E 1. Edify: to enlighten, to instruct especially in religious matters

We would have felt lost at the art show was it not for the excellent and informative programs

provided for our edification.

2. Egregious: extremely bad, flagrant.

Stephen’s manners were egregious; he ate his mashed potato with hand and slurped the peas

right off his plate.

3. Enervate: to reduce the energy or strength of, especially gradually.

Life itself seemed to enervate the old man. He grew weaker and paler with every breath he

drew.

4. Engender: bring into existence; to create; to cause.

My winning lottery ticket engendered a great deal of envy among my co-workers; they all

wished they had won.

Smiles engender smiles and love engenders love.

5. Enormity: extreme evil

Enormity does not mean hugeness or great size. Although it is often misused this way.

Hitler’s army stormed through the village, committing one enormity after another.

6. Epigram: a concise, witty or satirical saying

7. Equitable: fair

King Solomon’s decision was certainly equitable; each mother would receive half the child.

Equity is fairness, iniquity is unfairness. Iniquity and inequity both mean unfair but iniquity

implies wickedness as well

8. Espouse: advocate

The Mormons used to espouse bigamy, or marriage to more than one woman.

9. Exigency: an emergency, urgency

An academic exigency: You haven’t opened a book all term and the final is tomorrow

morning.

10. Expatriate: to throw out of his or her native land

The miscreants were expatriated from the tribe because of their immoral behavior.

11. Extraneous: unnecessary, irrelevant, extra

The soup contained several extraneous ingredients, including hair, sand and several dead fly.