Monday, September 8, 2014

Vocabulary #3

accolade - noun a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
* My brother won an official accolade because of his dedication to music, from his favorite DJ.
acerbity - noun a sharp sour taste; a sharp bitterness; a rough and bitter manner
* The acerbity of the lemon was too much for my mother, her face instantly contorted. 
attrition - noun the act of rubbing together; wearing something down by friction; a wearing down to weaken or destroy; sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation; the wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water or wind or ice; erosion by friction
* Marks' attrition with the rocks caused them to make a spark.
bromide - noun any of the salts of hydrobromic acid; formerly used as a sedative but now generally replaced by safer drugs; a trite or obvious remark
* People are called captain obvious when they make a bromide remark.
chauvinist - noun an extreme bellicose nationalist; a person with a prejudiced belief in the superiority of his or her own kind
*Mr. Darcy was a chauvinist because he thought himself and his kind to high up to associate with lower class women.
chronic - adj. being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering
*Sadly a friend of mine got a chronic disease that will last for a very long time.
expound - verb add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; state
* The professor had a very vague explanation of the lesson so I asked a tutor to expound the material.
factionalism- adj. of a faction or factions; self-interested, partisan
* In Divergent types of people are divided into factions according to their characteristics.
immaculate - adj. completely neat and clean; free from stain or blemish; without fault or error
*The Virgin Mary is known to be immaculate.
imprecation - noun the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult); a slanderous accusation
*Witches in fairy-tales are known for casting an imprecation on princesses.
ineluctable - adj. impossible to avoid or evade:"inescapable conclusion"
* Death is an ineluctable fate that no one can escape. 
mercurial - adj. relating to or containing or caused by mercury;relating to or having characteristics (eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, thievishness) attributed to the god Mercury; relating to or under the (astrological) influence of the planet Mercury; liable to sudden unpredictable change
*Gods and goddesses are known to have characteristics that apply to certain planets, for example mercurial.
palliate - verb provide physical relief, as from pain; lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
* After my mom got a cramp I tried to palliate the relief by messaging her muscle.
protocol - noun code of correct conduct; forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by diplomats and heads of state; (computer science) rules determining the format and transmission of data
* When people are training for the army the have to follow a strict and serious protocol. 
resplendent - adj. having great beauty and splendor
* A resplendent women is bound to have many admirers.
stigmatize - verb mark with a stigma or stigmata; to accuse or condemn or openly or formally or brand as disgraceful
* The prisoner was stigmatized because of his many assassination. 
sub - noun a submersible warship usually armed with torpedoes; a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States; verb be a substitute
* Subs are used frequently in wars to prevent ships from entering our waters.
rosa - noun large genus of erect or climbing prickly shrubs including roses
* A rosa was outside in my backyard it seemed to bring the garden to life.
vainglory - noun outspoken conceit
* People's vainglory will get into their heads and grow even more conceited.
vestige - noun an indication that something has been present
* There is a growing vestige of the giant pandas.
volition - noun the act of making a choice; the capability of conscious choice and decision and intention
* It's a bad habit of mine to always look for someone else to help me make decisions which is why I can't make a volition.


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