denotation is the literal meaning of a word; a connotation is the feeling that accompanies that word.

forefit

Definition: Surrender or lose as a result of an error, crime, or failure to fulfill an obligation Example: Starting in 2012, Smith tapped accounts holding money from drunken driving cases, bad check cases and assets forfeited in drug crimes, according to the attorney general's office.

balloon

Definition: Swell or puff out; increase rapidly Usage: During the dot-com bubble, the university's investments ballooned to three times their former value. Related Words: Distend (swell, expand), Turgid or Tumid (swollen, inflated; or, metaphorically "inflated," such as in overblown, pompous speech) More Info: In finance, a balloon payment is a single payment at the end of a loan or mortgage term that is much larger than the other payments.

distend

Definition: Swell, expand, stretch, bloat Usage: The emergency room doctor constantly saw people who came in with distended bellies, sure that they had appendicitis; usually, it was just gas. Related Words: Balloon (swell or puff out), Turgid or Tumid (swollen, inflated; or, metaphorically "inflated," such as in overblown, pompous speech)

doff

Definition: Take off (such as clothes), put aside; remove one's hat as a gesture Usage: Before the spring break revelers could consider doffing their clothes, they saw the sign: "No skinny dipping." / In my grandfather's day, it was considered polite to doff your hat when a lady entered the room; to us today, lifting your hat a few inches off your head and then putting it right back seems to some like a silly way to show respect. More Info: The opposite of doff is don, to put on. Interestingly, don came into being as a contraction of "do on."

prattle

Definition: Talk in an idle, simple-minded, meaningless, or foolish way; chatter, babble Usage: It was infuriating to listen to the boss prattle on about some new restaurant in town when everyone was just waiting to find out if they'd been laid off. Related Words: Prate is a synonym—actually, both words are variants of the same Middle Dutch word.

rend

Definition: Tear violently, esp. to tear one's clothing or hair out of grief; pull apart, split, or tear away Usage: Many figures in the Bible rent their clothing from grief at a loved one's death, an event that can surely rend one's heart as well. More Info: As you can see, rend is an irregular verb; its past tense is rent.

augury

Definition: Telling the future, such as through supernatural means Usage: Value investors such as Warren Buffet (who attempt to buy shares in undervalued companies by analyzing the businesses themselves) consider others' attempts to "time the market" as mere augury, equivalent to trying to predict rain by reading tea leaves. Related Words: Prognosticate and Presage also mean to tell the future. More Info: An augur or auspex in ancient Rome interpreted omens (sometimes by reading bird entrails) to help guide the making of public decisions.

abeyance

Definition: Temporary suspension, inactivity Usage: The baseball player's contract negotiations are in abeyance while doctors try to determine whether his injuries will heal in time for the season. Related Words: Hiatus (break or gap in an activity), Dormant (inactive, resting), Deferment or Deferral (postponement) More Info: Abeyance generally occurs in the expression "in abeyance." Real estate is in abeyance when no one owns it or the owner is unknown.

Goosebumps

Definition: The "bumps" created by hairs standing up on the skin in response to cold, fear, etc. Usage: That detective novel is hard to put down! I've got goosebumps just waiting to find out what happens next! / You've got goosebumps—why don't you borrow my jacket?

Ethos

Definition: The character, personality, or moral values specific to a person, group, time period, etc. Usage: At the prep school, the young man happily settled into an ethos of hard work and rigorous athletic competition. Related Words: Disposition (a person's general or natural mood; tendency), Tenor (general drift, course, or purpose, as in "the rebellious tenor of the rally"), Penchant and Predilection ("tendency, preference," as in a penchant for fast cars, a predilection to get angry easily) More Info: Ethos is a Greek word meaning "custom or character," much as it does today.

activism

Definition: The practice of pursuing political or other goals through vigorous action, often including protests and demonstrations Usage: Lindsay's parents had a hard time accepting that, after incurring $100,000 in student loans, their daughter had decided to enter the low-paying field of environmental activism. Related Words: Advocacy (pleading for, recommending), Champion (one who defends or supports, as a cause) More Info: Activism is often considered noble, but judicial activism—going beyond interpreting existing laws to actually using court decisions to create new public policies—is often controversial.

Resolution

Definition: The quality of being firmly determined; resolving to do something; a formal judgment, esp. decided by a vote Usage: The city government passed a resolution to support the new monorail. / A few setbacks did not dampen her resolution to complete her Ph.D.—equipped with her new prosthetic leg, she made her way back into the lab and continued her research. Related Words: Resolve shares the meaning "the quality of being firmly determined" and would also work in the second sentence above. More Info: Of course, a New Year's resolution is a decision to do something or make a change. Most people aren't resolved enough to keep their resolutions past January.

primacy

Definition: The state of being first or most important Usage: The conservative Senator argued that the very fabric of society depended on the primacy of the family, and that legislation was needed to shore up the institution of marriage. Related Words: Preeminence (superiority, the state of being more distinguished or noteworthy) More Info: The root in primacy means "first" and also appears in prime, primal, and primate (interestingly, a primate is both a church bishop and the order of animals including humans, apes, and monkeys).

dilate

Definition: To become wider or make wider, cause to expand; to speak or write at length, elaborate upon Usage: The doctor gave her eye drops to make her pupils dilate. / These dinners at Professor Hwang's house usually run rather late—after the meal, he'll typically dilate on his latest research for at least an hour. Related Words: Expatiate (to expand or elaborate on a topic, to explain in detail) More Info: Dilate is used frequently in medicine—being a certain number of centimeters dilated is an important part of childbirth.

bifurcate

Definition: To fork into two branches or divide into two halves Usage: The medical student carefully bifurcated the cadaver brain, separating it precisely into right and left hemispheres. / The bifurcate tree stood tall, its two massive branches reaching for the sky. Related Words: Cleave (split or cut, as in a "meat cleaver") More Info: In math, a midpoint bifurcates a line segment. Bifurcate comes from the Latin "furca," which also gives us "fork."

redound

Definition: To have a good or bad effect, esp. as a result of a person's efforts or actions (usually used with to, on, or upon) Usage: "Cramming" vocabulary words probably won't be very effective, but studying a little every day will redound to your success. Related Words: Reap (harvest, get as a result of one's effort) More Info: Don't confuse with rebound, to bounce back (as a basketball) or recover from illness.

inure

Definition: Toughen up; accustom or habituate to pain, hardship, etc. Usage: Having had over a dozen surgeries before she was ten, spending months at a time in the hospital, she considered herself inured to pain and disappointment. Related Words: Stoic (not having or showing feeling, esp. in response to suffering), Hardy (bold, brave, capable of withstanding hardship, fatigue, cold, etc.), Fortitude (strength in facing adversity), Grit (firmness of mind, esp. during hardship; courage)

itinerant

Definition: Traveling from place to place, esp. as part of a job Usage: In rural areas in the 1940s, it was common that a small town would lack its own doctor, instead being seen by an itinerant family physician who made rounds to many such towns. Related Words: Peripatetic and wayfaring are synonyms. Transient also means moving around, but is more associated with homeless people or those on the fringe of society. More Info: Itinerant shares a root with itinerary, a travel schedule.

lionize

Definition: Treat like a celebrity Usage: Being a chef has long been a prestigious profession, but it is only in the last decade or so that "celebrity chefs" have been lionized and given their own television shows. Related Words: Apotheosis (elevation to the status of a god; perfect example or embodiment) More Info: Lionize does come from lion, the animal—in the 16th century, lions were kept in the Tower of London as a tourist attraction. To lionize is to make a person into a spectacle of great interest.

flout

Definition: Treat with disdain, contempt, or scorn (usually of rules) Usage: He flouted the boarding school's curfew so blatantly that, on his way back from a party that lasted past midnight, he actually stopped by the headmaster's house to say hello to his daughter. More Info: Don't confuse with flaunt, meaning "to show off or parade oneself in a conspicuous way." Flout comes from Middle English "flouten," meaning "to play the flute." Apparently it was once possible to play the flute at someone in a jeering way.

hoodwink

Definition: Trick, deceive Usage: Pretending to be the building's landlord, the shyster was able to hoodwink eleven people into paying deposits on a vacant apartment—of course, he absconded with the money, leaving the victims without their money or a place to live. Related Words: Bilk, Swindle, Con, and Fleece are all verbs for cheating others. Dupe means "fool or exploit." Fleece is perhaps more severe, having the connotation of taking everything from the victim, the way one sheers all of the fleece from a sheep. More Info: Hoodwink comes from the idea of covering a person's eyes with a hood.

chicanery

Definition: Trickery, deception by knowingly false arguments Usage: The defense lawyer's strategy for getting her client acquitted by knowingly misinterpreting words in an obscure precedent was nothing but chicanery. / Nice try, passing off last week's homework as this week's by changing the date at the top. I've had enough of your chicanery, young man! Related Words: Quibbling (the use of ambiguous, petty, or irrelevant arguments, especially to evade the real issue), Sophistry (deliberately tricky argumentation) More Info: Chicanery is from French, hence the pronunciation: shi-KAY-nuhry

convoluted

Definition: Twisted; very complicated Usage: Your argument is so convoluted that I'm not even able to understand it enough to start critiquing it. / To get from the hotel room to the pool requires following a convoluted path up two staircases and down two others—to get to someplace on the same floor we started on! Related Words: Tortuous (twisting, not direct, deceitful), Labyrinthine (tortuous, resembling a labyrinth), Byzantine (complex or intricate; relating to the Byzantine Empire and its highly intricate art and architecture style)

unequivocal

Definition: Unambiguous, clear, absolute; having only one possible meaning Usage: Although Chuck denied he had a problem, his family was unequivocal in demanding that he check into rehab. Chuck knew there was no getting around it this time. / Mark equivocated, going back and forth on the issue, but his brother Ben was unequivocal—he knew what he wanted and went and got it. Related Words: Resolute or Unambivalent (firmly determined), Resolution (the quality of being firmly determined; resolving to do something; a formal judgment, esp. decided by a vote), Patent (obvious, apparent, plain to see), Explicit (direct, clear, fully revealed) More Info: The base word equivocal contains the roots for "equal" and "voice"—giving equal voice to all of the options would make it really hard to decide.

ingrate

Definition: Ungrateful person Usage: You ingrate! I have slaved at this laundromat to pay for your college education, and you quit two weeks before graduation to become a Marxist revolutionary, and then you tell me I'm the enemy of the working class? More Info: The "grate" in ingrate is of course related to grateful, but also grace and ingratiate (gain favor with, as by flattery).

catholic

Definition: Universal, broad-minded Usage: Some precursors to the Constitution (such as documents governing the colonies) enumerated the rights of male property holders only. The U.S. Constitution took a more catholic approach, declaring that "All men are created equal." Today, policy writers would probably take catholicism a step further and write "All people." Related Words: Liberal (aside from the use of Liberal in American politics, Liberal means "favorable to reform; favorable to maximum possible individual freedom; free from prejudice, tolerant, open-minded") More Info: The Catholic Church, of course, goes by that name because it intends (as do many religions) to be universal.

hapless

Definition: Unlucky, unfortunate Usage: Hiring this hapless new office manager was a mistake—he's always losing and breaking things, as though bad luck simply follows wherever he goes. Related Words: Bootless (useless), Woebegone (beset with woe—that is, grief or distress) More Info: Hap is a very rare old word meaning "luck or lot."

fractious

Definition: Unruly, troublemaking; irritable Usage: The Students for Progressive Action were a fractious bunch, always fighting with one another over exactly which progressive action should take priority. Related Words: Obstreperous (unruly, noisy), Refractory (stubbornly disobedient), Captious (faultfinding, making a big deal of trivial faults) More Info: The word fraction once meant "brawling, discord"—even today, a fraction (in math) is something that has been broken up. Don't confuse fractious with factious, meaning "party strife, breaking into factions or cliques within a larger organization."

variegated

Definition: Varied in color, having multicolored patches or spots; diverse Usage: Unusually, the bridesmaids' dresses were boldly variegated, having many different colors. The bride reasoned that the dresses could be worn again —"Rainbow goes with anything!" she said. The bridesmaids privately agreed that they would never again wear those dresses as long as they lived. Related Words: Myriad (innumerable, existing in abundance; diverse), Heterogeneous (different in type, incongruous; composed of different types of elements) More Info: In biology, variegation refers to different colored zones in the leaves of plants. Of course, the "vari" part is the same as in various, so it shouldn't be hard to figure out a synonym like varicolored.

August

Definition: Venerable, majestic; inspiring admiration Usage: "I welcome you to this august institution, where Presidents and Nobel Prize winners have received the fruits of erudition," said the university president (rather bombastically) to the new crop of first-year students. Related Words: Eminent (prominent, distinguished, of high rank), Venerable (worthy of deep respect, hallowed, dignified), Olympian (majestic, superior, lofty) More Info: Emperor Octavian, or Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (an heir to Julius Caesar) was given the name Caesar Augustus upon taking the throne in 27 B.C.

Spartan

Definition: Very disciplined and stern; frugal, living simply, austere; suggestive of the ancient Spartans Usage: A young soldier in the spartan environment of boot camp can really long for a home-cooked meal or even just a comfortable couch to sit on. / Her apartment was so spartan that she couldn't even serve us both soup—she only had one bowl and one spoon. Instead, we sat in hard-backed chairs and drank water. Related Words: Ascetic (pertaining to a simple life with no luxuries, such as that of a monk), Austere (severe in manner or appearance; very self-disciplined) More Info: The Spartans (ancient Greeks from Sparta) were portrayed in the 2006 movie 300, starring Gerard Butler. The movie isn't very historically accurate, but the Spartans certainly were fierce warriors known for their harsh training methods. s

Rococo

Definition: Very elaborate and ornate (in decorating or metaphorically, as in speech and writing); relating to a highly ornate style of art and architecture in 18th century France Usage: Although Dot Von Derian was born in Ohio as Melissa Worshowski, she insisted on being called "Madame Von D," and bought herself a mansion she furnished in the most rococo style imaginable—it was gilded cherubs and gold leafing as far as the eye could see. Related Words: Florid (reddish or rosy; flowery, showy, or excessively fancy), Byzantine (very complicated; relating to the Byzantine Empire, esp. its ornate decorating style, full of gold and religious imagery) More Info: Look up "rococo" on Google Image Search to get the picture (very gold, very fancy!)

torrid

Definition: Very hot, parching, burning; passionate Usage: They had a torrid love affair in the '80s, but split up because a royal was not permitted to marry a commoner. / The wandering refugees were in serious danger in the torrid Sahara. Related Words: Arid (dry, parched, barren) More Info: The "torrid zone" is the region of Earth between the tropics.

diaphanous

Definition: Very sheer, fine, translucent Usage: The wedding dress was a confection of diaphanous silk, made of at least ten layers of the thin fabric, each layer of which was so fine you could see through it. Related Words: Gossamer (a fine, filmy cobweb, or a fine, light fabric) More Info: Diaphanous generally describes fabric or the (beautiful, translucent) wings of certain insects.

maelstrom

Definition: Violent whirlpool; any chaotic, turbulent situation Usage: The Smiths lost their houseboat in a maelstrom, but were at least thankful that they weren't on the boat at the time and thus escaped the violent storm at sea. / After having been homeschooled her whole life, the first week of college was a maelstrom of social events, orientations, and business. Related Words: Tumult (a commotion, uprising, riot, or violent outburst), Din (loud, confused noise), Clamor (noisy uproar, as from a crowd), Hubbub (loud noise, confusion) More Info: The unusual spelling of maelstrom is due to its Dutch origins.

forage

Definition: Wander in search of; rummage, hunt, make a raid Usage: It's important to seal your trash cans tightly in this neighborhood, or else you'll get raccoons foraging for food in your backyard. Related Words: Plunder, pillage, ransack, depredate, and despoil are words that match the meaning of raiding or looting, although forage is more often used in the gentler sense of poking around the forest looking for edible plants. More Info: Forage shares an origin with fodder, meaning "food for livestock" and also used to mean raw material, or something low quality but abundant, as in "The novelist used all of her family arguments as fodder for her work."

encomium

Definition: Warm, glowing praise, esp. a formal expression of praise Usage: Just after all the encomium at his retirement party, he received a gold watch. / The first draft of your dissertation is little but encomium of the works of Christopher Marlowe, whereas I'm afraid that doctoral-level work requires a more nuanced and critical view. Related Words: Laudation (praise, tribute), Eulogy (a speech of praise or written work of praise, esp. a speech given at a funeral), Panegyric (formal, lofty, or elaborate praise), Paean (song of praise, triumph, or thanks)

attenuate

Definition: Weaken or thin out Usage: When you pull a piece of bubblegum so it becomes long and thin, you are attenuating it. / Sadly, the day care center was so understaffed that the carers' efforts were attenuated, and many of the children barely received any attention at all. More Info: When you attenuate something, it becomes tenuous, which means thin or weak (a tenuous argument).

recant

Definition: Withdraw, retract, or disavow something one has previously said, esp. formally Usage: For saying that the Sun and not the Earth was the center of the universe, Galileo was brought on trial for heresy, forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest. Of course, a forced recantation doesn't say much about whether the person really abjures his former views. Related Words: Repudiate (reject, cast off, deny that something has authority) More Info: The root "cant" ("sing") is also found in chant, cantor, incantation, and chanteuse (female singer).

wizened

Definition: Withered, shriveled Usage: Fortunately, the wizened heads for sale at the Ecuadorian market weren't really shrunken heads—just souvenirs for tourists. / The wizened old man still possessed a remarkably sharp mind. Related Words: Hoary (very old, gray or white as from old age), Grizzled (graying), Antediluvian (very old; literally, from before the Biblical flood), Desiccated (dried out)

layperson

Definition: a person who is not a member of the clergy or not a member of a particular profession (such as medicine, law, etc.) Usage: The actress Jenny McCarthy has written a book about autism. While her experience as a parent is interesting to anyone in a similar situation, it's still important to remember that McCarthy is a layperson, not a doctor. More Info: A layperson is literally a member of a church who is not a minister or priest. The laity is the church's membership (not including the clergy), or a group of people outside a particular profession. Lay can be an adjective meaning "pertaining to regular people," as in a lay version of a medical text.

pugilism

Definition: boxing, fighting with the fists Usage: Pugilism has been called "the sweet science" by some, but others feel that hitting other people in the head until they can't get up isn't much of a sport. Related Words: Belligerent, bellicose, truculent, and pugnacious mean combative, inclined to fighting. More Info: Pugilism and pugnacious come from the Latin "pugnus," for "fist."

deign

Deign means to reluctantly agree to do something you consider beneath you. When threatened with the loss of her fortune, an heiress might deign(condescend, descend) to get a job, but she might look down her nose at the people she'd have to work with. Example: He was lucky I was even deigning to speak to him, particularly with people watching.

Dissembling

Dissembling is a tricky way to say "deceiving." If you're good at pretending and lying, you're an expert at dissembling.

presentiment

Do you ever have the feeling that something bad is about to happen? That's called a presentiment. A feeling of evil to come Example: On the night that Lincoln would be fatally shot, his wife had a presentiment about going to Ford's Theater, but Lincoln persuaded her that everything would be okay.

apotheosis

Epitome, perfection Exaltation of divine status If your teacher says the term paper you handed in last week is a work of genius that sets a new gold standard for the school, he's telling you your work is the apotheosis of term papers. Example: His fondness for wide-open vistas reached its apotheosis in Prospect Park, where the Long Meadow stretches for nearly a mile.

palimpsest

If you are writing fast and hastily erase something not quite all the way and continue writing right over the smudgy bit, then you've created a palimpsest — which means you can see traces of the earlier writing mixed in with the new. Example: It's a reminder that history doesn't belong to any single group of people, and nor is it static; it is a palimpsest, and all of us its authors.

unprepossessing

If you find someone to be unprepossessing, you find them unattractive. Not that they're ugly, mind you! Just unprepossessing. Example: World leaders coming to meet Gandhi would expect a towering sage, and often would be surprised by the unprepossessing little man dressed only a loincloth and shawl.

sangfroid

If you have sang-froid, you can keep your cool, even under stress. Your feathers aren't easily ruffled. composure, calmness example: When she learned that the show would be revived in New York she wrote to the producers with kid sang-froid, acknowledging the tragedy and assuring them that she knew all the songs.

Misfeasance

Misfeasance happens when someone in authority uses her position to do something wrong. If a town's mayor uses his influence to get jobs for his family members, that's misfeasance.

rotund

Rotund describes anything that's plump or round, like a teapot or your chubby Aunt Agnes. Example: As a child, I was quickly disabused that Santa Claus was a rotund benefactor of infinite largess.

spotty

Something that's spotty is uneven or inconsistent, especially in quality. If you can never rely on your internet connection when you're trying to watch a movie, you can call the connection spotty. Example: The spotty reporting of your local newspaper means that every once in a while it publishes a well-written, newsworthy article, but often it's not worth reading. Mr. Trump spent several weeks this fall holding rallies in an effort to bolster Republicans in state races, emerging with a spotty track record, but Tuesday's event was solely about him.

meek

The adjective meek describes a person who is willing to go along with whatever other people want to do, like a meek classmate who won't speak up, even when he or she is treated unfairly.ملایم | فروتن | کم‌اراده | بی‌دست و پا The adjective meek describes a person who is willing to go along with whatever other people want to do, like a meek classmate who won't speak up, even when he or she is treated unfairly. Example: In our politics today, it's far better to be seen as strong and wrong than meek and right.

picayune

The adjective picayune refers to those things that are so small, trivial, and unimportant that they're not worth getting into. Why focus on the picayune details, when it's the larger ideas that are the real problem? Example: More often than not, the police station fielded neighborhood disputes that were remarkable for their picayune character.

untoward

The adjective untoward describes something offensive or inappropriate, like the rumors of untoward behavior that can shatter a Hollywood icon's reputation. Inconvenient Example: Anything untoward is marked for the attention of a handful of senior medics who patrol the area in green scrubs.

fathom

To fathom something is to understand it thoroughly, and is usually used in the negative, as in "I can't fathom why he doesn't want to go along with us." example: It's not hard to fathom her finding mainstream appeal alongside the likes of Lewis Capaldi.

hack

To hack is to cut or chop something with short strong blows, like if you hack your way through a thick jungle with a machete. To hack is also to illegally break into someone's computer. example: Back then, the principal way to get mistletoe was by climbing up a tree, and hacking it off with an ax.

tamper

To tamper is to alter or mess with something, usually for a bad reason. Tamper also refers to being nosy about someone's business. Don't tamper with anything; it's annoying. to meddle, to interfere

scahdenfreude

When another person's bad luck secretly makes you feel good, that's Schadenfreude. Your brother's rejection from a college that also rejected you might give you a twinge of Schadenfreude. example: A cloud of notoriety and Schadenfreude surrounds the Co-op in a way that does not seem entirely fitting for a grocery store.

Epiphnay

When inspiration hits you out of the blue, call it an epiphany. Example: Then, when his older brother was expelled for being high at school, Quezada experienced an epiphany.

Epiphany

When inspiration hits you out of the blue, call it an epiphany. aha moment Example: For some, the epiphany arrived on Sunday, when a citywide shutdown prompted bars, gyms, restaurants and movie theaters to close.

awash

When something's awash, it's doused or covered with water. If your canoe is awash with seawater, it's time to start bailing.

jab

When you jab someone, you poke that person. No one on the school bus wants to sit next to the kid who tends to jab people in their ribs with his sharp elbows. Example: Salles also took a jab at environmentalists who wring their hands over what they consider damage caused by beef consumption.

tinker

When you tinker, you work casually or attempt to fix something, the way you might tinker with your brother's old bike or tinker with the website you're building for fun. As a verb, tinker means to fix (or mess around with) just about anything. For example, your creative writing teacher might ask you to tinker with your most recent short story and add more specific, vivid details. As a noun, tinker refers to a person whose job involves traveling around and fixing things.

thrall

When you're in thrall to someone, you are under their control in some way. If you're being held as a hostage, you're in thrall to your captor.

jactitation

a false boast that can harm others; especially a false claim to be married to someone (formerly actionable at law) Jactitation or jactitation of marriage is an archaic cause of action in English and in Irish law. Where one person falsely asserts that he or she is married to another, the wronged party could obtain an order restraining further repetitions of the falsehood. Example: Still, not to be thwarted, she brought a suit of jactitation of marriage, and, by a lavish use of bribes and cajolery, got a sentence from the Ecclesiastical Court which at last set her free.

dispensation

an exemption from a rule or obligation, immunity Example: Since his father is a billionaire, she's given dispensation from many of the school's policies.

litany

any long and tedious address or recital Example: A litany of other Senate Republicans professed similar offense, the Washington Post reported, and even some on the Democratic side seemed to rebuke Nadler.

Give (or lend) a hand

assist in an action or enterprise. The professional wrestler played at belligerence in the ring, but in real life, he was quite an affable fellow—sociable, easy-going, and always ready to lend a hand.

impute

attribute, ascribe Definition: Credit, attribute; lay blame or responsibility for (sometimes falsely) Usage: The ineffectual CEO was nevertheless a master of public relations—he made sure that all successes were imputed to him, and all of the failures were imputed to others. More Info: Impute proceeds from the Latin "putare" (consider), which also gives us putative (supposed, assumed).

traduce

calumniate, defame speak unfavorably about Example: But do we sometimes traduce the truth for the sake of a bit of tartness and tang?

quirky

characterized by peculiar or unexpected traits. Eccentric This informal all-purpose term can be used to describe anything that doesn't quite fit in. The adjective quirky is often used to describe those unconventional things that are characterized by peculiar behavior or an unexpected point of view. Quirky is often used to describe people, but it can also refer to things that seem to possess an unexpected and unconventional element, like a quirky strategy or a quirky idea. Example: The music often astonishes with its inventiveness, and the performances are vital and quirky .

anoint

choose by or as if by divine intervention Definition: Rub or sprinkle oil on; make sacred, such as by a ceremony that includes applying oil to someone Usage: After Principal Smitters raised test scores over 60% at her school, it was only a matter of time before she was anointed superintendent by a fawning school board. More Info: Anoint shares a root with ointment, an oily substance added to the skin. Anointing occurs repeatedly in the Bible; in that time, people rubbed oil on themselves medicinally and for refreshment, and as a means of showing hospitality to guests.

expansive

communicative, and prone to talking in a sociable manner The octogenarian shed his irascible demeanor and became expansive, speaking fondly of ''good old days

elaborate

develop or present (a theory, policy, or system) in detail. (verb) Example:

diffident

diffident=modest, shy, bashhful

discursive

digressing from subject to subject. rambling, digressive Example: Because of this, associative 'correspondences' between discursive subjects and incongruent temporal episodes, no matter how unclear, are made possible.

wear off (phr. v.)

diminish, as by friction wear away Example: If you were to contract it, after the initial shock wore off, you just might find that your life doesn't change much at all.

immure

enclose or confine (someone) against their will. When you immure someone or something, you put it behind a wall, as in a jail or some other kind of confining space. Example: We're in that place on the human map too often avoided by American novelists: poverty, the subtle prison where society's marginalized are immured, pick your particular referent.

deprecate

express strong disapproval of; deplore disapprove, reject deem wrong or inappropriate 2.belittle "The teacher should not deprecate his student's efforts"

providential

fortunate, miraculous, opportune Definition: Lucky, fortunate, or relating to divine care (the idea that a deity has helped or cared for a person) Usage: Every time their religious sister ran out of money, help always arrived! She viewed this as God's providential hand, but her family members viewed it as their always having to bail her out, and it was getting annoying. Related Words: Propitious (favorable, giving good signs for the future, likely to work out; kind or forgiving), Auspicious (looking as though success is likely) More Info: Provident means showing foresight, being frugal or careful to provide for the future, thinking ahead in a wise way. Often this quality is attributed to God (or nature), so providence sometimes simply means God or God's care.

precipitate

hasty or rash Definition: Cause to happen suddenly or prematurely; fling, plunge, or hurl down Usage: Mr. and Mrs. Rosen had been considering a move to Florida for years, but the sudden destruction of their house in a hurricane precipitated their decision to finally make the move. / "Stay away from the precipice!" said the mother to her child. "I wouldn't want my darling son to be precipitated to his doom!" Related Words: Catalyst (causer of change) More Info: Precipitation is rain, snow, or hail—water that, of course, comes down from the sky. Precipitous sometimes means "pertaining to a precipice (such as a cliff)," as in a precipitous mountain face, and sometimes means "hasty."

supercilious

haughty, disdainful; looking down to others Supercilious people think very highly of themselves, more highly than of others. If your sister tends to act snobby and superior, you can describe her as supercilious.

truculent

having a fierce, savage nature Definition: Fierce, cruel, savage; belligerent Usage: That guy is too truculent to work in customer service—when the customers are already angry, the last thing this store needs is someone prone to blow up at any moment! / The honey badger is a truculent hunter—it can and will eat anything, and sometimes tortures its prey before eating it. Related Words: Belligerent, Bellicose, and Pugnacious mean combative, inclined to fighting. Sanguinary means bloodthirsty. Minatory and Baleful mean menacing or threatening.

ribald

humorously vulgar, bawdy, off-color Definition: Using or relating to obscene or vulgar humor Usage: Nearly all limericks are based on ribald humor—hence, the constant rhymes with "Nantucket." / The movie's humor was so ribald that a PG-13 rating was assigned, and Joey's mother covered up his eyes nearly every time a woman was on the screen. Related Words: Bawdy (vulgar or lewd, esp. for humor), Lewd (obscene or excessively lustful, as in a lewd gesture)

seditious

inciting or causing people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch. Example: In the name of press freedom and nationalism we deliberately wrote seditious and criminally libellous articles against colonial governments.

bilious

irritable, always angry Example: Rex was bilious all morning, and his face would only take on a look of contentedness when he'd had his morning cup of coffee.

keep sth at bay

keep something at bay. (also hold something at bay) to control something and prevent it from causing you problems Example: She fought to keep her unhappiness at bay.

insouciance

lack of concern, indifference Example: They also found a way to address both the Nazi Holocaust and the dehumanizing violence of misogyny with the same insouciance.

jejune

lacking interest or significance or impact also means childish, immature example: But in the hands of Ms. Galasso and her young, eager performers, green in more than one way, it turned jejune.

desiccated (adj., part.)

lacking vitality or interest Example: a desiccated history of ideas Few novelists over 80 are able to produce anything more than desiccated works boring shadows of former books.

Reparations

making amends for a wrong one has done by paying money, like a financial redress, or compensate for it in other ways. Example: the courts required a convicted offender to make financial reparation to his victim

inimitable

matchless, unparalleled, unique Use the adjective inimitable to describe someone or something that is so special or unique, it is impossible to duplicate, like that superstar tennis player with the inimitable serve no other player can copy. Example: His success was admirable, and his personality inimitable.

mulct

money extracted as a penalty to defraud or swindle Example: Any contravention of the edict shall entail a mulct of one hundred marks, one half payable to the fisc and one half to the party injured. The so-called magical diet cure simply ended up mulcting Maria out of hundreds of dollars, but did nothing for her weight.

unviable

not able to work, succeed or survive Example: The plan was obviously unviable considering that it lead to complete environmental destruction in the river valley.

untrammeled

not deprived of freedom of action or expression; not restricted or hampered. Example: But it was an untrammeled drive, a sense of whimsy and a robust gift for self-promotion that set her apart.

unsparing

not forbearing, ruthless, very generous Definition: Generous, lavish (as in not sparing any help or gifts to others); unmerciful, harsh (as in not sparing any criticism) Usage: The mother was unsparing in praising her son—so he was in for quite a shock when his new teacher told him his work was substandard. Related Words: Acerbic, Acrid, Astringent, Caustic are all words that literally have to do with bitterness, burning, corroding, etc., and can be metaphorically used to describe harshness (unsparing condemnation, caustic condemnation, etc.) More Info: To spare can mean to treat with mercy, hold back, or refrain from doing (the kidnapper spared the victim's life, the father spared no expense on his daughter's Sweet Sixteen, etc.)

unassuming

not pretentious or arrogant; modest. Example: He is an unassuming man, devoid of arrogance, a few years too old to be called a prodigy.

derelict

of a person= not doing one's duties of a building= abandoned Example: The teacher was derelict in her duties because she hadn't graded a single student paper in three weeks. At one time the waterfront factories were busy and productive, but now that the economy has collapsed and the factories are all closed, these derelicts will be torn down

portentous

ominous, sinister Example: The atmosphere in the courtroom was solemn and portentous, with lawyers proceeding exactly as if the trial will indeed begin on Monday, should talks collapse.

overbear

overcome by emotional pressure or physical force. Example: And I understand what a struggle it must have been to decide which overbears which The evidence suggests this committee was unlikely to be overborne .

idler

person who does no work example: "We do need history," Nietzsche wrote, "but quite differently from the jaded idlers in the garden of knowledge."

forbear

politely or patiently restrain an impulse to do something; refrain. Example: he modestly forbears to include his own work

forbore

politely or patiently restrain an impulse to do something; refrain. Example: he modestly forbears to include his own work

crestfallen

sad and disappointed If you are crestfallen, you are dark, depressed, and down in the dumps. You are in need of a pep talk, or at least a hug. Example: The truth: Johnson was crestfallen after tearing the PCL and MCL ligaments in her left knee following a June training wipeout.

Pyrrhic

victory a too costly victory پیروزی بدتر از شکست Use the adjective pyrrhic to describe a victory that is won, but at too great a cost. In this use as an adjective, the word is often capitalized. Example: Turning to Wednesday night's debate by Democratic presidential candidates, Trump suggested it was a sort of pyrrhic win for Vice President Joe Biden.

viscid

viscid or viscous Definition: Thick, adhesive, or covered in something sticky Usage: Ugh, what did you spill on this floor? It's too viscous to be absorbed by these paper towels. Is this hair conditioner? / Teaching a troop of Cub Scouts to make maple syrup means cleaning the viscid substance off uniforms, boys, and every other object those boys touch. Related Words: Adhere (stick to, such as with glue, or to a plan or belief)

plucky

spirited Definition: Brave, spirited Usage: Feminist critics have commented that today's romantic comedies tend to feature passive, helpless female leads, whereas the romantic comedies of the 1940s featured plucky heroines who took the lead in cleverly solving problems. / While the police hit a dead end, a band of plucky children was able to find the stolen bicycle. More Info: Plucky (along with synonym spunky) is a rather "cute" word for courageous. It is appropriate for children and for people dealing with fairly minor situations in a bold, clever way. Some find it sexist when applied to adult women in professional or otherwise serious situations; it is almost never applied to men. Plucky would be very inappropriate to describe a soldier in battle, a hero of the Civil Rights movement, etc. Use a word like courageous or intrepid instead.

broadside

strong verbal attack Example: Political broadsides are usually strongest in the weeks leading up to a national election.

pare

Definition: Peel or cut off the outer layer (such as peeling fruit with a knife), reduce or trim as if cutting off the outer parts Usage: We need to pare down our budget if we're going to survive on unemployment for awhile. / She simplified her life by paring commitments from her schedule. Related Words: Truncate (shorten by cutting off a part), Abridge (reduce or lessen; shorten by omitting parts throughout while retaining the main idea) More Info: Pare shares a root ("make ready, produce, bring forth") with prepare and with various medical words related to childbirth, such as postpartum.

gawky

Definition: Physically awkward (esp. of a tall, skinny person, often used to describe teenagers) Usage: As a teenager, she thought of herself as gawky and often slouched so as not to seem so much taller than her peers; of course, now that she's a supermodel, no one thinks of her as gawky at all. Related Words: Coltish (playful, wild; resembling a young horse, esp. having disproportionately long legs), Ungainly (awkward, ungraceful)

Ford

Definition: Place where a river or similar body of water is shallow enough to walk or ride a vehicle across (noun); to cross at such a place (verb) Usage: The pioneers made camp near the riverbank, waiting for the rains to die down and the river to become fordable again. A week later, the waters were shallow enough to ford the river with their entire caravan—horses, wagons, and all. Related Words: Traverse (pass over, along, or through; go across) More Info: It doesn't particularly look like it, but ford is related to Latin "portus," meaning "port."

predilection

Definition: Preference, tendency or favorability towards Usage: She has completed teacher training allowing her to teach grades K-6, but she discovered that she really has a predilection for teaching kindergarten. Related Words: Penchant, Propensity, Proclivity, and Bent are all words for a preference or inclination (he has an arrogant bent about him, and a propensity to offend others).

idyllic

Definition: Presenting a positive, peaceful view of rural life (as poetry or prose); pleasant in a natural, simple way Usage: An action-packed vacation wasn't their style—for their honeymoon, they enjoyed a quiet idyll in a cabin in the woods, just watching the deer and enjoying nature. Related Words: Bucolic, Pastoral, Georgic, and Arcadian are all words relating to a positive view of rural life and songs or poems on that theme. More Info: As a noun, an idyll can be a poem on an idyllic theme, or a carefree or romantic span of time, such as one spent in peaceful nature.

inexorable

Definition: Relentless, unyielding; not moved by pleading Usage: Many people fled Europe in the face of Hitler's inexorable march across the continent. Related Words: Unflagging and Indefatigable (tireless), Insuperable and Indomitable (not able to be defeated) More Info: Inexorable shares a root ("orare," meaning "pray") with orator (now a public speaker, but originally a worship leader). The sense here is that an inexorable force is pitiless and unmoved by prayers.

revamp

Definition: Renovate, redo, revise (verb); a restructuring, upgrade, etc. (noun) Usage: I had my whole room decorated in Twilight: Eclipse paraphernalia, so when Breaking Dawn came out, I had to revamp my decor. Related Words: Overhaul (repair, investigate for repairs) More Info: Vampire puns aside, a vamp is the upper front part of a shoe. To revamp was originally to get your shoes repaired.

defer

Definition: Respectful submission; yielding to the authority or opinion of another Usage: In many cultures, young people are expected to show deference to older people at all times. / I'm not an expert in databases—I'll defer to our programmers on that decision. / Ingrid deferred her college admissions for a year so she could travel the world.

recrudescent

Definition: Revival, breaking out into renewed activity Usage: The recrudescence of his psoriasis came at the worst possible time. "Oh, great," he said—now I'm going to be shedding skin flakes all over my new coworkers on the first day of work. Related Words: Renascent (reviving, becoming active again), Resurgent (having a revival, renewing, rising or surging again) More Info: Recrudescent shares a root (meaning "raw") with crudité, vegetables served raw. It seems "raw" here is meant in the sense of "harsh, bloody," and recrudesce is generally used for the reappearance of disease. (For something positive, renaissance might be a more appropriate word).

asperity

Definition: Rigor, severity; harshness or sharpness of tone; roughness of surface Usage: Used to a more lax school environment, the freshman at military school was shocked by the asperity of punishments meted out for even the most minor offenses, as well as the asperity with which his drill sergeant bossed him around. / The asperity of her cheap, scratchy sweater made her wish she could afford cashmere. More Info: Asperity describes a wide variety of unpleasant things: hardship, people speaking to us in an unnecessarily harsh way, or physical roughness.

boor

Definition: Rude, ill-mannered, or insensitive person; a peasant or country bumpkin Usage: Milton was such a boor that, when Jane brought him home to meet her parents, he laughed at their garden gnome and made fun of everyone's hairstyles in old family photos. "Don't be so boorish!" said his mortified girlfriend. Related Words: Churl is a synonym and can also be used in its adjective form, churlish. Bumpkin, Yokel, and Rustic are all words for an awkward, uncultured, simple person, generally from the country. More Info: Boor is from a German word for farmer that also gives us the "Boers" in South Africa.

potent

Definition: Ruler, person of great power Usage: 62-year-old Prince Charles has certainly waited long enough to become potentate of England; his mother, Elizabeth II, has been ruling for his entire life. Related Words: Sovereign can be a noun meaning "monarch or supreme ruler," or an adjective meaning "having supreme power, being above all others." More Info: Potentate shares a root ("power") with omnipotent (all powerful), impotent (lacking power), and despot (ruler who uses power in a bad way).

disperse

Definition: Scatter, spread widely, cause to vanish Usage: Because the demonstrators didn't have a permit, the police showed up with megaphones, demanding loudly that the crowd disperse. / Get the hose so I can disperse the dirt on our driveway. Related Words: Disseminate (scatter, spread about, broadcast), Diffuse (spread widely, disseminate; dispersed; or wordy and going off-topic) More Info: Use disperse for something that spreads out and disappears (the crowd dispersed and went their separate ways); use disseminate for something that spreads out and remains significant (writers want to disseminate their ideas; disseminating seeds grows new plants).

skittish

Definition: Shy, fickle, uncertain, or prone to act suddenly due to nervousness; lively in a restless or excessive way Usage: After his first experience working with a skittish horse who nervously jerked around and ended up stepping on his foot, Ernest learned to wear steeltoed boots. / The band began with an audience of eighty college students but could see that they were skittish—there was a whole festival going on outside, and the student were ready to head for the door if the band wasn't that great. Related Words: Inconstancy (fickleness, unreliability; the state of changing without good reason), Mercurial (quickly and unpredictably changing moods; fickle, flighty)

grandstand

Definition: Perform showily in an attempt to impress onlookers Usage: I was really passionate about the candidate when he spoke at our school, but now that I think about it, he was just grandstanding. I mean, who could disagree that young people are the future? And doing a cheer for the environment doesn't actually signify a commitment to change any public policies about it. Related Words: Declaim (speak in an impassioned, pompous, or oratorical manner; give a formal speech) More Info: As a noun, a grandstand is essentially "the bleachers," so to grandstand is to perform as though for bleachers full of onlookers. In a memorable episode of 30 Rock, Queen Latifah's character, a Senator, grandstands by making animated nonsense speeches in which she just shouts "America" and "the future" and "the troops" so passionately that everyone applauds.

stint

Definition: Period of time spent doing something, or a specific, limited amount of work (noun); to be frugal, to get by on little (verb) Usage: After a stint in combat, Jared was used to eating whatever he was given, and being sparing with the few condiments available. After watching him stint on ketchup, his wife said, "Honey, seriously, here you can use all you want!" Related Words: Miser, Cheapskate, Skinflint (stingy person), Frugal (economical, thrifty, not wasteful with money) More Info: The different meanings of stint are all related the idea of a limited quantity or period—to do one's stint is to get an assigned job done (and no more than that), and to stint on something is to limit how much is used or given.

philistine

Definition: Person deficient in or hostile to culture Usage: Her date was very handsome, but she decided he was an absolute philistine when he said that documentaries were "boring" and that the "Best Picture" Oscar should go to Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D. Related Words: Boor or Churl (rude, ill-mannered, or insensitive person; a peasant or country bumpkin), Lowbrow (not intellectual or cultivated, as in She preferred art films, but her boyfriend preferred lowbrow comedies with lots of vomit jokes). More Info: The original Philistines were simply the people of Philistia; they warred with the Israelites and are referred to negatively in the Bible. Thus, their name has come to mean barbarians.

sybarite

Definition: Person devoted to pleasure and luxury Usage: The reality show about Beverly Hills "housewives" portrayed wealthy sybarites who actually seemed to be pursuing champagne and Pilates full-time. Related Words: Voluptuary is a synonym. A hedonist is a pleasure-seeker. More Info: From the Greek place name Sybaris—the original Sybarites were renowned for living in luxury.

doctrinaire

Definition: Person who applies doctrine in an impractical or rigid and closeminded way (noun); merely theoretical, impractical, or fanatical about other people accepting one's ideas (adj) Usage: The old science professor was so doctrinaire that he refused to even consider any evidence that flew in the face of his own research, and thereby failed to recognize when his graduate students made an exciting new discovery. / Don't be a doctrinaire—try actually considering the views of those you disagree with! Related Words: Dogmatic (close-minded, expressing one's own opinions as though they were facts) More Info: Doctrinaire is based on the word doctrine, meaning "official beliefs." While doctrine can be good or bad, doctrinaire is always bad and denotes someone who has taken belief in a doctrine much too far.

apostate

Definition: Person who deserts a party, cause, religion, etc. Usage: Many people considered "freedom fighters" by some are considered apostates by others; some women's rights leaders in very conservative nations receive death threats from religious leaders who consider them apostate. Related Words: Recreant (coward or deserter), Perfidy (faithlessness, treachery), Heretic (believer who disagrees with religious authorities; any nonconformist thinker), Quisling (person who betrays his country by aiding an invader), Infidel (unbeliever, person who does not accept a particular faith) More Info: Don't confuse apostate with apostle—the words are near-antonyms.

dupe

Definition: Person who is easily fooled or used (noun); to fool or exploit (verb) Usage: The dashing rogue used flattery and lies to dupe several old ladies out of their money. "I feel like a total dupe," said Hazel Rosenbaum, 87. "I thought he and I were going to get married, but he really just wanted my Social Security checks." Related Words: Hoodwink, Bilk, Swindle, Con, and Fleece are all verbs for cheating others. Fleece is perhaps more severe, having the connotation of taking everything from the victim, the way one sheers all of the fleece from a sheep. More Info: Dupe comes from Old French duppe, a bird known for being very stupid. Dupe can also be a short version of "duplicate," although this meaning is somewhat informal and less likely on the GRE.

salubrious

آبرومند ، پاکیزه ، سالم ، فرح بخش ، مطبوع Definition: Healthful, promoting health Usage: After spending her twenties smoking and drinking, Jessica recognized the necessity of adopting a more salubrious lifestyle, but found it difficult to cut back. Related Words: Salutary is a synonym. More Info: Spanish speakers probably recognized this one - it's very similar to the Spanish "salud."

propriety

آداب دانی ، ادب ، مناسبت ، درستی ، آداب و رسوم Definition: Conforming to good manners or appropriate behavior; justness Usage: The parent questioned the propriety of the punishment meted out to her son—sitting in a corner all day seemed a little harsh for using the pencil sharpener at the wrong time. / Saying the accounting firm was complicit in "financial impropriety" was a rather polite way to refer to the fraud it committed against its investors. Related Words: Genteel (aristocratic, elegant), Seemly (proper or attractive), Decorous (behaving with propriety and good taste; polite), Mores (customs, manners, or morals of a particular group) More Info: This is an easy one to remember—it's not a coincidence that propriety looks a lot like proper.

magnate

آدم بانفوذ Definition: Very important or influential person, esp. in business Usage: Many students pursue MBAs in hopes of becoming wealthy and powerful magnates; some students never quite make it there, instead spending their careers staring at spreadsheets and taking orders from magnates. Related Words: Scion (descendent, heir—often used to describe the son of a rich, powerful man), Baron (originally a British noble, but now used to describe a powerful businessperson, as in an oil baron or the robber barons of American history) More Info: The Latin "magnus" means "great" and gives us magniloquent (talking in an overly grand way), magnanimous (high-minded, noble, forgiving), magnify, and many others.

pariah

آدم مطرود ، منفور ، رانده شده ، نحس Definition: Social outcast, untouchable Usage: After the schoolteacher was fired for participating in what some called a "hate rally," he became a pariah in his own town, glared at in the grocery store —even his longtime barber refused him a haircut. More Info: This word comes from the Tamil language, spoken in India, and is related to the caste system and to the lowest group of people in it, the "untouchables" or pariahs.

recluse

آدم گوشه گیر Definition: Person who lives in seclusion Usage: That show about "hoarders" featured a recluse who hadn't left her house in six years. Related Words: Hermit or Anchorite (person who lives away from society, esp. for religious reasons) More Info: Recluse is generally more negative than hermit—it often refers to a person thought by others to be a bit crazy. Recluse shares a root ("claudere," meaning "to close or shut") with secluded and exclusive.

vex

آزار دادن Definition: Annoy or bother; puzzle or distress Usage: "Don't vex me," said the nanny. "Behave, or I'll tell your parents." / She was totally vexed by the crossword clue—9 letters, starting with "b," meaning "person whose socks are either scratchy or imbued with magical powers." What? Related Words: Irk (synonym), Nettle (irritate, sting, or annoy) More Info: Related to vehicle, vex comes from a root for "to convey"— transportation wasn't so smooth in Roman times, so imagine the vexation that might result from being pulled in a cart by horses over lots of rocks.

disjointed

آشفته - بی ربط Definition: Disconnected, not coherent, jerky; having the joints separated Usage: The novel seemed disjointed, as though whole chunks of it were missing, or as though the author had tried to stitch together drafts of several different stories. / To begin the recipe, you'll need a whole chicken that has been disjointed. More Info: In math, disjointed means having no common elements, as in "The set of all odd numbers and the set of all even numbers are disjointed."

tumult

آشوب ، غوغا ، آشفتگی a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people. commotion Example: The speed and scale of the educational tumult — which now affects 290.5 million students worldwide, the United Nations says — has little parallel in modern history, educators and economists contend.

mar

آلوده كردن، فاسد كردن، خراب کردن، (مجازی) منحرف کردن کسی Definition: Damage, spoil, ruin Usage: The interior designer's secret was to buy furnishings and fixtures that had been marred on the shop floor and therefore were sold at steep discounts; she would then fix the defects herself or add additional aging effects to the pieces. Related Words: Vitiate (spoil, weaken, or corrupt), Deface (disfigure, mar the surface of)

predispose

آماده کردن ، مستعد کردن Definition: Having an inclination or tendency beforehand; susceptible Usage: Some autoimmune disorders don't kill the patient directly, but rather make the patient predisposed to contracting other, potentially fatal illnesses. / His defense attorney argued that his abusive childhood predisposed him to a life of crime. More Info: Predisposed certainly is related to the idea of being disposed. While to dispose of something is to throw it away, to be disposed to do something is to be inclined to or willing to do it. For instance, He is disposed to be a good host.

peremptory

آمرانه‌، تحكم‌ آميز bossy and domineering Peremptory comments are like orders. If you say something in a peremptory manner, you want people to stop what they're doing and do what you say. Peremptory comments put an end to a discussion, and that's final! example: "We want you to be happy," one of them said to me, with peremptory cheer.

rudimentary

ابتدایی ، مقدماتی ، ناچیز Definition: Elementary, relating to the basics; undeveloped, primitive Usage: My knowledge of Chinese is quite rudimentary—I get the idea of characters and I can order food, but I really can't read this document you've just given me. Related Words: Inchoate (just begun, undeveloped, unorganized), Nascent and Incipient (just beginning to exist, or in a very early stage of development) More Info: Rudimentary shares a root with rude. Rude originally meant crude or unlearned—that is, lacking rudiments (first principles or early training).

interplay

اثر متقابل Definition: Interaction, reciprocal relationship or influence Usage: Bilingual readers will enjoy the interplay of English and Spanish in many of the poems in this anthology of the work of Mexican-American poets. Related Words: Converge (move towards one another or towards a point; unite), Dovetail (join or fit together)

sanction

اجازه ، تایید ، تضمین ، تنبیه ، عامل بازدارنده تصویب کردن ، دستور صادر کردن Definition: Permission or approval, something that gives support or authority to something else (noun); to allow, confirm, ratify (verb); OR a legal action by one or more countries against another country to get it to comply (noun); to place sanctions or penalties on (verb) Usage: Professional boxers may only fight in sanctioned matches—fighting outside the ring is prohibited. / America's sanctions on Cuba mean that it is illegal for Americans to do business with Cuban companies. More Info: This word can be very confusing—its two definitions seem to be opposites. Allow and penalize? We have to use context to figure out the meaning —since the bad meaning (generally "sanctions," plural) applies to international actions, most usages of sanction (regarding any other topic) mean "allow." Sanction comes from the root for holy (also in sanctuary, sanctify, etc.). Imagine an ancient society in which the ruler is also the spiritual leader, and it's easy to imagine how legal sanctions could be thought of as "holy."

gregarious

اجتماعی ، معاشرتی ، خونگرم ، گروه زی Definition: Sociable, pertaining to a flock or crowd Usage: "We need to be a little more productive and a little less gregarious," said the chemistry teacher when he saw that the two-person lab groups had devolved into clusters of five and six students standing around talking and laughing. Related Words: Genial, Congenial, Convivial are all words for sociable, friendly.

gregarious

اجتماعی ، معاشرتی ، خونگرم ، گروه زی If you know someone who's outgoing, sociable, and fond of the company of others, you might want to call her gregarious. Example: "They are gregarious. They are addicted to social media, because social media platforms are designed to be addictive. And they like sharing their experiences."

maudlin

احساساتی ، دلتنگ ، پر ازدلتنگی Definition: Excessively sentimental, showing sadness or some other emotion in a foolish or silly way Usage: I had no idea the film was going to be a maudlin affair in which the male lead dies and the female lead has his baby, who then also dies. Half the theater was weeping, and the other half was just shaking their heads at how badly written the movie was. Related Words: Cloying, treacly and saccharine all mean "disgustingly or distastefully sweet" (as in some television shows marketed to little girls, for example). More Info: Maudlin can also mean acting foolishly emotional due to drunkenness.

subpoena

احضاریه - احضار کردن Definition: A court order requiring a person to appear in court and give testimony Usage: Lea was served with a subpoena requiring her to testify against her former colleague. More Info: "Sub poena" is Latin for "under a penalty," after the first words of a subpoena: "Under penalty of..." (meaning that, if the person does not comply, the specified punishment will be applied).

discrepancy

اختلاف ، تفاوت Definition: Difference or inconsistency Usage: When there is a discrepancy between a store's receipts and the amount of money in the register, the cashier's behavior is generally called into question. Related Words: Incongruity (standing out), Discord or Discordance (harshness or inharmoniousness; disagreement) More Info: Unlike a mere incongruity, which could be as innocent as one guy with a mohawk at an otherwise straight-laced gathering, a discrepancy usually indicates that someone has done something wrong. A discrepancy in your medical records means someone has made a mistake; a discrepancy in your story means you're lying.

rift

اختلاف ، نفاق ، دودستگی ، شکاف Definition: A gap or fissure (such as in rock), a break in friendly relations Usage: Olaf's Swedish family was offended when he married a Norwegian girl —so offended that it caused a rift that lasted for decades. / The hikers considered the rift in their path, wondering if it would be possible to leap across. Related Words: Crevasse (deep fissure or crack), Feud (bitter quarrel generally lasting a long time), Estranged (alienated, as in She hasn't spoken to her estranged father in years). More Info: Unsurprisingly, to rift as a verb is to split open, burst, etc.

dissent

اختلاف عقیده ، مخالفت ، اعتراض کردن To dissent is to publicly disagree with an official opinion or decision. Dissent is also a noun referring to public disagreement. Example: A sharply dissenting opinion noted that case was an anomaly, involving small, non-charter cities.

frowned on/upon sth

اخم کردن- روی در هم کشیدن 1. To make a facial expression indicating thought or displeasure, as by wrinkling the brow and drawing down the corners of the mouth. 2. To regard something with disapproval or distaste Example: frowned on the use of so much salt in the food.

purport

ادعا کردن- قصد داشتن The verb purport can mean "to claim" — whether you mean it or not — or "to intend," like when you purport to study all night. So it makes sense that as a noun, purport means the intention or purpose, like the purport of a political candidate's speech was to get your vote. If the speech was long and hard to follow, you might be lucky just to get the purport, which here means "the main point or meaning." Example: One video that went viral on WhatsApp, for instance, purported to show violence and panic at an Aldi in the Netherlands. It said a fake letter purporting to be from the Ukrainian health ministry falsely stated here were five coronavirus cases in the country.

coalesce

ادغام شدن ، درهم آمیختن Definition: Come together, unite; fuse together Usage: While at first everyone on the team was jockeying for power and recognition, eventually, the group coalesced and everyone was happy to share credit for a job well-done. / East and West Germany coalesced into a single country in 1990. Related Words: Agglomerate (collect into a mass), Aggregate (gather together), Consolidate (unite, combine, firm up—you can consolidate loans or consolidate power) More Info: A coalition is a group that has coalesced (at least in theory).

fortify

ارتقاء دادن، تعالی بخشیدن، افزایش دادن، تقویت کردن Definition: Strengthen, invigorate, encourage Usage: The white bread found in American grocery stores has been stripped of all the nutrients naturally found in wheat, and then artificially fortified with vitamins and minerals. / The general called for reinforcements to fortify the defenses around the capital. Related Words: Bolster (strengthen or support), Buttress (a support against a building; to strengthen or support), Galvanize (stimulate with electric current; excite, stimulate to action)

slake

ارضا کردن (تشنگی و ...) Definition: Satisfy (esp. thirst), cool, or refresh; make less active Usage: Having been lost for hours, the weary hikers were more than willing to slake their thirst in a mountain stream. / The teacher's harsh, demanding attitude soon slaked the girls' enthusiasm for the ballet class. Related Words: Satiate or Sate (to fully satisfy, or to go beyond satisfying to the point of excess) More Info: Slake is related to slack (loose, negligent, lazy, weak)—if you slake your thirst, your thirst has weakened or gone away.

conceited

از خود راضى‌، خود بزرگ‌ بين‌ egotistic, vain, narcissist A conceited person has an inflated self-image and perceives himself as incredibly entertaining and wonderful. Talk incessantly about your accomplishments on the clarinet or amazing ability to wiggle your ears, and people are going to think you're conceited.

altruistic

از خود گذشته ، نوع دوستانه ، فداکار Definition: Just begun, undeveloped, unorganized Usage: The first few weeks of language class went well, but her inchoate French was all but useless when she found herself at an academic conference in Quebec. Related Words: Nascent and Incipient mean "just beginning to exist, or in a very early stage of development." Inchoate has more of a sense of vagueness. An inchoate idea for a novel probably means you don't know where to start writing; a nascent project, although just beginning, might be right on track.

unearth

از زیر خاک بیرون کشیدن ، برملا کردن Definition: Dig up, uncover, expose Usage: The ACLU's Prison Project works tirelessly to unearth evidence from old cases that might exonerate innocent people who have spent years or even decades in prison. / The archaeologist unearthed what appears to be the world's oldest known gravesite, showing that the earliest humans cared for their deceased loved ones. Related Words: Debunk (expose, ridicule, or disprove false or exaggerated claims), Disabuse (free someone from a mistake in thinking)

via

از طریق Definition: Through, by means of, by way of (by a route that goes through or touches) Usage: We will be flying to Russia via Frankfurt. / Many of the students at our college got here via special programs that assist low-income students in preparing for college. Related Words: Per can also be used in this way. The most common use of per is "for each," as in, "We will need one sandwich per child." However, per may also mean "by means of" or "according to." I have delivered the package per your instructions. More Info: Via is Latin for "way, road, channel." This root also appears in viaduct, a bridge or series of bridges, especially carrying a road or railway over water, a valley, etc.

afresh

از نو، دوباره in a new or different way. Example: the paleontologist examined the problem afresh, believing that he accepted classification belied the Essential continuity of the specimens by making specious distinctions among them

statute

اساسنامه A statute is a formal law or rule. Whether it's enacted by a government, company, or other organization, a sta

arbitrary

استبدادی ، خودسرانه ، اختیار ، تصادفی Definition: Based entirely on one's discretion; capricious, unreasonable, or having no basis Usage: The judge's rulings were truly arbitrary—one defendant got community service for stealing a television, and another got three years for the same crime. / It doesn't really matter which brand of baking soda you buy—just arbitrarily pick one so we can get out of this grocery store before dinnertime. More Info: Arbitrary looks a lot like arbiter for good reason—originally, something arbitrary was something that was uncertain because it depended on an arbiter's decision. As indicated by the definition above, arbitrary can be neutral or negative.

repose

استراحت ، آرامش ، فراغت Definition: The act or state of resting; peacefulness, tranquility; lying dead in a grave Usage: Thousands of people lined up to see the prime minister's body lying in repose in the capital building. / After working the last two weekends, Myrna was perfectly happy spending her day off in repose in her living room armchair with a cup of tea and a good book. Related Words: Recumbent (lying down, reclining, resting) More Info: Lying in repose is when a deceased person is available for public viewing.

profligate

اسراف کارانه ، بی رویه ، بی حیا ، بی شرم ، وقیحانه Definition: Completely and shamelessly immoral, or extremely wasteful Usage: The billionaire software developer was so disgusted with his profligate daughter's spending that he cut her off—she had bought champagne for an entire nightclub full of strangers one too many times. Related Words: Prodigal (wasteful, extravagant), Debauched (corrupted morally), Dissolution (sinking into extreme hedonism, vice, and degradation)

solicitude

اشتیاق ، نگرانی Solicitude is more-than-average concern for someone. When you're sick in bed, it's nice to have someone around to treat you with solicitude, hovering nearby, bringing you cups of tea, and handing you tissues all day. Example: Manfred, however, showed solicitude for a man who, by the by, was one of his bosses.

Jargon

اصطلاحات‌ مخصوص‌ يك‌ صنف‌، لهجه خاص Definition: Vocabulary specific to a group or occupation; convoluted or unintelligible language Usage: The information my doctor gave me was so full of medical jargon I couldn't understand it at all! I'm going to look on the Internet for something written for regular people. Related Words: Argot and Cant also refer to specialized vocabularies (more often used to describe the underworld—lawyers have jargon, mobsters have argot or cant.) Cant can also mean lofty but insincere talk (e.g., pageant queens talking about world peace). A lexicon is a dictionary or specialized vocabulary.

ameliorate

اصلاح کردن ، بهبود بخشیدن ، بهتر کردن Definition: Improve; make better or more bearable Usage: If you spill water on your computer keyboard, you can ameliorate the damage by leaving the keyboard upside down to try—it may still be ruined, but that's still the best chance you've got of saving it. Related Words: Mitigate, Palliate, and Alleviate are near-synonyms, all of which could take the place of "ameliorate" in the sentence above. More Info: Ameliorate occasionally appears as meliorate (an Old English version), meaning exactly the same thing.

credibility

اعتبار Definition: Believability, trustworthiness Usage: Many famous "experts" with "Dr." before their names are not medical doctors at all. Any television "doctor" who turns out to have a Ph.D. in botany, for instance, ought to suffer a serious drop in credibility. More Info: The root "cred," meaning "believe" also gives us credit, creed, credo, incredulous, discredit, and accreditation. Don't confuse credible with credulous, meaning gullible. Finally, while we often use incredible to mean "great," it really means "not believable."

demur

اعتراض کردن به ، مخالفت کردن ، ایراد گرفتن ، تردید کردن Definition: Show reluctance or object, especially for moral reasons Usage: When asked to name her favorite professor in the department, she demurred—she was pretty sure that, if she said anything, it would come back to haunt her. Related Words: Balk (refuse to proceed or to do something)desultory

kudos

افتخار - احترام - اعتبار - شهرت Definition: Praise, honor, congratulations Usage: "Kudos on your amazing GRE score!" said the teacher. / While the critics weren't impressed, the play received plentiful kudos from the audience. Related Words: Plaudits (applause, approval), Laudation (praise), Panegyric (formal, lofty, or elaborate praise), Paean (song of praise, triumph, or thanks)

augment

افزودن ، زیاد کردن ، تحکیم کردن Definition: Make larger Usage: If you memorize the definitions on all of these flashcards, you will have notably augmented your vocabulary! Related Words: Aggrandize (make greater; exaggerate) More Info: Augment shares a root ("augere," to increase) with august, meaning "majestic, inspiring reverence."

binding

الزام آور (of an agreement or promise) involving an obligation that cannot be broken. Example: According to specialists in labor law, a signed contract is a binding agreement.

lumber

الوار-تیر بریده شده (اگه فعل باشه به معنی سنگین حرکت کردنه) Definition: Walk in a heavy or clumsy way, sometimes due to being weighed down Usage: Alicia was a model and was accustomed to walking everywhere as though on a catwalk, so she was quite displeased when she broke her leg and had to lumber around in a cast, thumping the ground everywhere she went. Related Words: To trudge or plod is to walk or move in a laborious, difficult, or slow manner. A child might trudge reluctantly to school. A boring movie might plod along. A heavy, inflexible person might lumber around.

sanguine

امیدوار ، خوشبین ، دلگرم کننده ، گلگون Definition: Cheerfully optimistic, hopeful; reddish, ruddy (as in rosy-red cheeks indicting health or vitality) Usage: She had three papers due in three days, but she maintained her typically sanguine attitude. "Things always just work out for me," she said, happily. Related Words: Chipper (cheerful, healthy and in good spirits) More Info: Don't confuse sanguine with sanguinary, which comes from the same root but means "bloodthirsty"! The ancient Greeks thought that people were ruled by the "four humors": blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. A person with too much phlegm would be phlegmatic (sluggish, gloomy); a person with too much bile would be bilious (bitter, mean); and a person ruled by blood would be sanguine.

garner

انبار غله ،انبار کردن ،انباشتن ،درويدن Definition: Gather and store; amass, collect Usage: The publisher sent copies of the soon-to-be-published manuscript to reviewers, hoping to garner acclaim and publicity for the book. Related Words: Accrue (increase gradually), Augment (grow larger), Agglomerate (form into a mass or cluster, join together), Aggregate (gather together, amount to), Consolidate (unite, combine, firm up—you can consolidate loans or consolidate power) More Info: Don't confuse garner with garnish, which means either to decorate (such as with a radish carved into a flower next to your sushi) or to take a portion off the top, as in, "After he lost a lawsuit and failed to pay, the judge ordered that his wages be garnished and the money sent directly from his employer towards his debts." Garner comes from granary, a place to store grain.

diatribe

انتقاد شدید ، سخن تلخ Definition: Bitter, abusive attack or criticism; rant Usage: I'd stay out of the living room for awhile—Grandpa's on another one of his diatribes about how it's un-American to call a large coffee a "venti." You can hear him ranting from here! Related Words: Tirade, Harangue, and Fulmination are all words for bitter, angry speeches or attacks.

pungent

انتقادی ، زننده ، نیشدار ، تند ، تیز Definition: Having a sharp taste or smell; biting, stimulating, sharp Usage: The new assistant chef received some rather pungent criticism from the head chef for her idea to make feta cheese soup, which the customers found much too pungent. Related Words: Acerbic (sour; harsh or severe), Acrid (sharp or biting, pungent), Astringent (caustic, biting, severe; a skin cleaning fluid that clears pores), Caustic (capable of corroding metal or burning the skin; very critical or sarcastic) More Info: The Latin "pungere" means "to prick."

philanthropy

انسان دوستی. بشر دوستی Definition: Efforts to improve the well-being of humankind, generally through giving money Usage: Many wealthy people turn to philanthropy as a way to create social good, and many others turn to it as a way to hobnob with the rich and famous. Related Words: Altriusm (selflessness, concern for the welfare of others) More Info: "Phil" means "love" (a bibliophile loves books) and "anthro" means "humankind." A misanthropist is a hater of humankind.

malleable

انعطاف پذیر ، سازگار ، سربه راه ، تاثیر پذیر ، چکش خور Definition: Able to be bent, shaped, or adapted Usage: The more malleable the material, the easier it is to bend into jewelry— and the easier it is to damage that jewelry. / My mother is a little too malleable—she said she liked all the things her first husband liked, and now she says she likes all the things her second husband likes. Related Words: Tractable, pliable, and plastic can also mean physically bendable, or metaphorically bendable, as in "easily influenced or shaped by others." Mutable means changeable.

irrefutable

انکار ناپذیر impossible to deny or disprove( refute) Example: Scientists are looking for irrefutable evidence that some form of life existed on Mars at some point in its history.

negate

انکار کردن - نفی کردن Definition: Deny or refute; make void or cause to be ineffective Usage: Darling, if you add "I promise to try to work things out for at least a couple of weeks before giving up" to our wedding vows, it would kind of negate the part where you promise to love, honor, and cherish me "until death do us part." / The debate coach reminded the students that they had to negate each one of their opponents' major points in order to win. Related Words: Nullify is to make void or invalid. Sap, Enfeeble, and Undermine all mean "weaken" and thus are not as strong as negate or nullify.

incentive

انگیزنده ، محرک ، مشوق Definition: Something that encourages greater action or effort, such as a reward Usage: A controversial program in a failing school system uses cash payments as an incentive for students to stay in school.

zenith

اوج Definition: High point, culmination Usage: At the zenith of her career, the actress could command $5 million per film. Now, she is mostly seen in made-for-TV movies. Related Words: Acme, Summit, Pinnacle (synonyms), Apex (vertix, tip, point), Apogee (high point, point at which the moon is furthest from the Earth) More Info: The opposite of the zenith is the nadir, or lowest point. Both words are terms from astronomy, referring to points directly above and below the observer on an imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected. On the GRE, these words will be used metaphorically—the nadir of one's struggles, the zenith of one's success.

culminate

اوج -به اوج رسیدن Definition: Reach the highest point or final stage Usage: A Ph.D. program generally culminates in a written dissertation and its defense to a committee. Related Words: Acme, Summit, Pinnacle, and Apex are all words for a high point or peak. Denouement means conclusion or ending, such as of a literary work, esp. one that "wraps up all the loose ends."

acme

اوج ، نقطه کمال ، قله Definition: Summit, peak, highest point Usage: The acme of my vacation was when I finally climbed to the acme of the mountain and enjoyed the gorgeous vista. Related Words: Summit, Pinnacle (synonyms), Apex (vertex, tip, point), Apogee (high point, point at which the moon is furthest from the Earth) More Info: Acme, Summit, Pinnacle, and Apex are all popular names for businesses: Apex Locksmith, Pinnacle Home Security, etc. (Acme is especially popular, since it occurs early in the phone book).

apogee

اوج، قله For an object in orbit around the earth, the apogee is the point that is highest or farthest from the earth. Early satellites had low apogees, so it wasn't long before they burnt up in the atmosphere.

panacea

اکسیر ، نوشدارو ، داروی همه دردها a solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases. Example: "Planting trees is not a panacea for Appalachia's problems," Angel said.

albeit

با این که، اگر چه Definition: Although, even though Usage: The village leader was illiterate albeit highly intelligent. / The trip was exciting, albeit brief. Related Words: Notwithstanding (in spite of, although, all the same —"Notwithstanding the video of his crime, he was acquitted on a technicality") More Info: Albeit is a shortening of "although it be."

finesse

با حیله پیش بردن - کلک زدن - تدبیر کردن Definition: Extreme delicacy, subtlety, or diplomacy in handling a sensitive situation or in a performance or skill (noun); use tact or diplomacy; employ a deceptive strategy (verb) Usage: After the prince deeply insulted his hosts, the diplomat was able to finesse the situation, playing it off as a translation error and getting the negotiations back on track. Related Words: Tact (sensitivity to what is proper and inoffensive)

assiduously

با پشتکار with care and persistence diligently Example: As Danielson writes: "She tried assiduously and consistently to construct a voice that millions would claim as their own.

hardy

بادوام Definition: Bold, brave, capable of withstanding hardship, fatigue, cold, etc. Usage: While the entire family enjoyed the trip to South America, only the hardier members even attempted to hike to the top of Ecuador's tallest volcano. Related Words: Robust (strong, vigorous, full-bodied), Hale (vigorous, healthy)

encumber

بار بر دوش‌ (كسى‌) گذاشتن‌، كند كردن‌ hamper, hinder, obstruct, impede, constrain, restrain Example: The costume encumbered all of my movements and caused me to sweat profusely.

fecund

بارور Definition: Fruitful, fertile; capable of abundantly producing offspring, vegetation, or creative or intellectual work Usage: Rabbits are quite fecund; if you've got two, you'll soon have forty. / While some novelists seem to return to the same themes over and over, Bredlaw's fecund mind produced whole new universes for every story he wrote. Related Words: Prolific is a synonym. Teeming means "full of things, abundantly filled," as in "Rome was teeming with tourists." More Info: Fecund, unsurprisingly, shares a root with fetus.

discerning

باریک بین - نکته سنج Definition: Having good judgment or insight; able to distinguish mentally Usage: In an age in which we are bombarded with advertising, it's important to be a discerning consumer. For instance, the term "all natural" is not federally regulated and doesn't have to mean anything at all, so a smart shopper still reads ingredients. Related Words: Keen, Perceptive, and Perspicacious are all related to having good judgment or perception. Descry means to discover or see by looking carefully.

gambol

بالا و پایین پریدن - جست و خیز کردن Definition: Frolic; skip or leap playfully Usage: Watching the children gambol in the park like frisky little lambs, she wondered how they could have so much energy. Related Words: Caper (gambol; or, a prank, trick, or carefree activity), Cavort (prance, make merry), Lark (merry adventure) More Info: Gambol comes from the Latin "gamba," a horse's leg.

Idolatry

بت پرستی - ستایش Definition: Idol worship; excessive or unthinking devotion or adoration Usage: After a year in an education Ph.D. program, she'd had enough with the idolatry of Howard Gardner and his theory of multiple intelligences—"Gardner isn't a god," she would say, "and you simply can't learn calculus through movement or interpersonal skills." Related Words: Veneration and Reverence refer to deep admiration and respect. Apotheosis is deification, the process of making someone into or like a god. Lionization is treating someone as a celebrity. More Info: An idol (forbidden in many religions) is a representation of an object of worship.

contentious

بحث برانگیز - اهل جر و بحث Definition: Controversial; prone to causing arguments, especially gratuitous or petty ones Usage: The death penalty is a contentious issue. / My uncle is so contentious that every attempt I made to introduce an uncontroversial topic met with failure —he ranted and raved about the weather, trees, math, and my daughter's enjoyment of oatmeal. Related Words: Disputatious and quarrelsome are near-synonyms More Info: A contention is simply a claim, often a thesis or statement that will then be backed up with reasons. To contend can be to argue or to vie for a prize, as in the famous quote from On the Waterfront: "I coulda been a contender."

munificent

بخشنده ، سخاوتمند ، فراوان ، سخاوتمندانه Definition: Generous, giving liberally Usage: The elderly titan of industry was notoriously miserly, sometimes called "the cheapest man alive." But his wife was quite munificent, and after his death, she used his fortune to support numerous charities and to buy a house for their longtime maid. Related Words: Magnanimous (high-minded; generous in forgiving others), Philanthropic (giving money to charity, providing assistance to others) More Info: Munificent shares a root ("give") with remuneration, meaning repayment or compensation.

venial

بخشودنی ، قابل گذشت ، قابل بخشش ، گناه صغیره Some crimes are unforgivable. Others are venial — venial crimes and sins are excusable. They're not a big deal.

reprieve

بخشیدن مجازات. معوق کردن مجازات Primary Meanings of reprieve 1. the act of reprieving; postponing or remitting punishment 2.relieve temporarily

truculence

بدخلقی - عصبانیت If you get into fights all of the time, you might be accused of truculence and sent for anger management classes. Truculence is showing a fierce kind of aggression. pugnacious Example: This is a reality the PRC denies with fluctuating, but currently intensifying, truculence.

denigrate

بدنام کردن - تحقیر کردن Definition: Belittle, attack the reputation of Usage: Many jokes in the Meet the Parents trilogy come from Robert De Niro's character denigrating Ben Stiller's character for being a male nurse. Related Words: Disparage is a synonym. More Info: Denigrate comes from a Latin root meaning "to blacken."

notoriety

بدنامی Definition: Ill fame; the state of being well-known for a disgraceful reason Usage: Bill was notorious for being late to everything—after awhile, his friends just stopped inviting him to the movies. / Some countries ban convicted criminals from capitalizing on their notoriety by writing books from prison or selling rights to movies about their lives. Related Words: Infamous is a synonym for notorious.

somatic

بدنی - جسمی Definition: Of the body Usage: While some depression is caused by outside forces (the death of a loved one, for instance), many cases of depression have a somatic cause—for instance, postpartum depression can be related to hormones and physical changes associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Related Words: Psychosomatic (involving both the mind and the body—for instance, a physical illness caused by mental stress)

cynical

بدگمان Definition: Thinking the worst of others' motivations; bitterly pessimistic Usage: Shilpa was so cynical that even when her friends threw her a surprise party, she figured that they only did it so they wouldn't feel so guilty about all the mean things they must be saying behind her back. Related Words: Misanthrope (hater of humankind) More Info: The original Cynics were ancient Greek philosophers who held that self-control was the only virtue. They are rumored to have been quite contemptuous towards their philosophical opponents.

axiomatic

بدیهی Definition: Self-evident truth requiring no proof; universally or generally accepted principle Usage: Given the last decade of research into the brain—as well as our own experience trying to function while deprived of sleep or food—we must take as axiomatic that the brain is influenced by the body. Related Words: Maxim (short statement of general truth, proverb), Postulate (self-evident proposition, such as in math) More Info: When we say something is axiomatic, we mean that it must be true, in the way that 2+2 must equal 4, or all squares must have four sides.

largess

بذل و بخشش ، سخاوت ، انعام ، صدقه Definition: Generosity, the giving of money or gifts (esp. with the implication that the giver is a bit superior to the recipient) Usage: While I did attend a tony private school, my parents were actually quite poor—I was at that school through the largesse of my grandfather. Related Words: Magnanimity, munificence, and openhandedness all mean generosity. More Info: Largesse certainly does come from the idea of largeness (of spirit). The word is from French (thus the extra "e" in some spellings).

goad

برانگیختن - تخریب کردن Definition: Urge on (as cattle) with a pointed or electrically charged stick; spur on, stimulate, encourage Usage: He never forgave his friends for goading him into spray-painting the school with them. While the effect was temporarily hilarious, he lost a scholarship over the incident. Related Words: Prod is a synonym (a "cattle prod" is also a pointed or electrified stick). Cajole, Coax, and Wheedle are all much gentler, meaning "artfully persuade, such as by flattery." More Info: In common language, goad means "to peer-pressure."

stoic

بردبار ، خویشتن دار Definition: Indifferent to pleasure or pain, enduring without complaint; person indifferent to pleasure or pain (noun) Usage: Della was not only calm but positively stoic, thanking her family for driving her home from chemotherapy, and then simply never mentioning it until it was time to go again. Related Words: Impassive (not having or not showing physical feeling or emotion), Inscrutable (not able to be scrutinized, mysterious), Stolid (showing little emotion) More Info: The Stoics were ancient Greek philosophers who believed that selfcontrol could overcome destructive emotions. They compared wicked, emotionally driven people to "a dog tied to a cart," forced in all directions.

obviate

برطرف کردن ، از میان برداشتن ، مرتفع ساختن Definition: Prevent, eliminate, or make unnecessary Usage: Adding protective heel taps to your dress shoes can obviate the need to take them to the shoe repair store later, once the heels have worn down. Related Words: Circumvent (go around, avoid, bypass, such as circumventing the rules)

itinerary

برنامه سفر Definition: Travel schedule; detailed plan for a journey Usage: Great, that was the Parthenon! What's next on our itinerary? Related Words: Agenda is a similar but more general word that can be used metaphorically—a meeting usually has an agenda, a trip could have an agenda (goal or plan) for the day, and a person who wants something but isn't being direct about it is said to have an agenda or hidden agenda. More Info: Itinerary shares a root with itinerant (traveling from place to place, esp. as part of a job). An itinerary can sometimes be a guidebook or a record of travel that has already happened.

derivative

برگرفته - ماخوذ - مشتق - اقتباس شده Definition: Derived from something else; not original Usage: The singer's first album was a disappointment, derivative of several hit albums from the previous year, as though a management team had simply picked out the elements from other popular songs that they thought would make the most money. Related Words: Banal, Hackneyed, Inane, Insipid and Trite all mean "lacking freshness and originality, shallow." More Info: In finance, a derivative is a contract the value of which is derived from the value of underlying stocks, bonds, etc.

Rhetoric

بلاغت ، سخنوری ، فصاحت ، بدیع ، لفاظی Definition: The art or study of persuasion through speaking or writing; language that is elaborate or pretentious but actually empty, meaning little Usage: The ancient Greeks used to study rhetoric as a major academic subject. Today, if you want to improve your rhetorical skills, you will probably have to hunt down a public speaking class or join Toastmasters. / The politician's blather is all rhetoric and no substance. Related Words: Oratorical is a synonym. While a lawyer needs good rhetorical skills, sometimes rhetorical and oratorical mean only related to style and effect, and lacking substance. More Info: A rhetorical question is one intended for effect, and not intended to be answered, as in "Are you stupid?"

quixotic

بلند پروازانه و غیر عملی impractical, widely idealistic Definition: Extremely impractical but very romantic, chivalrous, or idealistic; impulsive Usage: Prompted by a lesson their teacher devised for election year, the children shared what they would do if elected President. The plans were adorably quixotic, involving housing all the homeless in floating homes on the ocean, or teaching everyone to be nice to each other. Related Words: Rash (too hasty, acting without considering the consequences) More Info: From Cervantes' 1791 novel Don Quixote, about a romantic, impractical hero who becomes obsessed with books about chivalry (believing even the most ridiculous tales within the books) and famously attacks windmills he believes to be giants—hence the expression "tilting at windmills," meaning fighting unwinnable battles or battles against imaginary foes.

magnanimous

بلندنظر ، بخشنده ، سخاوتمندانه ، با بلندنظری Definition: High-minded, noble, lofty; generous in forgiving others, free of resentment Usage: The twins were so different from one another—while Andrea was petty and vengeful and would hold a grudge for years, Marina was quite magnanimous, easily forgiving insults or slights, and simply rising above the petty bickering and cliquish behavior of our high school. More Info: The Latin "magnus" means "great" and gives us magniloquent (talking in an overly grand way), magnify, and many others. Think of magnanimous as meaning having a great spirit or a big heart.

complaisant

بله قربانگو. مطیع Definition: Eager to please; cheerfully complying Usage: Coming from a more uptight corporate background, Chris found the soup kitchen volunteers remarkably complaisant—when he asked the greeters to sweep the floor and the cooks to wash dishes, everyone happily moved to their new positions. More Info: Don't confuse complaisant with complacent, which means "smug, self-satisfied."

impasse

بن بست deadlock, dead end, stalemate Definition: Position or road from which there is no escape; deadlock Usage: If the union won't budge on its demands and the transit authority won't raise salaries, then we are at an impasse. Related Words: Standstill, gridlock, logjam, stalemate, standoff, and standstill are all words for being stuck due to different people's opposing goals. Not surprisingly, all of these words are common in politics. More Info: A physical impasse—a road that hits a dead end—can be called a cul-de-sac.

respectively

به ترتیب ذکر شده Definition: In the order given Usage: His poems "An Ode to the Blossoms of Sheffield" and "An Entreaty to Ladies All Too Prim" were written in 1756 and 1758, respectively. More Info: Respectively is important in making the meaning clear in some sentences. Lisa and John have a cat and a dog sounds as though the couple jointly owns the pets, whereas Lisa and John have a cat and a dog, respectively makes it clear that the cat is Lisa's and the dog is John's.

chronological

به ترتیب زمان Definition: Arranged in or relating to time order Usage: Joey, I'm afraid you've done the assignment wrong—the point of making a timeline is to put the information in chronological order. You've made an alphabetical-order-line instead! More Info: The root "chron," for "time," also occurs in chronicle (a historical account in time order), chronic (ongoing, usually of an illness), and anachronism (thing out of its own time period). Chronometer is just a fancy word for clock.

simultaneously

به طور همزمان Definition: At the same time Usage: It is rare in a duel that the two shooters draw their guns simultaneously and actually kill each other in an instant. Related Words: Synchronous and concurrent are synonyms. More Info: The root "simul" means "together" and also gives us similar and simulcast, meaning to broadcast simultaneously, such as on television and the Internet at the same time.

profusion

به مقدار زیاد an abundance or large quantity of something. glut, outpouring plenitude, abundance,amplitude, copiousness, bountifulness, wealth Example: It bears a profusion of upright, bottlebrush-like flowers that are deep maroon.

timely

به موقع Definition: Well-timed, happening at a suitable time Usage: Your arrival is quite timely—we were just mulling over a question we're sure you can answer! / His timely departure prevented him from having to do any work. Related Words: Opportune can be a synonym for timely, or can mean "favorable, appropriate." More Info: While timely ends in -ly, it is NOT an adverb. You therefore cannot "do something timely"—you must instead "do it in a timely manner."

converge

به هم نزدیک شدن. همگرا شدن Definition: Move towards one another or towards a point; unite Usage: I know we're driving to the wedding from different states, but our routes ought to converge when each of us hits I-95—maybe we could converge at a Cracker Barrel for lunch! More Info: The antonym of converge is diverge.

incorporate

بهم‌ پيوستن‌، متحد كردن‌ Definition: Combine, unite; form a legal corporation; embody, give physical form to Usage: When a business incorporates, it becomes a separate legal entity—for instance, the business can declare bankruptcy without the owners doing so. / Local legend has it that ghosts can incorporate on one night of the year and walk among the living. Related Words: Incarnate (embodied, personified; put into concrete form, embody, take on a human body)

puerile

بچه گانه - نابخردانه Definition: Juvenile, immature Usage: The retiring film critic decried the puerile humor common in so many modern American movies, pointing out that the classic comedies of the '40s were so much smarter and less reliant on jokes about bodily functions. Related Words: Jejune (dull, childish), Sophomoric (very immature, having poor judgment)

paltry

بی ارزش ، ناچیز ، اندک ، جزئی small, insignificant, trifling, piddling, trivial

unfounded

بی اساس having no foundation or basis in fact. Example: So the great war hero is going to bring up unfounded accusations against George Bush.

impious

بی اعتنا به امور مذهبی ، بی دین ، خدانشناس ، وظیفه نشناس Definition: Not religious, lacking reverence, ungodly Usage: In religious schools, impious behavior is generally prohibited. Related Words: Irreverent (synonym), Sacrilegious (violating what is sacred) Blasphemous (impious behavior, esp. speech) More Info: Pious (reverent) shares a root with expiate (to atone, ask to be forgiven of one's sins).

inordinate

بی اندازه ، بیش از حد ، بیشمار ، مفرط Definition: Excessive, not within proper limits, unrestrained Usage: Students taking online GRE practice tests at home often take an inordinate number of breaks—remember, on the real thing, you can't stop just because you're tired or hungry. Related Words: Gratuitous (free; without cause or justification) More Info: Inordinate contains a root for "order" and thus has the sense of "not orderly."

churlish

بی تربیت - دهاتی - بد خلق - بد فرهنگ A churlish person is one whose middle name might as well be Rude. He's the one who was never taught to mind his manners and avoid telling vulgar jokes at the dinner table. Churlish has its origins in late Old English, but its modern-day meaning of "deliberately rude" developed in the 14th century. It's a fitting adjective to describe boorish or surly behavior. It can also describe a material that is difficult to work with, such as hard wood that's resistant to quick whittling. Our prolific pal Shakespeare coined the phrase, "as valiant as the lion, churlish as the bear." Example: Mom is a lovely person who seemed not to see her child was often churlish and badly behaved. The boss was unnecessarily churlish to his subordinates.

indifferent

بی تفاوت Definition: Not caring, having no interest; unbiased, impartial Usage: Do whatever you want—I'm indifferent. I won't even notice. Related Words: Apathy (not caring; absence of feeling; lack of interest or concern)

oblivious

بی توجه و فراموشکار not aware of or not concerned about what is happening around one. unresponsive, inattentive Example: I was not young enough to be oblivious to what was going on and not old enough to know what to do about it.

volatile

بی ثبات ، دمدمی مزاج ، متغیر ، پرخاشگر Definition: Varying, inconstant, fleeting; tending to violence, explosive; Usage: Following the sudden revolution, the political environment in the country was so volatile that anything could have started a riot. / Stock prices are by nature volatile—if you want a "safe and steady" investment, try mutual funds. Related Words: Inconstancy (Fickleness, unreliability; the state of changing without good reason), Erratic (inconsistent, wandering, having no fixed course) More Info: From chemistry: a volatile substance easily changes states, such as by evaporating.

listless

بی حال ، بی حوصله Definition: Spiritless, lacking interest or energy Usage: "I'm bored, Mom," said the listless child. "Can I have a cookie? Can we go to the park? Let's play a game. There's nothing to do!" Related Words: Indifferent (not caring, having no interest), Apathy (not caring; absence of feeling; lack of interest or concern) More Info: Why doesn't listless mean "not having a list?" Turns out the root isn't list so much as lust—to be listless is to lack a "lust for life."

lassitude

بی حالی ، رخوت ، بی حوصلگی ، خستگی ، کوفتگی Definition: Tiredness, weariness; lazy indifference Usage: It's so difficult to get anything done in the dead heat of August! I can't seem to shake my lassitude enough to get out of this hammock, much less study for the GRE. Related Words: Languid (drooping from exhaustion, sluggish, slow; lacking in spirit). Torpid and slothful mean slow and lazy. Indolent means habitually lazy, such as a person who chooses never to work.

impartial

بی طرف و عادل Definition: Unbiased, fair Usage: Judge Gonzales removed himself from the case because, having a personal connection to the school where the shooting took place, he did not think he could be appropriately impartial. Related Words: Disinterested, Dispassionate, and Nonpartisan are all related to being fair and not having a bias or personal stake.

objective

بی طرف. بی طرفانه. بی غرض. بی غرضانه Definition: Factual, related to reality or physical objects; not influenced by emotions, unbiased Usage: You cannot be forced to testify against your spouse in a court of law— it's pretty impossible for anyone to be objective about the guilt or innocence of a spouse. / Some philosophers argue that things like "love" and "guilt" don't exist, and that only objective reality—that is, physical matter—is of consequence. Related Words: Impartial, Disinterested, Dispassionate, and Nonpartisan are all related to being fair and not having a bias or personal stake. More Info: The opposite of objective is subjective (taking place only in the mind, personal).

dispassionate

بی طرفانه Definition: Unbiased, not having a selfish or personal motivation; calm, lacking emotion Usage: The defendant tearfully described how much her young child needed her at home, but the judge, who dispassionately sentenced her to ten years for selling drugs, was unmoved. Related Words: Disinterested (unbiased, impartial; not interested), Nonpartisan (impartial, not controlled by a political party) More Info: Dispassionate could be positive or negative, depending on the context—a judge should be dispassionate, but if someone dispassionately broke up with you, you'd probably think that was pretty cold.

inequity

بی عدالتی lack of fairness or justice. The noun inequity describes a situation that's not fair. If you feel, for example, that your brother gets to do whatever he wants while you must follow the rules to the letter, you might rage against inequity. unfairness, injustice, favoritism Example; Always acutely socially conscious, he was struck by the poverty and social inequity in the countries that he visited After asking how her work was going, Fowler's manager, "Jake," began complaining about inequities in his relationship with his girlfriend.

disinterested

بی علاقه - بی طرف Definition: Unbiased, impartial; not interested Usage: Let's settle this argument once and for all! We'll get a disinterested observer to judge who can sing the highest note! Related Words: Dispassionate (unbiased, not having a selfish or personal motivation), Nonpartisan (impartial, not controlled by a political party) More Info: Disinterested and uninterested have a confusing history. Some insist that disinterested only means "unbiased" and uninterested only means "not interested, apathetic." However, throughout history, both words have been used to denote both meanings, so you'll have to be guided by context in interpreting these words.

apathy

بی علاقگی ، بی تفاوتی ، سردی Definition: Not caring; absence of feeling; lack of interest or concern Usage: Many parents of teenagers are concerned by their indolent teens' apathy about the future. Few teens are totally apathetic, however—many get quite excited about video games, flirting, or trips to the mall. Related Words: Indifferent (apathetic or impartial), Lukewarm (moderately warm; having little enthusiasm) More Info: Don't confuse apathy with antipathy, which means "deep dislike, aversion, or repugnance."

insipid

بی مزه - بی روح Definition: Dull, stale, lacking taste or interest Usage: This is a university level poetry class, and your insipid drivel just won't cut it here. "Things that are bad always make me sad"? Really? / The restaurant critic called the dish "insipid"—I did think it was bland, but I probably would've been more polite about it. Related Words: Banal, Hackneyed, Inane, Insipid and Trite all mean "lacking freshness and originality, shallow." More Info: The rare antonym sipid and the variant sapid mean "tasty, agreeably distinct." The root "sapere" (having taste) also means "be wise" and appears in sage and sapient, which both mean wise.

insensible

بی هوش - بی خبر Definition: Incapable of feeling; unconscious, unaware Usage: Very intoxicated people can be insensible to pain, leading to serious problems as they injure themselves and don't realize it. / I cannot believe that, while I was insensible after the operation, you put funny hats on me and took pictures! You are insensible to shame! Related Words: Insensate (inanimate, as an object; without sense or human feeling, cruel)

impecunious

بی پول - محتاج - فقیر Definition: Poor, without money Usage: Having grown up with impecunious parents who could barely keep the electricity on in the house, she was now obsessed with wealth and security. Related Words: Penurious (poor or stingy), Indigent (destitute), Insolvent (unable to meet one's financial obligations, bankrupt) More Info: "Pecunia" is Latin for money and also appears in pecuniary, "relating to money."

lethargic

بیحال ، سست ، خسته ، خواب آلوده ، توام با خستگی Definition: Lazy, drowsy, or sluggish Usage: I do love the Golden Corral's reasonably priced buffet, but I feel so lethargic after I eat my weight in mac-and-cheese and hand-carved turkey. Related Words: Torpid, sluggish, idle, indolent, loafing, and slack are all related to laziness or slowness. More Info: In Greek mythology, the River Lethe was the river of forgetfulness or oblivion. It flowed through the underworld, and the dead were required to drink from it in order to forget their earthly lives.

morbid

بیمارگونه ، وحشتناک ، غیرعادی ، تیره و تار Definition: Gloomy, sullen Usage: She had always been a happy child, but once she hit high school and decided to become a goth, she adopted a morose attitude to match her all-black clothing. More Info: Morose sounds a bit like morbid, which means "mentally unhealthy, diseased, gruesome." If you're depressed, you're morose; if you enjoy looking at photos of crime scenes, we'd say you have a morbid interest.

futile

بیهوده Definition: Producing no useful result, ineffective; trivial or unimportant Usage: She spent months trying to coax Fluffy to fetch and sit, but it was futile —cats just can't be trained to perform tricks. Related Words: Bootless (useless), Otiose (lazy, idle; ineffective or useless)

xenophobia

بیگانه‌هراسی Definition: Fear or hatred of foreigners or that which is foreign Usage: My mother's xenophobia is so great that she refuses to cross the border into Canada, and once told me that she'd rather die than try a mango because those foreign fruits are "sketchy." Related Words: Insular (pertaining to an island; isolated; illiberal), Chauvinism (fanatical patriotism or blind enthusiasm for military glory; undue or biased devotion to any group, cause, etc.)

obscure

تاریک ، مبهم ، پیچیده ، نامعلوم ، گمنام Example: n order to cultivate new repertoire, the music industry is providing a hearing for previously obscure composers

corroborate

تاييد كردن‌، اثبات‌ كردن‌ Definition: Support, add evidence to Usage: You're telling me you were thirty miles away riding a roller coaster when the school was vandalized? I have a hard time believing that—is there anyone who can corroborate your story? Related Words: Substantiate and verify also mean to prove true or provide evidence in favor of. More Info: Corroborate shares a Latin root ("robur," for oak or strength) with robust.

hitherto

تاکنون Use the adverb hitherto when you're describing a state or circumstance that existed up until now. If you find a hitherto undiscovered hidden tunnel in your cellar, you're the first to discover it. Example: · Once booming economy, the party's hitherto winning card in now melting down as economy plummets and unemployment soars.

underscore

تاکید کردن ، زیر چیزی خط کشیدن Definition: Emphasize (or, literally, to underline text) Usage: "You're not going to mess with Joey anymore," said Joey. His new bodyguards stepped forward threatening, as though to underscore Joey's point. Related Words: Undergird means strengthen, support. More Info: Underscore literally can mean to underline, as in a word processing program—of course, we do this for emphasis. Don't confuse underscore with the antonym undermine, "to weaken or remove the support for; to injure or attack in a sneaky way."

febrile

تب دار ، همراه با تب an adjective that means "related to fever." It can be used in a medical sense when someone is sick and running a temperature, or in a figurative sense to describe a state of excitement or energy. Example: The pressure from the fans to succeed — not to play some decent soccer and finish 12th, but as they used to, when they won trophies — creates a febrile, tense environment.

collude

تبانی کردن Definition: Conspire; cooperate for illegal or fraudulent purposes Usage: After two competing software companies doubled their prices on the same day, leaving consumers no lower-priced alternative, the federal government investigated the companies for collusion. Related Words: Cabal (a conspiratorial group)

transmute

تبديل‌ كردن‌، تغيير شكل‌ دادن‌ قلب‌ ماهيت‌ كردن‌، كيمياگرى‌ كردن‌، تغيير هيئت‌ دادن‌ change in form, nature, or substance. Example: the quest to transmute lead into gold He could transmute wispy ideas into detailed plans and turn revolutionary dreams into enduring realities.

consolidate

تثبیت کردن Definition: Come together, unite; fuse together Usage: While at first everyone on the team was jockeying for power and recognition, eventually, the group coalesced and everyone was happy to share credit for a job well-done. / East and West Germany coalesced into a single country in 1990. Related Words: Agglomerate (collect into a mass), Aggregate (gather together), Consolidate (unite, combine, firm up—you can consolidate loans or consolidate power) More Info: A coalition is a group that has coalesced (at least in theory).

overshadow

تحت الشعاع قرار دادن Definition: Cast a shadow over, darken; dominate, make to seem less important Usage: She was a straight-A student who excelled at field hockey, but she still felt overshadowed by her older sister, who won a national science competition for her work on cancer in mice, and also had time to become a pole vaulting champion and model who walked in Fashion Week. Related Words: Eclipse (the obscuring of one thing by another, such as the sun by the moon or a person by a more famous or talented person, or to obscure, darken, make less important)

importune

تحت فشار قرار دادن ، اصرار کردن ، عاجز کردن beg persistently and urgently Example: After three weeks of importuning the star to meet for five-minute interview, the journalist finally got what she wanted.

spur

تحريك كردن، تشويق كردن، واداشتن، تحیج کردن incite or stimulate Example: South Korea, China and Singapore are among the Asian countries facing a second coronavirus wave, spurred by people importing it from outside.

undermine

تحلیل بردن Definition: Weaken, cause to collapse by digging away at the foundation (of a building or an argument); injure or attack in a secretive or underhanded way Usage: Rather than searching impartially for the truth, these pharmaceutical company "scientists" willfully ignored any evidence that undermined the conclusion they were being paid to produce. / You are nice to my face, but you are undermining me behind my back, suggesting to others in the office that I am making mistakes in my work and that you have been fixing them! More Info: Don't confuse with undergird (strengthen, add support) and underscore (emphasize). Undermine literally comes from the idea of "mining" underneath—certainly, mining under your house would be likely to make the house fall down.

render

تحويل دادن ، تسليم داشتن ، دادن ، منتقل كردن Definition: Give, submit, surrender; translate; declare formally; cause to become Usage: When you render your past due payments, we will turn your phone back on. / Only in her second year of Japanese, she was unable to render the classic poem into English. / The judge rendered a verdict that rendered us speechless. More Info: From an Old French word for "give back." This word has so many definitions because it is so general. You can even render fat (by melting it); many definitions of render have to do with changing the state of something.

Appropriation

تخصیص بودجه- تصاحب کردن 1.the action of taking something for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission. 2.a sum of money or total of assets devoted to a special purpose. Example: Looting of their properties and appropriation of their business establishments are undertaken to ensure that they do not return. want to talk about an issue that relates to the appropriations and where more money will be sent.

contrivance

تدبیر- تمهید a thing that is created skillfully and inventively to serve a particular purpose. Example: The journal worried that the 'necessity for courage and strategy may be in some degree superseded by mechanical and chemical contrivances . Coincidence and contrivance have played a significant role in your work.

legerdemain

تردستی ، شیرین کاری ، حقه بازی ، ترفند ، سفسطه Definition: Slight-of-hand (magic as performed by a magician); trickery or deception Usage: The child was astounded when her uncle pulled out a quarter from behind her ear. Of course, she hadn't actually lost a quarter there; it was just a bit of legerdemain from an amateur magician. Related Words: Prestidigitation is a synonym and thaumaturgy is the working of miracles. To conjure is to produce by magic or call up a spirit or memory. More Info: Legerdemain comes from Middle French, meaning light of hand. The modern French word for hand is main, which is related to the root in the English manual (relating to hands, as in manual labor) and manumit (free from slavery, untie the hands).

timid

ترسو. بزدل showing a lack of courage or confidence; easily frightened. Example: Sheep are generally timid and tend to flock together, although they do not compete for rank.

secrete

ترشح کردن ، تراوش کردن Definition: Produce and release a substance from a cell or gland of the body for a functional purpose Usage: When threatened, skunks secrete an odor that humans consider horrible. / The late-night infomercial offered a pheromone perfume that promised to mimic the "attraction" hormones that humans secrete naturally. Related Words: Emit means send, give forth, or issue—it could be used in either sentence above or in any of a wide variety of situations (a person emits a scream, a tower emits radio waves, etc.) More Info: Secrete is related to "secret," from a root meaning "to set apart." To secrete a substance, of course, is to "set it apart" or release it from the body.

acerbic

ترشرو. گزنده Definition: Sour; harsh or severe Usage: Lemons are acerbic. Harsh comments are also acerbic, like putting lemon juice on a wound. Related Words: Caustic (capable of burning or corroding; extremely critical or sarcastic), Acrid (sharp or biting, pungent), Astringent (biting, severe; a skin cleaning fluid that clears pores) More Info: An acerbic taste is sour and an acrid taste is unpleasantly bitter, but when used metaphorically, both words mean harsh, critical.

subterfuge

ترفند ، حیله ، تزویر something intended to misrepresent the true nature of an activity Example: She decides to leave home and travel to New York City, a journey that requires subterfuge and serendipity.

artifice

ترفند ، مکر ، حیله ، نیرنگ ، تدبیر ، حیله گری ، مکاری ploy, guile, deception, ruse If a politician pretends to be angry as a way of rousing the anger of the voters and getting more votes, he's guilty of artifice — a subtle and crafty trick. Example: If the acquittal of Trump shows us anything, it's a Republican Party free of pretense or artifice, ready to embrace its worst self without shame or embarrassment.

amalgamate

ترکیب کردن - ادغام شدن Definition: Blend, merge, or unite Usage: The Amalgamated Transit Union is so called because it contains many local unions of bus operators, subway operators, baggage handlers, etc. / When turning her life story into a memoir, she amalgamated two important relatives into a single character, even amalgamating their names (Mary and Rose) into the character "Aunt Mary Rose." Related Words: Agglomerate (collect into a mass), Aggregate (gather together), Commix (mix together), Conglomerate (anything made up of different kinds of materials; blended; to bring together), Consolidate (unite or combine, such as companies or debts)

liquidate

تسويه‌ كردن‌، حساب‌ را واريزكردن‌، برچيدن‌، از بين‌ بردن‌ مايع‌ كردن‌، بصورت‌ نقدينه‌ دراوردن‌، سهام‌ eliminate by paying off (debts) wind up, close down, dissolve 2. get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing Example: It was, and is, the position of AWS that liquidated damages must be a genuine, covenanted pre-estimate of loss

placate

تسکین دادن Definition: Satisfy or calm down (an angry or dissatisfied person), esp. by conciliatory gestures Usage: "It's an interesting business model," said the flower shop owner. "Outside of Valentine's Day, our average customer uses our product to placate an angry partner." Related Words: Appease, Mollify, Conciliate, and Assuage are near-synonyms. Implacable means "not able to be placated." More Info: "Conciliatory gestures" (as in the definition above) could mean giving in, lowering oneself, compromising one's principles, offering gifts or rebates, etc.

venerate

تشویق و تحسین و ستایش Definition: Revere, regard with deep respect and awe Usage: The boys were utterly crushed when the baseball player they venerated saw them waiting and refused to sign an autograph. Related Words: Revere (feel or express very deep respect and awe) More Info: Something venerable is worthy of great respect and admiration and is possessed of great dignity usually associated with age or longstanding. That is, you can venerate anything—Mariah Carey, for instance—but if you call her venerable, she might be a bit insulted that you think she's old. Venerable often appears in the phrase "venerable institution" (said of Harvard, for instance).

acclaim

تشویق و تحسین و ستایش You know you've hit it big when you earn acclaim or enthusiastic approval. And when you have achieved "critical acclaim," even the grouchy critics approve of you. Example: The doctor who in 1984 transplanted a baboon heart into a tiny newborn dubbed "Baby Fae" in a pioneering operation that sparked both worldwide acclaim and condemnation.

hail

تشویق و تحسین و ستایش enthusiastically acclaim or celebrate sth Hail is when chunks of ice fall from the sky. Also, to hail someone is to greet them or say good things about them. Or it can be a way to tell people of your homeland, as in: "I hail from the Moon." Example: Chris Klein, Galaxy's president, hailed the signing as a signal of the club's ambition.

haphazard

تصادفی- اتفاقی lacking any obvious principle of organization. random, unplanned Example: I looked here and there in a somewhat haphazard fashion for spiritual people to share in spiritual conversation.

aver

تصدیق کردن - تایید کردن Definition: Declare or affirm with confidence Usage: "Despite your insistence that ethics are completely situational," said the philosophy professor, "I aver that the existence of natural rights inevitably leads to certain immutable ethical boundaries." More Info: Aver contains the root "ver" (truth), which also appears in verify, veracious, and verisimilitude.

concede

تصدیق کردن ، واگذار کردن Definition: Give in, admit, yield; acknowledge reluctantly; grant or give up (such as giving up land after losing a war) Usage: The negotiations were pointless, with each side's representatives instructed by their home countries to make no concessions whatsoever. / Quebec was a French concession to Britain in the Treaty of Paris in 1763. / I suppose I will have to concede the argument now that you've looked up evidence on Wikipedia. More Info: The Latin "cedere" means "yield, go, withdraw" and also gives us cede (to yield, especially to give up land after losing a war), precede, and succeed.

impair

تضعیف کردن ، آسیب رساندن Definition: Make worse, weaken Usage: Playing in a rock band without earplugs will almost certainly impair your hearing over time. Related Words: Exacerbate and Aggravate (make worse or irritate), Mar (damage, spoil, deface), Vitiate (ruin, corrupt)

ensue

تعقيب کردن ، از پس آمدن ، ازدنبال آمدن ، بعد آمدن happen or occur afterward or as a result. Example: Slightly raised eyebrows and the rolling of eyes ensued as a result of his less than pleasant remark.

exegesis

تفسیر If your teacher gives an explanation of a difficult text you are reading, she is giving you an exegesis on it. An exegesis is a critical look at a text. Often times, religious rules are based on an exegesis of a text. example: We just sat at the table and picked apart the text, almost like, rabbinical exegesis of texts inquiring into motivations.

travesty

تقلید مضحک - ادا Definition: Exaggerated, debased, or grotesque imitation Usage: That Saturday Night Live sketch was a pretty good travesty of the election scandal. / You call that a sales presentation? What you just did in front of our clients was a travesty! I can't believe you lost what was supposed to be an easy sale. Related Words: Farce (a humorous play, or a mockery). Burlesque is a synonym (the original meaning related a mocking imitation or caricature used for ridicule). More Info: The "tra" in "travesty" is the same as "trans," meaning "across." The "vest" means "clothing." These two Latin roots came together in Italian to mean something like "disguise," which is an important part of creating a satirical play, for instance.

bolster

تقویت کردن Definition: Strengthen or support Usage: The general requested reinforcements to bolster the defensive line set up at the border. / Many people use alcohol to bolster their confidence before approaching an attractive person in a bar. Related Words: Buttress means a support against a building but can also be a verb meaning "strengthen or support." Fortify is most associated with protecting against military attack but also means "strengthen or support." More Info: Bolster comes from an Old Norse noun for a long, supportive pillow, and can still mean this. Bolster has additional meanings in sailing, metalworking, and other fields, but in every case a bolster is some kind of specialized support.

reprisal

تلافی A reprisal is an act of retaliation, especially one committed by one country against another. If you attack your enemy's village and cause lots of damage, expect a reprisal. Example: "Perpetrators use victims' links to government or their faith to justify the killings, while others appear to be reprisal killings for killings by the government security forces," she said.

deem

تلقی کردن ، معتقد بودن ، باور داشتن ، پنداشتن Definition: Judge; consider Usage: "You can take the black belt exam when I deem you ready, and not a moment before," said the karate instructor. Related Words: Assay (examine, analyze, judge) More Info: Deem, which shares an Old English root with doom, originally meant "to pronounce judgment"—in the 17th century, some judges were called "deemsters."

malinger

تمارض کردن - خود را به بیماری زدن Definition: Pretend to be sick, esp. to get out of work, duties, etc. Usage: Joey was sick in class on Monday and was sent to the school nurse to sleep it off. The next day, having realized that illness was a good way to get out of class, Joey said his stomach hurt and spent the afternoon in the nurse's office. By Wednesday, though, the nurse accused him of malingering and sent him back to class. Related Words: To shirk is to evade your duties or try to get out of doing something. To skulk is to hide for a bad reason, such as avoiding work (or waiting to attack someone, etc.) More Info: "Mal" means "bad," and although malinger doesn't actually come from linger (stick around, stay due to not wanting to leave), the idea of sticking around in a bad way (like malingerer Joey, above) is a good way to remember malinger.

proclivity

تمايل، گرايش، استعداد Definition: Inclination, natural tendency Usage: After his therapist pointed out that he had a natural proclivity to judge people prematurely, he tried to work on that by imagining things from the other person's point of view. Related Words: Predilection, Propensity, Penchant, and Bent are all words for a preference or inclination (He has an arrogant bent about him, and a propensity to offend others). Predisposed (having an inclination or tendency beforehand; susceptible) More Info: Proclivity shares a Latin root ("slope") with incline, decline, declivity, inclination, etc.

sardonic

تمسخر آمیز Definition: Scornfully or ironically mocking, cynically derisive Usage: A sardonic movie critic is one thing, but a sardonic film professor is another—I really wish Professor Dahl wouldn't sarcastically cut down his students the way he does cheesy horror films. / Dorothy Parker wrote sardonically, "If you want to know what God thinks about money, just look at the people he gave it to." More Info: This origin seems too good to be true! Sardonic comes from Sardinia, the Italian island, which supposedly had a plant that could cause death by facial convulsions resembling mocking laughter.

irascible

تندخو - زود رنج Definition: Irritable, easily angered Usage: "I spent my entire childhood tiptoeing around so as not to anger my irascible mother," Joe told his therapist. Related Words: Dyspeptic (grumpy, pessimistic, irritable), Curmudgeon (badtempered, difficult person), Crotchety (grouchy, picky, given to odd notions), Cantankerous (disagreeable, contentious) More Info: Irascible shares a root with irate (angry) and ire (anger).

surly

تندخو و گستاخ، ناهنجار، با ترشرویى Definition: Bad-tempered, hostile, unfriendly, or rude Usage: This diner is terrible. My eggs are overcooked, and our surly waitress actually told me, "If you don't like it, scram." Related Words: Curmudgeon (bad-tempered, difficult person; grouch), Crotchety (grouchy, picky, given to odd notions), Cantankerous (disagreeable, contentious), Crank (an unbalanced person who is fanatical about a private, generally petty cause) More Info: Surly comes from "sir" and originally meant "lordly, acting like a nobleman." Today's meaning is surely still in line with the behavior of many noblemen towards their servants.

vitriol

تندى، تلخى Vitriol is harsh, nasty criticism. You may have deserved some blame when the cake didn't rise, but the head chef's stream of vitriol was unnecessary. Definition: Something highly caustic, such as criticism (literally, one of a number of chemicals including sulfuric acid) Usage: After another embarrassing loss, the team's shortstop was full of vitriol for the coach who had led them to their worst season in history. Related Words: Caustic (capable or burning or corroding; extremely critical or sarcastic), Acrimony (bitterness, animosity), Contumely (contemptuous treatment or a humiliating insult)vo

relegate

تنزل مقام دادن ، پایین آوردن ، منتقل کردن Definition: Send or commit to an inferior place, rank, condition, etc.; exile, banish; assign (a task) to someone else Usage: After the legal associate offended one of the partners, he found himself relegated to working on minor—even unwinnable—cases. / This protest is occurring because we refuse to be relegated to the fringes of society—we demand full inclusion! More Info: Relegate shares a root ("send") with legate, a deputy or emissary.

antipathy

تنفر ، انزجار ، بیزاری Definition: Deep dislike, aversion, or repugnance, sometimes without reason Usage: As an environmentalist, Mr. Subramanian had nothing but antipathy for the mining company drilling in and polluting his hometown. Related Words: Loathing (strong aversion, dislike, or disgust) More Info: Don't confuse antipathy with apathy, which means "indifference, not caring." Antipathy is the opposite of sympathy (note that the root "path" means "feeling").

abhor

تنفر داشتن ، بیزار بودن Definition: Detest, regard with disgust Usage: "Go out with you?" she replied. "I abhor you! I would rather stab myself with a rusty bread knife than be your girlfriend!" Related Words: Loathe, Abominate (synonyms), Antipathy (instinctive repugnance or aversion) More Info: The prefix "ab" means "away"—if you abhor (or abominate) something, you want to get as far away from it as possible.

indigence

تنگدستی - فقر Definition: Extreme poverty Usage: The city government has several agencies that provide shelter, food, and other assistance to the indigent. Related Words: Impecunious (poor, without money), Penurious (poor or stingy), Indigent (destitute), Insolvent (unable to meet one's financial obligations, bankrupt) More Info: Don't confuse with indignant (offended, angry at injustice).

indigent

تهیدست ، فقیر An indigent person is extremely poor, lacking the basic resources of a normal life. Often the indigent lack not only money but homes. Example: Up to 90% of people charged in our criminal system are indigent, yet public defenders across the country are devastatingly overburdened and under-funded.

contrite

توبه کار Definition: Remorseful; feeling sorry for one's offenses or sins Usage: He would have punished his son more severely for breaking his car's windshield in a "rock throwing contest," but the boy seemed truly contrite. Related Words: Penitent is a synonym. Atone means "to make amends for." More Info: Interestingly, contrite comes from a Latin root meaning "to grind." Perhaps hating to admit we're wrong is truly universal.

penitent

توبه کار ، پشیمان ، متاسف Definition: Regretful, feeling remorse for one's sins or misdeeds (adj); a person who feels this way (noun) Usage: After being "separated" from the college for plagiarism, she wrote a letter to the Dean expressing her deep regret and penitence and hoping to be readmitted. Related Words: Contrite and Remorseful are synonyms. To atone or make amends is to try to make up for having done something wrong. More Info: Penitent shares a root with penitentiary ("prison") and penal ("relating to punishment").

delineate

توضيح دادن، روشن کردن، شفاف سازی Definition: Mark the outline of; sketch; describe in detail Usage: I do need the cash, but I'm not signing up for this psychological experiment unless you delineate what's going to happen. Related Words: Adumbrate (give a rough outline of) More Info: Delineate, of course, shares a root with linear.

pejorative

توهين آميز Definition: Disparaging, derogatory, belittling (adj); a name or word that is disparaging (noun) Usage: I'm open to constructive criticism, but I think my supervisor's remarks are inappropriately pejorative—it's never okay to call an employee a "sniveling dullard." / Although these insults wouldn't be understood by most, "poetaster" and "mathematicaster" are pejoratives for minor, incompetent poets and mathematicians, respectively. Related Words: Vituperate and revile mean to verbally abuse or speak very badly of.

pith

تویی. مغز the essence of something. essence, main point Definition: Core, essence; significance or weight Usage: I can only stay at this meeting for a minute—can you get to the pith of the issue now, and discuss the details after I leave? / This presentation has no pith—there's no central point and nothing I didn't already know. Related Words: Gist means main idea. To distill is to purify (as water) or extract the essential elements of (as an idea). More Info: Pith is also the central part of a plant stem, feather, or hair. To pith cattle is to kill it by severing the spinal cord—that is, the central part. A pith helmet (worn in battle) is so called because it was originally made from the pith of the Bengal spongewood tree.

proliferate

تکثیر شدن ، تکثیر کردن Definition: Increase or spread rapidly or excessively Usage: The book alleged that terrorist cells are proliferating across the United States faster than law enforcement can keep up. Related Words: Prolific means producing a lot of something - generally either offspring (rabbits are prolific) or creative work (a prolific songwriter). More Info: A phrase associated with the Cold War was nuclear proliferation, the rapid buildup of nuclear weapons. Proliferate shares a Latin root ("offspring, progeny") with proletariat, meaning the working class, manual laborers, or the poor.

propagate

تکثیر کردن ، ترویج دادن ، تبلیغ کردن ، تولید مثل کردن Definition: Reproduce, spread, increase Usage: Hackers can take down a large computer system in days or even minutes as a virus propagates and infects all of the machines on a network. Related Words: Proliferate (increase or spread rapidly or excessively) More Info: Propagate is originally about plants and is still often used regarding plants—many types of plants can be propagated from cuttings (that is, a small piece cut from a mature plant can grow into a new plant).

repudiate

تکذیب کردن ، رد کردن ، مخالفت کردن Definition: Reject, cast off, deny that something has authority Usage: If you receive an erroneous notice from a collections agency, you have 30 days to repudiate the debt by mail. / As part of becoming an American citizen, Mr. Lee repudiated his former citizenship. Related Words: Recant (withdraw, retract, or disavow something one has previously said, esp. formally)

rehash

تکرار حرفهای کهنه در قالب نو put (old ideas or material) into a new form without significant change or improvement. Example:

keen

تیز ، مشتاق ، شدید ، حساس Definition: Sharp, piercing; very perceptive or mentally sharp; intense (of a feeling) Usage: Dogs have a keen sense of smell. / As homecoming queen, she had experienced the envy of others, but their jealousy only grew more keen when she was selected for a small role in a movie. Related Words: Acumen (keen, quick, accurate insight or judgment), Astute (shrewd, very perceptive), Perspicacity (acuteness of perception) More Info: Keen comes from the same root as "can" (to be able)—if there's a job to do, a keen person can probably get it done!

log

ثبت کردن Definition: Keep a record of, write down; travel for or at a certain distance or speed (verb); a written record (noun) Usage: Lawyers who bill by the hour have to be sure to log all the time they spend on every client's case. / You cannot get your pilot's license until you have logged 40 hours of flight time. Related Words: Chronicle (a historical account in time order) More Info: Of course, a log is a piece of a tree, and to log can also mean to cut down trees (what loggers do).

opulent

ثروتمند، پولدار ostentatiously rich and luxurious or lavish. Example: The opulent main hall of the centre's Turkish bath complex featured in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, with the Mr Creosote sketch filmed there in 1982.

sweeping

جامع، كامل، فراگير، احاطه کردن و پذیرفتن و در آغوش گرفتن wide in range or effect. extensive, wide-ranging, global, broad, comprehensive, all-inclusive, all-embracing Example: sweeping shutdown of all schools The objectives are specific and measurable, covering a sweeping range of prevention strategies.

surrogate

جانشین Definition: Substitute, person who acts for another (noun); acting as a replacement (adj) Usage: A study found that baby monkeys, once separated from their mothers, preferred a surrogate mother made of cloth to a less comforting, rigid monkey doll, even when induced with treats to change their behavior. Related Words: Proxy (agent, substitute, person authorized to act on behalf of another) More Info: A surrogate mother carries a child for another woman (generally, the child is not biologically related to the surrogate—the intended parent or egg donor supplies genetic material).

supersede

جانشین شدن Definition: Replace, take the position of, cause to be disregarded as void or obsolete Usage: Of course, electric washing machines superseded hand-powered ones many decades ago, but my great-grandmother used her hand-cranked washer until she died in the 1990s. Related Words: Supplant (take the place of, displace, especially through sneaky tactics), Outstrip (surpass, exceed; be larger or better than; leave behind), Overshadow (cast a shadow over, make to seem less important), Supersede (replace or cause to be set aside), Eclipse (obscure, darken, make less important) More Info: "Super" is Latin for "above, beyond" and appears in many words that have a sense of being literally or figuratively on top: superficial, superimpose, etc.

supplant

جایگزین کردن Definition: Take the place of, displace, especially through sneaky tactics Usage: In the 1950s, many people took cod liver oil as a health supplement. Today, fish oil capsules and flaxseed oil have supplanted the smelly old standby our grandparents used. / He did achieve his dream of becoming CEO, but only after supplanting our previous CEO by wresting control while she was battling cancer. Related Words: Outstrip (surpass, exceed; be larger or better than; leave behind), Overshadow (cast a shadow over, make to seem less important), Supersede (replace or cause to be set aside), Eclipse (obscure, darken, make less important) More Info: From the Latin for "to trip up" ("planta" meant the sole of the foot).

redress

جبران کردن ، اصلاح کردن ، رفع کردن Definition: Setting something right after a misdeed, compensation or relief for injury or wrongdoing (noun); correct, set right, remedy (verb) Usage: My client was an innocent victim of medical malpractice. As would anyone who had the wrong leg amputated in surgery, he is seeking financial redress. Related Words: Recompense (repay, reward, compensate), Requite (reciprocate, repay, or revenge) More Info: The expression "make amends" means to ask for forgiveness or redress one's wrongs.

novel

جدید ، نو Definition: New, fresh, original Usage: You can make your writing better by eliminating clichés and replacing those clichés with more novel turns of speech. / Smoked salmon on a pizza? That's certainly a novel idea. Related Words: There are many more words for old, stale, overused ideas or writing lacking in novelty; trite, insipid, banal, and hackneyed are all antonyms of novel.

nominal

جزئی - اسمی - صوری Definition: Trivial, so small as to be unimportant; in name only, so-called Usage: A notary public will certify a document for a nominal fee, usually under $3. / The country has a nominal president, but his detractors say he's just a puppet leader for the more powerful countries providing foreign aid. Related Words: Putative (supposed or reputed) More Info: Nominal originally meant "pertaining to names/nouns." The same root is found in misnomer (an inappropriate name).

insular

جزیره‎ای | منزوی | کوتاه‎فکر Definition: Pertaining to an island; detached, standing alone; narrow-minded, provincial Usage: The young actress couldn't wait to escape the insularity of her small town, where life revolved around high school football and Taco Bell was considered exotic international cuisine. Related Words: Xenophobia (fear of foreigners), Illiberality (narrowmindedness, lack of generosity) More Info: Word origins sometimes contain biases or old-fashioned ideas—for instance, the implication that people on islands are narrow-minded. A similar bias is implied in provincial and parochial (pertaining to a province or parish, respectively)—the idea is that people from "out there in the country" are not as sophisticated as city people, who have their own word, urbane (cosmopolitan, refined).

effrontery

جسارت ، بی شرمی ، گستاخی Definition: Shameless boldness Usage: Mr. Jackson thought his daughter's boyfriend guilty of the worst effrontery when he asked for her hand in marriage—and, as soon as Mr. Jackson gave his blessing, followed up by asking for a job at Mr. Jackson's company. Related Words: Audacious (very bold or brave, often in a rude or reckless way; extremely original), Insolent (bold in a rude way), Brazen (shameless, contemptuously bold) More Info: The "front" in effrontery means brow or forehead; the word comes from the idea of "putting forth one's forehead," in a sense similar to the use of "barefaced" in the expression "barefaced liar."

audaciously

جسارتاً Definition: Very bold or brave, often in a rude or reckless way; extremely original Usage: He audaciously asked for a raise after working at the company for less than two months! Related Words: Insolent (bold in a rude way), Brazen (shameless, contemptuously bold) More Info: Barack Obama wrote a book called The Audacity of Hope. The title suggests that Americans should be bold enough to have hope even in bad circumstances. Audacious can be good (audacious explorers) or bad, as in the employee in the sentence above.

preclude

جلوگیری کردن ، مانع شدن prevent from happening; make impossible. prohibit, inhibit Example: Space precludes a full definition here, but suffice it to say that recent statistics suggest that only half of such cases are admitted to hospital.

aggregate

جمع کردن Definition: Gather together, amount to (verb); constituting a whole made up of constituent parts (adj) Usage: While some of the company's divisions did better than others, in aggregate, we made a profit. / Concrete is created when crushed rock or glass is aggregated with cement; in aggregate, concrete is stronger than cement alone. Related Words: Agglomerate (collect into a mass), Consolidate (unite, combine, firm up—you can consolidate loans or consolidate power) More Info: Aggregate can be used in the same sense as a gross amount. Gross or aggregate sales are the total amount from all sources.

glean

جمع‌ آورى كردن‌، خوشه‌ چينى‌ كردن‌ extract (information) from various sources. obtain Example: That data was gleaned and resold by the agencies to news media, market researchers and other retailers.

kinetic

جنبشی Definition: Pertaining to motion Usage: Marisa told her mother what she had learned in science class: a ball sitting on a table has potential energy, but a ball falling towards the ground has kinetic energy. More Info: Kinetic contains a root for motion that appears in many other words that you don't need to memorize, but now can easily puzzle out—kinesthetic learners prefer to learn through physical activity. Patients with dyskenesia have trouble with movement. You could major in kinesiology in preparation for being a coach or gym teacher.

peripheral

جنبی Definition: Relating to or making up an outer boundary or region; not of primary importance, fringe Usage: My main goal is to get into a good grad school. Whether it has good fitness facilities is really a peripheral concern. Related Words: Auxiliary (helping or supporting the main thing) More Info: "Peri" means "around." Peripheral vision is what you can see "out of the corner of your eye."

shriek

جیغ زدن ، فریاد کشیدن caterwaul A high-pitched, piercing cry is a shriek. A common response to finding a snake curled in the silverware drawer would be to shriek. Example: He awoke in a panic, the shrieks and screams spilling into the conscious world.

Buffer

حائل Definition: Something that shields, protects, absorbs shock, or cushions Usage: During the colonial era, England wanted Georgia as a buffer between its original colonies and Spanish Florida. / A railroad car has a buffer (similar to a bumper on a car) to absorb shock in case of contact with other cars. / When Joel came out to his family, he used his mother as a buffer—he knew she would be supportive, so he allowed her to relay the news to everyone else, and to relay their responses back to him. More Info: A buffer can also be a device for polishing (cars, fingernails, etc.).

prevaricate

حاشیه رفتن - طفره رفتن beat around the bush palter tergiversate speak or act in an evasive way Definition: Stray from the truth, mislead, lie Usage: Maryanne had been shoplifting—when her mother asked where her new clothes had come from, she prevaricated, vaguely suggesting that a rich friend had bought them for her. Related Words: Dissembling (misleading, concealing the truth, acting hypocritically), Disingenuous (insincere, not genuine), Equivocate (use unclear language to deceive or avoid committing to a position) More Info: As you can see, we have many words in English that mean something just short of lying—probably because there are many situations in which we need to point out a lie, but want to do so as politely or discreetly as we can; all of the above words are less blunt than lie.

surmise

حدس زدن ، گمان کردن Definition: Guess, infer, think or make an opinion with incomplete information Usage: Based on your rather sad attempt to figure out the tip on our restaurant bill, I would surmise that you actually have no idea how percents work. Related Words: Conjecture (synonym), Supposition (assumption, hypothesis, something that has been supposed)

cupidity

حرص ، آز ، طمع ، مال اندوزی Definition: Greed, great or excessive desire Usage: The doctor's medical license was revoked after it was discovered that, out of sheer cupidity, he had diagnosed people with illnesses they didn't have and pocketed insurance money for performing procedures they didn't need. Related Words: Avarice (insatiable greed), Covetousness (greed), Rapacity or Rapaciousness (greedy or grasping; living on prey)

platitude

حرف معمولی ، کلیشه ای ،بی حال ، شعار bromide, cliche Definition: A shallow, overused statement; cliche Usage: Everyone who knew my mother knows she was an atheist, so I can't imagine why people at her funeral would think we'd enjoy their soppy platitudes about Mom's "being in a better place now." Related Words: Banal, Hackneyed, Inane, Insipid and Trite all mean "lacking freshness and originality, shallow." More Info: Platitude shares a root ("flat") with plate and plateau. A platitude is a "flat," stale remark.

conflagration

حریق بزرگ ، آتش سوزی an extensive fire that destroys a great deal of land or property. Example: In the summer months, conflagrations are not uncommon in southwest, due to heat and lack of rain.

guile

حقه. حقه بازی Definition: Clever deceit, cunning, craftiness Usage: The game of poker is all about guile, manipulating your own body language and patter to lead other players to erroneous conclusions about the cards you're holding. Related Words: Duplicity (deceit, double-dealing, acting in two different ways for the purpose of deception), Wily (crafty, cunning) More Info: Beguile can mean to trick or mislead, but can also mean to charm or bewitch—that is, to trick in a pleasant, sometimes flirtatious way.

crafty

حيله گر، مکار Definition: Cunning, skillful in deception or underhanded schemes Usage: A crafty play in basketball is the "head-fake"—moving the head in one direction slightly prior to running in the other direction, to try to get a tiny head start on a disoriented pursuer. Related Words: Cunning, Guileful, and Wily are synonyms. More Info: Crafty is connected to "arts and crafts" in the sense of being skilled. Of course, if you somehow used yarn to trick people, you'd be doubly crafty.

plutocracy

حکومت توانگران Definition: Rule by the wealthy Usage: There have always been rich and poor people, of course, but some argue that the U.S. is becoming a plutocracy, with the richest 10% controlling twothirds of the nation's wealth and nearly half of our Congressional representatives being millionaires. Related Words: A plutocracy might also be an oligarchy (rule by only a few). More Info: In Greek mythology, Pluto (also known as Hades) was god of the underworld, and Plutus was god of wealth. Things got a bit confused over the years, as people used "Plutus" to mean "Pluto" as a way to make things sound a little more positive.

perfidious

خائن ، پیمان شکن ، جفاکار ، بی وفا Definition: Disloyal, treacherous, violating one's trust Usage: The perfidious soldier sold out his comrades, giving secrets to the enemy in exchange for money and protection. Related Words: Apostate (person who deserts a party, cause, religion, etc.), Recreant (coward or deserter), Quisling (person who betrays his country by aiding an invader), Infidel (unbeliever, person who does not accept a particular faith) More Info: Perfidious contains the root "fid," for "trust," also appearing in diffident, fiduciary, infidel, and Fidel Castro's name.

digress

خارج شدن از موضوع Definition: Go off-topic when speaking or writing Usage: Grandpa digressed quite a bit while you were in the kitchen—he was telling us an old war story, but somehow now he's ranting about how nobody celebrates Arbor Day anymore. That digression could take awhile. Related Words: Divagate is a synonym. Diffuse as an adjective can mean offtopic (a diffuse speech).

extraneous

خارجی ، بی ربط ، نامربوط immaterial, irrelevant Example: Part of the problem here surely goes to Sarris's editor, who should have been able to reduce the amount of extraneous material.

preternatural

خارق العاده - فوق طبیعی Definition: Supernatural, exceptional Usage: While Tiger Woods has been mired in scandal, his preternatural golfing talent is still undeniable. / Dad was convinced that the house was haunted, but I doubted that the strange sounds were due to preternatural causes —as it turned out, we had a raccoon in the basement. Related Words: Occult can mean "supernatural, mysterious, arcane." More Info: From Latin—literally, "beyond nature."

discriminating

خاص، برگزیده Definition: Judicious, discerning, having good judgment or insight Usage: He is a man of discriminating tastes—all his suits are handmade in Italy, and I once saw him send back an entree when he complained that black truffle oil had been substituted for white. The chef was astounded. / You can tell a real Prada bag by the discriminating mark on the inside. More Info: Many people automatically think of discriminating as bad, because they are thinking of racial discrimination. However, discriminating is simply telling things apart and can be an important skill—it is important to discriminate legitimate colleges from fraudulent diploma mills, for instance.

net

خالص Definition: Remaining after expenses or other factors have been deducted; ultimate (adj); to bring in as profit, or to catch as in a net (verb) Usage: In one day of trading, my portfolio went up $10,000 and down $8,000, for a net gain of $2,000. / All those weeks of working weekends and playing golf with the boss ought to net her a promotion. Related Words: The opposite of net is gross. Your gross income is what your company pays you, and your net income is what you actually get to take home. If you sell merchandise, all the money you collect is the gross, but very little of that (or even none of it) may be profit—you have to subtract expenses to calculate the net. More Info: A related idea is tare. If you go to a pay-by-the-pound salad bar and get your salad in a heavy dish, the person weighing the salad will often deduct the tare—the weight of the dish—prior to calculating what you pay.

internecine

خانمان برانداز ، خونین ، خانمان سوز destructive to both sides in a conflict. It's an adjective you'd use to describe a bloody battle where both sides are badly hurt. On a lighter note, it can also mean a conflict that tears an organization apart. Example: After three decades of internecine warfare, bombings, retaliatory killings and mutual suspicion, those involved decided to seek a lasting political solution.

connoisseur

خبره ، کارشناس ، متخصص ، ماهر Definition: Expert, especially in the fine arts; person of educated, refined tastes Usage: A chocolate connoisseur, Mom eschews grocery store brands and will only eat 80% -cocoa-or-higher artisanal chocolate that is less than a week old. Related Words: Epicure (person with discriminating tastes, esp. regarding food and wine) More Info: Connoisseur comes, through French, from the Latin "cognoscere," meaning "to know," which also gives us cognition.

shard

خرده - تکه Definition: Fragment of some brittle substance, esp. a sharp fragment of pottery, glass, etc. Usage: Seeing her broken plate-glass window, Mrs. Chadhury bravely grabbed a shard of glass to defend herself against a possible burglar. More Info: Shard is related to shear, a verb meaning "to cut" (also, scissors can be called shears).

lackluster

خسته کننده ، بی روح ، ملال آور ، بی نور Definition: Not shiny; dull, mediocre; lacking brilliance or vitality Usage: Many young people today are so accustomed to being praised by parents and adults that they are shocked when a lackluster effort in the workplace receives the indifference or mild disapproval it deserves. Related Words: Pedestrian and prosaic mean commonplace, dull, or lacking imagination. Quotidian means daily or commonplace, as daily things tend to be! Middling comes from the idea of being in the "middle" and means medium, average, or mediocre. More Info: This is an easy word—something lackluster literally lacks luster. Lustrous means shining (This shampoo will add luster to your hair!).

indefatigable

خستگى ناپذير،خسته نشدنى Definition: Untiring, not able to become fatigued Usage: The boxer was indefatigable; round after round, he never lost speed or energy, even after he had thoroughly defatigated his opponent. Related Words: Unflagging (tireless), Insuperable and Indomitable (not able to be defeated) More Info: The root word in indefatigable is fatigue, of course. To defatigate is to make tired.

stingy

خسیس Definition: Not generous with money, reluctant to spend or give tightwad Usage: Billionaire industrialist J. Paul Getty was so famously stingy that he installed pay phones in his mansion for guests to use. When his grandson was kidnapped, he refused to pay ransom and only changed his mind when the kidnappers cut off the boy's ear. This famous cheapskate then demanded that his son (the boy's father) pay him back! What a miser. Related Words: Miser, Cheapskate, Skinflint (stingy person), Frugal (economical, thrifty, not wasteful with money), Stint (to be frugal) More Info: A "scrooge" is also a miserly person, especially a wealthy one, after the character of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

fury

خشم violent anger Example: tears of fury and frustration

propitiate

خشنود کردن - راضی کردن Definition: Attempt to reconcile with, satisfy, or reduce the animosity of (a person who is angry, offended, etc.) Usage: The ancient Greeks would often attempt to propitiate angry gods by sacrificing animals to them. Related Words: Placate, Appease, Mollify, Conciliate, and Assuage are nearsynonyms. More Info: The Romans had something called a "propitiatorim," or "place of atonement"—presumably, one would be propitiating the gods.

stolid

خشک - بی احساس Definition: Unemotional, showing little emotion, not easily moved Usage: Dad is so stolid that we can't get a rise out of him no matter what we do —Jody got a tattoo, Max declared himself a communist, and Helen won a Rhodes Scholarship. No response! Dad just nods and says "Alright, then." Related Words: Impassive (not having or not showing physical feeling or emotion), Inscrutable (not able to be scrutinized, mysterious) More Info: Stolid has a lot of overlap with stoic (indifferent to pleasure or pain). Stoic is generally stronger and often related to enduring suffering.

desiccate

خشک کردن Definition: Thoroughly dried up, dehydrated Usage: The key to maintaining odor-free shoes is to desiccate the insole by placing a drying agent, such as a small pouch of baking soda, inside the shoe between wears. / Beef jerky is a desiccated meat product. Related Words: Arid means very dry, like a desert. More Info: Also from the Latin "siccare" (dry), a siccative is a drying agent. The same root appears in the Spanish word for dry (seco) and in the name of the Italian dry sparkling wine prosecco.

idiosyncrasy

خصیصه های غیر عادی فرد Definition: Characteristic or habit peculiar to an individual; peculiar quality, quirk Usage: Sometimes, the richer people get, the more idiosyncratic they become. After he made his first billion, he began traveling with a pet iguana, sleeping in an oxygen chamber, and, oddly, speaking with a slight Dutch accent. Related Words: Eccentric (peculiar, odd, deviating from the norm esp. in a whimsical way)

anachronism

خطای تاریخی - نابهنگامی Definition: Something that is not in its correct historical time; a mistake in chronology, such as by assigning a person or event to the wrong time period Usage: The Queen of England is a bit of an anachronism, with her oldfashioned pillbox hats. / Did you catch the anachronisms in the latest action blockbuster set in ancient Greece? One of the characters was wearing a wristwatch with his toga! More Info: The prefix "ana" means "against", and "chron" means "time." This is one word you can work out entirely with a knowledge of roots: anachronistic means "against time."

precarious

خطرناك، بحرانى Definition: Unstable, insecure, dangerous Usage: Recognizing that his position at the company was precarious, Sanjay requested that his bonus structure be formally written down as a contract, rather than dangled over him as a mere verbal promise. Related Words: Parlous is a synonym.

perilous

خطرناک ، پرمخاطره full of danger or risk. Example: He does just that and embarks on the most perilous journey of his life.

quiescent

خواب و نهفته Definition: Quiet, still Usage: After hours of moaning and shaking from his illness, the child finally exhausted himself and grew quiescent. Related Words: Placid or pacific (peaceful, calm, tranquil)

abstain

خودداری کردن Definition: Hold back, refrain (especially from something bad or unhealthy); decline to vote Usage: The church board voted on whether to hold an abstinence rally to encourage young people not to become sexually active; while most members voted in favor, one voted against and two abstained, with one abstainer commenting that, as far as she knew, the church's teens were pretty abstemious already. Related Words: Temperance (moderation, holding back), Teetotaler (a person who abstains from alcohol), Forbear (hold back or abstain from) More Info: Abstain is usually followed by "from" (vegetarians forbear meat or abstain from meat).

refrain

خودداری کردن ، پرهیز کردن 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. example: I admit, I'm not sure what 'leverage' there is in refraining from sending us something we do not want."

ingratiate

خودشیرینی کردن ، چاپلوسی کردن ، جا کردن Definition: Make an effort to gain favor with Usage: Ryan's attempts to ingratiate himself with the boss were quite transparent—no one really believes that a 25 year old loves the same cigars, classic rock, and AARP crosswords as the 65 year old company president. Related Words: Fawn (show affection or try to please in the manner of a dog; try to win favor through flattery and submissive behavior), Sycophant, Lackey, Toady, and Myrmidon are all words for a person who fawns. More Info: The Latin root "gratia" means grace; ingratiate has the sense of the modern expression "to get into someone's good graces."

nonchalant

خونسردی ، بی تفاوتی If your friend is acting cool, unconcerned or in an indifferent manner, call him nonchalant — like when he saunters by a group of whispering, giggling girls and just nods and says, "Hey."

sartorial

خیاطی - لباس If it's the day before a big event and you have no idea what to wear and nothing in your closet is going to cut it, you are facing a sartorial dilemma — one that pertains to clothing, fashion, or dressing. Example: Mr. Paul's sartorial choices seemed more in line with the hardscrabble lives portrayed in the film, rather than the high-fashion looks of the red carpet.

fanciful

خیالی Whimsical, capricious; imaginary; freely imaginative rather than based on reason or reality Usage: The play was set in a fanciful version of New York City, one where all the cab drivers spoke perfect English and the Statue of Liberty seemed to be in the middle of the island. Related Words: Whimsical (fanciful, eccentric) is a near-synonym. Capricious (acting on impulse, erratic) is also close, but is sometimes used negatively.

treachery

خیانت Definition: Betraying trust, not faithful or trustworthy; not dependable; dangerous or deceptive Usage: Betraying one's country for money is the most base of acts—his treachery cost the lives of several soldiers whom he had pledged to fight alongside. / The small boat was capsized in the treacherous waters. Related Words: Perfidy (disloyalty, treachery), Apostate (person who deserts a party, cause, religion, etc.), Recreant (coward or deserter), Quisling (person who betrays his country by aiding an invader) More Info: From the Old French "trechier," meaning "cheat or trick."

anodyne

داروی مسکن Definition: Medicine that relieves pain (noun); soothing, relieving pain (adj) Usage: While aspirin is a nice analgesic, the construction worker argued that, for sore and tired muscles, nothing beat the anodyne effects of a six-pack of beer. Related Words: Analgesic (pain reliever) More Info: In antiquated slang, a hangman's noose was once (ironically) called an "anodyne necklace."

savant

دانشمند Definition: Learned person, scholar, someone admitted to membership in a scholarly field; a person with amazing mental abilities despite having a cognitive difference or disability Usage: The TED conferences feature savants and newsmakers speaking on topics of great importance to the world. / Many people associate autism with being an "autistic savant," but most people who have autism do not actually have the ability to mentally multiply a five digit number by a five digit number in five seconds, for instance. More Info: Marilyn vos Savant, listed in the Guiness Book of World Records for "highest IQ," wasn't born "vos Savant," but didn't simply choose a clever penname either—her maternal grandparents were named "Savant" and "vos Savant."

whereas

در حالیکه Definition: While on the contrary, considering that Usage: Mr. Katsoulas had always assumed his son would take over the family business, whereas his son had always assumed he would go away to college and never come back. / Whereas peppers and squash are technically fruits, they are typically considered vegetables for culinary purposes. More Info: Legal statements often begin with whereas, as in "Whereas the plaintiff was living with the defendant, and whereas she had lent him her car..."

implode

در خود فروریختن Definition: Burst inward Usage: The startup struggled for years before it simply imploded—the management team broke into factions, all the clients were scared off, and employees who hadn't been paid in weeks began taking the office computers home with them in retribution. More Info: Implode is, of course, the opposite of explode.

incipient

در مراحل اولیه ، تازه شکل گرفته ، تازه Definition: Just beginning; in a very early stage Usage: The movie producer was devastated when, due to legal trouble over the screenplay, the incipient project was crushed before it had even begun shooting. Related Words: Nascent (synonym), Inchoate (just begun, undeveloped, unorganized)

inchoate

در مرحله شروع ، تازه شکل گرفته ، جوان خام ، ابتدایی Inchoate means just beginning to form. You can have an inchoate idea, like the earliest flickers of images for your masterpiece, or an inchoate feeling, like your inchoate sense of annoyance toward your sister's new talking parrot. When something is inchoate, although you don't yet understand what it is fully, you have a strong sense that it is indeed coming. It's stronger than the wisp of an idea that never turns into anything Example: If its ultimate uses seem inchoate, the Reach fits in neatly with the "build first, plan later" ethos of several new cultural buildings, including the Shed in New York.

inchoate

در مرحله شروع ، تازه شکل گرفته ، جوان خام ، ابتدایی only partly in existence; imperfectly formed incipient Example: To impeach a president on such a record would be to expose every future president to the same type of inchoate impeachment.

amidst

در میان. در حین among, between Example: Isn't it amazing how these people continue to keep their day jobs amidst this kind of mediocrity?

tantamount

درحکم ، معادل ، به منزله equivalent in seriousness to; virtually the same as. equal, equivalent to, much the same as Example: Going on holiday without a school's permission is tantamount to truancy, said the junior education minister. Remember, refusal to give a thumb print is tantamount to a confession.

luminous

درخشان و نورانی، مشعشع Definition: Shining, radiant, well-lit; brilliant or enlightening Usage: Use our new light-reflecting shimmer blush for a luminous complexion! / We are conferring this honorary degree on the author in appreciation for sharing his luminous intellect with the world. He is truly a luminary. Related Words: Lustrous, effulgent, and refulgent also mean shining. More Info: Luminous comes from the root "luc" for "light," which also occurs in translucent, lucubrate (work or study, originally by candlelight), elucidate (make clear, explain), and lucid and pellucid (clear). A luminary is a person who inspires others (or "lights up" the world).

rambling

درهم و برهم (of writing or speech) lengthy and confused or inconsequential. example: And on Tuesday, the president sent a rambling six-page letter to Pelosi condemning impeachment as an "unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power by Democrat Lawmakers."

mendacious

دروغ ، کذب ، بی اساس Definition: Lying, habitually dishonest Usage: She was so mendacious that, when she broke the television, she blamed it on her little brother, even though he was in a wheelchair and could hardly have tipped over a piece of furniture. Her mendacity knows no bounds! Related Words: Disingenuous (insincere, not genuine), Dissembling (misleading, concealing the truth, acting hypocritically), Prevaricating (misleading or lying)

deride

دست انداختن ، مسخره کردن Definition: Mock, scoff at, laugh at contemptuously Usage: The manager really thought that deriding his employees as "stupid" or "lazy" would motivate them to work harder; instead, it motivated them to constantly hide his office supplies as an act of revenge. Related Words: Denigrate (belittle, attack the reputation of) More Info: Deride contains the Latin root "ridere" for "laughter," which also appears in risible, meaning "laughable."

abdicate

دست برداشتن، رها کردن، انصراف دادن Definition: Formally give up the throne (or some other power or responsibility) Usage: King Edward VIII of England famously abdicated the throne in order to marry an American divorcée. / Parents can be charged with neglect for abdicating their responsibilities towards their children. Related Words: Don't confuse abdicate with dethrone and depose, which refer to forcing a leader from power. Abdication is voluntary. More Info: Abdicate comes from the root "ab" (away) and "dic/dict" (proclaim), the latter of which also appears in dictator, dictionary, dictate, dictum, and indict.

gauche

دست و پا چلفتی ( چپ دست - در فرانسه)، بی ادب Definition: Tactless, lacking social grace, awkward, crude Usage: It is terribly gauche to put ketchup on your steak and then talk with your mouth full as you eat it. That's the last time I ever bring you to a nice place. Related Words: Boorish (rude, ill-mannered, insensitive), Meretricious (attractive in a vulgar way, specious), Uncouth (having bad manners, awkward) Example: Mr. Evans agreed: "It's just become gauche to name kids after any politicians. Politician is a bad word."

onerous

دشوار - شاق Definition: Burdensome, oppressive, hard to endure Usage: Doctors are often faced with the onerous task of telling waiting families that their loved one has died. Related Words: Cumbersome also means burdensome (or clumsy or unwieldy), but usually in a physical way, whereas onerous is generally metaphorical. Arduous means difficult. More Info: Onerous comes from onus, a modern-day word meaning "burden," and is often used in the expression "put the onus on" (The committee put the onus on Joe to get everything turned in on time).

advocate

دفاع کردن ، طرفداری کردن ، حامی ، طرفدار Definition: Speak or argue in favor of (verb); a person who pleads for a cause or on behalf of another person (noun) Usage: I cannot possibly vote for a candidate who advocates oil drilling in federally protected nature preserves. / Children often have advocates appointed to represent them in court. Related Words: Proponents, Exponents, or Champions are all people who advocate for a cause. More Info: Advocate contains the root "voc," meaning "to call." This root also appears in vocal, invoke, etc.

inter

دفن کردن Definition: Bury (a dead body) or place in a tomb Usage: After the funeral, the body will be interred in the cemetery. / Occasionally, a criminal investigation requires disinterring, or exhuming, a body for autopsy; this can be upsetting to family members who have already buried their loved one. More Info: Inter comes from "in" and "terra" (earth)—thus simply "to place in the earth." The root for earth also appears in terrestrial, terrarium, terrace, territory, Mediterranean, and extra-terrestrial.

capricious

دمدمی مزاج ، هوسباز ، بی ثبات ، متزلزل Definition: Acting on impulse, erratic Usage: The headmaster's punishments were capricious—break the rules one day, you get a warning; break them another day, you get expelled. / Who needs a plan? A date is more fun with a little caprice—let's just start driving and see what we find! Related Words: Whimsical (fanciful, eccentric), Lark (merry adventure), Mercurial (changing moods), Arbitrary (based on one's discretion; capricious) More Info: Capricious is generally (but not always) meant in a negative way, as acting on impulse is inappropriate in most contexts. Whimsical is a nearsynonym, although generally used in a positive way, to describe using one's imagination.

vacillate

دو دل بودن ، تردید داشتن ، نوسان داشتن Definition: Waver in one's mind or opinions, be indecisive Usage: In need of a good used car, I was vacillating between the Ford and the Hyundai until a recommendation from a friend helped me decide. Related Words: Equivocate (use unclear language to deceive or avoid committing to a position), Ambivalent (uncertain; unable to decide, or wanting to do two contradictory things at once), Waffle (waver, be indecisive), Dither (act irresolutely), Tergiversate (repeatedly change one's opinions, equivocate) Memory Trick: Vacillate sounds a bit like Vaseline. When you vacillate, your decisions are quite slippery, as though coated in petroleum jelly.

equivocate

دو پهلو حرف زدن - مبهم سخن گفتن - گمراه کردن Definition: Use unclear language to deceive or avoid committing to a position Usage: Not wanting to lose supporters, the politician equivocated on the issue, tossing out buzzwords related to each side while also claiming more study was needed. Related Words: Ambivalent (uncertain; unable to decide, or wanting to do two contradictory things at once), Vacillate and Waffle (waver, be indecisive), Dither (act irresolutely), Hedge (avoid commitment by leaving provisions for withdrawal or changing one's mind; protect a bet by also betting on the other side), Palter (talk insincerely; bargain or haggle), Tergiversate (repeatedly change one's opinions, equivocate) More Info: The Latin origin of equivocate is obvious—think of it as being "equally vocal" for two or more positions.

factious

دودستگی | نفاق‎انگیز | ستیزه‎جویانه dissenting with the majority opinion A factious group is one that breaks away, or wants to. It's often used in politics, where people separate into smaller like-minded groups. The Confederacy was factious — they wanted out of the Union, but we know how that turned out. Example: Johnson on Thursday challenged the factious House of Commons to call an early election on Dec. 12 and the chamber is due to vote on that on Monday.factious

halcyon

دوران خوش ، آرام ، خوب ، به یاد ماندنی Definition: Calm and peaceful, carefree; prosperous, successful, happy Usage: Installing drywall wasn't the career he'd planned for—every day he reminisced about the halcyon days of his high school football career, when he was treated like a god, and he had not a care in the world other than the next big game. Related Words: Tranquil, Pacific, and Placid also mean peaceful. More Info: The halcyon, in classical mythology, was a bird whose nest floated on the sea and who could charm the waves into calmness.

jettison

دورانداختن ، بیرون انداختن ، کنار گذاشتن Definition: Discard, cast off; throw items overboard in order to lighten a ship in an emergency Usage: We got so tired while hiking the Appalachian Trail that we jettisoned some of our fancy camping supplies just so we could drag ourselves to a place where we could get medical attention. Related Words: Cargo jettisoned off a ship is called jetsam. Any bunch of discarded, worthless stuff can be called flotsam and jetsam. More Info: Jettison comes from a root for "throw" that also gives us jetty, "a wharf, pier, or other structure that juts out into the water."

duplicity

دورویی ، نیرنگ ، تزویر Definition: Deceit, double-dealing, acting in two different ways for the purpose of deception Usage: The campaign worker's duplicity finally came to light when it was discovered that, despite rising to a trusted position within the local Workers Party, he was actually a registered National Party member and was feeding information back to his cronies. Related Words: Dissembling (misleading, concealing the truth, acting hypocritically), Prevaricating (misleading or lying), Disingenuous (not genuine) More Info: Duplicity was a 2009 film starring Julia Roberts. It was about spies.

Bureaucracy

دیوان سالاری Definition: Government characterized by many bureaus and petty administrators or by excessive, seemingly meaningless requirements Usage: Some nations have a worse reputation for bureaucracy than others—in order to get a visa, he had to file papers with four different agencies, wait for hours in three different waiting rooms, and, weeks later, follow up with some petty bureaucrat who complained that the original application should've been filed in triplicate. More Info: There is nothing wrong with bureaus (the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for instance), but bureaucracy takes the idea much too far. While, technically, bureaucracy can simply mean a form of government by bureaus, it is virtually always used in the negative sense of excessive "red tape."

inherent

ذاتی - فطری Definition: Existing as a permanent, essential quality; intrinsic Usage: New research seems to support the idea that humans have an inherent sense of justice—even babies become upset at puppet shows depicting unfairness, and are gratified at seeing the "bad" puppets punished. Related Words: Innate (inborn)

intrinsic

ذاتی ، باطنی ، درونی Definition: Belonging to the essential nature of a thing Usage: Despite all this high-tech safety equipment, skydiving is an intrinsically dangerous proposition. / Communication is intrinsic to a healthy relationship. Related Words: Innate (inborn), Inherent (existing as a permanent, essential quality; intrinsic) More Info: The antonym extrinsic means "not forming part of a thing, extraneous, coming from the outside." Intrinsic motivation is wanting to do something due to interest in the task itself; extrinsic motivation is wanting to do something for a reward, to earn a grade, to avoid punishment, etc.

subjective

ذهنی Definition: Existing in the mind or relating to one's own thoughts, opinions, emotions, etc.; personal, individual, based on feelings Usage: Naturally, anyone's experience of a movie is subjective, and some will enjoy this picture despite its flaws; however, it is an objective fact that the cinematography is very bad. / We can give names to colors, but we can never quite convey the subjective experience of them—what if my "red" is different from your "red"? More Info: The opposite of subjective is objective (factual, related to reality or physical objects; not influenced by emotions, unbiased)

orthodox

رايج, متداول, معمولى, پيش پا افتاده, مبتذل Definition: Adhering to a traditional, established faith, or to anything customary or commonly accepted Usage: I appreciate that the new dentist thinks that my oral health can be improved through yoga, but I really prefer a more orthodox approach to dental care. Related Words: Conventional means traditional or customary. The opposite of orthodox is, of course, unorthodox—or its synonym, heterodox. More Info: "Ortho" means "correct, true, straight" and also appears in orthodontist, orthopedist, etc. The root "doct/dox" means "opinion" or "teach, know" and occurs in doctrine, doctor, paradox, and doctrinaire (person who applies doctrine in an impractical or rigid and close-minded way).

modish

رایج | مدگرا | شیک‌پوش Definition: Stylish, contemporary Usage: While some sculptors sought to make their work universal and timeless, Dania sculpted modish creations that captured the pop cultural zeitgeist—for instance, a sculpture of Rihanna with an umbrella, or a three-foot high representation of the latest Alexander McQueen heels. Related Words: In vogue is a synonym. More Info: In the U.S., "a la mode" generally means "with ice cream" (pie a la mode), but it really means "in fashion" (in French and also in English). Perhaps ice cream was once a big fad.

Usury

رباخواری - ربا Definition: Charging interest on a loan, esp. charging illegally high or excessive interest Usage: I can't see how that payday lending place is even legal—a person borrowing $100 will end up paying over $150 interest in just a few months! Isn't that usury? I don't know how that place is skirting the law. More Info: Usury is always bad. Whether it means simply charging interest or charging way too much depends on the time and place. In medieval times when all moneylending was illegal, usury meant any charging of interest; today, usury laws specify exactly how much interest it's allowable to charge.

belie

رد کردن. نقض کردن Definition: Contradict or misrepresent Usage: The actress's public persona as a perky "girl next door" belied her private penchant for abusing her assistants and demanding that her trailer be filled with ridiculous luxury goods. / The data belie the accepted theory—either we've made a mistake, or we have an amazing new discovery on our hands! More Info: This word is extremely common in GRE questions that ask you to select the missing word for a blank, as belie allows a sentence to "change directions," as in the example above.

stentorian

رسا ، خیلی بلند Definition: Very loud and powerful (generally of a human voice) Usage: The substitute teacher had a hard time calling the rowdy class to order. He poked his head into the hallway and flagged down the football coach walking by, who shut down the chaos immediately with a stentorian, "Sit down and shut up!" More Info: Stentor was a Greek herald (messenger) in the Trojan War. His voice is described in the Iliad as being as loud as the voices of fifty men!

opprobrium

رسوایی ، تحقیر ، اهانت ، سرزنش Definition: Disgrace and disapproval that result from outrageously shameful actions Usage: Some young starlets seem to think a DUI offense isn't such a big deal, but drunk driving deserves opprobrium—driving under the influence maims and kills innocent people every year. Related Words: Infamy (very bad reputation; strong condemnation by the public), Notorious (well known for a disgraceful reason), Obloquy (shame, disapproval, or verbal abuse esp. by the public or a group)

enviable

رشک آور- حسادت انگیز arousing or likely to arouse envy. Example: The United Kingdom has an enviable reputation in international public health.

penchant

رغبت ، علاقه ، میل و وافر ، تمایل زیاد Definition: Liking or inclination (usually penchant for) Usage: He seems like a mild-mannered accountant, but twice a year he jets off to Australia to satisfy his penchant for adventure sports. Related Words: Predilection, Propensity, Proclivity, and Bent are all words for a preference or inclination (He has an arrogant bent about him, and a propensity to offend others). Partial means biased, or having a special liking for something or someone. More Info: From the French penchant ("leaning") which comes from a Latin root that also gives us pendulum. A person with a penchant leans metaphorically in a certain direction.

demeanor

رفتار ، سلوک ، حالت ، ژست Your demeanor is defined as being either your facial appearance or your behavior. When playing poker, don't let your demeanor give away how good your cards are. Example: "Harvey Weinstein's demeanor became intense, as if he was hunting prey," the lawsuit said.

rarefied

رقیق - بلند مرتبه Definition: Lofty, very high up or elevated (in a metaphorical way); exclusive, select; thin, pure, or less dense (as air at the top of a mountain) Usage: Among the rarefied ranks of conference attendees, she counted two Nobel Prize Winners, a MacArthur Genius Grant winner, and Bill Gates—and that was just at one lunch table! Related Words: Elevate (raise, lift up; lift the spirits of; move up to a higher rank or status or raise up to a higher spiritual or intellectual plane), Lofty (in a high position, esp. in character, spirit, or rank), Edify (uplift, enlighten, instruct or improve in a spiritual or moral way), Winnow (separate the good from the bad, or narrow down to just the best)rea

umbrage

رنجش ، دلخوری a feeling of anger caused by being offended When someone takes umbrage at something, they find it offensive, and it probably makes them angry.

motley

رنگارنگ- مختلط If you've encountered the word motley, it's most likely in the phrase "motley crew," which means a diverse and poorly organized group. Think of a band of pirates, or the assorted characters who became The Fellowship of the Ring. Example: They farm 10 motley acres just south of the city, lined with a variety of flowers and vegetables, including carrots, beets, bok choy, long beans and Asian squash.

moribund

رو به زوال ، دم مرگ ، در شرف نابودی at the point of death Example: But his plans to resurrect the moribund Giants after six losing seasons in the last seven years are unclear.

boorish

روستایی - بی نزاکت - بی تربیت rough and bad-mannered; coarse. Example: boorish behavior

rustic

روستایی ، بی پیرایه ، دهاتی ، دست و پا چلفتی ، نتراشیده Definition: Relating to country life, unsophisticated; primitive; made of rough wood (adj); a rural or uncultured person (noun) Usage: For their honeymoon, they eschewed fancy hotels and instead chose a rustic cabin in the woods. / Grandpa was a true rustic—I was happy to have him visit, but not so happy to find him urinating outside in a bucket when we have several perfectly nice bathrooms. Related Words: Bumpkin and yokel are also words for an awkward, uncultured, simple person, generally from the country.

methodical

روشمند | مرتب و منظم done according to a systematic or established form of procedure. Example: At 15, she took up golf and immediately thrived on her country's uniquely methodical approach to fostering the best young talent.

manifest

روشن ، آشکار ، واضح ، بدیهی روشن ساختن ، نشان دادن ، آشکار ساختن Definition: Obvious, apparent, perceptible to the eye (adj); to show, make clear, or prove (verb) Usage: My superstitious aunt claims that she saw a manifestation of our deceased grandfather, who appeared during a thunderstorm to warn us all about our cousin's fiance. / Lupus is difficult to diagnose, but sometimes manifests as muscular weakness or joint pain. More Info: As a noun, a manifest is a list of people or goods aboard a plane, ship, train, etc. A manifestation is often when something "under the surface" breaks out or becomes apparent: The protest was a manifestation of a longbrewing discontent.

Ellucidate

روشن کردن make (something) clear; explain. illuminate, enlighten Example: Live-action movies elucidate concepts such as cloning, vaccination and forensics.

slump

رکود plummet, tumble undergo a sudden severe or prolonged fall in price, value, or amount. Example: It also lost heavily after buying forward power contracts at the same high prices which later slumped

officious

رییس ماب - رییس مابانه- فضول Definition: Excessively eager in giving unwanted advice or intruding where one is not wanted; meddlesome, pushy Usage: Lisa's dinner parties are exhausting. She's an officious host who butts in and runs everyone's conversations, keeps an eye on what everyone is eating and makes sure you finish your vegetables, and even knocks on the bathroom door to make sure you're "okay in there." Related Words: In common speech, most of us would call an officious person "nosy" or a "busybody."

ascetic

زاهد ، پرهیزکار ، ریاضت کشیدن ، پارسا Definition: abstinent or austere in lifestyle (adj); a person who leads an austere and simple life without material pleasures, esp. someone who does this for religious reasons Usage: Ascetics such as monks actually take vows of poverty. / The graduate student lived an ascetic existence, her apartment containing only a futon couch and a single bowl and set of chopsticks, which she used to eat ramen noodles every night. Related Words: Hermit or Anchorite (person who lives away from society, esp. for religious reasons), Recluse (person who lives in solitude) More Info: Don't confuse ascetic with aesthetic, which means "pertaining to beauty or good taste."

glib

زبان باز ، چرب زبان ، چرب و نرم ، قانع کننده Definition: Fluent and easy in a way that suggests superficiality or insincerity Usage: She was the worst teacher he had ever encountered, giving glib responses to every question. "Can you help me with this algebra problem?" he asked. "Oh, just solve for x," she said, and walked away. Related Words: Flippant (disrespectfully casual or light in manner), Impertinent (inappropriately bold), Saucy (disrespectful or irrepressible, esp. in an entertaining way)

glib

زبان باز ، چرب زبان ، چرب و نرم ، قانع کننده slick, pat, disingenuous, insincere, facile Artfully persuasive in speech having only superficial plausibility Example: Followers slammed Shay in the comments, calling her comments "selfish," "glib" and "extremely disappointing.",

terrestrial

زمینی، خاکی Definition: Relating to the Earth or to land; worldly Usage: Mr. and Mrs. Daruza were certain they had seen a UFO, plus aliens running around in the night. What they really saw was an especially dense flock of birds in the air, and some mundane, terrestrial animals on the ground. More Info: The root "terra" (Earth) also gives us extra-terrestrial (space alien), terrarium (closed container garden for plants and small animals), terrine (earthenware food dish), and terra firma (solid ground).

pretentious

زندگی لوس برای فخر فروشی(مفاخره آمیز) Definition: Claiming or demanding a position of importance or dignity, esp. when unjustified; showing off, creating a deceptive, false show of worth Usage: Josie found her date's habit of constantly dropping French phrases into conversation to be incredibly pretentious, especially since he knew she didn't speak French. He sure did sound fancy, though. Related Words: Ostentatious (pretentious, boastfully showy in order to impress others) More Info: Pretentious shares an origin with pretend and pretense (pretending or making a false show of something).

credulous

زودباور Definition: Gullible; prone to believing or trusting too easily or without enough evidence Usage: "Did you know you can wash your ears by turning your head on its side in the shower and letting the water run straight through your head?" said the father to his five-year-old daughter. "I'll try that!" said the credulous little girl. More Info: The opposite of credulous is incredulous, which means skeptical. The root "cred," meaning "believe" also gives us credit, creed, credo, discredit, and accreditation.

fleeting

زودگذر Definition: Passing quickly, transitory Usage: I had assumed our summer romance would be fleeting, so I was very surprised when you proposed marriage! Related Words: Ephemeral, Evanescent and Fugacious are synonyms. Fugitive is best known as meaning "running from the law," but can also mean fleeting.

pernicious

زیان بار ، خطرناک ، مهلک ، مخرب Definition: Very harmful or destructive, deadly Usage: Bullying has a pernicious effect on the learning environment, keeping victims too intimidated to speak up and also silencing others who fear that they could be next. Related Words: Baneful is a synonym. Baleful is similar, but relates more to the idea of evil. Deleterious means harmful or unhealthful. More Info: "Per" means "through" in the sense of "completely." The rest of the word shares a root (for "harmful") with noxious (harmful or morally corrupting).

aesthetic

زیباشناختی - هنری - دوستدار زیبایی Definition: Concerning the appreciation of beauty or good taste, pertaining to the science of what is beautiful (adj); a sense of beauty and taste of a particular time and place (noun) Usage: The twins were so different—one possessed a truly baroque aesthetic, preferring golden, gilded decor. The other lived in a world of pure logic, untouched by any aesthetic sense whatsoever; art did not move him, his house was bare, and he married his wife solely because she was a master of calculus. More Info: The meaning of aesthetic can range from the academic study of beauty (aesthetics) to performing manicures, the work of an aesthetician. Don't confuse aesthetic with ascetic (pertaining to a simple, austere life with no luxuries, such as that of a monk; a person who leads such a life).

wily

زیرک Definition: Crafty, cunning, characterized by tricks or artifice Usage: The wily criminal stole eight laptops by simply walking into a branch of a large company, introducing himself as the laptop repairman, and waiting for people to hand him their computers. / She was quite offended when her coworker suggested that she use her "feminine wiles" to make the sale. Related Words: Artifice (trickery, especially as part of a strategy), Finesse (use tact or diplomacy; employ a deceptive strategy), Duplicity (deceit, doubledealing, acting in two different ways for the purpose of deception) More Info: "Feminine wiles" refers to artful or beguiling behavior that a typically attractive woman uses to get what she wants—which could be as innocent as a romance, or something more devious.

perspicacious

زیرک ، با بصیرت ، تیزبین ، نکته سنج Definition: Having penetrating insight or good discernment Usage: A good detective is shrewd and perspicacious, judging when someone is lying, noticing things the rest of us would ignore, and making connections that allow an investigation to move forward. Related Words: Keen (sharp, piercing; very perceptive or mentally sharp; intense), Acumen (keen, quick, accurate insight or judgment), Astute (shrewd, very perceptive) More Info: "Per" means "through" and "spic/spec" means "look" (as in spectacles, spectate, etc.) Perspicacious is really just the adjective form of perspective—as in, having a really good perspective.

sagacious

زیرک وباهوش Definition: Wise; showing good judgment and foresight Usage: It's important to choose a mentor who is not only successful, but also sagacious—plenty of people are successful through luck and have little insight about how to attack someone else's situation. Related Words: Sapient (synonym), Prudent (wise in practical matters, carefully providing for the future), Circumspect (cautious, prudent; careful to consider the circumstances and consequences), Perspicacious (very perceptive, insightful) More Info: A sage is a respected wise person. (Sage is also an herb).

fabrication

ساختن. از خود ساختن. دروغ A fabrication is something made up, like a lie. Telling your boss that the subway broke down when in fact you just forgot to set your alarm is a fabrication. The word fabrication was originally used to talk about manufacturing or construction, and it referred to the act of assembling something. Tires and steering wheels are necessary materials for automobile fabrication. Nowadays, the word fabrication is usually used to refer to the act of coming up with a story out of thin air. example: "There will be no Chinese military in Cambodia, none at all, and to say that is a fabrication," said Pay Siphan, a government spokesman.

austere

ساده ، زاهدانه ، سخت ، پرهیزکار ، ریاضت کش Definition: Severe in manner or appearance; very self-disciplined, ascetic; without luxury or ease; sober or serious Usage: Her design sense was so minimalist as to be austere; all-white walls, hard, wooden furniture, not a single picture, throw pillow, or cozy comfort anywhere. / The graduation speaker delivered an austere message: the economy is bad, and academic success alone isn't enough to succeed in the job market. Related Words: Ascetic (pertaining to a simple, austere life with no luxuries, such as that of a monk; a person who leads such a life)

artless

ساده دل - بی غل و غش Definition: Free of deceit or craftiness, natural, genuine; lacking skill or knowledge, crude, uncultured Usage: Children can be so artless that, when you try to explain war to them, they say things like, "But isn't that mean?"/ His artless attempt at negotiating a raise began with "I need more money, please" and ended with "Okay, sorry I asked." Related Words: Guileless, Ingenuous (synonyms) More Info: Don't think of artless as a lack of art—think of it as a lack of artifice, or artificiality. Artless can be either positive (free of deceit) or negative (lacking skill).

implacable

سازش ناپذیر ، سرسخت ، ریشه دار کینه توز Definition: Not able to be appeased, calmed, or satisfied Usage: After the dog groomer misunderstood and shaved the family Weimaraner totally bald, Mr. Garcia was implacable; neither an offer of a free gift certificate nor a complimentary doggie sweater would reduce his fury. Related Words: Inexorable (unyielding, merciless, not moved by pleas) More Info: Implacable means "not able to be placated." Someone who can be placated is placatory.

expurgate

سانسور کردن ، پیراستن ، ویرایش اخلاقی کردن Definition: Censor; remove objectionable or offensive parts Usage: When the girl discovered that her ninth-grade class had been reading an expurgated version of Romeo and Juliet, she immediately checked the original out from the library so she could read all the "forbidden" parts. Related Words: Bowdlerize (expurgate, abridge, or distort), Expunge (strike, eliminate, mark for deletion) More Info: Expurgate shares a root with purge, purgation, and purify.

static

ساکن Definition: Fixed, not moving or changing, lacking vitality Usage: The anthropologist studied a society in the Amazon that had been deliberately static for hundreds of years—the fiercely proud people disdained change, and viewed all new ideas as inferior to the way of life they had always practiced. Related Words: Status Quo (existing state or condition), Stasis (equilibrium, a state of balance or inactivity, esp. caused by equal but opposing forces), Standing (existing indefinitely, not movable, as in a standing invitation), Stationary (not moving) More Info: The idea of television or radio static is obviously more recent— think of the fact that static keeps whatever you were watching or listening to from moving forward.

levity

سبک سری ، لودگی ، دمدمی مزاج Definition: Lightness (of mind, spirit, or mood) or lack of seriousness, sometimes in an inappropriate way Usage: My late uncle Bill loved practical jokes and absolutely would have approved of the iPod mix my aunt played at the wake, which added a little levity by segueing from "Amazing Grace" to the party anthem "Let's Get It Started."

panegyric

ستایش آمیز encomium Definition: Formal or lofty expression of praise Usage: Lincoln enthusiasts were excited that a new biography was to be published, and many hoped that new light would be cast on certain controversies. However, the book was pure panegyric—nothing but heroic tales, uncritically presented. Related Words: Encomium (warm, glowing praise, esp. a formal expression of praise), Laudation (praise, tribute), Eulogy (a speech of praise or written work of praise, esp. a speech given at a funeral), Paean (song of praise, triumph, or thanks) More Info: Panegyric contains the root "pan" ("all"), indicating a speech given in public, to all.

arduous

سخت ، دشوار Definition: Very difficult, strenuous; severe, hard to endure Usage: The arduous hike up rocky terrain was all worth it once the hikers reached the summit. / It was an arduous winter on the prairie; the family barely survived. Related Words: Grueling (very difficult and exhausting) More Info: Don't confuse arduous with ardor, which means passion.

austerity

سختى‌، تروشرويى‌، رياضت‌ سادگى‌ If you've ever had a teacher who was particularly stern and strict, you might have (quietly) remarked on his austerity. When you're talking about the character of a person, austerity means "sternness and severity." austerity measures Example: You see Speaker Pelosi supporting Trump's foreign policy, his trade policy, his fiscal austerity rules.

laconic

سخن کوتاه و خلاصه ، شخص کم حرف Definition: Using few words, concise Usage: The boss was famously laconic; after allowing his employees to present their new plan for an entire hour, he finally responded, "Confirmed." Related Words: Reticent and Taciturn (not talking much) are often used to describe shy people and do not have the sense of "getting the point across efficiently" that laconic does. Pithy, however, takes this idea even further—it means getting the point across in just a few, cleverly-chosen words. More Info: Laconic comes from the Greek place named Laconia, the region in which Sparta (which of course gives us spartan) was located. A famous story has an invading general threatening, "If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta to the ground." The Spartans laconically replied, "If."

quandary

سردرگمی ، تردید ، شک ، بلاتکلیفی Definition: Uncertainty or confusion about what to do, dilemma Usage: He knew it sounded like the plot of a cheesy movie, but he really had accidentally asked two girls to the prom, and now he was in quite a quandary. Related Words: Mired (stuck, entangled in a swamp or muddy area or a problem that is hard to get out of).

castigate

سرزنش کردن ، شدیدا انتقاد کردن ، تنبیه کردن Definition: Criticize severely; punish in order to correct Usage: At the grocery store, the mother attracted stares when she castigated— rather than merely admonished—her child for throwing a box of instant oatmeal. Related Words: Excoriate (berate severely; wear the skin off) More Info: Castigate shares a root (meaning "pure") with both "castrate" and the "caste system." That should make it easy to remember that castigation is harsh indeed!

reproach

سرزنش کردن ، مواخذه کردن ، انتقاد کردن Definition: Blame, disgrace (noun); criticize, express disappointment in (verb) Usage: I'm not really enjoying my foreign study program. My host mom reproached me in Spanish—it sounded really harsh, but I couldn't really understand her and I have no idea what I did wrong! Related Words: Admonish means scold or mildly criticize. Reprove, upbraid, reprimand, rebuke, excoriate, and castigate are all words for criticizing or scolding more harshly. More Info: The expression beyond reproach means "not able to be reproached"—due to being good or perfect.

admonish

سرزنش کردن ، هشدار دادن ، اخطار دادن Definition: Mildly scold; caution, advise, or remind to do something Usage: She was an exacting boss who upbraided an employee for jamming the copier, yet she merely admonished her five-year-old for the same offense. Related Words: Reprove, upbraid, reprimand, and rebuke are all harsher forms of criticism than admonish. More Info: You can also admonish someone to do something, as in "The GRE instructor admonished her students to study vocabulary every day."

verdant

سرسبز Definition: Green, such as with vegetation, plants, grass, etc.; young and inexperienced Usage: Having grown up in Ethiopia, Dabir loved the lushness of the verdant forests in rainy Oregon. / The first-year associate was a little too verdant to be assigned to the big case. Related Words: Primaveral or Vernal (relating to the spring; fresh, youthful) More Info: Verdant is, of course, related to the Spanish verde and French vert for "green." The color green is also used figuratively—saying someone is "green" (much like a new spring plant) or "wet behind the ears" (a reference to just being born) means the person is inexperienced.

steeped

سرشار از ، غرق در ، غرق شده Definition: Immersed (in), saturated (with) Usage: A person steeped in classic literature probably thinks about almost everything in terms of old, famous books. / The Met's new campaign seeks to answer affirmatively the question of whether music lovers steeped in hip-hop and pop can learn to love opera. More Info: To steep as a verb is to soak in liquid, infuse, or saturate. A teabag steeps in hot water. In French onion soup, a large crouton steeps in broth and becomes soft.

larceny

سرقت Definition: Theft Usage: The department store employs a security officer whose job it is to prevent larceny. Related Words: To purloin is to steal. To pilfer or filch is also to steal, but generally of something small (I filched these awesome coffee mugs from the local diner). More Info: In legal terms, larceny refers to a particular type of theft—the thief must physically carry away the stolen item. No one but lawyers cares about this distinction.

subvert

سرنگون كردن When you subvert something, your words or actions criticize or undermine the usual way of doing something or common values. The girl who wears a tuxedo to the prom might subvert traditional ideas about beauty. Example: we must not let our civil liberties be subverted by the current crisis

recalcitrant

سرکش - تمرد آمیز Definition: Not obedient, resisting authority, hard to manage Usage: As an aspiring kindergarten teacher, she had imagined days filled with giggles and singing songs about friendship—she was not prepared for a roomful of twenty recalcitrant children who wouldn't even sit down, much less learn the words to "Holding Hands Around the World." Related Words: Intractable, Intransigent, Refractory, and Obstreperous are also used to describe people who are stubborn and hard to control. More Info: Recalcitrant comes from Latin roots meaning "to strike with the heels"—that is, to kick or kick back.

refractory

سرکش - علاج ناپذیر Definition: Stubbornly disobedient, hard to manage Usage: No matter how much job training the city gives them, refractory excriminals are simply unemployable. Related Words: Intractable, Intransigent, Recalcitrant, and Obstreperous are also used to describe people who are stubborn and hard to control.

esoteric

سری - رمزی - پیچیده - محرمانه intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest. abstruse, recondite, opaque, obscure, arcane, enigmatic Example: According to the esoteric tradition humanity is not the pinnacle of evolution on this planet.

tenuous

سست وضعیف Definition: Long and thin, slender; flimsy, having little substance Usage: Your argument is quite tenuous—it depends on our accepting the results of a 1955 study published in an obscure medical journal not subject to peer review. More Info: The related attenuate means "weaken or thin out" (for instance, a general who sends too few troops over too large an area has attenuated his army). The related tensile means "relating to tension" or "capable of being stretched."

perfunctory

سطحی ، سرسری ، ظاهری ، بی تفاوت Definition: Done superficially, without much care, or merely as routine Usage: She did a really perfunctory job on this Powerpoint. Sure, it has a dozen slides, but most of them just say things like "Sales—Ways to Improve" in Times New Roman on a white background. Maybe she's planning to fill in the details later. Related Words: Cursory (quick and superficial, as in a cursory glance at the report) More Info: "Per" means "through" and the rest of perfunctory comes from the same place as "function"—think of perfunctory as trying to get through performing a function as quickly as possible.

fallacy

سفسطه‌، استدلال‌ غلط‌ a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning fallible= capable of being wrong Example: The sooner we all agree that is a fallacy, I think the more interesting all of our work will be.

plummet

سقوط کردن ، افتادن Definition: Plunge, fall straight down Usage: During the first 60 seconds or so of a skydive, the diver plummets towards Earth in freefall; then, he or she activates a parachute and floats down at what seems like a relatively leisurely pace. More Info: As a noun, a plummet (or plumb bob) is a weight on the end of a cord. To plumb (or sound) the depths of a body of water is to drop a plummet (or sounding line) and see how much cord is used when the plummet hits the bottom, and therefore how deep the water is. When something plummets, the idea is that it is falling fast and straight down, as though it has been weighted.

pellucid

سلیس translucently clear. Definition: Transparent, translucent; clear, easy to understand Usage: He decided that the cove's pellucid waters were an excellent place to teach his daughter to swim, reasoning that, if she started to sink, he would easily be able to see where she was. Related Words: Lucid can mean literally clear, but often means metaphorically clear or clearheaded—a lucid argument, a lucid person. Pellucid usually means literally transparent, as above. Limpid means clear, transparent, or completely calm. More Info: The prefix "pel" or "per" means "through" and often doesn't change the meaning of the other root parts that much (for instance, fervid means passionate and perfervid means really passionate). You can think of the pel/per prefix as similar to the English expression "through and through."

importunate

سمج‌، مصر، پافشار persistent, especially to the point of annoyance or intrusion. Example: Mediæval kings may have been surrounded by importunate projectors and alchemists, but they mostly kept them at arm's length.

iconoclast

سنت شکن ، بت شکن Definition: Attacker of cherished beliefs or institutions Usage: A lifelong iconoclast, Ayn Rand wrote a controversial book entitled The Virtue of Selfishness. Related Words: Maverick (lone dissenter, person who takes an independent stand), Heterodox (unorthodox) More Info: The original iconoclasts were Eastern Orthodox or Protestant Christians who opposed the Catholic use of icons in worship. In extreme cases, they would physically smash icons in churches.

ponderous

سنگین، وزین Definition: Heavy; bulky and unwieldy; dull, labored Usage: The book assigned by her professor was a ponderous tome, more a reference book than something you could read straight through. She was so bored she thought she would die. Related Words: Tedium (that which is tiresome due to being too long, dull, or slow, as in The plot moved at a tedious pace) More Info: To ponder is simply to contemplate or think deeply about. But ponderous means boring, difficult to make your way through. Both are based on the idea of "heaviness"—considering "heavy" ideas makes you a thoughtful person, but having to listen to a long, boring speech might seem like a heavy weight upon you.

lament

سوگواری کردن ، تاسف Definition: Mourn; express grief, sorrow, or regret (verb); an expression of grief, esp. as a song or poem (noun) Usage: Silda said she couldn't make it to the party—she's still lamenting the death of her cat. In fact, she wrote a poem: "A Lament On the Topic of Buttons McFlufferton." Lamentably, Silda is a very bad poet. Related Words: To bewail is to lament, while to bemoan can be to express grief or simply disapproval (to bemoan one's fate). The two words, of course, come from wail and moan. Lachrymose means tearful or mournful. A person might get lachrymose over a lamentable situation.

Secular

سکولار Definition: Not religious or holy; pertaining to worldly things Usage: Forty years ago, American companies wished their employees "Merry Christmas"—even the employees who didn't celebrate Christmas. Today, the secular "Happy Holidays" is common. / Western governments have grown increasingly secular over the last century; many have laws prohibiting religious expression from being sponsored by the government. More Info: Secular doesn't mean "atheist"—for instance, a devoutly religious person would describe a church as sacred or sanctified and a library as secular.

countenance

سیما ، چهره حمایت ، تصدیق ، تایید Definition: Facial expression or face (noun); approve or tolerate (verb) Usage: Her countenance said it all—the look on her face was pure terror. / I saw you cheating off my paper, and I can't countenance cheating—either you turn yourself in or I'll report you. Related Words: Brook (suffer or tolerate), Condone (overlook or tacitly approve) More Info: Countenance shares a root with continence, meaning "self control." The use of countenance to mean "approve or tolerate" makes sense when you think about a similar expression: "I cannot look you in the face after what you did." (We would usually say "I cannot face you" when the speaker is the guilty party).

felicitous

شاد ، لذت بخش ، مناسب ، شایسته ، بجا apt, pertinent, apposite Definition: Admirably appropriate, very well-suited for the occasion; pleasant, fortunate, marked by happiness Usage: "What a felicitous occasion!" said the new grandfather, arriving at the hospital with an "It's a Girl!" balloon. The new father found the balloon remarkably felicitous, especially since the baby's gender had been announced less than an hour ago. Related Words: Apt is a synonym in its meaning of "exactly appropriate" (Apt can also mean "inclined, having a natural tendency" or "quick to learn"). Fortuitous means "happening by chance, accidental" and usually also has the meaning of "lucky." More Info: Felicity means happiness and can also be a woman's name, as in the titular character of the televised drama Felicity (1998-2002).

shrug

شانه را بالا انداختن raise (one's shoulders) slightly and momentarily to express doubt, ignorance, or indifference. Example: Instead of shrugging his shoulders, he became agitated and a sarcastic torrent of words flew out.

meritorious

شایسته. ارزشمند Anything that's deserving of praise or a reward could be described as meritorious. Example: The writer, by contrast, is viewed primarily as a purveyor of intellect and meritorious beauty.

prevalent

شایع ، رواج داشتن (especially of something unwelcome or unpleasant) flourishing or spreading unchecked. uncontrolled, unrestrained, unchecked, unbridled Example: Individuals had to learn the importance of clean hands and basic personal sanitation to stop the rampant spread of infectious disease.

analogous

شبیه ، مانند ، قابل قیاس ، هم تراز Definition: Comparable, corresponding in some particular way (making a good analogy) Usage: In the U.S., whenever opponents of a war want to suggest that the war is unwinnable, they point out all the ways in which the war is analogous to the Vietnam War. Related Words: Tantamount (equivalent, as in "What he did is tantamount to murder.")

impetuous

شتابزده ، عجولانه ، کم طاقت ، سریع ، تند acting or done quickly and without thought or care. impulsive, rash, hasty Definition: Passionately impulsive, marked by sudden, hasty emotion; forceful, violent Usage: Reflecting on her most recent breakup, Heather decided that next time she would like to date someone less impetuous; a man who quits his job on a whim and suggests moving together to Utah and raising llamas was just a little too impulsive for her tastes. Related Words: Rash (hasty, lacking forethought or caution) More Info: Impetuous is related to impetus, a moving force, motivation, or stimulus.

ostentatious

شخص متظاهر ، نمایشی ، مبالغه آمیز ، پر زرق و برق Definition: Pretentious, boastful showiness Usage: Her ostentatious clothing is simply not appropriate in a business environment—in fact, nothing emblazoned with 2,000 Swarovski crystals is. Related Words: Showy means showing off and could be good or bad (a showy car). Garish refers to something much too bright, vivid, or fancy (makeup that looks okay in a nightclub looks garish in the office). Gaudy items stand out in a cheap, tasteless, or overly colorful way (wearing too much big jewelry looks gaudy). More Info: The Latin "ostendere" means "to show" and also occurs in ostensible/ostensive, meaning "professed, evident, or pretended; outwardly appearing in a certain way."

lucid

شفاف ، قابل فهم Definition: Clear, easy to understand; rational, sane Usage: After surgery, it'll take at least an hour until she's lucid—it's nothing to worry about, but patients sometimes talk complete nonsense until the anesthesia wears off and their speech becomes lucid. Related Words: Lucid can mean literally clear, but often means metaphorically clear or clearheaded—a lucid argument, a lucid person. The similar pellucid usually means literally transparent, as in pellucid waters.

sloppy

شلخته، درهم و برهم 1.careless and unsystematic; excessively casual. Example: your speech has always been sloppy 2.(of a garment) casual and loose-fitting. Golfing slacks and sloppy polo shirts might be fine for the links, but they won't cut it among his new playboy peer group.

zeal

شور و اشتیاق. غیرت Definition: Great fervor or enthusiasm for a cause, person, etc., tireless diligence in furthering that cause; passion, ardor Usage: Whether you agree with their views or not, you have to admit that the employees of PETA have great zeal for animal rights—most work for less than $25,000 a year, and often participate in protests that get them shouted at or even arrested. Related Words: Ardent (very passionate), Fanatical (excessively devoted, enthusiastic, or zealous in an uncritical way). Also Fervent, Fervid, and Perfervid all mean "passionate, fiery, deeply enthusiastic." More Info: The original Zealots were a Jewish sect that fiercely resisted Roman rule.

skeptic

شکاک ، ناباور Definition: Person inclined to doubting or questioning generally accepted beliefs Usage: I wish you'd be more of a skeptic—I can't believe you spent money on a pet psychic so we can "talk" to our dearly departed shih tzu. / Descartes was a great skeptic, famously declaring that we cannot truly be sure of anything except our own existence—hence, "I think, therefore I am." More Info: Don't confuse skeptical and cynical (thinking the worst of others' motivations; bitterly pessimistic). In a GRE Reading Comprehension passage, an author might be skeptical (a very appropriate attitude for a scientist, for instance), but would never be cynical.

grouse

شکایت کردن - غر زدن Definition: Complain or grumble (verb); a reason for complaint (noun) Usage: By the end of the trip, everyone was annoyed by Lena's grousing—the bus ride was too bumpy, the food was too spicy, the air conditioning was too dehydrating, etc.... / Don't be offended, but I've got a grouse about the way you're handling this project. More Info: A grouse is also a type of bird, although this usage is of an unrelated origin. The "complain" meaning of grouse comes from the Old French "grouchier" and shares a root with grudge.

burgeon

شکوفا شدن ، رشد کردن Definition: Grow or flourish rapidly; put forth buds or shoots (of a plant) Usage: The dictator was concerned about the people's burgeoning discontent and redoubled his personal security. / Spending an hour a day on vocabulary studies will soon cause your lexicon to burgeon. More Info: From Old French "burjon," a shoot or bud. Mushroom is used in a similar metaphorical way, meaning "to spread out in all directions," as a mushroom grows.

marvel

شگفتی ، عالی ، عجیب to be filled with wonder, admiration, or astonishment, as at something surprising or extraordinary amazing astounding astonishing Example: I marvel at your courage.

gouge

شیار دادن - ناودانی کردن - کندن - برآورد کردن - چاییدن - گران فروختن Definition: Scooping or digging tool, like a chisel, or a hole made with such a tool (noun); cut or scoop out; force out a person's eye with one's thumb; swindle, extort money from (verb) Usage: I was happy with this new video game console for a day or two, until I saw it advertised all over town for half the price and realized I'd been gouged. / He loves gory horror films, where people's eyes are gouged out and gross stuff like that. Related Words: Rout (dig around, as with a snout; rummage; scoop out or gouge)

enamor

شیفته شدن be filled with a feeling of love for. fascinate, enthrall, captivate, enchant, infatuate Example: it is not difficult to see why Edward is enamored of her

benefactor

صاحب خير،ولينعمت ،نيکوکار،بانى خير،واقف Every school, museum, and struggling artist is in search for a generous benefactor, or someone to provide the financial means to keep everything running smoothly. example: He remained in power by keeping control of the country's oil and gold mining industries and relying on support of his main benefactors, Cuba and Russia.

limpid

صاف - شفاف Definition: Clear, transparent; completely calm Usage: Hawaii was amazing! The water was crystal clear—so limpid that when you were scuba diving, you could see ahead for what seemed like miles! / After two years meditating in religious seclusion, he had a totally limpid attitude, affected by nothing from the outside world. Related Words: Pellucid (translucent, clear, easy to understand)

candid

صاف ، ساده ، رک ، صمیمانه ، صادقانه Definition: Open, sincere, honest Usage: Allow me to be candid: you do look rather portly in those pants, and I think you should wear something else. / You have been really secretive about where you've been going after work; we could use a little more candor in this relationship. Related Words: Frank (direct, straightforward) More Info: Candid photographs are photos "from life," where the subjects are not posing. Candid Camera was a "hidden camera" style prank show that ran for decades.

ingenuous

صاف و ساده - رک - صریح Definition: Genuine, sincere, not holding back; naive Usage: Multi-level marketing scams prey on the ingenuous, those who really think there's someone out there who just wants to help them get rich. Related Words: Guileless and Artless are near-synonyns. An Ingenue is a young —presumably innocent—actress or other female performer.

veracity

صحت Definition: Truthfulness, accuracy; habitual adherence to the truth Usage: I question the veracity of your story—I just don't think you've been to outer space. / She was known for her veracity only because she had no choice —she was a terrible liar. Related Words: Probity (honesty, integrity), Verisimilitude (having the appearance of truth), Verity (the quality of being true) More Info: Don't confuse veracious (true) with voracious (hungry, ravenous).

din

صداي بلند، غوغا Definition: Loud, confused noise, esp. for a long period of time Usage: This hotel was described as "near all the hot spots," but I didn't realize that I wouldn't be able to sleep due to the all-night din from partygoers. Related Words: Cacophony (harsh, discordant, or meaningless mixture of sounds), Dissonance (harsh, inharmonious sound), Clamor (noisy uproar, as from a crowd)

abjure

صرف نظر کردن ، کنار گذاشتن ، برگشتن Definition: Give up, renounce; repudiate, recant, or shun (especially formally or under oath) Usage: To become a citizen of the United States, you must abjure loyalty to the nation of your birth. / Since enrolling in that nutrition class, she has abjured sugar and saturated fats. Related Words: Forswear (reject or renounce under oath; swear falsely in court), Eschew (shun, avoid, abstain from) More Info: Abjure can be used in the same way as renounce. You renounce worldly pleasures, a religion or family member, membership in a group, etc. It can also be used in the same way as repudiate, which is more often used with ideas, as in "Galileo repudiated the belief that the Sun revolves around the Earth."

trenchant

صریح ، قاطع ، قوی ، محکم Definition: forceful or vigorous, effective, keen; caustic, sharp Usage: The school's trenchant new anti-truancy policy immediately increased class attendance by a noticeable margin. / Claudia would have gone on making excuses for hours had Juan not trenchantly stepped in and said, "You want to quit, right?" "Yes!" she said, quite relieved. Related Words: Keen (sharp, piercing; very perceptive or mentally sharp) More Info: Trenchant is related to trench (a ditch)—the connection is a root meaning "to cut" (either literally or figuratively). A trenchant remark can cut someone in the sense of hurting feelings, or can "cut through all the junk" to get to the point.

assertive

صریح، قاطع، جسور having or showing a confident and forceful personality. Example: Expressing your anger in an assertive , not aggressive, manner is the healthiest way to let out anger.

tacit

ضمنی ، بیان نشده ، غیرمستقیم ، سربسته Definition: Understood without being said; implied, not stated directly; silent Usage: Her parents never told her she could smoke, but they gave their tacit consent when they didn't say anything about the obvious smell coming from her bedroom. Related Words: Implicit (implied, not stated directly; involved in the very essence of something, unquestionable) More Info: Tacit is related to taciturn (not talking much, reserved).

assortment

طبقه بندی ، مجموع a miscellaneous collection of things or people. An assortment is a collection of things that aren't the same. mixture, variety Example: There are many, many large-flowering varieties available in a wide assortment of colors. Science is not a monolithic enterprise, indeed, it is quite the opposite, a motley assortment of tools designed to safeguard researchers against their own biases.

prevarication

طفره ، دوپهلوگویی ، لفاظی ، کتمان حقیقت Prevarication is when someone tells a lie, especially in a sneaky way. While the noun prevarication is mostly just a fancy way to say "lie," it can also mean skirting around the truth, being vague about the truth, or even delaying giving someone an answer, especially to avoid telling them the whole truth. Example:

balk

طفره‌ رفتن‌ از، امتناع‌ ورزيدن‌ Definition: Refuse to proceed or to do something Usage: At the company retreat, he reluctantly agreed to participate in the ropes course, but balked at walking over hot coals as a "trust exercise." Related Words: Demur (show reluctance or object, especially for moral reasons, as in, "His colleagues wanted him to tell the client that their sales would double, but he demurred.") More Info: Balk comes from a word for a beam or ridge—when a horse or mule balks, it stops short and refuses to proceed. Occasionally, balk is used as a noun for an impediment, much like a beam or ridge, or a defeat.

mascot

طلسم a person or thing that is supposed to bring good luck or that is used to symbolize a particular event or organization. spell Example: Elephants have always been Kerala's most favourite mascots , all the more so appealing when they are dressed up for temple or tourism fêtes.

whimsical

طنزآمیز ، شوخی آمیز ، شوخ طبع ، بازیگوش Definition: Marked or motivated by whims (odd, fanciful ideas); erratic, unpredictable Usage: Alice in Wonderland is a famously whimsical story in which a little girl falls down a rabbit hole and finds a strange and at times absurd world. / She enjoyed a whimsical day at the seashore—no plan, just wandering around and making sand castles as the mood struck. Related Words: Capricious (synonym), Arbitrary (based entirely on one's discretion; capricious, unreasonable, or having no basis), Lark (merry adventure), Mercurial (changing moods) More Info: Whimsical is generally positive, but it depends on context—fanciful behavior that's fun on a date would not be so fun coming from your boss (Do this! No, that! Let's have office yoga! Why aren't you working harder?)

spectrum

طیف - گستره Definition: A broad range of nevertheless related qualities or ideas, esp. those that overlap to create a continuous series (as in a color spectrum, where each color blends into the next in a continuous way) Usage: A test showed she was partially colorblind - she did see blues and greens, but was unable to perceive some other colors on the spectrum. / A "dialect continuum" is a spectrum of dialects of a language where speakers in different dialect groups can understand some, but not all, of the other groups— for instance, people in the west can understand people in the middle, and people in the middle can understand people in the east, but people in the west and the east cannot talk to one another. Related Words: Panoply (splendid, wide-ranging, impressive display or array), Scope (extent or range, such as of knowledge, effectiveness, authority, etc.)

erratic

عجیب ، نامنظم 1.liable to sudden unpredictable change Example: erratic behavior fickle, mercurial, quicksilver 2.likely to perform unpredictably Example:erratic winds are the bane of a sailor temperamental undependable, unreliable 3. having no fixed course Example:an erratic comet wandering

lavish

عجیب و غریب ، غیرمعقول ، ولخرج Definition: Abundant or giving in abundance; marked by excess (adj); give very generously (verb) Usage: Anita wanted to live as she imagined Beyonce lived, and ran up huge credit card bills pursuing a lavish lifestyle she could scarcely afford. / Although her rich banker boyfriend lavished gifts on her, she didn't want to be with someone she didn't really love. Related Words: Posh (luxurious, elegant), Tony (aristocratic)

overwrought

عصبی Definition: Overly nervous, agitated, or excited; too ornate, elaborate, or fussy; overdone Usage: By the time her boyfriend met her in the park, she was overwrought, thinking he must have chosen a public place so he could break up with her— turned out, he had just invited her to a picnic. / Accustomed to more spare American churches, Father Smith found the churches of South America a bit overwrought, with enormous, flowery, gold altars and gold-plating on everything imaginable. Related Words: Florid (reddish or rosy; flowery, showy, or excessively fancy —often, florid writing), Rococo (ornate, florid) More Info: Wrought simply means "worked, made." With metals, it means "made from hammering or beating." Wrought-iron furniture is simply made from iron. Something finely wrought is made with care and attention to detail.

condone

عفو کردن ، بخشودن ، جبران کردن Definition: Overlook, tolerate, regard as harmless Usage: While underage drinking is illegal, at many universities, it is tacitly condoned by administrations that neglect to enforce anti-drinking policies. Related Words: Brook (suffer or tolerate), Countenance (as a noun: face or facial expression; as a verb: approve or tolerate) More Info: Condone shares a root (meaning "give") with donate. To condone is to give mild, sometimes tacit, approval.

moreover

علاوه بر این Definition: Besides; in addition to what was just stated Usage: You are fired. Moreover, the police are coming to arrest you for theft. Related Words: Furthermore is a synonym. Both words can be used to begin a new independent clause after a semicolon, as in, We need additional studies to confirm our results; furthermore, we need funding for those studies.

pragmatic

عمل گرایانه ، واقع بین Definition: Practical; dealing with actual facts and reality Usage: Megan and Dave were in love, but Megan decided to be pragmatic— she doubted they'd stay together through a four-year long distance relationship as they attended different colleges, so she figured they might as well end things now. Related Words: Politic (shrewd, pragmatic; tactful or diplomatic), Expedient (suitable, proper; effective, often at the expense of ethics or other considerations) More Info: A pragmatic sanction is a ruler's declaration having the force of law. A ruler might issue a pragmatic sanction when the ideal situation isn't possible, so one must be practical and "just get the job done."

profound

عمیق ، ژرف ، زیاد ، شدید ، پوشیده ، پرمحتوا ، مطلق ، کامل Definition: Very insightful, penetrating deeply into a subject; pervasive, intense, "down to the very bottom"; at the very bottom Usage: Certain fish that live in the dark, profound depths of the ocean have long since evolved to have sightless eyes. / He was profoundly disappointed when the project he had worked on for fifteen years failed. More Info: Most people know profound in the sense "Whoa, that's deep, man." Fewer people know that you can have profound grief or be profoundly corrupt. In both cases, profound means "complete, all the way through."

Epithet

عنوان ، صفت ، لقب ، برچسب ، انگ an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned. sobriquet,nickname, label Example: Judging by the epithet you've awarded him, I take it you weren't unduly impressed.

recapitulate

عنوان كردن دوباره رئوس مطالب Definition: Summarize, repeat in a concise way Usage: I'm sorry I had to leave your presentation to take a call—I only have a minute, but can you recapitulate what you're proposing? Related Words: Précis (concise summary, abstract), Digest (a periodical containing shortened versions of works published elsewhere), Compendium (concise but complete summary; a list or collection) More Info: Ever wonder where "recap" came from? Here you are! Don't confuse recapitulate with capitulate, which means "surrender, give in."

pledge

عهد ، پیمان ، تعهد گرفتن Example: The government pledged itself to deal with environmental problems.

inundate

غرق کردن ، زیر آب بردن ، اشباع کردن Definition: Flood, cover with water, overwhelm Usage: As the city was inundated with water, the mayor feared that many evacuees would have nowhere to go. / I can't go out—I am inundated with homework! Related Words: Deluge means to flood, or a flood itself, and is used metaphorically in the same way as inundate (deluged with work, a deluge of complaints). Engulf means "flow over and enclose, swallow up or submerge." A storm engulfing an island would be even more severe than a storm inundating or deluging it.

welter

غلت خوردن Definition: Confused mass or pile, jumble; confusion or turmoil (noun); roll around, wallow, toss about, writhe (verb) Usage: It said "thrift store," but inside it was just a welter of used clothing, draped everywhere and even lying in piles. / By the time the teacher broke up the fight, it was already pretty much over—the loser was weltering on the floor. / They struggled to keep the sailboat afloat on the weltering sea. More Info: No one's quite sure why a boxer weighing 140-147 pounds is a "welterweight," but it might have something to do with what you might do if hit really hard by a boxer—welter on the ground.

specious

غلط انداز - موجه نما - نادرست Definition: Seemingly true but actually false; deceptively attractive Usage: "All squares are rectangles, all candy bars are rectangles, therefore all squares are candy bars" is clearly a specious argument. Related Words: Fallacious (containing a fallacy, or mistake in logic; logically unsound; deceptive), Dubious (doubtful, questionable, suspect), Meretricious (attractive in a vulgar or flashy way, tawdry; deceptive) More Info: Specious is related to the word species, from a Latin root having to do with appearances.

bleak

غم افزا Something that is bleak is gloomy and depressing. If it's raining and dark, you might describe the night as bleak. If you have looked for work and no one will hire you, you could describe your prospects as bleak. Example:

lugubrious

غم انگیز ، انوده بار ، ماتمزده Excessively mournful Definition: Mournful, gloomy (sometimes in an exaggerated way) Usage: Helen was having a good time at the Irish pub until the Traditional Music Hour started, and the lugubrious tunes made her cry into her Guinness. Related Words: Lachrymose (tearful, mournful), Maudlin (overly tearful and sentimental), Lament (express sorrow, mourn)

ogre

غول An ogre is a big, ugly monster. In many myths and fairytales, ogres are giant, unintelligent, human-like creatures that eat people. However, the ogre Shrek comes off as a right jolly fellow.

imprecise

غیر دقیق- مبهم lacking exactness and accuracy of expression or detail. Example: All I did was illustrate how absurd and imprecise your label was with another absurd and imprecise label.

intractable

غیر قابل کنترل - غیر قابل حل - دشوار Definition: Difficult to control, manage, or manipulate; hard to cure; stubborn Usage: That student is positively intractable! Last week, we talked about the importance of staying in your seat during the lesson—this week, she not only got up mid-class, but she actually scrambled on top of a bookcase and refused to come down! / Back injuries often result in intractable pain; despite treatment, patients never feel fully cured. Related Words: Intransigent, Obdurate, and Obstreperous are also used to describe people who are stubborn and hard to control.

aberrant

غیر معمول و گمراه Definition: Abnormal, deviant Usage: The teen's aberrant behavior made his family suspect that he was using drugs. / Losing rather than gaining weight over the holidays is certainly an aberration. Related Words: Anomaly (deviation from the norm, inconsistency), Outlier (a person on the fringe; a data point that lies outside the main pattern of data) More Info: The prefix "ab" means "away"—in this case, away from what's normal.

uncanny

غیرطبیعی - غریب - وهمی If something is uncanny, it is so mysterious, strange, or unfamiliar that it seems supernatural. preternatural extraordinary Example: Still, there is something to Spears' uncanny ability to get swaths of the world talking when she says anything vaguely political. In these cases, the image possesses an uncanny power.

inadvertent

غیرعمدی ، سهوی ، اشتباهی ، بی دقت Definition: Unintentional; characterized by a lack of attention, careless Usage: In attempting to perfect his science project, he inadvertently blew a fuse and plunged his family's home into darkness. Related Words: Fortuitous (happening by chance; lucky), Fluke (stroke of luck, something accidentally successful)

tangential

غیرمستقیم - فرعی Definition: Only slightly relevant, going off-topic Usage: It's hard to get a quick answer out of Noah—ask him any question, and you'll get a wide range of tangential remarks before you can find a polite way to move on. Related Words: Penumbra (outer part of a shadow from an eclipse; any surrounding region, fringe, periphery; any area where something "sort of" exists), Digress or Divagate (go off-topic when speaking or writing) More Info: In math, a tangent line touches a curve and then continues on, forever—much like many people we wish would stop talking.

egregious

فاحش ، بزرگ ، نمایان Something that is egregious stands out, but not in a good way — it means "really bad or offensive." If you make an egregious error during a championship soccer match, your coach might bench you for the rest of the game. Example: A person who commits this egregious infraction isn't necessarily churlish

impassive

فاقد احساس | بی‌درد | آرام و خونسرد Definition: Not having or not showing physical feeling or emotion Usage: Having been in and out of hospitals all his life, he accepted this latest diagnosis impassively—"Whatever happens, happens," he said. Related Words: Stoic (not having or showing feeling, esp. in response to suffering), Inscrutable (not able to be scrutinized, mysterious). More Info: Note that impassive is NOT the antonym of passive, which means "inactive, not reacting."

transitory

فانی , زودگذر Definition: Temporary, short-lived, not lasting Usage: While a few people marry their high school sweethearts, generally, our teenage years are full of transitory crushes. Related Words: Ephemeral, Evanescent and Fugacious are synonyms. Transient can mean "lasting only a short time, temporary" or "staying only a short time," or can be a noun referring to people who move from place to place.

sedition

فتنه Definition: Inciting rebellion against a government, esp. speech or writing that does this Usage: Amnesty International regularly fights for the release of political prisoners imprisoned for sedition. While inciting violence is illegal in most of the world, what is considered sedition under many restrictive governments is what Americans consider a normal exercise of freedom of speech—for instance, writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper criticizing the government's policies. Related Words: Incendiary (starting fire; inflaming the senses or arousing rebellion)

vituperate

فحاشى‌ كردن‌ Definition: Verbally abuse, rebuke or criticize harshly Usage: All couples fight, but your girlfriend vituperates you so severely that I'm not sure she loves you at all. Verbal abuse is actually a pretty good reason to break up. Related Words: Pejorative (disparaging, derogatory, belittling), Revile (verbally abuse or speak very badly of), Berate (scold angrily and at length) More Info: Vituperate comes from the Latin root "vitium," ("fault"), which also occurs in vice (sin, wickedness) and vitiate (ruin, corrupt). Vice (or vitiating your things) would be one reason for vituperating someone

invective

فحش ، ناسزا ، دشنام Definition: Violent denunciation; accusations, insults, or verbal abuse Usage: Although the money was good, she quit her job after nearly having a nervous breakdown from her boss's invective. Related Words: Vituperation (synonym), Censure (strong disapproval or official reprimand), Contumely (contemptuous treatment or a humiliating insult), Vitriol (very caustic criticism) More Info: Invective comes from a root for attack that also gives us inveigh (to protest strongly or attack with words).

vicissitude

فراز و نشیب Definition: Changes or variations over time, esp. regular changes from one thing to another Usage: While she scrubbed pots and pans, she pondered the vicissitudes of life —she once had a house full of servants, and now was a maid herself. Related Words: Vagaries (unpredictable or erratic actions or occurrences, as in the vagaries of the weather)

profuse

فراوان ، انبوه ، زیاد ، بی شمار ، بی حد و حصر ، سخاوتمند Definition: Abundant, extravagant, giving or given freely Usage: It didn't mean anything at all to me, giving my old microwave to the family next door, but the woman's profuse thanks made me think that maybe the family was having some financial troubles. / She came home on Valentine's Day to an apartment decorated with a profusion of flowers. Related Words: Copious (abundant, plentiful), Lavish (abundant or giving in abundance; marked by excess) More Info: Here, "pro" means "forth" and "fuse" comes from the Latin "fundere," meaning "pour or melt." "Fuse" is also found in fusion, suffuse, diffusion, transfusion, and effusive.

rife

فراوان ، متداول ، رایج ، پر از ، مملو از Definition: Happening frequently, abundant, currently being reported Usage: Reports of financial corruption are rife. Related Words: Replete (supplied in abundance, filled, gorged), Ridden (dominated or burdened by), Teeming (swarming, as in teeming with people) More Info: From an Old Norse word for "river"—thus the idea of "flowing freely."

supposition

فرض - گمان Definition: Assumption, hypothesis, something that has been supposed Usage: In order to test our supposition that customers will buy our product if they associate it with celebrities, let's send free samples to some popular young starlets, track mentions in the press, and see if our sales increase accordingly. Related Words: Conjecture (educated guess, speculation, opinion formed with incomplete information)

nuance

فرق جزئی ، اختلاف مختصر Definition: A subtle difference in tone, meaning, expression, etc. Usage: People with certain cognitive disabilities cannot understand the nuances of non-literal speech. For instance, "You can come if you want to, but it's really going to be mostly family" means that you shouldn't try to come. Related Words: Usually occurring in the plural, nuances has the synonym subtleties.

ignoble

فرومایه ، پست Definition: Not noble; having mean, base, low motives; low quality Usage: What you have done may not be illegal, but it surely is ignoble—people who don't read the user agreement surely do not expect that, by clicking "I Agree," they have signed up for a Jelly of the Month club! Related Words: Ignominious (disgraceful, humiliating, contemptible) More Info: The Latin "ig" is simply a variation on "in," meaning "not."

inveigle

فريفتن‌، اغوا كردن Definition: Entice, lure; get something by flattery, cleverness, or offering incentives Usage: After Mrs. Kim found out that her son's friends had inveigled him into doing something stupid, she gave him a lecture on standing up to peer pressure. Related Words: Coax and cajole are gentler versions—trying to get someone to do something through persuasion or flattery. More Info: Don't confuse with inveigh (to protest strongly or attack with words).

turpitude

فساد ، رفتار شنیع ، عمل خلاف عفت Definition: Depravity, baseness of character, corrupt or depraved acts Usage: Worried about her grandson's turpitude—as evinced by his constant detentions and a three-day stay in a juvenile jail—Mrs. Worthington offered to pay for military school. / It's hard to fathom the kind of turpitude required to make a movie that could get banned in modern-day Europe! When I read the screenplay, I nearly threw up. Related Words: Base (morally low, mean, dishonorable; of little or no value; crude and unrefined; counterfeit), Debase (lower or reduce in quality or dignity) More Info: Often used in the phrase "moral turpitude," a legal term that describes depraved behavior.

steel

فولاد، خود را آماده کردن mentally prepare (oneself) to do or face something difficult. Example: n the West Coast of the United States, the region with the most American infections so far, Los Angeles declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, advising parents to steel themselves for school closures in the nation's second-largest public school district.

fungible

قابل تعویض mutually interchangeable replaceable Example: The solution was to provide legislatively for rights equivalent to co-ownership by customers of fungible securities held by the settlement systems.

laudable

قابل ستایش ، قابل تمجید admirable commendable creditable praiseworthy Definition: worthy of praise Usage: When a major discount mart fired several employees for subduing a gunman, most people considered the action a laudable act of heroism, but the discount chain fired the employees for "violating company policies." Nevertheless, the mayor lauded the former employees in a medal-granting ceremony. Related Words: Encomium (warm, glowing praise, esp. a formal expression of praise), Panegyric (formal, lofty, or elaborate praise), Paean (song of praise, triumph, or thanks)

a priori

قبلی A priori literally means "from before." If you know how many red, white, and blue gum balls are in the gum ball machine, this a priori knowledge can help you predict the color of the next ones to be dispensed. Example: He would not pledge to accept the election results a priori.

imminent

قریب الوقوع Definition: Ready to occur, impending Usage: In the face of imminent war, the nation looked to FDR for reassurance. / Everyone was excited and nervous; Madonna's arrival was imminent! Related Words: Imminent can carry the sense of something bad on the horizon, but can also just mean "about to happen." Ominous means "giving a bad sign about the future." Portentous can mean "ominous" or simply "very significant, exciting wonder and awe."

raconteur

قصه گو ، راوی ، لطیفه گو Definition: Witty storyteller Usage: Miguel was quite the raconteur—the laughing party guests naturally congregated in a cluster around him as he held court. Related Words: A bard is a poet/storyteller—Shakespeare is often called "The Bard." Bard also evokes images of a medieval poet traveling from town to town, accompanying himself on an instrument. A raconteur is more of a person who is fun at parties. More Info: From the French verb for "recount," or "tell."

puissant

قوی ، نیرومند ، مقتدر ، توانا having great power or influence.

stipulate

قید کردن ، شرط کردن ، تصریح کردن Definition: Specify; make an open demand, esp. as a condition of agreement Usage: Before taking the job, Owen stipulated in his contract that he would be able to leave early on Fridays to attend religious services. Related Words: Qualified means "modified, limited, conditional on something else" (qualified optimism means the person is part optimistic and part unsure, perhaps waiting for more information). A person who says "Yes, if you do X" is giving qualified agreement by stipulating X.

pedestrian

كسالت آور, ملال انگيز, خسته كننده, يكنواخت Definition: Ordinary, dull, commonplace Usage: It was so amazing when you had us over to dinner and made that rack of lamb! I'm afraid neither of us is a professional chef like you are, though, so we hope you won't mind that we've made something more pedestrian: hot dogs and French fries. Related Words: Prosaic means "relating to prose" or "ordinary, dull, commonplace"—the idea being that prose is not as exciting or noble as poetry. More Info: Of course, a pedestrian is also someone who travels on foot (the root for "foot" also appears in pedal, moped, and podiatrist). The connection with "ordinary" is that a distinguished person would travel on horseback—only the common folk would travel on foot.

inconsequential

كوچك, كم اهميت Definition: Insignificant, unimportant; illogical Usage: You wrote a bestselling book and got a stellar review in the New York Times—whatever your cousin has to say about it is simply inconsequential. / Given that your entire essay is about Hamlet's relationship with his mother, your thesis that Hamlet's relationship with Laertes drives the plot is inconsequential —that is, it does not follow as a consequence of the evidence you've provided. Related Words: Negligible, Null, and Nil mean "nothing, or too insignificant to matter."

vaunt

لاف زدن- خودستایی کردن To vaunt is to brag and boast and flaunt and go on and on about how great something is. It's over-the-top showing off, and when you exaggerate your greatness, you vaunt to the point of no longer seeming so great. Example: It contrived to be both firmly capitalist and proudly working-class in character; hand in hand with big business but vaunting an anti-establishment stance.

lull

لالایی خواندن | تسکین دادن Definition: Soothe or cause to fall asleep (as in a lullaby); quiet down; make to feel secure, sometimes falsely (verb); a period of calm or quiet (noun) Usage: Tisha always tried to be polite—if she had to slip out of class to use the bathroom, she waited for a lull in the action so as not to attract too much attention. / Grandma's singing lulled the baby to sleep—much as, in her work as a spy during World War II, Grandma used her beauty and charm to lull foreign dignitaries into giving up their secrets. Related Words: Slack usually means loose, negligent, or lazy, but a slack can also be a calm spot in the water or a period of quiet or suspended activity. The holidays represent a lull or slack in work at many companies.

stratum

لايه‌، طبقه‌ Definition: One of many layers (such as in a rock formation or in the classes of a society) Usage: From overhearing his rich and powerful passengers' conversations, the chauffeur grew to despise the upper stratum of society. / I love this dish—it's like a lasagna, but with strata made of bread, eggs, and pancetta! Oh, look at the menu—it's actually called a strata! That makes perfect sense. Related Words: Hierarchy (a ranked series; a classification of people according to rank, ability, etc.; a ruling body), Echelon (a level, rank or grade; the people at that level) More Info: A highly stratified society is one marked by inequality, or one in which people cannot easily move from layer to layer—that is, one where the poor stay poor and the rich stay rich.

obstinate

لجباز. لجبازانه Definition: Stubborn or hard to control Usage: It's difficult to get an obstinate child to eat food he doesn't want to eat. When Toby realized that his son would rather sit and starve than eat mahi-mahi, he gave in and made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Related Words: Intractable is a synonym. Obdurate (stubborn, hardhearted, hardened in wrongdoing) can mean obstinate but is often more negative.

obdurate

لجوج - یکدنده - سرسخت Definition: Stubborn, hardhearted, hardened in wrongdoing Usage: The first mate reported that there was some fuzzy shape on the horizon, but the captain insisted that the instruments showed no such object, and obdurately sailed straight ahead—right into an iceberg. / This obdurate criminal should never be let out on parole—he simply cannot be reformed. Related Words: Flinty, glacial, stony, and callous can have the meaning of being emotionally "hard" or cold. Reprobate and unregenerate can refer to people who are hardened evildoers. More Info: "Ob" means "against" and the rest of the word is derived from the Latin "durare" (hard), which also gives us durable and endure. Obdurate people are hardened against feelings, persuasion, or conscience.

lax

لخت، شل، رها کردن Definition: Not strict; careless, loose, slack Usage: My parents were really lax about homework—they never checked to see if I did it or not. Sadly, this legacy of laxity is not serving me well while studying for the GRE. Related Words: Slack (loose, negligent, or lazy, as in a slack rope or He is slack in his duties). More Info: Lax comes from a Latin word for "loose" that also gives us laxative.

savor

لذت بردن Definition: Appreciate fully, taste or smell with pleasure Usage: As a parent, it's important to take a step back and really savor the special moments—those children will grow up sooner than you think! More Info: Savory means appetizing or enjoyable. It can refer to foods that are pungent, salty, etc. (any flavor but sweet) or to that which is morally respectable (a "dirty" joke could be called unsavory). Although these uses are rarer, you can also savor a food by adding flavor to it, or even use savor as a noun, as in "This soup has a wonderful savor."

relish

لذت بردن از to enjoy Example: Turner was primarily inspired by the processes of design and editing; he relished working with photographers.

hedonist

لذت جو Definition: Person devoted to pleasure Usage: A vacation is a fine time to practice hedonism, letting your troubles go and pursuing massages and cocktails as though it's your life mission. Related Words: Sybarite (synonym). Voluptuary is also very similar, but adds the idea of seeking luxury. Licentious (sexually unrestrained; immoral; ignoring the rules), Libertine (morally or sexually unrestrained person; freethinker) More Info: The original Hedonists were Greek philosophers who held that pleasure is the highest moral good, so whatever policy causes the most pleasure (and least pain) to the most people is the most moral policy.

malediction

لعن، نفرين Definition: A curse Usage: Sheila thought the fortune-teller was her friend, but when she didn't pay her bill, the fortune teller cast a hex on her, a malediction intended to cause terrible things to befall her. Related Words: Imprecation is a synonym. Execration can mean a curse or cursing, but can also mean insulting or slandering. All three words can be used in the plural or not, with the same meaning—for instance, He was such a bitter person it seemed that only execration (or execrations) ever escaped his lips. More Info: Mal means "bad," of course. The root "dict" comes from "dicere" (to say) and also appears in dictator, dictionary, and indict (connect to a crime), as well as in malediction's antonym, benediction (blessing).

infallible

لغزش ناپذیر ، بی گناه ، مطمئن ، قابل اطمینان Definition: Incapable of error; certain Usage: No good scientist thinks he or she is infallible—it is fundamental to the scientific method that every theory is open to revision based on new evidence. Related Words: Unerring (synonym) More Info: L'Oreal has released a new line of lipstick called Infallible, which implies that the lipstick is immune from being logically incorrect. A better name might have been something like "Flawless."

farce

لودگی A farce is a broad satire or comedy, though now it's used to describe something that is supposed to be serious but has turned ridiculous. If a defendant is not treated fairly, his lawyer might say that the trial is a farce. example: Bruce Riedel, a former senior C.I.A. official and the author of "Kings and Presidents: Saudi Arabia and the United States Since FDR," called the outcome "farce, not justice."

gist

لپ کلام ، نکات مهم ، اصل موضوع Definition: Main idea, essence Usage: I didn't read the whole book, but I read enough to get the gist. Related Words: Pith (central part, essence), Precis (summary of the essentials of a text) More Info: If you read enough to get the pith of something, you really deeply understand it to the core; if you read enough to get the gist, you probably just skimmed, and might need to go back later to get more detail.

stigma

لکه ننگ Definition: Mark of disgrace, a figurative stain or mark on someone's reputation Usage: In the 1950s, bearing a child out of wedlock was severely stigmatized, but today in many social circles, there is no stigma whatsoever to unmarried parents having a child. Related Words: Pariah (social outcast, untouchable) More Info: Stigma is sometimes used to mean stigmata, marks supernaturally appearing on hands and feet (of nuns, monks, etc.) and resembling the wounds of Christ. This happens to Patricia Arquette in the 1999 movie Stigmata. In The Scarlet Letter, the character Hester Prynne is stigmatized by having to wear the letter "A" on her chest (for "adultery").

levy

مالیات بستن بر Definition: Collect tax from, wage war on, or enlist for military service; (verb); act of colleting tax or amount owed, or the drafting of troops into military service (noun) Usage: When England levied yet another tax on the colonists, the colonists were pushed one further step towards levying war. Soon, the worried British began to levy troops. Related Words: Do not confuse levy with levee (a slope or wall along a waterway, designed to stop flooding).

perennial

ماندگار, پايا, مانا، ادامه دار، همیشه سبز Definition: Lasting through the years or indefinitely, enduring; recurring Usage: Fighting over the bathroom is a perennial problem in our house—there are eight of us, and we're homeschooled, so we're all pretty much always here. More Info: Perennial plants last more than one year, as opposed to annuals, which must be replanted every year. "Per" means "through" and the "ennial" part of the word is really just a variant on "annual," so perennial literally means "through the years."

deterrent

مانع - بازدارنده Definition: Something that restrains or discourages Usage: Some argue that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime—that is, the point is not just to punish the guilty, but to frighten other prospective criminals. Related Words: Balk (an impediment; refuse to proceed or to do something) More Info: As a military policy, deterrence is building military strength or ability to retaliate (especially by stockpiling nuclear weapons, as in the Cold War) sufficient to deter enemies from attacking.

stymie

مانع شدن Definition: Block, hinder, or thwart (verb); an obstacle (noun) Usage: Sara feared that her learning disability would stymie her success in college, but the support services offered were excellent and she was fine academically; the thing that really stymied her college career was poor time management. Related Words: Impede, hamper (hold back, obstruct the progress of) More Info: This word originates from golf. In golf, a stymie is when an opponent's ball lies in the way of getting your own ball into the cup.

articulate

ماهر در صحبت Definition: Using language in a clear, fluent way (adj); speak distinctly or give clarity to an idea (verb) Usage: She's so articulate that I'm sure she'll make a good lawyer. / The group voted on who would be the best spokesperson, able to articulate their needs to the panel. Related Words: Eloquent (speaking in a fluent, powerful, appropriate way) More Info: As an adjective, the last syllable is pronounced "lit." As a verb, it is pronounced "late."

punctilious

مبادی آداب - دقیق meticulous, precise The colonel was so punctilious about enforcing regulations that men feel compelled to polish even the souls of their shoes

Hyperbole

مبالغه ، اغراق Definition: Deliberate exaggeration for effect Usage: Oh, come on. Saying "That movie was so bad it made me puke" was surely hyperbole. I strongly doubt that you actually vomited during or following The Back-Up Plan. Related Words: Overstatement is similar in meaning.

tyro

مبتدی ، تازه کار ، آدم بی تجربه initiate, beginner, novice, fledgling, neophyte, rookie Definition: Beginner Usage: Kenneth felt called to work as a missionary, but he was really a tyro in the field, and was unprepared for many of the questions people asked him. Related Words: Novice (synonym), Neophyte (beginner, novice; person newly converted to a religion), Dilettante (person who takes up an art or activity for amusement only or in a superficial way)

jaundiced

مبتلا به یرقان ، مغرضانه showing or affected by prejudice or envy or distaste Example: Save for a quick appearance by Andrew Scott, as an officer whose overly bright eyes and jaundiced affect suggest he's been too long in the trenches, nothing gestures at madness. Instead, we are met with relentless reminders of tasks we haven't completed, supplications to correct our documentation for billers, and daily, jaundiced reminders.

ambiguous

مبهم ، پیچیده ، نامشخص ، ابهام دار Definition: Not clear, hard to understand, open to having several meanings or interpretations Usage: The meaning of this ancient text is ambiguous—either we are missing some cultural context, or else the writer actually wanted to be mysterious. Related Words: Equivocal (allowing for several different meanings; undecided or having mixed feelings), Opaque (hard to understand; dull or stupid; literally, not allowing light to pass through) More Info: The prefix "ambi-" means "both" or "all." Don't confuse ambiguous with ambivalent, which means "having mixed feelings, undecided." People are ambivalent; writing, speech, and other forms of communication are ambiguous.

obfuscation

مبهم کردن the action of making something obscure, unclear, or unintelligible. Example: "when confronted with sharp questions they resort to obfuscation

hidebound

متحجر. متحجرانه. کوته فکر. کوته فکرانه conservative, traditionalist Hidebound things — or people — are stuck in the past, unable to change. Your grandmother's hidebound ideas about fashion mean she never leaves the house without a hat and matching purse.

incur

متحمل شدن become subject to (something unwelcome or unpleasant) as a result of one's own behavior or actions. Example: Under the Local Government Act, a councillor who incurs an expense in their duty is entitled to be reimbursed.

antithetical

متضاد ، مخالف Definition: Directly opposed, opposite; involving antithesis (the rhetorical act of placing two phrases opposite one another for contrast, as in Love me or hate me) Usage: Partying all night, every night, is antithetical to one's academic performance. Related Words: Deleterious (harmful, unhealthful), Counterproductive (defeating the purpose; preventing the intended goal), Inimical (unfavorable, harmful) More Info: Antithesis can be properly understood as "anti" and "thesis"—that is, being against the "thesis" (main point) of something else. The philosopher Hegel posed a method of achieving truth by which a thesis and its antithesis are resolved at a higher level of understanding, called synthesis (in normal speech, synthesis means combination into a unified entity).

dogmatic

متعصب - خشک اندیش - قاطع - خشک مقدس inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true. Example: Extreme nationalism and ideological zeal militated against observing rules of moderation.

sporadic

متفرق ، پراکنده Definition: Occasional, happening irregularly or in scattered locations Usage: Her attendance was sporadic at best, so when she flounced into class after a two-session absence, she discovered that not only was everyone working on group projects, but that the professor hadn't even thought to assign her to a group. Related Words: Erratic (inconsistent, wandering, having no fixed course), Desultory (lacking consistency or order, disconnected, sporadic; going off topic) More Info: Sporadic is related to the idea of spores, reproductive structures that come off of plants, mushrooms, etc. and are spread, such as by the wind.

contemplative

متفکرانه، خیالی The contemplative life is one filled with deep and serious thought, and is often associated with monks, nuns, philosophers, and theorists. example: Brimming with humanity, Wang's contemplative, minimalist approach forces us to consider the day-to-day lives of these people, and perhaps our own.

cogent

متقاعد کننده ، معقول ، قاطع Definition: Very convincing, logical Usage: Studying logic is an excellent way to improve at formulating cogent arguments. / Nurses who work in the Alzheimer's ward must develop skills for communicating with people who are often not cogent. More Info: Cogent comes from two roots meaning "together" and "drive"—a cogent argument allows you to "drive" your listener to your conclusion. The resemblance of cogent to cognition, cognitive, cogitation, and excogitate— words about thinking—is merely a coincidence, but a helpful one.

complementary

متمم - مکمل - تکمیل کننده Definition: Completing; fitting together well; filling mutual needs Usage: "That scarf really complements your outfit," said Elle. "Thanks for the compliment," said Danica. / The couple had complementary personalities— when Mark got overwhelmed with the details, Lee took care of everything, and when Lee got too introspective, Mark cheered him up with an insatiable zest for life. More Info: Complementary angles (for instance, 35° and 55°) add to 90 degrees.

commensurate

متناسب Definition: The same in size, extent, etc., equivalent; proportional Usage: According to the course catalog, you may take Advanced Japanese following Japanese III or commensurate experience with the language. Related Words: Tantamount (equivalent, as in "What he did is tantamount to murder.") More Info: The Latin "mensuratus" means "measure"—so commensurate means "measure together."

polemic

مجادله، جروبحث Definition: Controversial argument, esp. one attacking a specific idea Usage: Laura Kipnis' 2003 book Against Love: A Polemic has been called "shocking" and "scathing." Perhaps Kipnis used the word polemic in the title to indicate that she's making an extreme argument as a means of starting a debate. After all, who's really against love? More Info: Polemic comes from a Greek root for "war."

virtual

مجازی Definition: Existing only in the mind or by means of a computer network; existing in results or in essence but not officially or in name Usage: The Tamagotchi is a handheld virtual pet made in Japan—you have to "care" for it by performing various actions with the device, but in the end, your "pet" still looks very much like a keychain. Related Words: Nominal can mean "in name only" but not in fact. In this way, it is something of an opposite to virtual, which can mean not in name, but existing in reality (The abused maid was nominally a free person, but kept as a virtual slave). De facto means "in fact, actually" (but not in name, as in "Some allege that Edith Wilson was the de facto—or virtual—President after her husband Woodrow was incapacitated by a stroke").

leery

محتاط wary, discreet, careful Definition: Suspicious or wary Usage: You should be leery of any business opportunity that requires a startup fee and a "sponsor"—you might find yourself sucked into a scam. Related Words: Chary (cautious, wary, or timid). There is a big overlap between leery and chary, although a person could be habitually chary (such as in being shy), whereas a person is generally leery of something specific (and sketchy!). More Info: Leery is almost always followed by of. Relatedly, to leer is to look in an intense, creepy way, such as with lustful or malicious intent. You should be leery of anyone who leers at you.

circumspect

محتاط wary, leery Definition: Cautious, prudent; careful to consider the circumstances and consequences Usage: Luann immediately forked over an initiation fee to become a vitamin distributor, but her more circumspect brother had a list of at least twenty questions he wanted answered before he would consider joining. Related Words: Staid (restrained, prim, settled) More Info: The root "circum" means "around" and "spect" means "see"—thus, circumspect people "look around" before acting, much as in the idiom "look before you leap."

prudent

محتاط ، عاقل ، عاقلانه ، محتاطانه Definition: Wise in practical matters, carefully providing for the future Usage: Katie's friends blew all kinds of money on spring break, but Katie prudently kept to her usual spending habits: she'd drink one of whatever was least expensive, and then watch her friends get stupid while she checked her bank balances on her phone and dreamed about the day she'd have a full-time job and a 401K. Related Words: Circumspect (cautious, prudent; careful to consider the circumstances and consequences), Provident (showing foresight, being frugal or careful to provide for the future, thinking ahead in a wise way) More Info: The antonym is imprudent.

arcane

محرمانه Definition: Known or understood by only a few; obscure, secret Usage: To win at Jeopardy, you must be full of arcane knowledge. / The wizard's shop was full of arcanum, from Latin-to-Ancient Greek dictionaries to entire books on magic spells relating only to elephants. Related Words: Esoteric, Abstruse More Info: Arcane comes from the Latin "arca," for "box"—arcanum is information that is metaphorically shut up in a box.

surreptitious

محرمانه ، پنهانی ، مخفیانه ، سری Definition: Done secretly; stealthy, sly, shifty Usage: As a spokesperson for a popular diet plan, the actress had to be quite furtive about eating junk food, even hiding her M&Ms in a breath mint container lest the paparazzi snap photos of the inside of her car. Related Words: Clandestine, Covert, and Surreptitious all mean secret, undercover. Furtive contains the added sense of doing something wrong. For instance, the National Clandestine Service is part of the CIA, and military units regularly engage in covert operations. It is unlikely, though, that a government would ever use furtive in the name of its departments or operations, due to the word's negative associations. Furtive, in fact, comes from a Latin word for "thief."

vintage

محصول Definition: Related to items of high quality from a previous era, old-fashioned, antique (adj); the wine of a particular year (noun) Usage: He didn't want just any vintage Darth Vader action figure—he wanted a particular vintage, the 1978 telescoping lightsaber one. / She special-ordered her favorite vintage of the Côtes du Rhône, then turned to her George Clooneylookalike husband and joked that she liked men of a certain vintage as well. Related Words: Retro is an informal word used to describe the best of earlier times (often related to fashion, design, etc.) More Info: Vintage originated in relation to wine, and the same root appears in vine and vintner (winemaker).

dolorous

محنت زا Dolorous is not a woman's name (that's Dolores), it is an adjective that describes someone showing great sadness. If your friend Dolores is crying about a lost puppy, you could call her dolorous Dolores. Example: At the 2015 V.M.A.s, Bieber broke down in tears delivering "What Do You Mean?," making a ditty about failed communication dolorously communicative.

entrenched

محکم. مستحکم (of an attitude, habit, or belief) firmly established and difficult or unlikely to change; ingrained. Example: A major obstacle to good governance is the entrenched lack of accountability within the government.

milieu

محیط اجتماعی Definition: Environment, atmosphere; the environmental setting in which something happens or develops Usage: Becoming a priest in the anything-goes milieu of the 1960s gave Father Bryant an interesting perspective on two contrasting philosophies. / After the fall of the Soviet Union, a milieu of crushing poverty, yet hopeful aspiration, existed in the former satellite state. Related Words: Zeitgeist (the "spirit of an age," the cultural or intellectual mood of a time period), Ethos (the character, personality, or moral values specific to a person, group, time period, etc.) More Info: Milieu comes from a French word for "middle." A milieu is certainly something you're in the middle of.

furtive

مخفیانه ، پنهانی ، نهانی sneaky, stealthy, lurking, surreptitious

prospective

مربوط به آینده Definition: Potential, in the future Usage: Everyone had a hard time correctly saying the name of the seminar, "Perspectives for Prospective Doctors." Even the prospective doctors— college students hoping to be admitted to medical school—were a bit confused. More Info: Don't confuse with perspective (point of view). Perspective is a noun, which is a good clue that you want prospective in phrases like "prospective student" (usually a person applying to a college but not yet accepted).

meteoric

مربوط به شهاب سنگ . گذرا Because meteors move through the sky so quickly, we often refer to something moving very fast as meteoric. Transient Example: To understand his meteoric rise it helps to see DaBaby in his element.

irresolute

مردد - دو دل Definition: Wavering, not sure how to proceed, not firm in one's decisionmaking Usage: If we were voting on the bill this moment, we'd have enough votes to pass it. But many of our supporters are irresolute—we're worried that when lobbyists get to them, they'll quickly change their minds. Related Words: Ambivalent (uncertain; unable to decide, or wanting to do two contradictory things at once), Equivocal (allowing for several different meanings; undecided or having mixed feelings) More Info: Resolute or resolved means "decided; firm in purpose." A resolution can be a mutual agreement or a solution to a problem.

ambivalent

مردد ، تردید آمیز Definition: Uncertain; unable to decide, or wanting to do two contradictory things at once Usage: I've been accepted to two amazing graduate programs, one inexpensive and close to home, and one in a big, exciting city. I'm ambivalent—I don't know how I'm going to decide. / When I asked you if you thought we'd get married some day, your ambivalence hurt my feelings. Related Words: Equivocal (allowing for several different meanings; undecided or having mixed feelings), Vacillate (waver in decision or opinion, be indecisive) More Info: The prefix "ambi-" means "both" or "all" and also occurs in ambiance and ambidextrous. Don't confuse ambivalent with ambiguous, which means "vague, open to multiple meanings."

misanthrope

مردم ستیز - مردم گریز Definition: Hater of humankind Usage: He is such a misanthrope that when some Girl Scouts going door-todoor asked if he'd like to sponsor a hungry child overseas, he replied, "The fewer people in the world, the better," and shut the door in their faces! Related Words: Antonym Philanthropist literally means "lover of humankind," although in modern English it refers to someone who donates money to charity. More Info: "Anthro" means "man" (in the sense of "humankind") and also gives us anthropology, androgens (male hormones, such as used in steroids), and androgynous (having both male and female qualities).

virulent

مرگبار ، خطرناک ، تلخ ، خصمانه Definition: Extremely infectious, poisonous, etc.; hateful, bitterly hostile Usage: Racism is a virulent force that corrupts schools, workplaces, and the basic machinery of democracy. / Discipline in the classroom is one thing, but the teacher's virulence towards misbehaving students was enough to get her suspended from teaching. Related Words: Pervasive (tending to spread throughout), Pathogenic (capable of producing disease) More Info: The original meaning of the root "virus" was "poison" (what we call viruses weren't discovered until 1898).

benign

مساعد ، خوش خیم Definition: Harmless; favorable; kindly, gentle, or beneficial; not cancerous Usage: He was relieved when the biopsy results came back, informing him that the growth was benign. / He's a benign fellow. I'm sure having him assigned to your team at work will be perfectly pleasant, without changing the way you do things. Related Words: Innocuous (harmless, inoffensive) More Info: Benign contains the root "bene," meaning "good." Its antonym is malign ("mal" means "bad"), which as an adjective means "evil, harmful, or malicious" (as a verb, it can also mean "slander or defame"). The variant benignant is used the same way as benign.

autonomous

مستقل ، خودمختار Definition: Self-governing, independent Usage: As leader of an autonomous region, the newly-elected president was received as a peer by some world leaders, although he was not entitled to send a representative to the United Nations. / It is normal for young people to desire greater autonomy as they grow up. Related Words: Fiat (dictate or authoritative order, as in "The king rules by fiat."), Hegemony (domination, authority; influence by one country over others socially, culturally, economically, etc.) More Info: An autonomous region, such as Iraqi Kurdistan, is independent, but not considered its own country.

avid

مشتاق Definition: Enthusiastic, dedicated, passionate; excessively desirous Usage: An avid cyclist, she was on her bike every weekend, and even bought the same bike that Lance Armstrong last used in the Tour de France. / Avid of power, the young Senator compromised every principle to gain the support— and money—of large corporations. Related Words: Ardent (very passionate), Zealous (full of fervor or dedicated enthusiasm for a cause, person, etc.)

fervid

مشتاق ، پرحرارت ، داغ ، پرشور Definition: Very hot; heated in passion or enthusiasm Usage: He is a fervid fan of Virginia Tech football, so much so that we've all gotten used to receiving "Go Hokies!" hats and shirts for every birthday. Related Words: Ardent (very passionate), Zealous (full of fervor or dedicated enthusiasm for a cause, person, etc.) More Info: Like fervid, Fervent and Perfervid also mean "passionate, fiery, deeply enthusiastic" and come from a common root relating to heat.

tout

مشتری جلب کردن To tout means to praise, boast, or brag about. If you like to tout your skill as a skier, you tell people you can go down expert-level hills. Example: She pointed to Pence's announcement March 3 touting a new policy allowing "any American" to be tested for the novel coronavirus with a doctor's order.

contingent

مشروط The adjective contingent can be used to describe something that can occur only when something else happens first. Making money is contingent on finding a good-paying job. Example: My answer meandered into platitudes about truth being subjective and facts being contingent; I wasn't invited to a campus visit for that job.

recondite

مشکل ، پیچیده ، عمیق ، مرموز Definition: Not easily understood, hidden, dealing with an obscure topic Usage: Professor Ryan's office is full of books, every single one of which is more than 400 years old, and many of them in ancient Greek. He deals in some seriously recondite information. Related Words: Arcane and Esoteric are synonyms.

conciliatory

مصالحه جو - آشتی جویانه Definition: Reconciling, appeasing, attempting to make the peace Usage: The hotel manager was horrified at how the guest had been treated, and approached him in a conciliatory manner, offering him numerous freebies and apologizing repeatedly. Related Words: Placate, Mollify, Appease, Pacify and Assuage are all verbs for attempting to calm or make peace.

tenacious

مصمم ، سرسخت ، پیگیرانه ، مصرانه ، قوی tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely. firm, tight Example: He has maintained, perhaps even increased, his tenacious grip on power.

artifact

مصنوعی ، دست ساخته Definition: Any object made by humans, especially those from an earlier time, such as those excavated by archaeologists Usage: The archaeologists dug up countless artifacts, from simple pottery shards and coins to complex written tablets. / The girl's room was full of the artifacts of modern teenage life: Justin Bieber posters, Twilight books, and a laptop open to Facebook. More Info: Artifact contains the same root ("fact," meaning "to make") as in factory and manufacture.

begrudge

مضایقه کردن ، دریغ داشتن از ، حسرت چیزی را خوردن To begrudge someone for something is to wish them ill for it or to envy them. Try not to begrudge his getting the promotion over you — he's been at the company longer. example: We don't begrudge the coaches from making what the market allows.

deleterious

مضر ، زیان بخش Definition: Harmful, unhealthful Usage: The Resident Assistant told the first-year students, "I think you will find not only that drugs are illegal and will result in expulsion, but also that drug abuse will have a deleterious effect on anyone's grades." Related Words: Pernicious (very harmful, fatal), Insalutary or Insalubrious (unhealthful) More Info: Deleterious shares a root ("destroy") with delete.

compliant

مطیع - تابع Definition: Obeying, submissive; following the requirements Usage: Those who are not compliant with the regulations will be put on probation and possibly expelled. / A compliant child, he never gave his parents any trouble. Related Words: Complaisant and Obliging are words describing people who comply with eagerness.

paragon

مظهر ، الگو ، نمونه کامل ، آدم بی نقص Definition: Model of excellence, perfect example Usage: Unlike his sister, he was a paragon of responsibility, taking in her three children when she went to jail, and even switching jobs so he could be there to pick them up from school. Related Words: Prototype (original model serving as the basis for future copies or versions), Paradigm (model or pattern; worldview, set of shared assumptions, values, etc.), Exemplar (example, item that is representative or typical, something worthy of imitation), Epitome (perfect example, brief summary) More Info: A paragon is also a large, perfect diamond or pearl. Paragon is often used in the expression "paragon of virtue."

epitomize

مظهر چيزى بودن If you epitomize something, you're a perfect example of that thing. If you never get nervous when playing basketball and can always make that last-second shot, your teammates might say you epitomize mental toughness. Example: The evolution of Champagne since those easy 20th-century days epitomizes the problem facing the larger wine industry.

credible

معتبر. باور کردنی. قابل قبول able to be believed; convincing. valid, reliable, authentic plausible=credible Example: Your offer and plea for helping farming would have sounded credible if it was voluntary for us to help them.

naive

معصوم ، بی آلایش ، ساده لوح ، زودباور ، بی تجربه ، بچگانه Definition: Simple and unsophisticated, unsuspecting, lacking worldly experience and critical judgment Usage: I was a little naïve during the hiring process—the HR rep asked for my acceptable salary range, and I answered honestly. Of course I got an offer for the very lowest number in the range! Now I know I should have tried to get a number from her first, or named a higher number so I could negotiate down. Related Words: Dupe (person who is easily fooled or used, or to fool or exploit), Sap (person easily taken advantage of), Credulous (gullible)

conundrum

معما - مساله بغرنج Definition: Riddle, the answer to which involves a play on words; any mystery Usage: A classic conundrum is "What's black and white and red all over?" The answer, of course, is a newspaper. / How to count the entire population accurately—including those without fixed addresses—is a bit of a conundrum. Related Words: Enigma (puzzle, mystery), Paradox (contradiction, or seeming contradiction that is actually true)

banal

معمولی ، پیش پا افتاده ، عادی ، بی مزه Definition: Lacking freshness and originality; cliché Usage: The drama professor despaired at reading another banal play from his uninspired students. "Oh look," he said sarcastically, "yet another young person has decided to write a play about a young person breaking free of society's constraints. Can you see me yawning?" Related Words: Hackneyed, Inane, Insipid and Trite all mean "lacking freshness and originality, shallow" More Info: Banal comes from the Old French "ban," a word for compulsory feudal service—that is, something common to everyone. It's not hard to see how the meaning of "common" could change to "old, stale, and boring" over time.

prosaic

معمولی و پیش پا افتاده. تکراری و خسته کننده Definition: Dull, ordinary Usage: Finding his friends' bar mitzvahs at the local synagogue a bit prosaic, Justin instead asked his dad to rent out the local laser tag center. Related Words: Pedestrian means commonplace, dull, or lacking imagination. Quotidian means daily or commonplace (as daily things tend to be). Middling comes from the idea of being in the "middle" and means medium, average, or mediocre. Something lackluster is unexciting. Humdrum means boring or dull. More Info: Prosaic means "relating to prose" or "ordinary, dull, commonplace" —the idea being that prose is not as exciting or noble as poetry.

hackneyed

معمولی و پیش پا افتاده. تکراری و خسته کننده Definition: So commonplace as to be stale; not fresh or original Usage: This screenplay is so hackneyed—the leading lady has a quirky, artsy job in the city and has a minor problem early in the movie from which the male lead rescues her, and they get together but then break up due to a misunderstanding, and then they end up together anyway, all while the female lead's "sassy" friend gives advice. Ugh. I'll bet they're auditioning Jennifer Aniston right now. Related Words: Banal, Hackneyed, Inane, Insipid and Trite all mean "lacking freshness and originality, shallow"

semantic

معنایی Definition: Relating to the different meanings of words or other symbols Usage: Bob said plastic surgery should be covered under the health care plan and Marion said it shouldn't, but it turns out that their disagreement was purely semantic—what Bob meant was reconstructive surgery and what Marion meant was cosmetic surgery. More Info: Semantic comes from a Greek root for "sign." When an argument becomes muddled due to language confusion, or when an arguer appears to be redefining a word rather than making a real point, it is common to call the person's remarks "mere semantics" or to say, "You're just playing semantics."

implication

معني ، مفهوم ، دلالت Definition: Act of implying or that which is implied; close connection, esp. in an incriminating way Usage: When the boss said, "Times are tight around here, I just think you should know," the implication was that maybe we should start looking for new jobs. / She implicated her boyfriend in the robbery after less than 20 minutes of interrogation.

complacent

مغرور ، از خود راضی ، خشنود ، رضایتمند ، خودخواهانه Definition: Self-satisfied, smug; overly content (and therefore lazy, neglectful, or some other bad quality) Usage: The coach gave a pep talk: "I know we've never won a championship before, but we do have an advantage over the six-time state champions we're about to play—they have grown complacent with their success, and now they just assume they'll win without having to sweat." More Info: Don't confuse complacent with complaisant, which means "eager to please."

surfeit

مقدار زیاد ، فراوانی ، مقدار بیش از حد ، پرخوری ، زیاده روی ، انباشتن ، پر کردن Definition: Excess, excessive amount, overindulgence Usage: The soup kitchen would like to announce that it has a serious surfeit of those cans of jellied cranberries that no one seems to want, but it could still use at least ten Thanksgiving turkeys. Related Words: Replete with (supplied in abundance, filled, gorged), Glut, Surplus and Plethora (excess, overabundance) More Info: "Sur" means "over" and the rest of the word is related to the Latin "facere," meaning "to make." The literal meaning is overproduce.

propitious

مناسب ، مقتضی ، مساعد ، خجسته ، رحیم Definition: Favorable, giving good signs for the future, likely to work out; kind or forgiving Usage: After having to postpone the game earlier in the week due to rain, the officials were pleased to see the propitious weather forecast. "We'll get this game in after all," one of them exclaimed. Related Words: Auspicious (looking as though success is likely), Opportune (suitable, convenient, occurring at an appropriate time) Memory Trick: It's a bit confusing that propitiate means "attempt to reconcile with, satisfy, or reduce the animosity of." Perhaps it would help to imagine that the gods have already been propitiated (the Romans were fond of sacrificing animals to gain the gods' favor), and therefore an endeavor is propitious, or likely to be successful.

expedient

مناسب ، مقتضی ، مصلحت آمیز Definition: Suitable, proper; effective, often at the expense of ethics or other considerations Usage: "I need this report by 2pm, and I don't care what you have to do to make that happen," said the boss. "I expect you to deal with it expediently." / When invited to a wedding you cannot attend, it is expedient to send a gift. Related Words: Opportune (suitable, convenient, occurring at an appropriate time) More Info: Don't confuse expedient with exigent, "requiring immediate attention, action, or aid."

glacial

منجمد ، يخچالى ، يخبندان Definition: Pertaining to glaciers; cold, icy, slow, unsympathetic Usage: He had wanted to appear in the singing reality competition his whole young life, but he was not encouraged by the judges' glacial response to his audition. The awkward silence was excruciating as he waited for the stonyfaced panel to say anything at all. Related Words: Frigid (very cold, without human warmth or emotion), Gelid (icy) More Info: A very obvious metaphor—glaciers are cold, slow, and (naturally) don't have feelings. A person who acts like a glacier is unpleasant indeed.

obsolete

منسوخ- کهنه و ازکار افتاده Definition: Out of date, no longer in use Usage: She kept her old laptop so long that it was obsolete—she couldn't sell it on Craigslist, and the local elementary school didn't even want it as a donation. / When you look up a word in the dictionary and see "Archaic" next to a definition, that means that definition is obsolete—people don't use the word that way anymore, although you might want to know that meaning if you're reading old texts. Related Words: Antediluvian (extremely old, before the Biblical flood) More Info: "Planned obsolescence" is a business strategy of making products with a deliberately limited life so you'll have to buy new ones.

plastic

منعطف، انعطاف پذير Definition: Able to be shaped or formed; easily influenced Usage: A young child's mind is quite plastic, and exposure to violent movies and video games can have a much greater effect on children than they typically do on adults. Related Words: Tractable, pliable, and malleable can also mean physically bendable, or metaphorically bendable, as in "easily influenced or shaped by others." Mutable means changeable. More Info: The word plastic is much older than the substance we call "plastic." Plastic surgery is so called because it reshapes parts of the body, not because the substance plastic is involved.

affable

مهربان ،دلجو،خوش برخورد،خوشخو Definition: Warm and friendly, pleasant, approachable Usage: The professional wrestler played at belligerence in the ring, but in real life, he was quite an affable fellow—sociable, easy-going, and always ready to lend a hand. Related Words: Amiable, Cordial, and Genial are synonyms. More Info: The opposite of affable could be standoffish, discourteous, or distant.

terse

موجز ، مختصر ، کوتاه ، رک ، کم گو Definition: Concise, brief and to the point (sometimes to the point of rudeness) Usage: Hoping to talk to her doctor at length about her condition, she was disappointed to be treated so tersely by a doctor who simply renewed her prescription and disappeared. Related Words: Curt and brusque also mean rudely abrupt or brief. (Terse is often negative, but doesn't have to be).

decorous

مودب Definition: Behaving with propriety and good taste; polite Usage: Miss Etiquette writes an advice column about decorum. One writer asked, "What's the most decorous way to tell guests exactly what I want for my wedding?" Miss Etiquette replied, "Young lady, there is no decorous way to solicit gifts, and even asking that question is entirely indecorous of you." Related Words: Genteel (aristocratic, elegant), Seemly (proper or attractive) More Info: Decorous shares a root (meaning "beauty, grace") with decorate and decor (interior furnishings).

insidious

موذیانه ، مکارانه ، خائن If something is slowly and secretly causing harm, it's insidious — like the rumors no one seems to listen to until suddenly someone's reputation is ruined. Example: Also apparent was the insidious implication that the freedom of expression of art should be regulated by critics and adversaries.

yearn

ميل و رغبت شديد داشتن feel a powerful desire for (something). long for, yearn for Example: Despite her love of the estate, Iris craved intellectual outlets, and until the war she travelled constantly, usually alone.

penury

مکنت ، فقر ، تهیدستی ، تنگدستی Definition: Extreme poverty or scarcity Usage: The young model married an elderly billionaire thinking she'd be set for life, but she ended up living in penury after her husband died and his middleaged children held up the probate case for years, keeping her from receiving any money whatsoever. Related Words: Destitution is a synonym. Indigent (destitute), Insolvent (unable to meet one's financial obligations, bankrupt)

dejected

ناامید ، افسرده sad and depressed; dispirited. Example: The film is about a teenage daughter who tries to create a nonexistent boyfriend for her dejected mother,' Robinson said.

wanton

نابجا، نامناسب، بی اساس، احمقانه، غلط، توجه ناپذیر Definition: Reckless, vicious, without regard for what is right; unjustifiable, deliberately done for no reason at all; sexually unrestrained or excessively luxurious Usage: Kids do like to play pranks on Halloween, but driving an SUV into people's mailboxes isn't a prank—it's wanton destruction of property. / Many hip-hip videos depict a wanton lifestyle that is attractive to some, but unattainable (and possibly illegal). / During my grandmother's adolescence in Ireland, a girl might be sent off to a convent as punishment for "wanton ways," such as being alone with boys. More Info: Wanton comes from two roots meaning "wanting" and "discipline." Here, wanting means lacking (as in, I read the book and found it wanting).

anomaly

نابهنجاری ، بی قاعدگی ، خلف عادت Definition: Deviation from what is common; inconsistency Usage: While the cosmetics division of this company has many female executives, it is an anomaly—in the rest of the company, sadly, only 4% of management positions are filled by women. Related Words: Aberration (departing from normal; mental irregularity or deviation in morality) More Info: The word "anomaly" sometimes pops up in discussions of the supernatural. The show X-Files was about the investigation of anomalies.

decimate

نابود كردن If something is drastically reduced or killed, especially in number, you can say it was decimated. "The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico decimated the wildlife along the coast."

de-emphasize

نادیده گرفتن reduce the importance or prominence given to (something). Example: But we can de-emphasize their importance as primary instruments of justice while we place the highest priority on social and economic justice.

noisome

ناراحت کننده ، زننده ، مشمئز کننده Definition: Offensive, disgusting; harmful Usage: Everyone knows that smoking is deadly, but even "herbal" cigarettes are a noisome habit—and noisome to your health! Related Words: Deleterious means harmful, Baneful means very harmful or fatal, and Noxious means harmful or morally corrupting. Fetid means smelly. More Info: Noisome isn't really about noise! (The word shares a root with "annoy"). The GRE is not above trying to trick you into picking noisome when you really need a word for "noisy" (like cacophonous or dissonant).

maverick

ناسازگار - خود رای - خودمدار - تک رو Definition: Rebel, individualist, dissenter Usage: Most cop movies feature heroes who are maverick police officers, breaking all the rules, blowing things up, and getting their guns confiscated by the chief—but ultimately saving the day. Related Words: "Lone wolf" and "loose cannon" are expressions with similar meanings (although "loose cannon" implies that the person might do something crazy or dangerous).

pathological

ناشی از بیماری - بیمارگونه - آسیب شناسی Definition: Relating to or caused by disease; relating to compulsive bad behavior Usage: She thought her skin darkening was simply a result of the sun, but it was actually pathological, the result of a serious disease. / I can't believe you stole from the Make a Wish Foundation—you're pathological! More Info: "Pathos" means "disease." Pathological often occurs as "pathological liar." When pathological is used alone to describe a person, the meaning is that the person compulsively lies or hurts others.

incisive

نافذ، قاطع‌،صريح‌ (of a person or mental process) intelligently analytical and clear-thinking. Example: They are incisive , beautifully written, witty and very personal.

unconscionable

نامعقول ، بیش از حد ، بی اندازه Definition: Not guided by conscience; morally wrong, unjust, unreasonable Usage: It is unconscionable that you would deny your sister a bone marrow transplant knowing that you're the only person in the family who's a match. Related Words: Unscrupulous or unprincipled also mean not guided by moral rules.

indeterminate

نامعین - نامشخص - مبهم Definition: Not fixed or determined, indefinite; vague Usage: The results of the drug trial were indeterminate; further trials will be needed to ascertain whether the drug can be released. / The lottery can have an indeterminate number of winners—the prize is simply divided among them. Related Words: Ambiguous (not clear, hard to understand, open to having several meanings or interpretations)

mercurial

نامنظم، ناپايدارى, مودى،هوسی Definition: Quickly and unpredictably changing moods; fickle, flighty Usage: It's tough being married to someone so mercurial. I do pretty much the same thing every day—some days, she thinks I'm great, and other days, the exact same behaviors make her inexplicably angry. Related Words: Erratic (inconsistent, wandering, having no fixed course)

incongruous

ناهماهنگ‌، نامتوافق‌، ناسازگار Definition: Out of place, inappropriate, not harmonious Usage: Among the student artwork posted in the halls, Angelina's submission was incongruous, a dark, gruesome, and even worldly work amidst the happy family portraits and other childish drawings. Related Words: Heterogeneous (different in type, incongruous), Conspicuous (standing out)

heterogeneous

ناهمگون ، ناجور ، نامتشابه ، نامتجانس Definition: Different in type, incongruous; composed of different types of elements Usage: Rather than build the wall with plain brick, we used a heterogeneous mixture of stones—they are not only different colors, but a variety of sizes as well. Related Words: Homogeneous (of the same kind) is the opposite of heterogeneous.

unseemly

ناپسند | ناشایسته Definition: Improper, inappropriate, against the rules of taste or politeness Usage: The activist really did want to get the candidate's support for the equalrights measure, so she did what the candidate's aides asked—but she found it very unseemly that they suggested a specific dollar amount for the "donation" she was asked to make in order to get a meeting. Related Words: Indecorous (synonym), Boorish or Churlish (rude, illmannered, insensitive), Uncouth (having bad manners, awkward), Gauche (tactless, lacking social grace, awkward, crude) More Info: The antonym seemly means suitable, proper, appropriate, or even handsome.

meager

ناچیز ، لاغر ، نحیف (of something provided or available) lacking in quantity or quality. inadequate, scanty Example: Its greatest weakness is its meager budget and limited scope.

scant

ناکافی | مختصر | ناقص | مضایقه- اندکDefinition: Not enough or barely enough Usage: The new intern was scant help at the conference—he disappeared all day to smoke and didn't seem to realize that he was there to assist his coworkers. / The soldiers were always on the verge of hunger, complaining about their scanty rations. Related Words: A modicum, scintilla, iota, mite, or tad of something is a small amount. A paucity or dearth is scarcity or lack.

corollary

نتیجه Corollary describes a result that is the natural consequence of something else. Example: The Gothams, now in their 29th year, are the premier New York gala for independent film, a kind of earlier East Coast corollary to Los Angeles' Independent Film Spirit Awards in February.

ascribe

نسبت دادن Definition: Assign or credit to a certain cause or source Usage: He ascribed his good grades to diligent studying. / The young boy ascribed to his imaginary friend all the powers he wished he had himself— being able to fly, having dozens of friends, and never having to eat his broccoli. Related Words: Impute (attribute or ascribe) More Info: Ascribe contains the root "scribe," meaning "write."

token

نشان ، نشانه Definition: Sign, symbol, mark, badge; souvenir, memento; coin-like disk used as currency for subways, arcade games, etc.; sample, or person, thing, idea taken to represent an entire group (noun); of very little or merely symbolic value (adj) Usage: I am starting to realize that this law firm hired me to be its token woman. There I am, smiling in all the ads—but I never actually get to work on important cases. / Hollywood movies are often guilty of tokenism—many have exactly one black character (the "token minority"), often present to give advice to the (usually white) main characters. / I am giving you this "Best Friends Forever" necklace as a token of our friendship. Related Words: By the same token is an expression that means the speaker will then say something based on the same evidence he or she used for what was previously said. "As a libertarian, he wants to abolish the IRS. By the same token, he wants drugs legalized."

knell

نشان‌ بدبختى‌، صداى حزن‌انگيز Definition: The sound made by a bell for a funeral, or any sad sound or signal of a failure, death, ending, etc. (noun); to make such a sound (verb) Usage: The Senate minority leader's speech was a death knell for the bill; all hope of bipartisan cooperation was lost. Related Words: Dirge (A funeral or mourning song or poem), Requiem (musical service or hymn for the dead), Threnody (poem or song of mourning), Elegy (song or poem of sorrow, esp. for a deceased person) More Info: Don't confuse knell with knoll, a small hill (as in the "grassy knoll" supposedly involved in JFK's assassination).

rancor

نفرت The word rancor is best when you're not just talking about anger, you're talking about a deep, twisted bitter type of anger in your heart. Example: True, the threats are complex, and partisan rancor hasn't made it any easier for officials to unite against them.

impermeable

نفوذ ناپذیر Definition: Impassable, not allowing passage through (such as by a liquid) Usage: A good raincoat is totally impermeable to water. Related Words: Impervious (impenetrable, not able to be harmed or emotionally disturbed, as in "impervious to criticism") More Info: Impermeable contain the roots "in/im" (not) and "per" (through).

permeate

نفوذ کردن ، نشت کردن ، پخش شدن ، سایه افکندن بر Definition: Spread or penetrate throughout Usage: Under the Emperor Constantine, Christianity began to permeate every sector of public life. Related Words: Pervade is a synonym. Both words use the root "per" for "through."

machination

نقشه ها - طرح ها - توطئه - دسیسه Definition: Crafty schemes or plots Usage: It's cute to think that teen idols became famous because their talent was simply so great that the music industry reached out to them, but usually, any teen idol is the product of intense coaching and parental machinations. Related Words: Collude (conspire; cooperate for illegal or fraudulent purposes), Cabal (a conspiratorial group) More Info: The verb form machinate has the same meaning (to machinate to overthrow the government). It's just a coincidence that machinations looks a little like Machiavelli, but machinating is quite Machiavellian!

landmark

نقطه عطف ، رویداد بزرگ ، نشانه ، صفت مهم ، تاریخی Definition: Object (such as a building) that stands out and can be used to navigate by; a very important place, event, etc. Usage: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark in the battle for equality. / In Lebanon, many roads are unmarked, and people navigate by landmarks—for instance, "third house down from the water tower." Related Words: A watershed is literally a division between two water drainage areas; a watershed or watershed moment is the point of a very important decision or shift.

counterpoint

نقطه مقابل Definition: Contrasting item, opposite; a complement; the use of contrast or interplay in a work of art Usage: The play's lighthearted, witty narrator provides a welcome counterpoint to the seriousness and grief expressed by the other characters. / The hot peppers work in counterpoint to an otherwise sweet dish. Related Words: Foil (a character in a drama, or any entity, that contrasts with another, as in "Fortinbras is a foil to Hamlet in that each wishes to avenge his father's death, but Fortinbras acts decisively, which only serves to point out Hamlet's weakness.") More Info: The humor publication The Onion is known for its amusing "Point/Counterpoint" articles in which two speakers disagree on a topic.

oscillate

نوسان کردن - مردد بودن Definition: Swing back and forth; waver, change one's mind Usage: I wish we had air conditioning, but at least I replaced our old fan with this oscillating one that swings side to side and blows air on the whole room. / Stop oscillating and pick a restaurant! Seriously—Indian or Thai? Related Words: Equivocate (use unclear language to deceive or avoid committing to a position), Ambivalent (uncertain; unable to decide, or wanting to do two contradictory things at once), Vacillate and Waffle (waver, be indecisive), Dither (act irresolutely), Tergiversate (repeatedly change one's opinions, equivocate) More Info: This word has a weird story—the Latin "oscillum" means "little face." Masks of Bacchus, the god of wine, used to be hung in vineyards to oscillate in the breeze.

neophyte

نومذهب - مبتدی Definition: Beginner, novice; person newly converted to a religion Usage: It was totally outrageous of our law firm to send a neophyte into the courtroom to defend our case against a team of experienced attorneys. Related Words: Tyro (beginner) More Info: Neophyte shares a root ("planted") with phytoplankton and many other science words. A religious neophyte is someone in whom a faith has been newly "planted."

juggernaut

نیروی ویرانگر - آفت - بلا inexorable force Juggernaut means a massive force. If the army marching into your country is a juggernaut, you're doomed. If you're trying to market a new Cola product, you're up against corporate giant Coca-Cola, a beverage juggernaut if ever there was one. example: Looking to re-engage as a fan of something, I was captivated one October Saturday night when the Nittany Lions shocked the juggernaut Ohio State.

caustic

نیشدار ، طعنه آمیز ، زننده ، تلخ Definition: Capable of corroding metal or burning the skin; very critical or sarcastic Usage: Wait, those chemicals are caustic! You need safety gloves and goggles before performing this experiment, or else you risk not only getting your skin burned off, but also some seriously caustic remarks from our chemistry teacher. Related Words: Acerbic (sour; harsh or severe), Acrid (sharp or biting, pungent), Astringent (caustic, biting, severe; a skin cleaning fluid that clears pores), Excoriate (to rub the skin off of; to criticize very harshly)

beneficent

نیکوکار - بخشنده Definition: Doing good Usage: The billionaire had been a mean and stingy fellow, but after his death, his beneficent widow gave all his money to charity, even accompanying the donations with handwritten notes thanking the charities for all the good work they did. Related Words: Benevolent (expressing goodwill, helping others or charity), Eleemosynary (charitable) More Info: The Latin root "bene" means "good," and "fic" means "making or producing." The antonym of beneficent is maleficent ("mal" means "bad").

spate

هجوم ، سیل Definition: Sudden outpouring or rush; flood Usage: After a brief spate of post-exam partying, Lola is ready for classes to begin again. / He was so furious that a spate of expletives just flew out of his mouth. Related Words: Inundate and deluge are both words for flooding, also used metaphorically to mean an overwhelming influx of something (inundated with work, a deluge of complaints).

libertine

هرزه - بی بند و بار Definition: Morally or sexually unrestrained person; freethinker (regarding religion) Usage: A famed libertine, the sitcom star was constantly in the news for cavorting with women of dubious occupations and overdosing on drugs often enough to regularly hold up production of his popular television show. Related Words: Hedonists, sybarites, and voluptuaries are people devoted to pleasure. Debauchery is excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures.

coterminous

هم مرز- همسان having the same boundaries or extent in space, time, or meaning. Example: An aerial view, the flattened sidewalk is coterminous with the flat paper on which Lawrence painted, filling it edge to edge. The irony was that this glorification of the individual was coterminous with its complete obliteration.

Solidarity

همبستگی Definition: Fellowship in interests, feelings, responsibilities, etc., such as among a group of people or among classes, nations, etc. Usage: The governor attempted to outlaw collective bargaining by unions, but backed down once he was made aware of the union's solidarity with churches and community groups across the state. More Info: The Polish trade union Solidarity (founded 1980) helped break out of Soviet control and bring about free elections in that country. Related to the word solid, think of solidarity as forming a solid front with your compatriots.

jibe

همخوانی داشتن - هماهنگی داشتن- موافقت کردن To jibe with someone is to agree with them. Jibe can also mean "be compatible with or similar to." If two people jibe, they get along quite well. Example: He called this his favorite group of teammates since he arrived at UCLA, which jibes with the positive vibes he keeps getting.

synchronous

همزمان Definition: Happening at the same time; occurring at the same rate and thus happening together repeatedly Usage: The sound of that bell is a signal for the dancers to make perfectly synchronous entrances from opposite sides of the stage. / The two nearby churches have synchronous church bells—if you stand halfway between the buildings as the bells chime out the hour, it sounds really cool! Related Words: Simultaneous and contemporaneous also mean occurring at the same time. Contemporaneous is appropriate for describing people in the same time period (Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford had contemporaneous careers). More Info: The root "sym/syn" means "together" and also appears in symbiosis, sympathy, etc.

Symbiosis

همزیستی Definition: Mutually dependent relationship between two organisms, people, groups, etc. Usage: In biology, one example of symbiosis is when a small creature feeds off bugs that live on a larger creature—thus protecting the larger creature from discomfort and possibly disease. / Although some celebrities complain about paparazzi, many have a symbiotic relationship with those same intrusive photographers - the paparazzi need to get paid, and the celebs need the photos to stay in the news. More Info: The root "sym/syn" means "together" and also appears in synchronized and sympathy. "Bio" means "life."

ubiquitous

همه موجود ، فراگیر ، همیشه حاضر Definition: Existing everywhere at the same time Usage: Thirty years ago, women would lie about coloring their hair, considering the admission embarrassing. Today, blatantly fake hair color—not to mention fake tans and unnaturally white teeth—are ubiquitous, not only on starlets, but even on the checkers at the local grocery store. / Maggie learned in Sunday school that God was ubiquitous, leading to the question nearly all children ask when they hear this: "Does that mean God sees me in the bathroom?" Related Words: Omnipresent (synonym), Pervasive (tending to spread throughout)

homogeneous

همگن Definition: Of the same kind; uniform throughout Usage: While Sweden seems to have solved many of its social ills, critics point out that Sweden's largely homogeneous population doesn't present the challenges extant in a more diverse nation with many cultures and languages. Related Words: Heterogeneous (different in type, incongruous; composed of different types of elements) is the antonym of homogeneous. More Info: The Latin root "gen" means "birth, produce, race" and appears in generate, genus, gender, genocide. "Homo" means "same" and appears in the biology term homologous (having the same relation or structure, as in human arms and bat wings).

partisan

هوادار ، طرفدار Definition: Devoted to a particular group, cause, etc. (adj.); fervent supporter of a group, party, idea, etc.; guerilla fighter (noun) Usage: It is unconscionable to engage in partisan politics in a time of crisis. People are trapped in the rubble of an earthquake, and you suggest that we vote for your tax bill in exchange for your voting for our relief bill? Related Words: Partial (biased, prejudiced; having a special liking for something) More Info: Partisan is related to the idea of a party (as in a political party). A party or other self-interested group can also be called a faction. Partisanship gone too far could be called factionalism. Bipartisan means pertaining to both parties (typically in a two-party system), and nonpartisan means unbiased or not affiliated with a party.

percipient

هوشمند. هوشمندانه (of a person) having a good understanding of things; perceptive. Example: Even the most percipient editor will make an occasional error when proofreading.

sentient

هوشیار- حساس- درک کننده Definition: Conscious; experiencing sensation or perceiving with the senses Usage: Tia became a vegan because she refused to eat any sentient creature. / Look at the mold in your fridge! Let it grow any more, it might become sentient! Related Words: The antonym insensate can man unconscious or inanimate, lacking reason (that is, "sense"), or "cold-blooded," merciless, lacking warm human feelings. A rock, a very intoxicated person, and a murderer could all be described as insensate.

clamor

هَیا هو Definition: Noisy uproar or protest, as from a crowd; a loud, continuous noise Usage: As soon as a scent of scandal emerged, the press was clamoring for details. / The mayor couldn't even make herself heard over the clamor of the protestors. Related Words: Hubbub (loud noise, confusion), Cacophany (harsh, discordant, or meaningless mixture of sounds), Din (loud, confused noise), Dissonance (cacophony, harsh, inharmonious sound) More Info: Don't confuse with clamber, which means to climb awkwardly or scramble. Clamor comes from an Anglo-French root meaning "cry out," a root that also gives us claim.

germane

وابسته ، مربوط ، مرتبط ، مناسب ، درخور Definition: Relevant and appropriate, on-topic Usage: This is a business meeting, not a social club—let's keep our comments germane to the issue of the new campaign. Related Words: Pertinent (relevant), Akin (related by blood; analogous or similar) "It's all noise" from someone who doesn't listen to metal is akin to a vegan claiming that cheese is all "just cheddar".

cosmopolitan

وابسته به همه جهان ، بین المللی Definition: Belonging to the entire world, at home globally; free from local or national prejudices or attachments Usage: Trapped in a small town, he dreamed of a more cosmopolitan existence filled with world travel, exotic cuisine, and scintillating parties where he would meet famous authors and other cosmopolites. Related Words: Urbane (elegant, sophisticated, suave; suitable to social life in major cities) More Info: The magazine Cosmopolitan was originally named to evoke the image of a wordly, sophisticated woman. A "cosmopolitan" is also a cocktail popularized by the show Sex and the City. Most New Yorkers do not think that drinking "cosmos" is cosmopolitan.

sublime

والا. متعالی. عالی Definition: Lofty or elevated, inspiring reverence or awe; excellent, majestic; complete, utter Usage: She loved visiting Gothic churches, which truly filled even a nonbeliever with a sense of the sublime. / It was sublime idiocy that caused him to invest all his money in the market without doing any research. / This dinner is sublime! I will leave a glowing review on Yelp! Related Words: Lofty (in a high position, esp. in character, spirit, or rank), Elevate (Lift the spirits of; move up to a higher status or spiritual plane), Edify (uplift, enlighten), Rarefied (lofty, figuratively high up or elevated) More Info: As you can see, sublime is usually positive, but sometimes it's used a bit ironically (sublime idiocy). The related sublimate means to suppress or make socially acceptable (He sublimated his violent anger into stunning performances on the football field)—that is, to make an ugly or immoral impulse more lofty.

feign

وانمود کردن ، تظاهر کردن For a more formal way to say pretend to or imitate, choose the verb feign. You might feign indifference when you hear about some gossip, but you're probably dying to know. example: They malign us when we speak of our rights, the government and police feign ignorance from it all ... Unite, listen Muslims now all of you unite."

neologism

واژه جدید - واژه تازه - واژه سازی - عبارت نو Definition: New word or phrase (or a new meaning applied to an existing word or phrase) Usage: You won't find "fauxhawk" in the dictionary—it's a neologism that describes a fake mohawk (faux means fake and is pronounced "foe") created by sculpting the hair into a mohawk-like crest without actually shaving the sides. More Info: The root "log/loq" refers to speech and also occurs in eloquent, logic, loquacious (talkative) and interlocutor (participant in a dialogue; interrogator).

loquacious

وراج، پر حرف Definition: Talkative, wordy Usage: The loquacious professor spoke at a million miles an hour and still regularly talked past the scheduled end time of the class. Related Words: Prolix and Verbose are synonyms. Magniloquent and Grandiloquent mean speaking in a lofty, grandiose style.

meticulous

وسواسی ، بسیار دقیق Definition: Taking extreme care in regards to details; precise, fussy Usage: As a surgeon, of course Mom needs to be highly meticulous in her work —she gets things right down to a fraction of a millimeter. But this also means that when it's her night to cook, she's sometimes a little too meticulous—no one really needs a meatloaf to be sculpted into an absolutely perfect rectangular prism. Related Words: Finicky or Fastidious (excessively particular, hard to please), Exacting (very severe in making demands; requiring precise attention)

status quo

وضع موجود Definition: Existing state or condition Usage: Many opposed the establishment of a needle-exchange program, but others reasoned that the plan would be an improvement on the status quo, in which disease spread rapidly through certain communities. More Info: Latin for "state in which."

prodigal

ولخرج Definition: Wasteful, extravagant; giving abundantly, lavish Usage: If you're going to leave a trust fund for your children, you should raise them not to be prodigal, or they'll blow through all the cash the minute they get their hands on it. / The prodigal land produced larger crops than the people could even consume. Related Words: Profligate (utterly immoral or extremely prodigal), Wastrel or Spendthrift (wasteful person) More Info: In the Biblical story of the prodigal son, a son asks his dad if he can have his inheritance now, before the dad dies (rude!), then wastes everything on wild living and comes back all hungry and apologetic, begging for a job as a swineherd (the nice dad takes him back and kills a fattened calf for him). Don't confuse prodigal with prodigy (very gifted child).

nadir

پایین ترین حد ، افت Definition: Lowest point Usage: It was only when Ming reached her absolute nadir—what her recovery program called "rock bottom"—that she admitted she had a problem and checked herself into rehab. Related Words: The opposite of the nadir is the zenith, or highest point. Both words are terms from astronomy, referring to points directly below and above the observer on an imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected. On the GRE, these words will be used metaphorically—the nadir of one's struggles, the zenith (or acme, pinnacle, or summit) of one's success. More Info: Finally, a GRE word from Arabic! Nadir comes through Latin from the Arabic nazir, "opposite to"—here, the nadir is opposite the zenith.

occult

پدیده های جادویی ، نیروهای غیبی ، مرموز ، پنهان ، سری ، ماوراء طبیعه Definition: The supernatural (noun); pertaining to magic, astrology, etc.; mysterious, secret or hidden (adj); to hide, to shut off from view (verb) Usage: A group of religious parents demanded that a popular series of young adult vampire novels be banned in schools because it promoted the occult. / During a solar eclipse, the moon occults the sun and it is momentarily dark in the middle of the day.

plausible

پذیرفتنی ، معقول ، باورکردنی Definition: Believable; having the appearance of truth Usage: When three doctors treating crash victims were suddenly stricken with what looked like the effects of nerve gas, hospital officials posited "hysteria" as the culprit—hardly a plausible explanation, as emergency room doctors are accustomed to seeing horrific things every day. Related Words: Credible (believable), Feasible (possible; logical or likely; suitable), Viable (able to live or develop; capable of success, practicable, workable) More Info: Plausible shares a Latin root ("approve") with applause and plaudits.

verbose

پر حرف ، وراج Definition: Wordy Usage: Twitter's 140 character limit really forces the verbose to go against their natural tendencies and instead write succinctly. Related Words: Loquacious, Prolix, and Voluble mean "talkative, wordy." More Info: The Latin "verbum" means "word" and of course gives us verb, verbal, etc., and also verbiage (excess words or style of expressing something in words). A verbose person could stand to cut down on the verbiage.

mettlesome

پر دل - پر جرات - سرکش filled with courage or valor Example: For its raid on Bin Laden's compound in abbottabad, Seal Team Six has become, for many americans, the embodiment of mettle.

gaudy

پر زرق و برق Something that's gaudy is showy, bright and definitely tacky (tastelessly showy). So think twice about that gaudy rainbow-colored suit and shiny gold shoes ensemble. Example: As gaudy as Burrow's numbers are, his case was buttressed by his role in L.S.U.'s offensive renaissance. Their plus-47 scoring margin is not commensurate with their gaudy record, but the Packers are in strong position entering a crucial showdown next week with the Vikings.

abyss

پرتگاه Definition: A deep and vast space or cavity; anything profound or infinite Usage: Walking a tightrope over an active volcano, the acrobat was terrified of falling into the abyss. / Now recovering, the patient remembered her experience with clinical depression as an abyss of hopelessness. Related Words: Chasm, Crevasse, Fissure, Gorge are all words for deep openings in the earth, and can be used metaphorically (a fissure in a personal relationship, the chasm between cultures, etc.). More Info: The 1989 classic science fiction movie The Abyss is about a diving team that encounters an underwater alien species.

voluble

پرحرف ، وراج ، حراف ، زبان چرب و نرم Definition: Easily fluent in regards to speech Usage: The journalist's new book is a voluble tome, covering three centuries of history with numerous flowing, almost conversational asides into the scientific discoveries and cultural advances of various time periods. Related Words: Loquacious, Prolix, and Verbose mean "talkative, wordy." Glib means "fluent in speaking" in a bad way that suggests superficiality or insincerity. More Info: From the same root ("volvere," meaning "to roll") as revolve—the words just "roll" right out of a voluble person.

defray

پرداخت کردن. توزیع کردن (پول) If your mother says she will defray the cost of your next move, say thank you. She means she will take on some of the expenses for you. example: The alumni association, he added, hasn't helped him defray the property's expenses.

lucrative

پرسود ، پرمنفعت ، سودآور producing a great deal of profit. profitable, beneficial,gainful Example: As in the United States, gambling in Canada is a hugely lucrative big business. Her parents are still married but heavily focused on their lucrative careers.

ebullient

پرشور - پر حرارت Definition: Very enthusiastic, lively, excited; bubbling as though being boiled Usage: The children were so ebullient upon their arrival at Disneyworld that their parents, while happy to see them so excited, wished that there were a way to forcibly restrain them in case they took off running towards the rides. Related Words: Exuberant (extremely, uninhibitedly enthusiastic or joyful; overflowing) More Info: Ebullient comes from a Latin word for "boiling," which comes from a word for "bubble." An ebulliometer determines the boiling point of liquids.

grandiloquent

پرطمطراق Definition: Relating to lofty speech, esp. to the point of being pompous, overblown, bombastic Usage: After memorizing 1,000 vocabulary flashcards for the GRE, Derek couldn't help but become a little grandiloquent, declaring his desire to "abscond from my familial domicile and satisfy my penchant for erudition." "You can do that later," said his mother, "but now it's your turn to do the dishes." Related Words: Magniloquent (synonym), Declamatory (pompous, merely oratorical) More Info: The root "loq" refers to speech; thus, grandiloquent has the sense of "grand speech."

inculcate

پروراندن | در مغز فرو کردن با تکرار Definition: Teach persistently, implant (an idea) in a person Usage: Parents spend years trying to inculcate morality in their children, constantly teaching and correcting them. More Info: Inculcate comes from a Latin word for "tread," which itself comes from a word for "heel." Imagine actually stomping morals into your children!

posthumous

پس از مرگ Definition: Happening or continuing after death Usage: Ernest Hemingway died in 1961. His novel The Garden of Eden was published posthumously in 1986. More Info: "Post" means "after," course. Posthumous also shares a root with humus—earth or soil, as in the kind a deceased person is buried in. (Not to be confused with hummus, the spread made from chickpeas). Posthumous often describes the publication of books, the granting of awards or military honors, or the birth of a child after the father's death.

Base

پست- دون مایه Definition: Morally low, mean, dishonorable; of little or no value; crude and unrefined; counterfeit Usage: His philanthropy was underlied by truly base motives—he not only craved the fawning publicity his donations brought, but he was actually funneling drug money through the Children's Defense Fund! / The supposed "gold bricks" were really base metals covered in a very thin layer of real gold. Related Words: Debase (lower or reduce in quality or dignity) She was not so base to begrudge the beggar the unwanted crumbs from her dinner plate.

haven

پناهگاه Definition: Harbor or port; refuge, safe place Usage: The relief workers set up the camp as a haven from persecution. Related Words: Succor (relief, aid), Asylum (refuge or sanctuary; refuge granted by a country to a foreigner persecuted in her or her own country). Asylum was once used to mean a care facility for the mentally ill, orphans, etc., but this usage is generally considered insensitive today.

covert

پنهان ، مخفی ، ضمنی ، نهفته ، غیرمستقیم Definition: Secret, veiled, undercover Usage: The soldier trained to be part of covert operations, moving silently and remaining out of the enemy's sight. Related Words: Clandestine, Surreptitious, and Furtive all mean secret, undercover.

latent

پنهان ، نهفته ، نهان Definition: Potential; existing but not visible or active Usage: Certain experts believe that some people have a genetic propensity for addiction; however, if such a person never comes into contact with drugs, the propensity for addiction can remain latent for life. Related Words: Dormant (not active at this time), Inert (inactive; having little or no power to move), Hiatus (break or gap in an activity)

excoriate

پوست کندن ، ملامت کردن ، به سختی انتقاد کردن to criticize very harshly When it comes to "telling someone off," excoriate is reserved for the most severe cases. So, before you excoriate your little sister for borrowing your favorite jacket without permission, consider whether she truly deserves such harsh treatment. Example: He excoriates the United States while warmly embracing China, which is now Cambodia's largest investor and trading partner.

Succession

پیاپی ، توالی 1. acquisition of property by descent or by will The Vice President is first in line of succession to be the President and the Secretary of State is fourth. 2.a group of people or things arranged or following in order a succession of failures

outstrip

پیش افتادن از Definition: Surpass, exceed; be larger or better than; leave behind Usage: Our sales figures this quarter have outstripped those of any other quarter in the company's history. Related Words: The expression "leave in the dust" has a similar meaning. Supersede means to replace or cause to be set aside (iPods have superseded portable CD players). More Info: Other out- words can have the sense of "do better than"—for instance, outweigh, outsell, outshine. To outpace is to be faster than and to outwit or outfox is to be more clever than. Here's a weird one: to outbrave is to be more brave than.

foreshadow

پیش بینی کردن Definition: Indicate or suggest beforehand, presage Usage: You didn't know this was a horror movie? I thought it was pretty clear that the children's ghost story around the campfire was meant to foreshadow the horrible things that would happen to them years later as teenagers at a motel in the middle of the woods. Related Words: Prefigure is a synonym. Forerun means run before or foreshadow. Harbinger and Herald mean a person or thing that indicates what is to come (Herald can also mean "messenger," including about something in the past). Portentous and Ominous can mean "giving a bad sign about the future" (portentous can also mean "very significant, exciting wonder and awe").

preempt

پیش دستی کردن Definition: Prevent; take the place of, supplant; take before someone else can Usage: The speaker attempted to preempt an excessively long Q&A session by handing out a "Frequently Asked Questions" packet at the beginning of the seminar. Related Words: Obviate (prevent, eliminate, or make unnecessary) More Info: The "empt" part of preempt comes from a rare word for "purchase"—to preempt can also mean to settle on public land in order to establish the right to purchase that land before anyone else.

prophetic

پیشگویانه Definition: Relating to prophesy, predicting, ominous Usage: While most of the country was consumed with irrational optimism about the economy, this particular journalist possessed an almost prophetic pessimism—not only did she predict the crash, she even predicted the month it actually happened. Related Words: Prescient (having foreknowledge or foresight, seeing the future), Prognosticate or Augur (tell the future)

juncture

پیوند | اتصال | محل اتصال | مقطع زمانی Definition: Critical point in time, such as a crisis or a time when a decision is necessary; a place where two things are joined together Usage: We are at a critical juncture in the history of this organization: either we can remain a nonprofit, or we can register as a political action committee and try to expand our influence. / The little canoe started to sink when it split at the juncture between the old wood and the new material used to repair it. Related Words: Dovetail (join or fit together), Diverge (differ, deviate; branch off or turn aside, as from a path)

alacrity

چابکی ، شور و نشاط ، مشتاقانه Definition: Cheerful or speedy willingness Usage: Any boss wants an employee to respond with alacrity to his or her requests, handling them promptly and with enthusiasm. Related Words: Brisk (speedy, energetic, vigorous), Sprightly (lively, full of spirit) More Info: Alacrity has an adjective form, alacritous, but phrases like "full of alacrity" or "with alacrity" are much more common.

sycophant

چاپلوس Definition: Servile flatterer, parasitic person who fawns in order to get ahead Usage: Stop being such a sycophant. I don't need you to compliment my tie or get me coffee; I just need you to do your job without bothering me. Related Words: Lackey, Toady, and Myrmidon are synonyms. Fawn means to try to please in a submissive way. Obsequious means "servile, very compliant, fawning." Truckle means to act subserviently and Kowtow means to fawn—or, literally, to bow until one's forehead touches the floor. In slang, we might call a sycophant a boot-licker, suck-up, etc.

toady

چاپلوس Definition: Someone who flatters or acts in a servile manner for self-serving reasons Usage: Look at that toady, sucking up and offering to do the boss's Christmas shopping for his kids. Gross. Related Words: Lackey, Sycophant, and Myrmidon are synonyms. Fawn means to try to please in a submissive way. Obsequious means "servile, very compliant, fawning." Truckle means to act subserviently. More Info: Toady comes from "toad-eater," after magicians' assistants who would eat supposedly poisonous toads so the magician could show off his ability to magically expel the poison. Toadeat used to mean "do any degrading thing for your boss," but today you can use toady as a verb (or toady up to someone) for this purpose.

obsequious

چاپلوس ، متملق ، چرب زبان sycophant, lackey, toady, myrmidon, truckle, kowtow Definition: Servile, very compliant, fawning Usage: Sammy thought he could get ahead by being obsequious, but instead, his boss gave a promotion to someone he viewed as more of a peer; truthfully, he thought Sammy's sucking up was pretty pathetic. Related Words: Sycophant, Lackey, Toady, and Myrmidon are all words for an obsequious person (colloquially, a "bootlicker"). Fawn means to try to please in a submissive way, Truckle means to act subserviently and Kowtow means to fawn— or, literally, to bow until one's forehead touches the floor.

suppurate

چرک کردن ، چرکی شدن fester undergo the formation of pus; fester. Example: Strangely enough, the wound in my remaining arm, which still suppurated , was seized with gangrene.

prodigious

چشمگیر ، فوق العاده ، شگفت انگیز ، عجیب ، حیرت آور Definition: Extraordinarily large, impressive, etc. Usage: The Great Wall of China consists of a prodigious series of fortifications stretching over 5,000 miles! / If we don't double our sales with this new product, we will have to declare bankruptcy—we have a prodigious task ahead. Related Words: Prodigious can be good or bad, but Titanic and Olympian specifically mean large or majestic in a manner suitable for the gods. More Info: Prodigious shares an origin with prodigy (very gifted child).

desideratum

چیز مطلوب something that is needed or wanted. Something considered necessary or highly desirable. requirement, prerequisite Example: It enshrines the essential desideratum of popular criticism - it only criticizes other people.

fiddle

کار بيهوده کردن manipulate manually or in one's mind or imagination 2.avoid (one's assigned duties) 3.commit fraud and steal from one's employer Example: "As the president fiddles, people are dying," she said.

replete

کاملا پر ، لبريز ، چاق ، تکميل ، انباشت Definition: Supplied in abundance, filled, gorged (used with with) Usage: This essay is replete with errors—I don't think you even bothered to use spellcheck, much less carefully edit your work. Related Words: Surfeit, surplus, plethora (excess, overabundance) More Info: Replete shares a root ("plenus" for "full") with plenty and plenary (entire, complete).

abate

کاهش یافتن ، فروکش کردن Definition: Reduce, diminish Usage: Her stress over spending so much money on a house abated when the real estate broker told her about the property's 15 year tax abatement. Related Words: Tax abatement is used in the same way as tax "relief"—that is, a partial discount. Subside is another word for lessening (a storm could abate or subside). More Info: Abate comes from an Old French word for "beat, cast down" that also gives us batter (beat severely) and abattoir (slaughterhouse).

tome

کتاب قطور - مجلد Definition: Large or scholarly book; one of the volumes in a set of several books Usage: When she discovered that the books she needed for her paper were in the university's online system, she ended up lugging some truly impressive tomes back from the library—she actually had to stop and rest twice on the way home. Related Words: A magnum opus is an author's greatest work (although it doesn't have to be large).

plethora

کثرت ، بسیاری ، فراوانی Definition: Excess; excessive amount Usage: She had a plethora of excuses, but there is simply no justification for arriving to class drunk. Related Words: Surfeit or surplus (excess, overabundance) More Info: The 1986 comedy ¡Three Amigos! popularized the word plethora— if want to remember the word plethora for life, look up "plethora of piñatas" on YouTube.

fret

کج خلقی کردن، اخم کردن When you fret, you worry so much about something that it eats away at you. Many people fret about taking standardized tests, but really, they're nothing to sweat. Example: · As the pandemic seems to pervade, it seems rational to fret about the future of economy.

deflect

کج کردن، منحرف کردن، شکستن Definition: Cause to curve; turn aside, esp. from a straight course; avoid Usage: The purpose of a shield is to deflect arrows or bullets from an enemy./ Every time he was asked a difficult question, Senator Warrington deflected by changing the topic, saying he'd answer later, or even—insincerely, it seemed— calling for a moment of prayer. Related Words: Avert (prevent; turn away or aside, as in "The makeshift dam narrowly averted disaster" or "Avert your eyes—I'm changing my clothes!")

reticent

کم حرف ، خوددار ، تودار ، ساکت Definition: Not talking much; private (of a person), restrained, reserved Usage: She figured that, to rise to the top, it was best to be reticent about her personal life; thus, even her closest colleagues were left speculating at the water cooler about whether her growing belly actually indicated a pregnancy she simply declined to mention to anyone. Related Words: Laconic (using few words, concise) More Info: Taciturn also means not talking much. The Latin root "tacere" (to be silent) appears in both words.

taciturn

کم حرف ، ساکت Definition: Not talking much, reserved; silent, holding back in conversation Usage: Because he felt self-conscious about his stutter, Mike had always been taciturn, but after some very good speech therapy, soon he was much more voluble. Related Words: Reticent is a synonym. Laconic means "using few words, concise." More Info: Taciturn is related to tacit (understood without being said; implied, not stated directly; silent).

subsidy

کمک مالی a sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity or service may remain low or competitive. Example: Japan is offering subsidies to help companies offset the cost of parents' taking time off.

paucity

کمی ، کمبود Definition: Scarcity, the state of being small in number Usage: Our school has such a disgraceful paucity of textbooks that the students are sharing, and so cannot even count on being able to take the books home to do homework. Related Words: Dearth (scarcity, lack) More Info: Paucity is related to pauper, a very poor person.

dismiss

کنار گذاشتن، اخراج کردن Definition: Allow to disperse or leave; fire from a job; put aside or reject, especially after only a brief consideration Usage: "Before I dismiss class," said the teacher, "I want to remind you of the importance of dismissing biases in your research by ruling out or adjusting for factors other than the variable you are testing that may have led to your results." Related Words: Discount as a verb can mean "disregard, ignore, or downgrade so as to compensate for exaggeration." More Info: To dismiss an idea is generally to choose to ignore it without having considered it seriously.

juxtapose

کنارهم کشیدن ، پیش هم گذاشتن Definition: Place side-by-side (either physically or in a metaphorical way, such as to make a comparison) Usage: Making a decision between two engagement rings from two different stores was difficult, he noted—it would be much easier if he could juxtapose them and compare them directly. Related Words: Abreast (side-by-side; metaphorically, "up to date with," as in "keeping abreast of the news"), Abut (touch, border on, end at, as in Their house abuts my property).

archaic

کهنه ، منسوخ ، قدیمی ، باستانی Definition: Characteristic of an earlier period, ancient, primitive Usage: The school's archaic computer system predated even floppy disks—it stored records on tape drives! / Sometimes, when you look a word up in the dictionary, certain definitions are marked "archaic"—unless you are a Shakespeare scholar, you can safely ignore those archaisms. Related Words: Obsolete (out of date, no longer used), Antediluvian (extremely old, before the Biblical flood) More Info: "Archaic" is especially used to describe language common to an older time but rare today, such as "thou" or "forsooth." If a word appears in a dictionary with "archaic" next to a secondary meaning, that meaning is unlikely to be tested on the GRE.

coda

کودا- بخش پایانی - پس درآمد Definition: Final part of a musical composition; an ending, esp. one that sums up what has come before Usage: "You play this middle section twice, then move to the coda," the music teacher explained to the child. "The coda always comes last." / Dropping my purse in a mud puddle right outside my own front door was a fine coda to a horrible evening. Related Words: Recapitulation (summary or the act of summing up), Précis (summary or abstract) More Info: Coda comes from the Latin "cauda," meaning "tail." (A caudate animal has a tail and an acaudate animal lacks one.)

sedulous

کوشا و ساعی Definition: Persevering, persistent, diligent in one's efforts Usage: Sedulous effort is necessary to improve your GRE verbal score—you need to study vocab in a serious way, nearly every day. Related Words: Assiduous is a synonym.

hermetic

کیپ - بدون منفذ - هوابندی شده - جادویی Definition: Airtight, sealed, isolated; reclusive; pertaining to alchemy, occult Usage: These packaged meals are hermetically sealed—they'll last years in storage, but once opened, you need to finish the contents within a couple of days. / While writing hundreds of vocabulary flashcards, the GRE instructor lived a hermetic lifestyle, her skin growing pallid and her social network drastically shrinking. More Info: Hermetic comes from Hermes Trismegistus, a Greek/Egyptian god of magic and alchemy; he supposedly invented a magic airtight seal for containers.

exorbitant

گزاف greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation Example: Critics said his salaries were exorbitant, especially after the financial crisis of 2008, and denounced his taste for the good life.

dalliance

A dalliance is a playful flirtation, one that might lead to a casual romance. 2.the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working

pushover

A pushover is a person who's easy to fool or influence. A substitute teacher who's a pushover is easily convinced that the class usually spends an hour watching music videos. If you're a pushover, you find it hard to deny anyone what they ask for Example: He thinks I'm a pushover, and I think his temper gets in the way.

quisling

A quisling is a traitor, especially one who collaborates with an enemy occupying force for personal gain. turncoat example: He was disloyal, a quisling, an agent of a nation that hates us and seeks our destruction.

Scrooge

A scrooge is a person who is stingy with money: scrooges would rather do anything than part with a buck.

self-deprecate

A self-deprecating person knows her own weaknesses and shortcomings and isn't afraid to point them out, often in a humorous way. Example: His account is littered with self-deprecating humour. I like the fact that she's never falsely modest, just self-deprecating .

benighted

Being called benighted is much like being called naive. It means lacking in knowledge or understanding—the kind you might have if you were older or more sophisticated. example: Fryer risked his career for the sake of his benighted profession and for everyone who was hurt by the pathologizing of their identities.

Aarchy

Definition: Absence of law or government; chaos, disorder Usage: Once the dictator was assassinated, the country fell into total anarchy, as none of the opposition groups were strong enough to seize power. More Info: Anarchism can sometimes mean the political philosophy that the absence of all direct government is ideal and that voluntary associations of individuals would be able to govern themselves.

coterie

Definition: Close or exclusive group, clique Usage: The pop star never traveled anywhere without a coterie of assistants and managers. Related Words: Cabal (conspiracy, group of people who plot), Entourage (group of attendants) More Info: In French, a coterie was a group of tenant farmers.

inconstancy

Definition: Fickleness, unreliability; the state of changing without good reason Usage: Old-fashioned poems often praised a lover's constancy; the poet would likely be shocked by any inconstancy from his lady, such as if she were receiving poems from other poets. Related Words: Continent (characterized by restraint)

kindle

Definition: Ignite, cause to begin burning; incite, arouse, inflame Usage: It's hard to kindle a campfire when it's so damp out. / Although they were apart, the lovers' passion was only further kindled by the love letters they wrote to one another. Related Words: Incendiary (starting fire; inflaming the senses or arousing rebellion) More Info: Kindling, also called tinder, is material for lighting a fire (such as twigs or straw). Amazon's Kindle e-book reader is probably so called because it (in theory) ignites a love of reading or knowledge.

restive

Definition: Impatient or uneasy under the control of another; resisting being controlled Usage: The company was purchased by a larger competitor, and the employees grew restive as the new bosses curtailed their freedoms and put a hold on their projects. More Info: Don't confuse with restless, meaning "lacking rest" or "constantly moving." You grow restive while waiting for a boss to approve your project; when you can't sleep, you have a restless night.

hotly

Definition: In an intense, fiery, or heated way Usage: The issue of how evolution should be taught in schools was hotly disputed by members of the school board, religious leaders, and parent groups. Related Words: Heatedly (synonym)

assiduous

Definition: Persevering, diligent, constant Usage: Through assiduous effort over a substantial period of time, anyone can develop a prodigious vocabulary. Related Words: Sedulous, Tenacious More Info: Assiduous contains a variant of the root "sed," meaning "to sit" (as in sedated or sediment). Think of assiduous as "sitting" in your chair until you finish your work.

hew

Definition: Strike, chop, or hack (as with an axe, sword. etc.); make or shape something (such as a statue) with a cutting tool Usage: The pioneer had to hew his own way through the brush in order to proceed westward. / She preferred rustic furniture; her dining room chairs were little more than stumps roughly hewn into stools. More Info: The past tense of hew is hewn, and the expression roughly hewn (or rough-hewn, or rough hewed) is often used to describe something that seems unfinished or looks as though it was "carved" with a heavy axe rather than more delicate tools. For instance, a manly-man movie star—someone like Russell Crowe—is a more roughly hewn than someone like Zac Efron.

censure

Definition: Strong disapproval or official reprimand (noun); to issue such disapproval or reprimand (verb) Usage: The Senator was censured by the Senate for campaign fund improprieties—in fact, he narrowly avoided being expelled from office. Related Words: Don't confuse censure with censor (to delete objectionable portions of a work). More Info: In 1834, Andrew Jackson became the only U.S. President to ever be censured by the Senate. Since 1789, nine Senators have been censured; this act of formal disapproval does not remove them from office.

lachrymose

Definition: Tearful, mournful Usage: Accustomed to lachrymose occasions, the funeral home kept boxes of tissues near every seat. Related Words: Maudlin (overly tearful and sentimental), Lament (express sorrow, mourn) More Info: Interestingly, lacrimation is the medical condition of making too many tears.

peregrinate

Definition: Travel from place to place, esp. on foot Usage: After college, he took a year off to peregrinate across the country, visiting friends and seeing the forty-odd states he had never before had the chance to see. Related Words: Itinerant, peripatetic and wayfaring are all similar. Transient also means moving around, but is more associated with homeless people or those on the fringe of society (whereas itinerant is more associated with people who travel for a job). More Info: Relatedly, the peregrine falcon is a roving or migrating bird.

Empricism

Empiricism means a method of study relying on empirical evidence, which includes things you've experienced: stuff you can see and touch. Example: My training in the social sciences implicitly borrows methods of positivism or empiricism that do not just correspond to the human person in an integral fashion.

flamboyance

Flamboyance is a quality of being showy or flashy. example: People engage a deeper level of interest in us not through their eccentricity or flamboyance, but because of the quality of their humanity.

flag

Get tired, lose enthusiasm; hang limply or droop Enervate (weaken, tire) More Info: One way to think of the "get tired" meaning of flag is to think of how a flag waving in the breeze droops and hangs when the wind stops. Of course, flag as a verb can also mean "to hail or wave down," as in "flag a taxi," or "to mark," as in "flag a page of a book with a sticky note."

to run on fumes

If someone has used all their energy on something, but must continue, they are running on fumes. It is an expression used when driving a car when the needle is on empty but still running.

turbitude

If you are guilty of turpitude, you should be ashamed of yourself. Turpitude is a word that represents depraved behavior. Prisons are filled with criminals who have engaged in acts of moral turpitude. Example: During his reign, he indulged in unspeakable sexual practices, so it is not surprising that he will forever be remembered for his turpitude.

impecunious ； indigent

If you are hard up, broke, penniless, or strapped for cash, you could describe yourself as impecunious. Then maybe you could make some money teaching vocabulary words. example: Prosecutors described Mr. Covlin as an impecunious professional backgammon player who risked losing his children and his lavish lifestyle if the divorce was approved.

indelicate

Indelicate things are offensive or rude. If you tell an indelicate joke to your sweet, old-fashioned great-grandmother, it'll make her blush.

largesse

Largesse is extreme generosity. If your neighbors bring you an expensive watch from Switzerland because you fed their cat while they were traveling, thank them for their largesse. Example: Said Bouteflika ran the former president's inner circle, dispensing political and financial largesse to the favored.

malfeasance

Malfeasance is bad behavior, especially from officials or people who should know better. example: "Transparency from our elected officials is an essential aspect of protecting Maryland residents from corruption and political malfeasance," said Charlton Howard, the state prosecutor, in a statement.

firebrand

Someone who enjoys heating up the debate around a subject or lighting a fire under other people is a firebrand. Example: Within Bolivia's Christian community there are also fears over the radical rhetoric being peddled by firebrand pastors who conflate Evo Morales with Satan.

self-effacing

Someone who's self-effacing is shy and likes to stay out of the spotlight, shunning attention and praise. reticent, retiring Example: Over time, the self-effacing and unpretentious Mr. Mubarak was eclipsed by one with an almost imperial sense of entitlement. The most admirable teachers and leaders are those who are self-effacing, directing attention and praise to their student and workers.

appurtenant

Something that is appurtenant helps or supports something else. Good physical health is appurtenant to mental well-being. Example: In hiking Mt.Everest, sherpas are appurtenant, helping climbers both carry gear and navigate treacherous paths.

numinous

Synonyms: sacred Something numinous has a strong religious quality, suggesting the presence of a divine power. When you enter a temple, church, or mosque, you might feel as though you've entered a numinous space.

arrant

The word arrant intensifies. An arrant criminal is one heck of a criminal. Arrant nonsense is total nonsense. Example: An arrant fool, Lawrence surprised nobody when he lost all of his money in a pyramid scheme that was every bit as transparent as it was corrupt.

heckle

To challenge aggressively To heckle is to challenge or harass someone. At a sporting event, fans sometimes heckle the opposing team, but it's not very respectable behavior. Example: "Well, I got heckled the other night. I was talking about gender identity and this woman shouted, 'No one cares!'

blinkered

To have a limited outlook or understanding Example: In gambling, the blinkered addict is easily influenced by the past successes and/or past failures, forgetting that any one game is independent of the games preceded it.

treasure hunting

Treasure hunting is the physical search for treasure. For example, treasure hunters try to find sunken shipwrecks and retrieve artifacts with market value. Example: Treasure hunting is fueled bu the market for antiquities.

insufferable

intolerable If something is insufferable, it's unbearable and impossible, like the insufferable humidity of the "rain forest room" at the zoo on a hot summer day. example: I'm sure you think I'm an insufferable Scrooge.

Byzantine

intricate and complex Example: Getting a driver's license is not simply a matter of taking a test; the regulations and procedures are so byzantine that many have found themselves at the mercy of the department of motor vehicles.

Pollyannaish

pleasantly (even unrealistically) optimistic example: The relentlessly pollyannaish assessment of the Puerto Rico aid effort from the Trump administration finally caused the mayor of San Juan to snap.

genteel

polite, refined, or respectable, often in an affected or ostentatious way. Example: I have this image of a kind of old boys' club, of a rather genteel kind of place.

besotted

strongly infatuated Example: She was such a hit with everyone we met, but most particularly with my elderly grandparents, who were besotted with her. 2.intoxicated; drunk.

squelch

suppress or crush completely Definition: Crush, squash; suppress or silence; walk through ooze or in wet shoes, making a smacking or sucking sound Usage: The repressive government squelched the rebellion immediately. / Ew, I just squelched a slug in my bare feet! Related Words: Curb (restrain, control, rein in, as in Parliament attempted to curb the excesses of the monarchy), Quell (forcibly suppress; quiet down) More Info: This word is imitative in origin—that is, it comes from the sound that occurs when you step on something soft and squishy.

protean ； versatile

taking on different forms readily taking different roles, versatile When Picasso is described as a protean genius, it means that not only was he brilliant, but he changed the way he worked many times. Protean means able to change shape. example: David Copperfield is the second half of Dickens's writing career in protean form.

divulge

افشا کردن ، برملا کردن ، بروز دادن make known (private or sensitive information). disclose, reveal Example: I don't want to divulge my plans at the moment

temerity

بى‌ پروايى‌، بى‌باكى‌ fearless daring Example: no one has the temerity to go in the rundown house at the end of the street and see if it is haunted.

debilitating

تضعیف کننده ، فرساینده (of a disease or condition) making someone very weak and infirm. impairing the strength and vitality Example: They worried about living, with unknown debilitating effects on their bodies.

intrepid

جسور ، نترس ، بی باک ، دلیر brave, audacious, dauntless, courageous

callow

خام ، بی تجربه ، چشم و گوش بسته ، ناپخته (of a young person) inexperienced and immature. Example: both Los Angeles and New York are known for callow out-of-towners hoping to make it big

soporific

خواب آور - کسالت بار Something that is soporific is sleep-inducing. Certain medicines, but also extreme coziness, can have a soporific effect. Example: Thanksgiving is an endurance contest: You want wines that are energetic rather than soporific.

palatable

خوشمزه | گوارا | دلپذیر (of food or drink) pleasant to taste. Example: They offer palatable meat, but have not been sought after in the same way as true lobsters or prawns. I would like to give her a tip to help make her suggestions more palatable .

mendacity

دروغگویی untruthfulness Example: His history of mendacity is so intense and so long lasting that he wouldn't understand the truth if he fell over it.

bogus

دروغی ، جعلی ، قلابی ، ساختگی Definition: Fake, fraudulent Usage: The back of this bodybuilding magazine is just full of ads for bogus products—this one promises 22-inch biceps just from wearing magnetic armbands! Related Words: Spurious and Sham are synonyms More Info: Bogus is of American origin, originally a device for making counterfeit money. "Bogus!" was also a slang term of the '80s (prominent in the 1989 film Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure), meaning "bad" or "unfair." On the GRE, however, bogus means fake.

forgo

دست برداشتن، رها کردن، انصراف دادن omit or decline to take (something pleasant or valuable); go without. Example: My partner, Jack, stayed home, forgoing the 18-mile drive to work over snow-covered roads.

cede

دست برداشتن، رها کردن، انصراف دادن relinquish possession or control over, surrender Example: With U.S. airstrikes, as well as the intervention of forces loyal to Iran and the Russian military, the Islamic State ceded the last of its territory earlier this year.

metamorphosis

دگرگونی - دگردیسی Definition: A complete change or transformation (in biology, a change such as a caterpillar becoming a pupa and then a butterfly) Usage: Many reality show competitions are based on the idea of a contestant undergoing a metamorphosis, such as through dieting, exercise, life coaching, rehab, or plastic surgery—or all of the above.

Syntax

ساختار دستور، صرف Definition: The rules governing grammar and how words join to make sentences (or how words and symbols join in writing computer code), the study of these rules, or any system or orderly arrangement Usage: Now that my linguistics class is studying syntax, it makes a little more sense when my computer flashes "SYNTAX ERROR" at me. / Anyone learning a language is bound to make syntactical mistakes—even if he or she knows the appropriate vocabulary, it is still difficult to assemble the words perfectly. More Info: The root "taxis" (arrangement) also gives us taxonomy (the science of classification, such as in biology).

phony

ساختگى، جعلى، تقلبى Definition: Fake, counterfeit; insincere, not genuine Usage: Phony Louis Vuitton bags are easily purchased in Chinatown, but they are illegal—selling them can land a vendor in jail, and the counterfeit bags are often made with child labor. / She's such a phony person, pretending to befriend people and then talking about them behind their backs. Related Words: Faux, apocryphal, and spurious all mean fake or counterfeit. A phony person may possess various affectations (fake behavior, such as in speech or dress, adopted to give a certain impression).

prompt

سریع ، فوری ، وادار کردن ، باعث شدن Primary Meanings ofprompt 1. according to schedule or without delay; on time 2.give an incentive for action 3.assist (somebody acting or reciting) by suggesting the next words of something forgotten or imperfectly learned

reverent

محترمانه - احترام آمیز Definition: Feeling or expressing very deep respect and awe Usage: Ayn Rand is a controversial figure, but critical views are not welcome at the local Objectivist Club meeting, where everyone expresses a reverent view of the author. Related Words: Pious (devout; religiously reverent and dutiful) More Info: This word comes from the same place as reverend (a minister, as in a church).

sinecure

مقام تشریفاتی ، شغل تشریفاتی Definition: A job or position that pays while requiring little or no work Usage: It's a wealthy university—it's sort of understood that professors who relocate to campus are rewarded with sinecures for their spouses, whether those spouses have any qualifications or not. / In medieval times, a sinecure was a paying position for a priest but without an attachment to a parish where he would actually have to show up and do anything. More Info: From Latin "beneficia sine cura," meaning "a church living without care (of souls)." That sounds pretty bad, but sometimes a sinecure is used for a good reason—for instance, a government might appoint someone (who already has a job) a title and salary for another job in order to allow that person expanded power to accomplish something.

trifle

مقدار جزئی ، اندک Definition: Trivial, not very important; so small as to be unimportant; frivolous, shallow Usage: Luis broke up with Cara because she was always obsessed with some trifling matter—he tried to talk about foreign aid dependency, and she changed the subject to what the actress Katie Holmes dressed her daughter Suri in for a shopping trip. / The young heiress was so wealthy that she considered the salary from her internship a mere trifle, and didn't even notice when her paycheck was days late. Related Words: Frivolous (lacking seriousness, excessively carefree, as in The judge dismissed the lawsuit as frivolous—you can't sue the government for failing to protect you from birds). Nugatory also means "of little or no importance."

martinet

مقرراتی ، سختگیر ، خشک Definition: Person who adheres to rules extremely closely; strict disciplinarian Usage: It was no fun growing up with a military officer for a dad. He was such a martinet he once made me do twenty pushups for being one minute late to bed —even though the reason I was late was that I wanted to kiss him goodnight. Related Words: Doctrinaire (person who applies doctrine in an impractical or rigid and close-minded way), Jingoism (excessive, loud patriotism and aggressive, warlike foreign policy), Hawkish (advocating war), Chauvinism (fanatical patriotism or blind enthusiasm for military glory; undue or biased devotion to any group, cause, etc.) More Info: After the general Jean Martinet, a French drillmaster.

proscribe

ممنوع اعلام کردن - توقیف کردن the action of forbidding something; banning. prohibition Example: In May 1794 the Dublin Society was included in the wave of proscription which was then afflicting most anti-government organizations.

concur

موافق بودن ، هم عقیده بودن ، مقارن بودن Definition: Approve, agree Usage: John Locke wrote that justice is based on the social contract, and I concur—in fact, my latest book is all about contractual justice. Related Words: Assent (approval, agreement) More Info: Concur is related to concurrent, meaning "occurring at the same time or acting over the same area; coordinating actions," as in "We recommend that you take calculus before college physics, but it is possible to take them concurrently."condone

assent

موافقت express approval or agreement, typically officially. Example: I nodded assent , and promptly closed my eyes and began to daydream.

imbroglio

موقعیت دشوار - وضعیت بغرنج predicament Example: Compared with the current drama in American politics, the Brexit imbroglio looks almost tame for once.

scurrilous

موهن ، توهین آمیز ، هتاک If something is scurrilous, it's meant to offend. Scurrilous rumors can give you a bad reputation, and scurrilous stories sell tabloid magazines. Example: At the root of all these scurrilous charges against Vice President Pence is a deep-seated religious intolerance and a sad desire to politicize a very serious situation.

chimera

A chimera is something you've imagined that's bits and pieces of other things mashed together into a new horrible fantasy, something impossible in real life that only exists in your mind. Example: The chimera of "collusion" might then be used against him to undo his presidency and drive him from office.

gradation

Definition: A progression, a process taking place gradually, in stages; one of these stages Usage: The hill's gradation was so gradual that even those on crutches were able to enjoy the nature trail. / The short story's language graded from the vernacular to the erudite so gradually that you practically didn't realize until the end that the speaker had become educated almost before your eyes.

be lost on somebody

If a joke or remark is lost on someone, they do not understand it.

begging the question

If a statement or situation begs the question, it causes you to ask a particular question: to talk about something as if it were true, even though it may not be

shunning

avoid

provident

آينده نگر، دور انديش providing carefully for the future opposite of short-sighted farseeing, long-sighted example:

authenticity

اصليت ،اعتبار،سنديت ،صحت the quality of being authentic. reliability, dependability Example: the paper should have established the authenticity of the documents before publishing them

gruesome

مخوف، نفرت انگيز sth causes horror or repulsion; grisly

exemplar

نمونه (رسمی) a person or thing serving as a typical example or excellent model. paragon, epitome Example: But these are far from being exemplars of sound forest management, and an unmanaged wilderness forest can be a weapon of mass destruction.

conform

پیروی کردن ، اطاعت کردن comply with, abide, square with, fall in with,tally with, be consistent with

stride

گام بلند برداشتن a long, decisive step. Example: Consider him: at slow or fast-medium, his approach never varied; two short walking paces, six running strides and a four-foot leap.

mendicant

گدا beggar Definition: Beggar, or religious follower who lives by begging Usage: Having joined a mendicant order, the friar had vowed not to own property, and instead to subsist on the donations of the faithful. Related Words: Pauper (very poor person), Alms (money or other donations given as charity) More Info: Mendicant comes from a root for "defect, fault" that also gives us mend and amendment, which relate to fixing faults. The original sense was that mendicants were beggars who had physical disabilities.

contraries

Definition: Things that are opposing; either of two opposite things Usage: The Machiavellian among us would say that ethics and expedience are contraries—at some point, one must win out over the other. Related Words: Counterpoint (a contrasting element) More Info: The expression to the contrary means "to the opposite effect of the thing we were just talking about, as in "Although you say the plan will please everyone, to the contrary, our biggest client has already informed us that they will find a new supplier if we proceed."

frenetic

Definition: Wildly excited, frantic, distracted Usage: The advice in the expert's time management book struck many as unrealistic, as not everyone can handle the frenetic lifestyle the author espouses: getting up before dawn to begin work before spending quality time with the kids over breakfast, taking conference calls from the treadmill, etc. Related Words: Frenzied (wildly excited; violently agitated) More Info: The Greek "phren" meant "mind"; frenetic is related to the idea of an inflammation or disease of the brain.

diffuse

Definition: Spread widely, disseminate (verb); dispersed, widely spread out, or wordy and going off-topic (adj) Usage: The spy attempted to root out the dissenters at the gala, but he was only able to detect a diffuse sense of discontent all around the room. / It will be very difficult to diffuse the power among the people when transitioning from autocracy to democracy. More Info: A diffuser is a device that spreads air freshener or other scent by being plugged into an outlet. Don't confuse diffuse with defuse, to calm or put an end to (to "defuse a fight").

Standing

Definition: Status, rank, reputation (noun); existing indefinitely, not movable (adj) Usage: As he had feared, his divorce greatly reduced his standing as a relationship expert. / I'm disappointed that you don't want to leave your current job, but I want you to know that you have a standing invitation—as long as I'm the boss, you have a job here anytime you want one. / While the U.S. has a standing army (that is, an army that is not disbanded in times of peace), Costa Rica's constitution actually forbids a standing military. More Info: "Longstanding" and the expressions "of long standing" or "in good standing" are based on standing, as in a longstanding friendship or an account in good standing (generally an account for which all debts are paid).

crescendo

Definition: Steady increase in force, intensity, or the loudness of a musical passage; a climactic moment or peak Usage: Mrs. Higgins did love the symphony, but she was also coming down with a migraine—by the time the music reached its towering crescendo, her head was pounding. / The administration tried to ignore the protest, but finally had to address the issue when the demonstration reached a crescendo. Related Words: Ascension (rising to the top), Culminate (reach a high point or final stage), Surge (strong forward movement, swelling wave) More Info: Crescendo is originally a musical term; its antonym is decrescendo, although that word is less often used metaphorically.

fetid

Definition: Stinking; having an offensive smell Usage: I hate doing your laundry—it's always full of fetid gym socks. Related Words: Noisome (disgusting, foul), Noxious (harmful to health; corrupting) Memory Trick: Fetid looks a little like "feet"—smells like feet, too.

circumscribe

Definition: Strictly limit a role, range of activity, or area; in math, to be constructed around so as to touch as many points as possible Usage: Suki's parents circumscribed her after-school activities; she was permitted only to study and to join organizations directly related to academic subjects. / A square circumscribed in a circle has all four of its vertices on the circle's circumference. / Our land is circumscribed by hedges and fences. More Info: "Circum" is the Latin root for "around," and "scribe" for "write." The "scribe/script" root also occurs in proscribe (prohibit) and conscript (draft into military service).

debonair

When you're debonair, you impress women, other men, and pretty much everyone with your manners, wit, and style. Example: He's debonair and overbearing — the kind of man everyone wants to avoid at a party.

redoubtable

awe/fear-inspiring Example: There's a revealing moment early in "Funny Man," Patrick McGilligan's comprehensive biography of Mel Brooks, the relentless, redoubtable comedian and filmmaker.

befit

be appropriate for; suit. Example: She stood, waiting for the officer to greet her in the manner befitting a princess.

flummox

bewilder, mystify, perplex, confound, astonish, dumbfound Example: Traveling to New York to promote a new movie, "Like a Boss," she found herself flummoxed by airport and in-flight options.

crystallize

cause to take on a definite and clear shape Example: Only after 15 mins of brainstorming did Samantha's ideas for the essay crystallize.

bowdlerize

censor- expurgate- to edit by omitting parts considered indelicate To bowdlerize means to edit offensive parts out of something. Example: In that way of overprotective parents, I used to skip this passage, before my kids were old enough to catch me bowdlerizing.

sententious

concise and full of meaning If you speak in sententious phrases, your listeners are probably falling asleep, as your speech is pompous and pretentious, and full of moralistic babble. example: Rather than highlighting the perversity of slavery, his sententious prose strains to upstage it.

foreordain

foreordain or determine beforehand predetermined, preordain Example: It was necessary, even with its foreordained conclusion, because the president's conduct transgressed acceptable boundaries.

resentful

full of or marked by resentment or indignant ill will Example: If you are resentful of someone, you feel ill will toward him, mixed with envy, like when a newer coworker gets the promotion you've been working toward for years.

putative

generally considered or reputed to be. Example: The putative buyer backed all the way out immediately, without any suggestion of negotiation.

churn

gitate or turn (milk or cream) in a machine in order to produce butter. Example: if x-ray flares churn circumstellar disks enough to keep newborn planets there once was a spiraling into their suns, it would be an ironic twist on our conception of x-ray flares as perilous

self-righteous

having or characterized by a certainty, especially an unfounded one, that one is totally correct or morally superior. Lincoln was a man of moral purpose who never allowed himself to become self-righteous about his morality.

unflappable

having or showing calmness in a crisis.

Fiduciary

holding of something in trust for another

presumptuous

گستاخ. گستاخانه Definition: Too bold or forward; going beyond that which is proper Usage: I would never date that presumptuous jerk! I mean, I thought he was attractive until he walked up to me and said, "We should go out—I looked up your address on Google and I'll pick you up at 8." The nerve! More Info: Don't confuse presumptuous with presumptive, meaning "based on inference or assumption," as in a presumptive heir to the throne.

insolent

گستاخانه ، بی شرمانه ، توهین آمیز showing a rude and arrogant lack of respect. impertinent, impudent, discourteous Example: There is no privilege here, no escape from the insolent booth attendants, the ceaseless demands of the homeless, and the pungent overcrowding.

querulous

گله مند Definition: Given to complaining, grumbling Usage: Norma had been happy to be a grandmother, but was somewhat less happy when a querulous child was dropped off on her doorstep—"I don't want to come inside," "I don't like sandwiches," "It's too cold in the bathroom." Would the whining and moaning ever stop? Related Words: Carp (constantly complain, fret, and find fault), Petulant (unreasonably irritable or sullen), Peevish (annoyed, in a bad mood, stubborn), Cross (angry, ill-humored) More Info: Querulous shares a root with quarrel.

opaque

گنگ، مغشوش کردن، تیره و تارکردن Definition: Not translucent; not allowing light, heat, etc. to pass through; dark, dull, unclear or stupid Usage: The school dress code required opaque tights under skirts—the rules specified that sheer stockings were unacceptable. / Rena was tragically opaque—when her boyfriend said "I want to see other people," she thought he meant he needed glasses. Related Words: Turbid refers literally to water that is muddy and not clear because of stirred-up dirt or mud; metaphorically, it can mean obscured or confused, as in turbid feelings.

unpropitious

(of a circumstance) not giving or indicating a good chance of success; unfavorable. Example: With only a bottle of water and a sandwich, the hikers faced an unpropitious task: ascending a huge mountain that took most two days to climb.

mellifluous

(of a voice or words) sweet or musical; pleasant to hear. something that sounds sweet and smooth, like the honeyed voice of a late-night radio DJ. Example: My father was gifted with a mellifluous voice.

overweening

Overweening is a negative term meaning arrogant or excessive. People can be described as having overweening pride or overweening ambition. It's too much and not good. Confidence and pride are okay in moderation. Overweening means having too much of it though so that it overtakes the rest of your personality, and not in a good way. Example: The far right will always marshal imaginary enemies - whether they be communism, immigration or an overweening EU - to consolidate power and dismantle the pillars of democracy. Barr is described as supremely confident in his beliefs, which is to say that his overweening arrogance is not an act put on someone who is overcompensating to hide insecurity.

(c)atholic

When capitalized, Catholic refers to the Catholic Church. With a lower-case "c," catholic means "universal" and "inclusive." If you listen to anything from hip-hop to Baroque, you have catholic taste in music. example: You once described yourself as "an obsessive and catholic reader."

fisc

a state treasury or exchequer or a royal treasury;

arch

deliberately or affectedly playful and teasing. mischievous Example: I attempted to hide my emotions, but an arch remark escaped my lips.

bluster

false confidence and bravado Example: His Monday evening statement is plain and devoid of bluster, and the heart of it includes conciliatory, apologetic notes.

magisterially

in an overbearingly domineering manner; as a dictator Example: But the old ways are passing, symbolized by the physical decrepitude of Al, whom McShane plays magisterially as a lion in very late December. There's nothing wrong with this approach, as Euripides magisterially proved in his argumentative tragedies more than two millennia ago.

merely

صرفا - فقط just; only Example: Instead of the body of a book, Horn merely offers us the picture and the poetry beneath.

overstate

غلو کردن ، گزافه گویی express or state too strongly; exaggerate. Example: You know, to say that they would be confused might be overstating it.

vacillation

hesitation, indecisiveness Example: He said Japan will continue to launch "flexible border control measures without hesitation" and urged his ministers to keep their caution levels up high.

snitch

steal Example: The cook made them this morning, and I took the opportunity to snitch a few.

unwavering

unwavering= steady If you're a good hockey goalie, then you'll show an unwavering determination to keep the puck out of your goal. Example: "My thanks to every one of them for their unwavering dedication to our city."

debut

perform in public for the first time.

ministration

پرستاری assistance in time of difficulty the provision of assistance or care. Example: It wasn't that she lacked strength; a more precise description would be that her independent nature had wasted away and shriveled up beneath the careful and diligent ministrations of her father

polyglot

چند زبانی Definition: Speaking or composed of many languages (of a person, book, etc.); a person who knows several languages Usage: New York's public service announcements often take the form of polyglot posters in the subway, suggesting in six languages that readers give up their seats for pregnant women or those with disabilities. More Info: "Poly" means "many" (polygamy, polynomial) and "glot" means "tongue" (glottal, epiglottis).

confound

گیج و درمانده کردن، حیرت زده، مات و مبهوت کردن Definition: Confuse, frustrate; mix up or make worse Usage: He was positively confounded by a map that seemed to show "East Bethlehem" as being to the west of "West Bethlehem." / He was already a little flummoxed in regards to differential equations, but reading an incorrectly-edited Wikipedia page on the topic only confounded the problem. Related Words: Baffled, Flummoxed, and Nonplussed are all words for "confused."dip into something

reminisce

یاد کردن indulge in enjoyable recollection of past events. Fans will enjoy the revitalized element, while happily reminiscing on the past.