WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHS

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHS

October, 2009

IneptMeaning: not suitable; out of place; inappropriate; awkward;

clumsy; lacking reason or judgment; foolish; absurdSentence: Appointing his son as our supervisor

smacked of nepotism; besides, he was inept at the job.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 1, 2009

in-ept : adj.

Variants: ineptitude, nounSentence: The workers had little respect for their supervisor, because his ineptitude and lack of experience rendered him useless.

sagaciousMeaning: possessing excellent judgment and

powers of discernment; able to make wise decisions

Sentence: Professor Blake’s sagacious reputation made him one of the university’s most popular lecturers and advisors.


suh-gey-shuh s : adj.

didacticMeaning: focused on communicating a moral,

political, or educational message; presenting a clear vision of right and wrong; projecting morality

Sentence: Some authors and lecturers are subtly didactic, while others are more obvious and preachy.


dahy-dak-tik : adj.

encroachMeaning: go beyond proper or usual limits; make gradual

inroads on; trespass upon the property or rights of another, especially stealthily or by gradual advances; intrude

Sentence: Over the years the sea has encroached upon the shore and submerged the beach.


en-krohch : verb

Variants: encroachment, nounSentence: The government forced the company to halt construction when it was determined that the parking lot had a 10-foot encroachment on neighboring private property.

ameliorate

Meaning: to improve or upgrade; to make better or put right. When an unacceptable state of affairs is changed for the better, it is said to have been ameliorated.

Sentence: The marriage counselor’s attempts to ameliorate conflicts between the Smiths were welcomed, but, unfortunately, they were not successful.


uh-meel-yuh-reyt : verb

clemencyMeaning: a show of mercy or leniency toward a

wrongdoer or opponent, under appropriate circumstances

Sentence: Jake’s parents showed clemency and allowed him to keep his car even after his a speeding conviction, inspiring him to drive more carefully.


klem-uh n-see : noun

irascibleMeaning: marked by hot temper and resentful

anger; having or showing a disposition to be easily incensed; irritable

Sentence: The miserable man became so irascible that within six months he lost his wife and half of his office staff.


i-ras-uh-buh l: adj.

extenuateMeaning: make the seriousness of (guilt, a fault, an

offense, etc.) seem less; diminishSentence: The suspects neither

concealed nor extenuated their crime.


ik-sten-yoo-eyt: verb

Variants: extenuating, adj.Sentence: One should not be in a rush to judgment about someone’s guilt or innocence; there may be extenuating circumstances not yet brought to light.

panderMeaning: to indulge someone’s weaknesses or

questionable wishes or tastes; to appeal to the worst in someone

Sentence: The director refused to pander to the wishes of some of his greedy advisors, and he left the film PG so that children could see it.


pan-der : verb

vehement

Meaning: expressed with intense feelings and conviction; strongly felt, or marked by high emotion; forceful or emphatic; vigorous

Sentence: In the 1960s, many expressed vehement dissatisfaction with the administration policy regarding the Vietnam conflict.


vee-uh-muh nt : adj.

Variants: vehemently, adv.Sentence: In the 1960s many protestors vehemently opposed the Vietnam war.

perturbMeaning: disturb greatly; make

uneasy or troubled; distress cause disorder or irregularity in; agitate

Sentence: Mother was much perturbed by my illness.


per-turb: verb

nonchalantMeaning: cool; indifferent; without warmth or

animationSentences: Julio’s seemingly nonchalant

manner is actually a cover-up for his nervousness.

Detective Gates sauntered over to the suspect in a nonchalant way, trying not to arouse his suspicion.


non-shuh-lahnt: adj.

insatiableMeaning: that cannot be satisfied;

extremely greedySentence: His friends

nicknamed him “the human trash compactor” because of his insatiable appetite.


in-sey-shuh-buh l,: adj.

circumspectMeaning: careful; cautious; prudentSentences: The killer was

circumspect about leaving any clues that would tie him to the victim.

We complimented the lawyer for his circumspect handling of the embarrassing matter.


sur-kuh m-spekt : adj.

GIBEMeaning: speak sneeringly; jeer; scoff; sneer;

express scorn; mockSentence: His friends gibed at him

for his cowardice.


jahyb: verb

jahyb: nounMeaning: a jeer; taunt; sneerSentence: David was determined

not to allow his classmates’ gibes to hurt him visibly.

loquaciousMeaning: talkative; garrulousSentences: With a few drinks under

his belt, my normally quiet cousin became quite loquacious.

The loquacious talk-show host never gave his guests a chance to tell about themselves.


loh-kwey-shuh s : adj.

harangueMeaning: a long, blustering, noisy, or

scolding speech; tiradeSentence: I recall that every poor

grade on my report card brought forth a harangue on the subject of studying.


huh-rang : noun

gratuitousMeaning: freely given or obtained; free without

reason or cause; unnecessary; uncalled-forSentences: Homemade fun is gratuitous.Everyone was shocked at her gratuitous

insult, considering that the woman had always been kind to her.


gruh-too-i-tuh s : adj.

nepotismMeaning: favoritism shown by someone in power

to relatives and friends in professional matters, especially when appointing them to good positions

Sentence: When senior managers all share the last name of a company’s founder, it’s unusual if no one is accused of nepotism.


nep-uh-tiz-uh m : noun

digression

Meaning: a turning aside from the main subject in talking or writing

Sentence: Her speech contained many digressions from its main theme.


di-gresh-uh n : noun

Variants: digress, verbSentence: I shall not pursue these points further, because I don’t want to digress too far from my main theme.

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WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHS