Improve Your Vocabulary in Leisure Time!: July 2010

Thursday, July 29, 2010

GAMBOGE

gamboge:

- a strong yellow; a reddish yellow color

- an orange to brown gum resin from the sap of southeast Asian trees of the genus Garcinia, used as a yellow pigment and as a cathartic

sass:

- impudent speech; impudent talk

- to talk impudently to; to talk disrespectfully to (especially to someone in authority or older)

Example: "I raised you so you wouldn't talk back to me or sass me." [Reference: Lawanda Randall; Telling Tales: The Tree of Love; The World & I (Washington, DC); Feb 1995]

BEDLAM

bedlam:

- a lunatic asylum (often is capitalized)
- a place, scene, or state of uproar and confusion

obsolete:
- madman, lunatic

Quoted from Wordsmith.Org:

ETYMOLOGY:
Alteration of the name Bethlehem, a hospital for the insane in London.

NOTES:
The Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem in London, now known as Bethlem Royal Hospital, is the oldest hospital for treating the mentally ill. The treatment was not always what's considered the norm today. At one time the "sane" used to go see the "insane" as if in a zoo -- there was an admission ticket. The William Hogarth painting of the Bedlam on the right shows fashionable ladies visiting the hospital to amuse themselves by gawking at the patients.
See the art of the hospital inmates at The Bethlem Gallery.

USAGE:
"As estimates of the Haitian death toll topped 100,000 Friday, government officials here scrambled to reach more than 1,400 Canadians who are still unaccounted for amidst the rubble and bedlam in that country."
Les Whittington; 1,415 Canadians Missing; Toronto Star (Canada); Jan 16, 2010.

Review Items No. 1-200

Review Items No. 1-200

bobo: drunk (Example: She's totally bobo; get her out of here before she barfs.)

torpid:
- numb; dormant; having lost the power of exertion, movement, or feeling
- lacking in energy; lacking in vigor; dull

declaim: to speak in an emotional and loud manner; to harangue; to orate

ignoble:
- not noble; humble; of low origin; plebeian
- characterized by lowness; not noble in character

oneiric: pertaining to dreams; dreamy

doff:
- to take off or to remove as an article of clothing
- to tip or remove one's hat as in greeting
- to put aside; to discard; to rid oneself of

dolorous: causing, marked by, or expressing misery, sorrow, or grief; mournful

cupidity:
- strong desire for wealth; greed; avarice
- strong desire

ersatz: inferior substitute; inferior imitation (Example: I looked it over to show I was alert, not because I'd know an ersatz from the real thing. [Reference: NEUTRON STAR by Larry Niven])

myrmidon:
- a loyal follower who executes orders unquestioningly or unscrupulously
- (Capitalized) a member of the legendary Thessalian people who followed Achilles on the expedition against Troy

tact:
- acute sensitivity or aesthetic perception (Example: He could convert the play into a movie script with remarkable skill and tact.)
- ability to say or do the right thing without offending in dealing with others (Example: By the use of tact, I could calm my jealous girlfriend.)

dismal:

- dark and depressing; showing or causing gloom (Example: When the weather is very dismal my grandma stays in bed all day.)

- lacking merit; characterized by ineptitude (Example: Her dismal performance disappointed me last night.)

nascent: beginning to exist or having recently come into existence; coming into being
(Example: But there are other nascent technologies that are widely predicted to play a major part in moving the world from a dependence on oil, nuclear energy and coal. [Reference: "Out of thin air", The Guardian, October 31, 2001])

affray: a tumultuous assault or quarrel; a brawl (Example: Mounted encounters by armored knights locked in desperate hand-to-hand combat, stabbing and wrestling in tavern brawls, deceits and brutalities in street affrays, balletic homicide on the dueling field - these were the martial arts of Renaissance Europe. [Reference: Sydney Anglo, The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe])

puerile:
- juvenile
- childish, silly (Example: Though Laura enjoys a good practical joke, she finds some of the gags pulled by her co-workers on April Fool’s Day to be merely puerile.)

zeitgeist: the spirit of the time; the general intellectual and moral state or temper characteristic of any period of time (Example: The best writers of that predawn era were originals who had the zeitgeist by the tail. [Reference: Gary Giddins, Visions of Jazz: The First Century])

stoic:

Noun:

- (Capitalized) a member of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno holding that one should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and should submit without complaint to unavoidable necessity
-one who is apparently or professedly indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain, joy or grief

Adjective:

- of or pertaining to the Stoics; resembling the Stoics or their doctrines
- not affected by passion; being or appearing indifferent to pleasure or pain, joy or grief

indelible:
- that cannot be removed, erased, or washed away
- making marks that cannot easily be removed or erased
- incapable of being forgotten; memorable

(Example: In a sense, these years were like a blur of hunger, a time without roots or a sense of stability that made an indelible mark and colored his every move years later. [Reference: Marcos Bretón and José Luis Villegas, Away Games])

limn:
- to depict by drawing or painting
- to portray in words; to describe

(Example: Oh, yes, I write, as I limn the familiar perfections of his profile, "you look very well." [Reference: Kimberly Elkins, "What Is Visible", The Atlantic, March 2003])

verbiage:
- an overabundance of words; wordiness
- manner or style of expression; diction.

(Example: The sheer volume of verbiage he has expelled over eight years is enough to make John Updike look blocked. [Reference: Andrew Sullivan, "Sounds of Silence", New Republic, January 15, 2001])

febrile: pertaining to fever; feverish; caused by fever

foment: to rouse; to incite; to instigate

beholden: being under obligation; indebted

gravid: pregnant; distended with eggs

bibelot: a small household ornament or decorative object that has no practical utility; trinket

edacious: voracious; gluttonous

hale: free from disease, infirmity, defect, or weakening conditions; sound; healthy

fetid: having a very offensive smell; stinking

gloaming: twilight; dusk

bestow:
- to present as a gift; to present as an honor
- to put to use; to apply

sobriquet: nickname; epithet; a descriptive name

taw:
- a large marble used for shooting in playing marbles
- a line from which the players shoot at marbles
- a square-dance partner
- the 23d letter of the Hebrew alphabet
- to shoot a marble
- to tan skins by a dry process; to make skins into leather by treating with alum, or salt

wizened: dried up; withered; shriveled; shrunken (Example: The new CEO is a wizened old man.)

neologism:
- a new word or a new meaning for an established word or expression
- the use or creation of new words or new expressions

lassitude:
- a state or feeling of being tired; fatigue
- a condition of weariness or debility; languor
- a condition of listlessness

cosset:
- a pet lamb
- a small pet
- to treat as a pet; pamper

cormorant:
- a greedy person
- a gluttonous person
- a rapacious person
- a genus of dark-colored web-footed water birds

adobe: a natural building material made from sand, clay, horse manure and water, with some kind of fibrous or organic material which is shaped into bricks using frames and dried in the sun. Adobe is a Spanish word that is from Arabic al-ṭūb (the brick), from Coptic tōbe (brick), from Egyptian dbt.

sorcerer: a person who practices sorcery; wizard (Example: The first novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.)

bifurcate:
- to divide into two branches; to divide into two parts
- divided into two branches; divided into two parts

laureates:
- a person who is the recipient of honor or recognition for achievement in literature, art, or science (Example: The Swedish Academy decides who will receive the Nobel Prize in Literature and announces the name of the chosen laureate.)
- to crown with a laurel wreath as a mark of honor, excellence, or achievement

limen: threshold (Example: A limen of a psychological response is called a liminal point.)

exiguous: excessively scanty; inadequate; little; small; meager

lucre: monetary gain; profit (Example: He is a director who makes movies almost entirely for lucre.)

emolument: the returns, wages or perquisites arising from office, employment, or labor; compensation; gain

repast:
- something taken as food; a meal
also:
- the act of taking food
- the time of taking food

eschew: to avoid (as something wrong or distasteful especially on moral or practical grounds)

chary:
- wary; discreetly cautious as hesitant and vigilant about risks and dangers
- discreetly cautious as slow to accept, or expend; not expending freely; sparing

extempore: without preparation or premeditation; on the spur of the moment; in an extemporaneous manner (Example: He spoke extempore and wearied the audience.)

bombast: pompous or pretentious inflated speech or writing

weenie:
- frankfurter; wiener
- penis (slang)
- nerd
- an insignificant, disliked man (slang)
- a weak and ineffectual man (slang)

segue: a transition from one part to another without pause, as in music

propound: to put forward for discussion or consideration; to set forth; to propose

brio: enthusiastic vigor; vivacity (Example: "She tells their story with brio and a mixture of sympathy and tart insight.” [Michiko Kakutani])

superfluous: unnecessary; useless; more than what is wanted

dour: stern; obstinate; inflexible

aberrant: deviating from the normal way; atypical; abnormal

stentorian: extremely loud (Example: Then a stentorian voice blared an all-points bulletin: "Calling the G-men! Calling all Americans to war on the underworld!" [Reference: Strobe Talbott, "Resisting the Gangbusters Option"])

iota:
- the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet
- a bit; a jot; a very small quantity; a very small degree

cadge:
- to obtain by begging; to sponge
- to beg

insipid:
- lacking flavor or zest; tasteless
- not exciting; not interesting

assiduous:
- constant and careful in attention or application; diligent (Example: John is an assiduous programmer who strove for perfection.)
- persistent; unceasing; (Example: The police did an assiduous research to find the murderer.)

wanderlust:
an impulse to wander or travel (Example: The British installation artist Mike Nelson doesn’t just embrace such wanderlust. He also makes it a good reason to stay put. [Reference: The New York Times: Mike Nelson’s Trailer Trash])

asperity: rigor; severity; harshness; roughness (Example: What Pope would say of Cibber nobody inquired, but in hope that Pope's asperity might betray his pain and lessen his dignity. [Reference: Lives of the English Poets: Prior, Congreve, Blackmore, Pope])

mascot:
An icon, sign, person, animal, or object, adopted by a group, believed to bring good luck (Example: The ongoing search for a new mascot at the University of Mississippi has gained national attention. After students voted in favor of having a say in choosing the mascot, speculation ramped up that Ole Miss could end up with Star Wars character Admiral Ackbar as the mascot. [Reference: USNews.com]

interdisciplinary:
involving multiple academic, scientific, or artistic disciplines; involving multiple branches of learning (Example: Some schools allow you to construct your own major, perhaps in an interdisciplinary field. [Reference: USNews.com])

traumatize
- to wound or injure (e.g. tissues) in a surgical operation, or by force or by thermal, chemical, etc. - to subject to psychological trauma by a childhood experience
- to impose a trauma; to subject to a trauma

overhaul:
- a major repair, renovation, or revision (Example: The sewing machine requires a overhaul to work properly again.)
- to examine thoroughly for needed repairs
- to dismantle to repair
- to repair, renovate, or revise
- to catch up with; to overtake

stymie:
- obstacle; obstruction
- in golf, the condition that exists when an opponent's ball lies in a direct line between the player's ball and the hole
- to present an obstacle in the way of; to block; to impede
- to hinder or obstruct as with a stymie

erudite:
- possessing or showing an extensive knowledge gained from reading
- learned
- scholarly

nomenclature:
A system or set of names, terms, or procedures used in a branch of science, art, or technology, e.g. the nomenclature of geomorphology.

verve:
spirit and enthusiasm in an artistic performance

deft:
dexterous; quick; skillful; adroit

scrum:
- a restart after an interruption in a rugby play
- throng

masthead:
- the top of a mast
- the printed matter in a blog, newspaper or periodical that gives the title and the ownership detail, etc.

agelast:
a mirthless person; a person who never laughs

facade: (also façade)
- the front of a building; any face of a building facing a street, courtyard, etc.; any face of a building that has special architectural treatment
- a superficial, artificial, or false appearance

stratum: ( plural: strata)
- a layer of rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that makes it be distinguished from the other contiguous layers
- a horizontal layer or section of material in a set of contiguous layers
- a part of a series that presents a period or a stage of development or formation

baryon: the family of composite subatomic particles made of three quarks

joust:
- a fight with lances between two knights on horseback
- to fight on horseback as knights
- to engage in fight or competition as in a joust

lambda:
- the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet (Λ, λ)
- an uncharged hyperon

necropsy: autopsy (usually used for autopsy on animals)

vassal:
- in the Middle Ages: a feudal tenant; a person under protection of the feudal lord to whom she or he has vowed fealty and homage
- a person in a subordinate position
- a person in a subservient position

fealty:
- the loyalty that people owe to their country; the loyalty that people owe to their sovereign
- the fidelity that vassals owe to their feudal lord
- the oath of fidelity or loyalty to country, sovereign, or feudal lord
- faithfulness; allegiance

frolicsome:
full of gaiety; full of high-spirited fun; playful; sportive; rollicking

disport:
- to amuse; to entertain
- amusement; diversion

laager:
- a defensive encampment protected by a circle of armored vehicles or wagons
- a defensive policy; a defensive position
- to camp in a defensive circle of armored vehicles or wagons
- to form (armoured vehicles or wagons) into a laager
- to park (armoured vehicles or wagons) in a laager

Xanthippe (also: Xantippe) :

- Xanthippe was the wife of Socrates
- a scolding woman or wife; an ill-tempered woman or wife; a shrewish woman or wife

jollification: festivity; merrymaking; revelry; conviviality

roomette:
a small private room on a railroad sleeping car or in a railroad passenger train

tootle:
- to toot gently, softly, repeatedly, or continuously on a flute or some musical instrument like that
- to drive, walk or move along in a leisurely manner; amble

hag:
- an ugly, slatternly, wizened, evil-looking old woman; witch
- a kind of fairy or goddess, often found in folklore and children's tales, who is ugly, slatternly, wizened, or evil-looking

old-timer:
- a person who has been an employee, member, soldier or resident for a long time
- an old-fashioned person
- oldster
- veteran

expound:
- to set forth in detail; to state in detail
- to explain, interpret, clarify or defend by setting forth in careful and often elaborate detail

abstain:
to refrain deliberately and often with an effort of self-denial from something regarded as improper or unhealthy (Example: He abstains from eating meat.)

remorse:
a gnawing distress for wrongdoing; compunction; self-reproach

gore:
- a small usually triangular piece of land (as where two roads diverge)
- a triangular piece (as a triangular piece of fabric in clothes)
- to cut into a triangular form
- to pierce or wound with a horn, tusk, or knife

sorgo:
a sorghum cultivated for the sweet juice in its stems (to make sugar and syrup)

delve:
- to dig (with a spade)
- to make a careful investigation for information (Example: He delved into the book to understand the complex algorithms.)

shank:
- the part of leg between knee and ankle in human or other vertebrates
- a cut of meat from the upper or the lower part of the leg of animals
- a projection on the back of buttons by which they are sewn to fabric

pellucid:

- allowing for the passage of light without diffusion; transparent (Example: The air was strangely still, the sky pellucid and speckled with stars except where the swelling clouds massed to the west. [Reference: Conan and the Emerald Lotus by John C. Hocking])

- easy to understand; clear

coeval:
of the same age or antiquity; contemporary

affranchise:
to make or set free from obligation or service

eremite:
a religious recluse; hermit

de jure:
- by right
- in accordance with the laws or the actions of the state

gregarious:
- tending or enjoying to be in crowds and socializing
- traveling or living in herds, flock, or crowd (as animals)

brut:
- very dry
- a sweetness measure for dry sparkling wines

ides:
originally referred to the day of the full moon; but then, in the ancient Roman calendar, refers to the 15th day of March, May, July, or October, or the 13th of the other months

eddy:
- a current of water or air running contrary to the main current and with a circular motion; small whirlpool or whirlwind
- an unimportant contrary movement or trend
- a contrary current as of thought or policy

mortification:
- the control of physical desires and bodily passions and appetites by self-denial, abstinence, fasting, etc.
- something causing shame, humiliation, etc. as it wounds one's pride or self-respect
- the sense of shame and humiliation due to something that wounds one's pride or self-respect

jovial: good-humored, hearty convivial, or genial

abba:
- father
- title of a bishop in some Arabic churches

kame: an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till

scuttlebutt: rumour; gossip

wordmonger
- a writer or speaker who uses words pretentiously
- a writer or speaker who uses words carelessly disregarding for meanings

wean:
- to cause a child or a young animal to get accustomed gradually to food other than its mother's milk
- to detach gradually from a source of dependence

elide:
leave out; suppress; omit; ignore; to strike out, e.g. some word written; slur over, e.g. a vowel, syllable, etc. (Example: "Did you know that dragons elide riders' names?" [Reference: The Chronicles of Pern written by Anne McCaffrey])

ewe - a female sheep especially when mature

drudge:
- a person who does hard, menial, tedious, or unpleasant work
- to do hard, menial, tedious, or unpleasant work
- to force to do hard, menial, tedious, or unpleasant work

sabotage:
- destruction of property or obstruction of normal operations in time of war
- destruction of an employer's equipments, tools and materials or hindering of production by discontented workers

hoodlum: a gangster; a thug; a ruffian

yowl:
- to utter a loud and long mournful cry of grief or distress; wail
- to complain with yowls

raver: a person who frequently speaks wildly and irrationally

sempre: always; used in music directions as without varying

turmoil: a state of extreme commotion; tumult

oblivion: the state of forgetting or being forgotten (Example: "Oblivion is a kind of annihilation." [Reference: The Life Of Johnson book])

pooh bah: a pompous ostentatious official especially one that holds many offices and jobs but fulfills none of them

epigrammatic: relating to or resembling an epigram; where an epigram is a short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation, as an example the following is an epigram by John Donne entitled as A Lame Beggar:

I am unable, yonder beggar cries,
To stand, or move; if he say true, he lies.

topsy-turvy:
- with the head downward; upside down; in a reversed condition
- in confusion or disorder

beleaguerment:
- surrounding with troops; besiege
- harassment

algorithm:
- a step by step procedure to solve a problem
- a set of instructions for solving a problem on a computer in a finite number of steps

lexicon: dictionary; a dictionary especially for of an ancient language

vex: disturb; annoy (Eample: "Vex not your mind on that," the prince answered, smiling. [Reference: The White Company book])

maim: to deprive of a necessary part of the body; cripple (Example: I couldn't, didn't, couldn't believe that Ellis could maim - and effectively kill - a child's pony and three young racehorses. [Reference: Come To Grief book])

womanizer:
- a man who philanders
- to be sexually promiscuous with women
- to make effeminate

duad: pair; couple; unit of two objects

downtrodden: figuratively oppressed; subjugated (Example: He is not a spokesman for the downtrodden, much less those who seek just solutions to real dilemmas [Reference: America and the War by Tony Judt])

oodles: - a great quantity; a great amount; lots; an unspecified large number (Example: I just met her this morning and I could already think of oodles of stuff that I wanted to tell her about.)

foreknowlege: - prescience - awareness of something before its existence or occurrence

looby: someone awkward and clumsy

novemdecillion: The number equal to 10⁶⁰; one with 60 zeros

foolhardy: heady, reckless

goo goo:
- loving (mostly used in the phrase: goo-goo eyes)
- an advocate of a political reform movement

umpirage: mediation by an umpire; the act of umpiring; refereeing

vorticity:
- the state of a fluid in swirling or vortical motion
- a measure of vortical motions

quackery:
- charlatanism
- medical practice and advice based on observation and experience and ignoring scientific findings

mooch:
- ask for and get free as being a parasite
- someone who cadges and tries to get something free

ultramundane: being beyond the world or the limits of the universe

almsgiving: something such as money, food, etc. given freely to relieve the poor

lorn: desolate; forsaken

idiographic: relating to or concerned with concrete or unique

facts or events

cade: left by its mother and reared by hand (e.g. a cade lamb)

zoolatry: animal worship

baksheesh: munificence (baksheesh is originally a Persian word)

kabbalah (variant of cabala):
- a medieval and modern system of Jewish theosophy, mysticism and thaumaturgy marked by belief in creation through emanation and a cipher method of interpreting Scripture
- a traditional esoteric matter
- esoteric doctrine or mysterious art

cabala:
- a medieval and modern system of Jewish theosophy, mysticism and thaumaturgy marked by belief in creation through emanation and a cipher method of interpreting Scripture
- a traditional esoteric matter
- esoteric doctrine or mysterious art

iconoclast:
- someone who destroys religious images or opposes their veneration
- someone who attacks settled beliefs or institutions

amulet: a small object worn to ward off evil, harm, or illness or to bring

good fortune

balk: to refuse abruptly

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Detailed Definition:

noun
- a ridge of land left unplowed as a dividing line or through carelessness
- a hindrance
- a ridge between furrows
- a wooden beam or rafter
- failure of a player to complete a motion, especially an illegal motion of the pitcher

in baseball while in position

intransitive verb
- to refuse abruptly [is used with 'at'] (e.g. He balked at putting up the promised

money)
- to stop and refuse to proceed
- to commit a balk in sports

transitive verb
- to check or stop by or as if by an obstacle

artiodactyl: having an even number of toes on each foot (as

camel or pig)

neuston: minute organisms that float in the surface film of water

vatic:
- of or related to a prophet or a prophecy
- prophetic

gelid: extremely cold, icy

litany:
- a liturgical prayer consisting of a series of petitions recited by a leader alternating

with fixed responses by the congregation
- a repetitive or incantatory recital

rorqual: any of a family of large baleen whales having the skin of

the throat marked with deep longitudinal furrows

endocarp: the inner, usually woody, layer of the pericarp of a

fruit, such as the stone of a cherry or peach

pedantic:
- like a pedant, overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning
- being showy of one’s knowledge, often in a boring manner
- being finicky or picky with language

euphemism: the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive

expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant

derision:
- the use of ridicule or scorn to show contempt
- an object of ridicule or scorn

doppelganger (Doppelgänger): the ghostly double of a living

person

subintelligitur:

- something that is implied even though not expressed
- something that is not stated but understood

endemic: native to a particular region

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- constantly present in a particular region
- native to a particular country, nation, or region

noun
- an endemic organism

pneuma: - soul - spirit

interdigitate: to become interlocked like the fingers of folded

hands

nanocephalous: having abnormally small head

firmament: - the arch of the sky - the heavens

magniloquent: bombastic in style or expression

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- speaking by a bombastic style or manner
- characterized by a bombastic style or manner
- inflated in style or expression
- pompous in style or expression

sapid: - having a strong pleasant flavor - pleasing to the mind

lumpen: one cut off from his/her normal socioeconomic class

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Detailed Definition:

adjective
- relating to displaced people who have been cut off from the socioeconomic class

with which they would ordinarily be identified (e.g. lumpen intellectuals unable to

find jobs in their fields)
- plebeian
- stupid
- unthinking

noun
- a member of the uneducated lowest class of society

socioeconomic: relating to, or involving both economic and

social factors

gadabout: one roaming about in search of amusement or social

activity

languor: mental or physical weariness or fatigue

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

noun
- mental or physical weariness or fatigue
- physical or mental laziness or weariness
- weakness or weariness of body or mind
- listless indolence
- indolence of one satiated by a luxury life

obtrude: to impose oneself or one's idea on others without

request

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Detailed Definition:

transitive verb
- to impose oneself or one's idea without request
- to force oneself or one's idea without warrant or invitation
- to thrust out

intransitive verb
- to become unduly prominent
- to interfere unduly
- to intrude

exemplar: one that serves as a model or example

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

noun
- one that serves as a model or example
- a copy of a book or writing
- a model to be copied
- a model to be imitated
- a pattern to be copied
- a pattern to be imitated
- a typical or standard specimen
- an ideal model or type

penchant: - a strong liking - a strong inclination

incongruous: - not harmonious - inconsistent

precarious: dependent on circumstances beyond one's control

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- depending on the will or pleasure of another
- dependent on uncertain premises
- dubious
- having insufficient foundation (a precarious belief)

esoteric: intended only for a particular group

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- limited to a small circle
- private
- confidential (an esoteric target)
- of rare interest (esoteric construction materials)

vexatious: distressing

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- full of stress
- full of disorder
- full of annoyance
- causing vexation
- annoying
- intended to vex
- intended to annoy

pecuniary: monetary

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- relating to money
- consisting of or measured in money
- requiring payment of money (e.g. a pecuniary offense)

propitious: presenting favorable conditions

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- favorable
- being a good omen
- auspicious
- benevolent

chicanery: deception by trickery or sophistry

jocund: merry

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Detailed Definition:

adjective
- full of high-spirited merriment
- marked by high spirits
- marked by lively mirthfulness
- of a humorous temperament
- showing high-spirited merriment

languish: to be or become feeble

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Detailed Definition:

intransitive verb
- to be or become feeble
- to be or become weak
- to be or become enervated
- to be or live in a state of depression
- to be or live in a state of decreasing vitality
- to lose strength or vigor

machination: a crafty action intended to accomplish a sinister

end

surcease: to desist from action

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Detailed Definition:

1. intransitive verb
- to desist from action
- to come to an end
- to cease
- to stop

2. transitive verb
- to put an end to
- to discontinue

3. noun
- cessation
- a temporary respite or end
- intermission

chapfallen: cast down in spirit

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Detailed Definition:

adjective
- dejected
- downhearted
- crestfallen
- depressed

heliolatry: worship of the sun

wrangle: to dispute something angrily

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Detailed Definition:

1. intransitive verb
- to dispute angrily, noisily or peevishly
- to engage in argument or controversy
- to quarrel noisily or angrily

2. transitive verb
- to win or obtain by argument
- to herd livestock, especially horses

3. noun
- the act of wrangling
- an angry, noisy dispute or argument

Sunday, July 25, 2010

GARRULOUS

garrulous:

- pointlessly or annoyingly talkative; talking much, especially about trivial things; talkative
- wordy; prolix

Example: He took a great liking to this Rev. Mr. Peters, and talked with him a great deal: told him yarns, gave him toothsome scraps of personal history, and wove a glittering streak of profanity through his garrulous fabric that was refreshing to a spirit weary of the dull neutralities of undecorated speech. [Reference: Mark Twain, "Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion II", The Atlantic , November 1877]

CIRCUMLOCUTION

circumlocution: an ambiguous or roundabout figure of speech, in its basic form, circumlocution is using an unnecessarily large number of words to describe something simple

Example: In a delightful circumlocution , the Fed chairman said that "investors are probably revisiting expectations of domestic earnings growth". [Reference: "US exuberance is proven 'irrational'", Irish Times , October 31, 1997]

CAPACIOUS

capacious: capable to contain a large quantity; roomy; spacious

Example: Out of those capacious receptacles he brought forth a small bottle of Scotch whiskey, a lemon, and some lump sugar. [Reference: Ellen M. Calder, "Personal Recollections of Walt Whitman", The Atlantic , June 1907]

Saturday, July 24, 2010

PUERILE

puerile:

- displaying a lack of maturity; juvenile
- childish; silly

Example: By that I mean they are just as prone to make gross generalization and indulge in puerile polemics. [Reference: The Huffington Post, David Isenberg: The Constitutionally Compatible PMC]

ALPENGLOW

alpenglow: alpenglow is an optical phenomenon, a reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains

Friday, July 16, 2010

CADRE

cadre:

- a core or nucleus of trained or otherwise qualified personnel around which an organization is formed
- a tightly knit and trained group of dedicated members active in promoting the interests of a revolutionary party
- a member of such a group
- a framework upon which a larger entity can be built; a scheme

METICULOUS

meticulous: extremely careful about details; excessively careful in the consideration of details
Example: Roosevelt was often persuasive and sometimes eloquent, displaying a power won in large part by his meticulous involvement in the writing process. [Reference: Carol Gelderman, All the Presidents' Words: The Bully Pulpit and the Creation of the Virtual Presidency]

STORMY PETREL

stormy petrel:

- any of various small sea birds of the family Hydrobatidae, having dark plumage with paler underparts; also called storm petrel.
- one who brings discord or strife, or appears at the onset of trouble.

Example: Of the unpredictable and constantly angry Paracelsus, for example, the stormy petrel who convulsed the staid medical establishment of the sixteenth century by demanding radical reforms in clinical thinking, he wrote: "This first great revolt against the slavish authority of the schools had little immediate effect, largely on account of the personal vagaries of the reformer--but it made men think." [Reference: Sherwin B. Nuland, "The Saint", New Republic , December 13, 1999]

PLAUDIT

plaudit:

- a round or demonstration of applause
- enthusiastic approval; an expression of praise

Example: Despite the plaudits her work received, her particular emphasis did not gain many adherents for more than a generation. [Reference: Michael Kammen, American Culture, American Tastes]

Sunday, July 11, 2010

PRIMA FACIE

prima facie:

adverb:

- at first view; on the first appearance

noun:

- a case consisting of evidence sufficient to go to the jury

adjective:

- true, valid, or adequate at first sight or at first impression
- self-evident; obvious
- legally sufficient to establish a fact unless disproved

Example: With all rich men and women there is, of course, a substantial body of populist literature that concludes that their riches were won from the labor of others, or that the structure of capitalist society ensured that the rich would grow richer as the poor grew poorer, or that riches are prima facie evidence of unethical behavior. [Referece: Robin W. Winks, Laurance S. Rockefeller: Catalyst for Conservation]

ACQUIESCE

acquiesce: to accept without objection; to consent passively

Example: The British were not prepared to acquiesce to the return of the Chinese to Tibet, and determined to counter the reassertion of Chinese influence. [Reference: Tsering Shakya, The Dragon in the Land of Snows]

SWAN SONG

swan song:

- a legendary song of great sweetness said to be sung by a dying swan
- a farewell appearance, action, or pronouncement

Example: Opposition leaders dismissed the Chancellor's speech as the swan song of a leader who has, after 16 years in office, overstayed his welcome with the electorate. [Reference: "Kohl predicts victory despite polls", Irish Times, May 19, 1998]

PREVARICATE

prevaricate: to depart or deviate from the truth; equivocate

Example: The leadership's perennial obsession with secrecy led it to prevaricate about the extent of the disease in the capital for five months. [Reference: Roderick Macfarquhar, "Unhealthy Politics", Newsweek International, May 12, 2003]

Saturday, July 10, 2010

LAMBENT

lambent:
- playing lightly over a surface; flickering (as is said of a flame, etc.)
- softly bright; radiant; giving off a soft glow (as an example: a lambent sky)
- playing lightly and gracefully over a subject; lightness or brilliance especially of expression

Sunday, July 4, 2010

MALLEABLE

malleable:

- capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer, or by the pressure of rollers

- capable of being altered or controlled by outside forces or influences; easily influenced

- capable of adaptive change; capable of adjusting to changes in circumstances; adaptable

Example: The natives proved less malleable and far less innocent than the Europeans imagined, so much so that early colonial history is filled with countless stories of monks who met hideous deaths at the hands of their flocks. [Reference: Juan Gonzalez, Harvest of Empire]

VIM

vim: energy and enthusiasm; power; force; vigor

Example: From a multitude of angles this has been a synergistic match, with each receiving added vim from the other's vigor, including the daily ritual of Mom helping Dad solve the last few clues of the New York Times crossword puzzle -- which he does in pen! [Reference: Robyn Blumner: The Key to a Half Century of Marriage]

PLAINTIVE

plaintive: expressive of suffering, sorrow, melancholy, or woe; melancholy; mournful; sad

Example: The shadows have lengthened, and the night birds have begun their plaintive chorus. [Reference: Valerie Martin, "Being St. Francis", The Atlantic, August 2000]

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