Vocabulary Week 1

Vocabulary Week 11 GoldWord 1: Jargon Def: Meaningless talk or language for a specific profession not understood by others Sent: Incomprehensible jargon is the hallmark of a profession. Kingman Brewster

Word 2: Circumspect Def: To think carefully about something before doing or speaking, questioning Sent: They are very good friends, remain very good friends and look forward to the day when they can be less circumspect with each other. Mike McMurry

Word 3: Macabre Def: Frightening due to death or decay Sent: They share this love of the grotesque, the macabre, this kind of ghastly sense of humor about modern life. John Harris

Word 4: Usurp Def: Take a position of power illegally or by force Sent: I am concerned about the Supreme Court's judicial activism which has usurped congressional authority. Arlen Specter

Word 5: Chronicles Def: Record of events that happened in the past Sent: Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice. E. M. Forester

Word 6: Chicanery Def: To deceive by trickery or sophistry but not illegally Sent: It's mostly the financial chicanery that's going on, ... People are saying 'What kind of trust can we put in this market? Mike Farrell

Word 7: Charlatan Def: A person who fraudulently claims to have more knowledge or skill than he or she possesses Sent: There are lots of these charlatans out there, and the more publicity they get the more money they make. Steve Malone

Word 8: Articulate Def: Having the ability to speak fluently and coherently Sent: The more articulate one is, the more dangerous words become. May Sarton

Word 9: Disseminate Def: To Spread throughout, disperse Sent: The actions performed by great souls to spread, promote and disseminate knowledge to every strata of society is a great service to mankind. John Milton

Word 10: Fervor Def: An intense and passionate feeling Sent: Life is too short to be little. Man is never so manly as when he feels deeply, acts boldly, and expresses himself with frankness and with fervor. Benjamin Disraeli

Word 11: Solace Def: To give comfort to or an easing of grief or misfortune, console Sent: Women give us solace, but if it were not for women we should never need solace. Don Herald

Word 12: Discern Def: To recognize what something is either mentally or visually Sent: As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being. Carl Gustav Jung

Word 13: SolicitDef: To formally ask someone for money, support, an opinion or to buy their product Sent:If people don't like my opinions, it makes little difference as I don't solicit their opinions or votes. William T Sherman

Word 14: Pallid Def: Having an abnormally pale complexion or dull in color Sent: Out went the taper as she hurried in; / Its little smoke, in pallid moonshine, died. John Keats

Word 15: Extrapolate Def: To say or calculate what is likely to happen by using information that you already have Sent: Intuition is linear; our imaginations are weak. Even the brightest of us only extrapolate from what we know now.Ray Kurzweil

Word 16: RescindDef: To take back, cancel, repealSent: Further, as a matter of law, the city cannot retroactively impose time limits or unilaterally rescind an entitlement. Henry Eng

Word 17: Boorish Def: Insensitive, rude and uncultured Sent: Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish. Aristotle

Word 18: Curtail Def: To reduce or restrict the amount Sent: Together we have come to realize that for most men the right to learn is curtailed by the obligation to attend school. Ivan Illich

Word 19: Cynical Def: Person who doubts or distrusts others sincerity or motives Sent: Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist. George Catlin

Word 20: Erratic Def: Unpredictable or unstable, lacking consistency Sent: Creative people tend to be more erratic. Adam Goldberg