A word a day

Exacerbate Meaning and Usage

2012-03-27T17:05:00.008+05:30

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exacerbate Meaning:

- to aggravate, to make worse

- to irritate, to vex

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Usage examples:

- reservation policies exacerbate existing inequalities

- exacerbate existing mental health problems

- a speech that exacerbated racial tensions

- a heavy rainfall that exacerbated the flood problems.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Use exacerbate in a sentence:

1. You will only exacerbate the situation if you try to call her.

3. It is unwise to take aspirin to try to relieve heartburn; instead of providing relief, the drug will only exacerbate the problem.

4. Putting weight on your twisted ankle will exacerbate your discomfort.

6. You may want to keep a food log for a week or two to see whether any particular foods exacerbate the symptoms.

7. The proposed factory shutdown would only exacerbate our unemployment problems.

8. Changes in the tax law will only exacerbate problems in capital investment.

The coming elections will likely exacerbate the conflicts within Congress.

9. Higher pollen counts will exacerbate breathing difficulty for those with allergies.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exacerbate Synonyms:

aggravate, annoy, egg on, embitter, enrage, envenom, intensify, irritate, provoke, vex, worsen

Exacerbate Antonyms:

relieve, soothe, alleviate, ameliorate, aid, calm,comfort, help

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related forms:

exacerbatingly : adverb

exacerbation : noun

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Usages from some Books:

As a final blow in this horrible period of her life, Marie suffered a breakdown in her health, “a severe and complicated kidney ailment,” Quinn writes, “undoubtedly exacerbated by the pain of the scandal. She was unable to work.”

“Great Physicists” - William H. Cropper

It was plain that the Hufflepuffs felt that Harry had stolen their champion's glory; a feeling exacerbated, perhaps, by the fact that Hufflepuff House very rarely got any glory, and that Cedric was one of the few who had ever given them any, having beaten Gryffindor once at Quidditch.

“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” – J.K. Rowling

The explanation of the photoelectric effect won Einstein the Nobel Prize in 1921. Great experiments such as Lenard’s win Nobel Prizes, but great explanations such as Einstein’s not only win Nobel Prizes but also make history. Perhaps unhappy at being upstaged by Einstein, possibly exacerbated by his inability to find the explanation for the photoelectric effect he had discovered (and on which he could have cornered both the experimental and theoretical markets), Lenard disparaged Einstein’s theory of relativity as “Jewish science” and became an ardent supporter of the Nazis.

“How math explains the world” - James D. Stein.

Nash and Alicia were living together once more, but not especially happily. The turbulence of the two previous years had produced an accumulation of hurts and resentments, and the resulting coldness lingered and was exacerbated by new conflicts over money, childrearing, and other issues of daily living.

“A Beautiful mind” – Sylvia Nasar

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frivolous Meaning and Usage

2011-12-19T13:43:00.005+05:30

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frivolous Meaning:

- Of little weight or importance; not worth notice; slight.

- Given to trifling; marked with unbecoming levity; silly; interested especially in trifling matters.

- Unworthy of serious attention; trivial.

- characterized by lack of seriousness or sense.

- self-indulgently carefree; unconcerned about or lacking any serious purpose.

- of little or no weight, worth, or importance; not worthy of serious notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Usage Examples:

a frivolous remark

frivolous details

a frivolous novel

a frivolous purchase

a frivolous argument

the frivolity of his behavior

frivolous conduct

a frivolous suggestion

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Use Frivolous in a sentence:

1. He wasted his time on frivolous pleasures.

2. I have no time for frivolities.

3. She thinks window shopping is a frivolous activity.

4. She knew that people might think her frivolous, Kitty said, to talk to some saint when she had a cooking disaster, but that was what she really believed the saints were there for.

5. The group says it wants politicians to stop wasting public money on what it believes are frivolous projects.

6. I just decided I was a bit too frivolous to be a doctor.

7. While this may seem a slightly frivolous idea, it is far from it.

8. The poker player was frivolous with his money and gambled it all away.

9. Why would I occupy my time with such a frivolous idea.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related forms:

Frivolously - adverb

Frivolousness- noun

Frivolity - noun

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frivolous Synonyms:

childish, dizzy, extravagant, fiddling, flighty, foolish, idle, impractical, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, juvenile, light, little, minor, minute, negligible, niggling, nugatory, paltry, peripheral, petty, pointless, puerile, shallow, silly, slight, superficial, trifling, trivial, unimportant, flippant.

Frivolous Antonyms:

important, serious, vital, earnest, responsible, practical, mature, sensible, solemn, big, consequential, eventful, major, material, meaningful, momentous, significant, substantial, weighty

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some more examples:

1. Smithson went to court on a frivolous lawsuit. The judge admonished him for bringing up such a silly matter before the court and wasting its time.

2. While some meaningful psychological information can be extracted from dream reports, we also should recognize that some aspects of dream content may turn out to be nothing more than frivolous products of the freewheeling improvisation the brain undergoes when input from the external world is shut off while the forebrain is activated.

3. Then, suddenly altering his tone, ‘Excuse this frivolous family badinage, Mr. Malone. I called you back for some more serious purpose than to mix you up with our little domestic pleasantries.’

4. After a frivolous youth devoted mainly to gambling, Peter began his university studies at Lawrence and completed them in 1625 with a doctorate in medicine.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harbinger Meaning and Usage

2010-01-17T22:28:00.005+05:30

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Harbinger Meaning:

noun
- one that indicates or foreshadows what is to come; a forerunner.

verb
- foreshadow or presage
- to act as harbinger to; herald the coming of.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Usage examples:

frost is a harbinger of winter.
harbinger of doom.
harbinger of a new dawn.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Use Harbinger in a sentence:

1. "And while lower prices could mean an opportunity for investors and some savings for American consumers, such reductions could also be a harbinger of deflation."

2. J P Morgan has posted modest profits for the quarter. This seems to be a harbinger for far better things to come.

3. This book may well be considered the harbinger of the next generation of community studies.

4. The damage the initial wind gusts did to the seaside cafe's table umbrellas was a harbinger of the hurricane damage to follow.

5. This misfortune might prove a harbinger of worse things to come.

6. Indeed, the international financial market is portraying China's perceived recovery as a harbinger for global recovery.

7. Thick fur on a wooly worm is a harbinger of a cold winter.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Harbinger Synonyms:

Noun.
forerunner, predecessor, precursor, indicant, indication, sign, messenger, omen, portent, foretoken, augury.

Verb.
annunciate, foretell, herald, announce, tell.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Harbinger Antonyms:

Noun.
follower, supporter, successor, disciple, descendant.

Verb.
hide, withhold.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. The ominous clouds were harbingers of the tornado.

2. The bright glow on the Western horizon might not be the harbinger of a new dawn; it might very well be the red flames of a huge funeral pyre…!!!

3. To make matters worse, a terrifying figure now emerges from the sea like a harbinger of doom.

With Birds as harbingers….!!!

4. The albatross following the ship was feared by the superstitious sailors as a harbinger of doom.

5. The crowing cock is the harbinger of dawn.

6. The geese flying south is a harbinger of the weather’s turning cold.

7. The robin is a harbinger of spring.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Word Origin & History:

From herbengar, "one sent ahead to arrange lodgings" (for a monarch, an army, etc.), which inturn comes from Medieval English. herberger which is to "provider of shelter, innkeeper"

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Resilience Meaning and Usage

2010-01-16T22:08:00.003+05:30

....................................................................................................................................................................

Resilience meaning:

noun

- the ability to recover quickly from illness, change, or misfortune; buoyancy.
- the property of a material that enables it to resume its original shape or position after being bent, stretched, or compressed; elasticity.

....................................................................................................................................................................

Usage examples:

"some resilient plastic material"
"I'm a resilient kind of person"
"the resilience of human beings"

....................................................................................................................................................................

Forms:

resilient - adjective
resiliency - noun
resiliently - adverb

....................................................................................................................................................................

Use Resilience in a sentence:

1. In spite of the violence in Northern Ireland, industry there has shown a remarkable resilience.

2. The earthquake destroyed thousands of people's lives but I was struck by the incredible resilience of the survivors I met.

3. Do not stretch your face into funny positions because it may not be resilient.

4. The athlete proved himself to be very resilient after his ankle injury.

5. Foam rubber is a very resilient material, and cushions made from it retain their shape after being sat on hundreds of times.

6. Gwen showed that she was resilient by joking with the paramedics only moments after they pulled her from the rubble of the collapsed building.

....................................................................................................................................................................

Resilience Synonyms:

bounce, buoyancy, elasticity, ductility, flexibility, malleability, pliability, pliancy, suppleness, strength, toughness, adaptability, hardiness

....................................................................................................................................................................

Resilience Antonyms:

fragility, inflexibility, rigidity, vulnerability, weakness

....................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. There is a need for more resilient bumpers on cars that can withstand minor accidents.

2. She knew him well enough to be sure that, sooner or later, the resiliency of his nature would assert itself.

3. Early next morning, before the other two were awake, Harry left the tent to search the woods around them for the oldest, most gnarled, and resilient—looking tree he could find.

4. The resilience of youth is astonishing, and Bill was soon on his feet again.

5. Tony showed that he was resilient by hitting a home run after striking out three consecutive times.
....................................................................................................................................................................

Cantankerous Meaning and Usage

2010-01-14T20:47:00.003+05:30

.......................................................................................................................................................................

Cantankerous Meaning:

adjective.

- ill-tempered and quarrelsome; disagreeable.
- difficult to handle

.......................................................................................................................................................................

Usage examples:

“a cantankerous old man”
“a cantankerous, argumentative man”
"a cantankerous and venomous-tongued old lady"
"had to use liquid helium, which is supercold, costly and cantankerous"
“disliked her cantankerous landlord”

.......................................................................................................................................................................

Forms:

cantankerously - adverb
cantankerousness - noun

.......................................................................................................................................................................

Use cantankerous in a sentence:

1. The bear was always a little cantankerous in the mornings.

2. It is hard not to sympathize with his desire to knock off manager Mark, a hammy, cantankerous old man.

3. Philip’s few friends would describe him as cantankerous, tight-fisted, mean-spirited and misanthropic.

4. The cantankerous behavior that the students exhibited during the demonstration agitated the principal.

5. "Greg is so cantankerous, he complains about his birthday gifts."

.......................................................................................................................................................................

Cantankerous Synonyms:

bad-tempered, crabbed, cranky, cross, disagreeable, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, nasty, peevish, petulant, querulous, snappish, snappy, surly, testy, ugly, waspish, ornery, crotchety.

.......................................................................................................................................................................

Cantankerous Antonyms:

easy, good-natured, happy, nice, pleasant

.......................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. The cantankerous customer continued to insist on a refund in his loud, irritating voice.

2. The doctor told the young man to go out and find the ugliest, most cantankerous woman he could find and marry her!!!

3. Tom was always cantankerous in the morning, given to snapping and snarling until he'd had his first cup of coffee and a soothing hot shower.

4. That day, this normally upbeat guy was uncharacteristically irritable and cantankerous.

5. Charlie used to be so friendly, but he's become a cantankerous old codger.

.......................................................................................................................................................................

Esoteric Meaning and Usage

2009-11-12T09:43:00.005+05:30

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Esoteric Meaning:

adjective

- beyond the understanding of an average mind, tough to understand.
- intended for or understood by only a particular group.
- of or relating to that which is known by a restricted number of people, not publicly disclosed; confidential.

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Esoteric Usage:

"an esoteric statement"
"an esoteric cult"
"esoteric interests"
"esoteric aims"
"esoteric philosophical theories"
"esoteric terminology"
"esoteric subjects"
"engaging in esoteric pursuits"
"an esoteric purpose"
"esoteric building materials"
"an esoteric plan"

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Esoteric Forms:

esoterically – adverb
esotericism - noun

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Use Esoteric in a sentence:

1. Professor Hawking’s book is a massive hit and has made his name around the world. Somehow he has managed to circumvent prejudice and to communicate his esoteric theories directly to the lay reader.

2. Even as acupuncture has grown in popularity, though, it has never been able to shake suspicions that it is merely an esoteric sham treatment.

3. His sensible and simple-to-follow approach to yoga gained many adherents and made what had seemed an esoteric Eastern approach accessible.

4. Computer programming was once an esoteric subject, but beginner courses and how-to books have made it easier to grasp.

5. Merely having Hawking’s name associated with the exhibition and having him open it guaranteed its success, attracting the interest of the media and a public who would normally not be drawn to so esoteric an exhibition.

6. You may as well focus on important matters that are well known, rather than try to understand the more esoteric finer points.

7. Many students complained the SATs were esoteric because their school didn’t teach them half the material on the tests.

8. Only a handful of experts are knowledgeable about the esoteric world of particle physics.

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Esoteric Synonyms:

abstruse, deep, profound, recondite, mysterious, obscure, private, secret, hidden, inner, mysterious, mystical, mystic, occult, arcane, cryptic, inscrutable, cabbalistic.

Esoteric Antonyms:

common, familiar, known, obvious, public.

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. The esoteric disciples were the small inner group to whom the master divulged his deeper meanings.

2. The English teachers were having an esoteric discussion about the correct usage of some obscure word.

3. Since philosophy professors are not expected to connect their esoteric discourse with practical affairs, it is more difficult to convict them of speaking nonsense.

4. She has published several books on relativity and other esoteric theories.

5. His esoteric ideas sometimes alienated him from others.

6. The esoteric language was only known by a select group.

7. The large novel had many esoteric allusions.

8. His life work has been conducting research in a somewhat esoteric branch of business.

9. “No matter what seemingly esoteric interest you have, be assured there is probably a publication out there clambering for your expertise.”

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Obsequious Meaning and Usage

2009-11-04T22:00:00.003+05:30

......................................................................................................................................................................

Obsequious Meaning:

adjective.
- excessively or ingratiatingly compliant or submissive;
- attentive in a servile or ingratiating manner, fawning.
- slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic

......................................................................................................................................................................

Obsequious Usage:

"obsequious shop assistants"
“obsequious waiters”
“obsequious flatterer”
“an obsequious bow”
“obsequious servants”

......................................................................................................................................................................

Obsequious Forms:

obsequiously - adverb
obsequiousness - noun

......................................................................................................................................................................

Use Obsequious in a sentence:

1. The obsequious new associate made sure to compliment her supervisor's tie and agree with him on every issue.

2. I believe that his obsequious behavior toward his grandmother is to ensure being included in the will.

3. The princess only seemed to encourage the obsequious behavior of her court to enhance her own feeling of superiority.

4. "There is nothing like an obsequious little puppy to relax you after being barked at all day at work."

5. “That obsequious Mark comes in early every day and sits in the boss's chair before the boss himself arrives just to warm the seat for him.”

6. “Do not treat me with affected and obsequious manners.”

7. The movie star traveled with an entourage of obsequious attendants who indulged her every whim and waited on her hand and foot.

8. He was most obsequious, and seemed ready to do everything for my comfort.

......................................................................................................................................................................

Obsequious Synonyms:

compliant, subservient, bootlicking, fawning, sycophantic, insincere, servile, flattering, cringing, abject, submissive, grovelling, menial, ingratiating, deferential, slavish, unctuous, smarmy.

......................................................................................................................................................................

Obsequious Antonyms:

arrogant, assertive, brazen, confident, domineering, presumptuous.

......................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. The fawning of the Minister by obsequious local leaders was so grotesque that the media refused to cover the event in protest.

2. Great is the magic of love that can restore a man in an instant of time from being an obsequious wreck to a thing of fire and resolution.

3. When he entered the restaurant, the waiters deserted bankers and merchants to overwhelm him with obsequious service...!!!

4. The man's attraction to the woman would be obvious if his obsequious behavior could be noted.

5. In industries where obsequious service is expected, one generally leaves a tip.

6. Unlike cats, who expect their owners to please them, dogs can seem obsequious, almost too eager to please.

7. Always obsequious, they obeyed us with fear and trembling.

......................................................................................................................................................................

Solace Meaning and Usage

2009-10-18T20:00:00.003+05:30

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Solace Meaning:

noun.

- Comfort in sorrow, misfortune, misery, disappointment or distress; consolation; giving relief in affliction
- A source of comfort or consolation.

tr. verb.

- To comfort, cheer, or console, as in trouble or sorrow.
- To allay or assuage

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Use solace in a sentence:

1. She found solace in writing when her father died.

2. They solaced themselves with their fan mail.

3. The insurance payment hardly solaced Mark for driving his Porsche into the lake.

4. The King tried to find some solace in building a monument in the name of his departed wife.

5. Her only solace is her copy of Rudolf's novel.

6. Jack didn’t get a pay hike this time; the only solace was, nobody else in his team did.

7. He often needs to seek solace in places near water.

8. The retired couple was looking for solace when they moved away from the busy city.

9. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger.

10. Company is always a solace to someone feeling lonely.

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Solace Synonyms:

Noun - consolation, comfort, ministration, succor, succour, relief, alleviation, assuagement, condolence, balm, support,help, reassurance, cheer

Verb - comfort, console, soothe, calm, tranquillize, quiet, lull, allay, still, ease, relieve, condole, support, help, succour, alleviate, ameliorate, mitigate, assuage, cheer, reassure, hearten

Solace Antonyms:

Noun - discord, disharmony
Verb - trouble, upset, worry

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. The children brought her solace in her bereavement.

2. Volunteers often work to solace those confined to hospital beds.

3. ‘Cry,’ said the chemist; ‘let nature take her course; that will solace you.’

4. Mrs. Athelny treated Philip with motherly kindness now that he was in a different position, and he was touched by her anxiety that he should make a good meal. It was the solace of his life that he could go every Sunday to that friendly house. It was a joy to sit in the stately Spanish chairs and discuss all manner of things with Athelny.

5. The dowagers sought solace in a quiet game at cards.

6. There was little to solace James's misery.

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Some Quotes to bring you solace…!!!

"You cannot run away from a weakness; you must sometimes fight it out or perish. And if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?" - Robert Louis Stevenson

"You must have long term goals to keep you focused and not distracted or frustrated by short term disappointments." -- Source Unknown

"Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world." - George Bernard Shaw

"Every step is a step towards achieving something better than you current situation." - Source Unknown

"If you never hurt you will never grow." - Source Unknown

"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but how we react to what happens; not by what life brings us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results." - Source Unknown

"Work like you don't need money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one's watching." - Source Unknown

"If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we are not really living. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security." - Gail Sheehy

"To live happily is an inward power of the soul." – Aristotle

"It doesn't matter how long we may have been stuck in a sense of our limitations. If we go into a darkened room and turn on the light, it doesn't matter if the room has been dark for a day, a week, or ten thousand years - we turn on the light and it is illuminated. Once we control our capacity for love and happiness, the light has been turned on." - Sharon Salzberg

"Take care of yourself. Good health is everyone's major source of wealth. Without it, happiness is almost impossible" - Source Unknown

"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances. We carry the seeds of the one or the other about with us in our minds wherever we go" - Martha Washington

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Alacrity Meaning and Usage

2009-10-03T23:41:00.002+05:30

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Alacrity Meaning:

adjective
- Cheerful willingness; eagerness.
- Speed or quickness; celerity.

Usage:
"he accepted with alacrity"
“an alacritous response to the invitation”

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Alacrity Synonyms:

alertness, avidity, briskness, cheerfulness, eagerness, enthusiasm, gaiety, hilarity, joyousness, liveliness, promptitude, promptness, quickness, readiness, smartness, speed, spirit, sprightliness, willingness, zeal.

Alacrity Antonyms:

apathy, aversion, disinclination, dullness, indifference, reluctance, slowness, unwillingness, indolence.

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Use alacrity in a sentence:

1. When Greg’s boss invited him to lunch, he accepted with alacrity.

2. The manager was so impressed by the worker's alacrity; he suggested a promotion.

3. Immediately he had finished tea he rose with alacrity to go out.

4. After her 2 week visit, Shane carried his mother-in-law’s luggage to the taxi with alacrity.

5. On the first day of her new job, the recent college graduate was able to leave early after completing all of her tasks with alacrity.

6. Everyone joined to decorate the house for the holidays with a sparkling alacrity befitting the season.

7. My wonder cat Gizmo exhibited great alacrity when I opened a new bag of cat food.

8. ‘I’ll go and see to it at once, sir,’ he said with alacrity and with less frigidity in his manner.

9. "When tasked with testing the pastries for freshness, Tom went about his duties with alacrity."

10. He did not fail to notice the alacrity with which Fred raised his hand when a volunteer was needed.

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Know more:

"Alacrity," "celerity," "dispatch," and "expedition" all refer to quickness or speed.

“Celerity" is a rather neutral term for swiftness though the cleanness in its sound implies a smooth swiftness without miscue or stumble.

"Dispatch" (or "despatch") refers to promptness in settling some business or finishing a project (The contract was written and signed with great dispatch).

"Expedition" derives, like "expeditious," from "expedite" and hence refers to an efficient swiftness (This is a complex project which requires completion with all possible expedition)

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. Many people have admired the certainty and alacrity with which gulls pick up a fragment of biscuit from the white wake of a steamer, and the incident is characteristic. In their power of rapidly altering the focus of the eye, birds are unsurpassed.

2. Gwen ate her dinner with alacrity, eager to leave to go to the movie theater.

3. Tom wagged his tail rapidly indicating his alacrity to go for a walk when he heard Jack getting his leash.

4. And then a number of brisk young men began with remarkable alacrity to tidy up the goods that remained disturbed.

5. Mary directly drew her work table near her and reseated herself with an alacrity and cheerfulness which seemed to infer that she could taste no greater delight than in completing the task in hand.

6. She asked William if he would not come and sit at her end, and he with his unfailing politeness accepted with alacrity.

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Vacillate Meaning and Usage

2009-09-18T08:57:00.002+05:30

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Vacillate Meaning:

- to sway from one side to the other.
- oscillate.
- to waver in mind; show indecision.

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Derivatives:

vacillatingly - adverb
vacillation - noun
vacillator - noun

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Vacillate Synonyms:
dither, falter, fluctuate, hesitate, hover, oscillate, pause, stagger, sway, swing, teeter, totter, vibrate waffle, waver, weave, wobble.

Vacillate Antonyms:
remain, stay.

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Use Vacillate in a sentence:

1. I try hard not to vacillate in my dedication to honesty so others will always trust me.

2. One tends to vacillate about what food is healthier, particularly when the health experts come up with a different opinion each day.

3. He vacillated between republican and monarchist sentiments.

4. Her parents vacillated between different approaches to discipline.

5. Every scientific effort opens up a number of potential pathways for future investigation; the individual must find ways of coping with the danger of vacillation and pseudo-growth.

6. Unable to decide on which restaurant to enter, she vacillated for hours before opting for Italian.

7. He honestly mistook his sensuality for romantic emotion, his vacillation for the artistic temperament, and his idleness for philosophic calm.

8. “Pick a direction and go with it instead of vacillating back & forth.”

9. “If you vacillate for ever and are unable to decide, you will not get very far.”

10. “Mom vacillates between shades of green for the kitchen cabinets.”

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Mnemonic:
Sounds like Oscillate; something which moves from one position to another position.

..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. The customer held up the line as he vacillated between ordering chocolate chip or ice cream.

2. Gwen vacillated for weeks before she decided to accept our offer.

3. For most of my teaching career, I vacillated between knowing too little and knowing too much.

4. As Jane waited, she found herself vacillating between two modes of thought.

5. I have vacillating opinions concerning my future career.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Bellicose Meaning and Usage

2009-09-16T09:26:00.005+05:30

............................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Bellicose Meaning:

adjective
- warlike in nature; aggressive; hostile.
- showing or having the impulse to be combative.

Bellicose Usage:

"bellicose young officers”
“a bellicose nation”
“bellicose criticism”

............................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Derivatives:

bellicosely - adverb
bellicosity - noun
bellicoseness - noun

............................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Bellicose Synonyms:

aggressive, antagonistic, battleful, belligerent, combative, contentious, defiant, destructive, disputant, hawkish, hostile, jingoistic, martial, militant, militaristic, offensive, provocative, pugnacious, quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent, warlike, warmongering.

Bellicose Antonyms:

peaceful, pacific, placid, peaceable, submissive, conciliatory, mild.

............................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Use Bellicose in a sentence:

1. The bellicose guest would not be invited back again.

2. He expressed alarm about the government's increasingly bellicose statements.

3. Some nations are traditionally bellicose and are constantly at war with their neighbours.

4. My bellicose temper has gotten me into more fights than I would like to remember.

5. Because of her bellicose nature, she had a difficult time making friends.

6. Michael’s bellicose attitude got him into trouble.

7. Immediately after defeating one of his enemies, the bellicose chieftain declared war on another.

8. Mark was, in fact, in a bellicose vein.

9. Or will they sit out the fighting, despite their bellicose rhetoric, out of fear of choosing the wrong side?

10. We need to make clear to the American people that Bush's "bellicose" war policies are not only putting our military forces (and civilian "collateral damage") at grave risk, but are endangering our country's long-term national interests.

............................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Origin:
1432, from Latin bellicosus, from bellicus "of war," from bellum "war." Bellona was the name of the Roman goddess of war.

...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Commiserate Meaning and Usage

2009-09-08T23:24:00.002+05:30

..................................................................................................................................................................

Commiserate Meaning:

- to feel or express sorrow or pity for.
- sympathize with.

“commiserated over failure”

..................................................................................................................................................................

Derivatives:

commiserable - adjective
commiseration - noun
commiserative - adjective
commiseratively - adverb
commiserator - noun

..................................................................................................................................................................

Commiserate Synonyms:
ache, comfort, compassionate, condole, console, express sympathy for, feel for, feel sorry for, feel with, feel, grieve for, lament for, pity, sorrow with, sympathize, yearn.

Commiserate Antonyms:
be indifferent, turn away

..................................................................................................................................................................

Use Commiserate in a sentence:

1. Her friends commiserated when Lisa had a breakup; she was totally upset over it.

2. Gwen could sincerely commiserate with Fred for losing all the files on his computer since the same thing had happened to her the previous year.

3. He found it difficult to commiserate with his sister for burning the roast because she was talking with her boyfriend for an hour on the telephone.

4. He commiserated with her predicament.

5. “We should commiserate our mutual ignorance”

6. They commiserated with him over the loss of his job.

7. So we can only commiserate with Mark, whose Vintage Car was stolen over the Weekend.

8. "It's a shame to have woken you up," said Sam, commiseratingly, stepping in.

9. After I lost the dance competition, my best friend came over to commiserate.

10. Ron and Hermione both gave Harry half-exasperated, half-commiserating looks.

11. Harry commiserated with his best friend when Ginny beat him to the Snitch, but secretly he was proud of her.

..................................................................................................................................................................

Did you know?

Pitying someone is simply feeling sorry for their grief with a slight overtone of condescension.
Commiseration implies more equality, sharing their grief rather than feeling sorry for them.

Recently, I saw one of the websites having this as a usage of commiserate:
“Eastfield will embark on a lengthy tour in April and May to commiserate 10 years of their existence.”

WRONG USAGE…!!! The right word in this context would be to commemorate….
You would never commiserate somebody’s existence…!!!

..................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. Any commiseration wouldn’t give her respite…!!!

2. "I do not share your commiseration for that young man," said Mr. Bernard austerely.

3. Lina patted her friend’s back, commiserating.

4. The skipper's daughter was standing beside him, looking down commiseratingly.

5. Sam regarded his cousin with commiseration. Horrid things had been happening to him during the last few days.

..................................................................................................................................................................

Deleterious Meaning and Usage

2009-09-03T19:54:00.003+05:30

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Deleterious Meaning:

adjective
- harmful or injurious
- harmful to living things; having a harmful effect; noxious

Deleterious Usage:

"deleterious chemical additives"
“the deleterious effects of smoking.”

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Use deleterious in a sentence:

1. Pollution has a deleterious effect on the environment.

2. Her wanton behaviour was deleterious to her children.

3. Deleterious fumes escaped from the overturned truck.

4. Some chemicals have deleterious effects on those who must handle them.

5. Month after month, reports mount of the deleterious effects of rising carbon levels. One recent study chronicled threats to coral and other marine organisms, another, a big upswing in major wildfires in the western U.S. that have resulted because of warming.

6. Petroleum and its products will continue to fetch escalating prices with new and deleterious effects on the world's economies and politics

7. Using steroids can be deleterious to your health.

8. Reducing the staff in order to cut costs will have deleterious consequences for production levels. One person can not handle printing, pulling, packing and shaping 500 orders each day.

9. The deleterious effects of smoking include having greater risk of heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer.

10. The deleterious habit of grinding your teeth can be extremely detrimental to your dental health.

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Deleterious Synonyms:
adverse, bad, damaging, destroying, destructive, detrimental, evil, harmful, hurtful, ill, injurious, mischievous, negative, nocuous, pernicious, prejudicial, prejudicious, ruining, ruinous.

Deleterious Antonyms:
aiding, assisting, helpful, beneficial.

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. Too much sun has a deleterious effect on the skin.

2. Consumption of too much fast food can be detrimental to your health.

3. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the type of marking has any deleterious effects on juvenile fish.

4. Smoking cigarettes is deleterious to everyone’s health, not just the smoker’s.

5. An infestation of locusts can have a deleterious effect on a farmer’s crops.

6. Averroes, like most of the later Mohammedan philosophers, though a believer, was not rigidly orthodox. There was a sect of completely orthodox theologians, who objected to all philosophy as deleterious to the faith. One of these, named Algazel, wrote a book called Destruction of the Philosophers, pointing out that, since all necessary truth is in the Koran, there is no need of speculation independent of revelation. Averroes replied by a book called Destruction of the Destruction. – History of Western Philosophy, Bertrand Russell.

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Phlegmatic Meaning and Usage

2009-09-01T20:56:00.003+05:30

..................................................................................................................................................................

Phlegmatic Meaning:

adjective

- relating to phlegm
- having a calm, sluggish temperament
- unemotional
- not easily excited to action or display of emotion; apathetic

..................................................................................................................................................................

Derivatives:

phlegmatical - adjective
phlegmatically – adverb

..................................................................................................................................................................

Use phlegmatic in a sentence:

1. The playwright had hoped his story would take theatergoers on an emotional roller coaster, but on opening night they just sat there, stone-faced and phlegmatic.

2. He was phlegmatic as a child; rarely went outside to play.

3. The taxi driver, a phlegmatic man in middle age, showed no surprise at this request.

4. The phlegmatic boy was not even excited about the Halloween party invite he had received.

5. You actually sound quite phlegmatic about your own learning.

6. Even the normally phlegmatic John was grinning like a maniac.

7. He is a phlegmatic coach at courtside, but in the locker room he fires up his players, inspiring them to win.

8. The normally phlegmatic Alain was nearly crying in his excitement and dismay.

9. No sign of excitement came on Alex’s phlegmatic face.

..................................................................................................................................................................

Phlegmatic Synonyms:
apathetic, calm, cold, collected, composed, controlled, cool, detached, dull, equanimous, frigid, heavy, impassive, imperturbable, inactive, incurious, indifferent, indolent, insensitive, lethargic, listless, lymphatic, moderate, passive, philosophical, placid, quiet, restrained, serene, sluggish, stoic, stoical, stolid, temperate, torpid, tranquil, unaffected, unanimated, uncaring, unconcerned, undemonstrative, undisturbed, unemotional, unenthusiastic, unfeeling, uninterested, uninvolved, unmoved, unperturbed, unresponsive, unruffled.

Phlegmatic Antonyms:
Emotional, effusive, vivacious, Passionate

..................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. Wilson is far too phlegmatic to be stirred by the fervor of the revolutionaries.

2. One has to learn to be phlegmatic about things going wrong at the office.

3. The housekeeper and her husband were both of that decent phlegmatic order of people, to whom one may at any time safely communicate a remarkable piece of news without incurring the danger of having one’s ears pierced by some shrill cry, and subsequently stunned by a torrent of wordy wonderment.

4. Daniel was phlegmatic in the way of a man who accepts all things, and accepts them in the spirit of cool bravery, with hazard of all he has at stake.
..................................................................................................................................................................

Supercilious Meaning and Usage

2009-08-31T21:19:00.002+05:30

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Supercilious Meaning:

adjective
- behaving in a superior and arrogant manner
- feeling or showing disdain; exhibiting haughty and careless contempt

Supercilious Usage:

“a supercilious look.”
“supercilious manner”
“supercilious attitude”
“a supercilious officer”
“a supercilious critic”
“his mother eyed my clothes with a supercilious air”
“curled his lip in a supercilious smile”

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Derivatives:
superciliously - adverb
superciliousness - noun

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Use supercilious in a sentence:

1. Jane is either too supercilious to do menial tasks around the office or not smart enough to figure out how they are done.

2. I was irritated by his supercilious detachment.

3. Nash looked as if he had seen the hollowness of things, for his face wore a bored, supercilious look.

4. He merely smiled in his supercilious way, until the Bishop felt very much inclined to spring upon him and throw him out of the cab.

5. I do not like your arrogant and supercilious attitude towards people.

6. His supercilious demeanor undermines his interaction with colleagues in his department.

7. He ended his speech on a supercilious note which was quite unexpected of a person of his balanced and stable temperament

8. Pierre is so supercilious that he won't dine in a restaurant whose waiters don't speak with a French accent.

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Supercilious Synonyms:
arrogant, cavalier, clannish, cliquish, condescending, contemptuous, contumelious, disdainful, dismissive, exclusive, haughty, imperious, insolent, lofty, lordly, overbearing, overweening, patronizing, pompous, pretentious, prideful, proud, scornful, sneering, sniffy, snippy, snobbish, superior, swaggering, withering.

Supercilious Antonyms:
humble, modest, servile

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. While they talked of him he stood a little apart from the others, watching the noisy party with a good-humored but faintly supercilious expression.

2. There was in her no longer the superciliousness which had irritated him. She was so accustomed to him now.

3. She was very supercilious towards her customers.

4. The governor gave the crowd a supercilious smile prior to his speech.

5. Cordelia had been quite the sugarplum over the last month or so, but now that she had what she wanted, she'd reverted to the sour, supercilious, often suspicious woman Susan had grown up with.

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Disingenuous Meaning and Usage

2009-08-27T22:09:00.002+05:30

........................................................................................................................................................................

Disingenuous Meaning:

Adjective:

- insincere or calculating; Not straightforward
- pretending to be unaware or unsophisticated;
- giving a false appearance of frankness

"a disingenuous excuse"

........................................................................................................................................................................

Derivatives:

disingenuously - adverb.
disingenuousness - noun.

........................................................................................................................................................................

Disingenuous Synonyms:
ambidextrous, artful, artless, calculating, clever, contriving: crafty, cunning, deceitful, designing, devious, dishonest, duplicitous, false, foxy, guileful, hypocritical, indirect, ingenuous, insidious, insincere, lubricious, mala fide, plotting, scheming, shifty, slick, sly, sneaky, tricky, underhanded, wily.

Disingenuous Antonyms:
frank, honest, ingenuous, naive, sincere

........................................................................................................................................................................

Use Disingenuous in a sentence:

1. He always gives a quick, disingenuous response; you never get a straight answer.

2. Do you believe Mark when he says he wants to save the company or do you think saying so is a disingenuous ploy to garner support for his bid for the presidency?

3. It was disingenuous of John borrow Mary's truck without telling her he would be driving it over uncharted mountain terrain.

4. Harry tried to smile at his friend and teacher, looking up at him so disingenuously.

5. “The game of politics calls for a certain amount of disingenuousness and lack of forthrightness that we might otherwise characterize as dishonesty.”

6. The invitation to come to their country estate seemed disingenuous so she did not seriously consider it.

7. This, I know, sounds disingenuous, but it's true, this was a book not written to be published.

8. The same question, repeatedly asked, was invariably met with disingenuous answers.

9. "I swear I'll be back with the money," the customer assured the cashier with a disingenuous expression.

........................................................................................................................................................................

Usage Note:

The meaning of disingenuous has been shifting about lately, as if people were unsure of its proper meaning.

Generally, it means "insincere" and often seems to be a synonym of cynical or calculating. Not surprisingly, the word is used often in political contexts, as in It is both insensitive and disingenuous for the White House to describe its aid package and the proposal to eliminate the federal payment as "tough love."

This use of the word is accepted by 94 percent of the Usage Panel. Most Panelists also accept the extended meaning relating to less reproachable behavior. Fully 88 percent accept disingenuous with the meaning "playfully insincere, faux-naïf," as in the example "I don't have a clue about late Beethoven!" he said. The remark seemed disingenuous, coming from one of the world's foremost concert pianists.

Sometimes disingenuous is used as a synonym for naive, as if the dis- prefix functioned as an intensive (as it does in certain words like disannul) rather than as a negative element. This usage does not find much admiration among Panelists, however. Seventy-five percent do not accept it in the phrase a disingenuous tourist who falls prey to stereotypical con artists.

disingenuous. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved August 27, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/disingenuous

........................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. It would be disingenuous to imply that such funds would solve the problem in education.

2. It is disingenuous to ask for advice when what you want is assistance.

3. The director used a disingenuous remark to make his point to the student.

4. "It was disingenuous of her to claim she had no financial interest in the case."

5. Her excuse was rather disingenuous.

........................................................................................................................................................................

Acquiesce Meaning and Usage

2009-08-26T23:45:00.006+05:30

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Acquiesce Meaning:

- to agree without protest.
- to comply; to submit
- to accept without question.

Acquiesce Usage:

“to acquiesce halfheartedly in a plan”
“acquiescence to his boss's demands”
“a murmur of acquiescence from the assembly”

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Derivatives:

acquiescence - noun
acquiescent - adjective
acquiescently - adverb
acquiescingly – adverb

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Use acquiesce in a sentence:

1. Linda acquiesced to Fred's plaintive pleas to hold their wedding in his Village farm house.

2. The Government never acquiesced to trade union’s demands; the minister said they were unrealistic.

3. I don't want to see that movie, but I guess I'll have to acquiesce this time.

4. The group acquiesced to the new regulations even though they were opposed to them.

5. After a hard-fought battle, the retailers finally acquiesced to the draft regulations.

6. He acquiesced in locating the farm across the street from his house.

7. The millionaire refused to acquiesce to the demand of his former driver, blackmailing him with photos of his extramarital affairs.

8. Mother asked me to do chores and although I didn't want to I acquiesced.

9. The president said that we will never acquiesce to the demands of the terrorists.

10. They were compelled to acquiesce in a government which they did not regard as just.

11. Church declared Copernicanism “false and erroneous” in 1616, and commanded Galileo never again to “defend or hold” the doctrine. Galileo acquiesced.

12. Although she had appeared to acquiesce to her employer's suggestion, I could tell she had reservations.

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Acquiesce Synonyms:
accede, accept, agree, assent, consent, nod, subscribe,

Acquiesce Antonyms:
disagree, dissent, object, protest

Acquiescence Synonyms:
assent, agreement, acceptance, conceding, concession, yielding, approval, consent, harmony, giving in, submission, compliance, obedience, conformity, accession, concord, concurrence

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Origin:
Latin acquiescere "to quieten down" made out of ad "(up) to" + quiescere "to rest, be quiet".

Mnemonic:
to acQUIEsce - to QUIEtly agree

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. Despite acquiescing in the board’s decision, he had never really changed his own view.

2. After prolonged debate over the topic, the council acquiesced to change the law; thereby ending a century-old struggle of thousands of people.

3. Although I didn't really feel like cleaning my room, I decided to acquiesce because I knew my Mom wouldn't stop complaining until I did.

4. He didn't want to give in to the bank robbers’ demands, but in the end he decided to acquiesce so that no one got hurt.

5. The government acquiesced to the terrorists’ demands and released 2 prisoners who were the prime suspects of the serial bomb blasts.

6. “If he did not acquiesce, he was to be imprisoned.”

7. Anna had a short way with people. In matters concerning her own wishes, she took their acquiescence for granted.

8. Gwen acquiesced in the policy of secrecy, hoping that it would not last long.

9. He had seemed to take her acquiescence for granted. And yet there had been nothing flat or disappointing about the proceedings. She had been thrilled throughout.

10. He looked up when addressed and uttered a sound which might have been taken for an expression of polite acquiescence.

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Facetious Meaning and Usage

2009-08-25T21:38:00.002+05:30

......................................................................................................................................................................
Facetious Meaning

Adjective

- given to wit and good humor; merry; sportive; jocular; amusing; humorous.
- joking in an awkward or improper manner; entertaining amusing
- not meant to be taken seriously or literally:
- treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor.

Facetious Usage

facetious remarks.
a facetious companion.
a facetious remark.
a facetious person.
a facetious story

......................................................................................................................................................................

Derivatives:

facetiously - adverb
facetiousness - noun

......................................................................................................................................................................

Use facetious in a sentence:

1. "Silence! If you want to be facetious, young man, there are times and places more fitting. This is a serious business."

2. Jack’s facetious reply angered his teacher but made his classmates laugh.

3. On returning back, John was in a more facetious temper than was unusual with him.

4. The professor was being facetious when she asked the students to ignore her lecture while taking the exam.

5. His facetious sarcasm was inappropriate during his first staff meeting.

6. This may seem a facetious point but that is far from my intention.

7. Whilst some of the options seemed rather facetious I was impressed that the most likely outcome was displayed.

8. Jane was being facetious when she used the word "classy" to describe John’s brightly colored necktie.

9. His attempt to make fun of the situation was considered to be in bad taste and facetious in the extreme.

10. The woman said, "I don't seriously mean that you are an idiot; I was being facetious."

......................................................................................................................................................................

Facetious Synonyms:
amusing, bantering, comic, comical, droll, frivolous, funny, gay, humorous, jocose, jocular, jolly, laughable, light, ludicrous, merry, pleasant, smart, sprightly, waggish, whimsical, witty,

Facetious Antonyms:
formal, grave, serious

......................................................................................................................................................................

Facetious Mnemonic:
A facetious person could be someone who makes funny faces..!!!

......................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. “I take back all those nasty facetious remarks I have ever made about you.”

2. After a comment that did not go over well, the professor apologized for being facetious.

3. “Don’t think I’m being facetious when I tell you you’re my best friend.”

4. Mark had also a considerable facetiousness, which he exercised impartially on the patients and on the students. He took a great pleasure in making his dressers look foolish.

......................................................................................................................................................................

Imbroglio Meaning and Usage

2009-08-20T22:20:00.004+05:30

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Meaning:

- a difficult or intricate situation; an entanglement.
- a confused or complicated disagreement.
- a confused heap; a tangle.
- an intricately woven plot or set of circumstances; an embroilment.
- a very embarrassing misunderstanding

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Synonyms:

altercation, argument, bickering, brawl, broil, complexity, complication, dispute, embarrassment, embroilment, entanglement, flack, involvement, miff, misinterpretation, mistaking, misunderstanding, quandary, quarrel, row, run-in, spat, squabble.

Antonyms:

agreement, peacemaking

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Use Imbroglio in a sentence:

1. The small town was caught up in an imbroglio over missing funds.

2. There seems to be no solution to the imbroglio in the region; both sides are adamant on their stands.

3. "Verna's room was a symphony of disarray that reached a crescendo in an imbroglio of dirty clothes at the end of her bed."

4. Both Nixon's and Clinton's presidencies were marred by imbroglios: Nixon's was in campaign financing and Clinton's involved a Whitehouse intern.

5. Dan had no idea how he ended up in this imbroglio but knew it would take a great deal of explaining to get out of it.

6. In Shakespeare’s comedies, there is often an imbroglio caused by a case of mistaken identity.

7. The Earl had been sleeping a sound and peaceful sleep when the imbroglio began downstairs.

8. A huge imbroglio — involving the mayor, the sanitation department, the owner of a bar, and the congregation of a church — started over the placement of a curbside garbage can.

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Did you know?

"Imbroglio" and "embroilment" are more than just synonyms; they're also linked through etymology. Both descend from the Middle French verb "embrouiller" (same meaning as "embroil"), from the prefix "em-," meaning "thoroughly," plus "brouiller," meaning "to mix" or "to confuse."

This word means not only a story that is tricky to follow, but also one with covert motivations, secrets and manipulation.

........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Sacrilege Meaning and Usage

2009-08-19T23:24:00.007+05:30

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Sacrilege Meaning:

noun

- desecration, profanation, misuse, or theft of something sacred.
- disrespect for a person who is widely admired or a belief that is widely accepted
“it is a sacrilege to offend democracy”

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Derivatives:
sacrilegist - noun
sacrilegious - adjective
sacrilegiously - adverb
sacrilegiousness – noun

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Use sacrilege in a sentence:

1. Neither saint nor sanctuary was to be safe from the sacrilegious hands of the heathen from across the North Sea.

2. Such was its reputation that it seemed sacrilege to dare to improve on it.

3. I am still, to this day, apologizing to my dear friend Pierre for dragging him out to witness such sacrilege.

4. When you have been given something in a moment of grace, it is sacrilegious to be greedy

5. For your age, is it not shameful on your part to indulge in such a sacrilegious act of stretching your legs toward God?

6. Many of his actions, contrary to all tradition, seemed sacrilegious to the people.

7. In the center of the rich red carpet was a black and gold Louis Quinze table, a lovely antique, now sacrilegiously desecrated with marks of glasses and the scars of cigar-stumps.

8. “I have felt it to be a sacrilege to divert a brain which is capable of the highest original research to any lesser object.”

9. Gabriel started tossing one arm in frantic gestures, hurling forth prophecies of speedy doom to the sacrilegious assailants of his divinity.

10. The inscription contains a curse on any who perpetrate any sacrilegious act against the remains of the pharaoh.

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Sacrilege Synonyms:
abomination, abuse, atrocity, befouling, befoulment, blasphemy, contamination, crime, debasement, defilement, desecration, disgrace, dishonouring, disrespect, fouling, heresy, ignominy, impiety, impiousness, infamy, irreverence, maltreatment, misuse, mockery, offense, outrage, perversion, profanation, profaneness, profanity, shame, sin, violation, vitiation.

Sacrilege Antonyms:
piety, respect, respectfulness, reverence

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Know more…

Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object. In a less proper sense, any transgression against the virtue of religion would be a sacrilege. It can come in the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy.

Sacrilegious, the adjective form of sacrilege is often misspelled through confusion with religious. The origins of these words are different; they are in no way related.

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Sacrilege Origin:

The term originates from the Latin (The term was initially used in reference to temple robbing)

sacer sacred + legere to gather, pick up, steal
to gather or pick up, sacred things; robbing sacred things,

Thereby the robber has desecrated the holy place; has gone against the God.

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Some more example sentences:

1. Elizabeth was sad and desponding; she no longer took delight in her ordinary occupations; all pleasure seemed to her sacrilege toward the dead; eternal woe and tears she then thought was the just tribute she should pay to innocence so blasted and destroyed

2. Quite a broad tract of land near the temple, extending from the sea to the mountain top, was sacred to the god Lono in olden times--so sacred that if a common native set his sacrilegious foot upon it it was judicious for him to make his will, because his time had come.

3. Jane always wore her amethyst brooch to church. She would have thought it rather sacrilegious to leave it off— as bad as forgetting her Bible or her collection dime. That amethyst brooch was Jane’s most treasured possession.

4. "Do you realize, your Highness, that an attack on the Foundation is nothing short of sacrilege of the highest order?"

5. It was an unscrupulous sacrilege to appropriate to own use, the offerings to the gods.

6. “Anyone finding gold and precious stones must bring them to the monastery; to keep them for themselves would be sacrilege. “

7. He was amazed and amused to discover how guilty that last thought made him feel-almost as if he had committed an act of sacrilege. But that didn't make the thought any less true.

8. Discipline is discipline, and rules are rules … These are like commandments in the Holy Scriptures of the Trader. Not observing them is sacrilege, a blasphemy.

9. The horrendous county office building is an example of architectural sacrilege.

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Read it somewhere….

"Every connection," said Pointdexter. "To construct a time machine is itself a challenge to fate. You make it worse by your flat confidence. How can you be sure that your time-travel machine will operate through all of time without the possibility of paradox?"

Barron said, "I didn’t know you were superstitious. The simple fact is that a time machine is a machine like any other machine, no more and no less sacrilegious. Mathematically, it is analogous to an elevator moving up and down its shaft. What danger of retribution lies in that?"

Pointdexter said energetically, "An elevator doesn’t involve paradoxes. You can’t move from the fifth floor to the fourth and kill your grandfather as a child."

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Eclectic Meaning and Usage

2009-08-19T08:57:00.007+05:30

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Eclectic Meaning:

adjective.

- picking from various possibilities; made up of material from various sources; diverse; heterogeneous
- selecting elements from a wide range of styles, ideas, or sources

Usage:

"an eclectic taste in music"
"an eclectic approach to managing the economy"
"an eclectic collection of artists"
"an eclectic approach that takes the best from all schools of psychology"
"an eclectic method"
"an eclectic magazine"
"an eclectic philosopher"

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Derivatives:

eclectically - adverb
eclecticist – noun
eclecticism - noun

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Use eclectic in a sentence:

1. Even though, he had put eclectic collection of furniture in the shop, it did not attract enough customers.

2. The eclectic wine list includes bottles from all round the world

3. Kate’s guests were quite impressed by her eclectic collection of musical recordings.

4. The book club attracted people of eclectic interests.

5. You’re sure to meet someone interesting at the party—Jane always invites an eclectic group of people to her gatherings.

6. His eclectic collection of action figures from different eras impressed everything at the convention.

7. It should come as no surprise that Leonardo da Vinci, the eclectic master of many disciplines, would have thoroughly studied and concocted an independent proof of the Pythagorean Theorem.

8. A good historian gathers his or her information from eclectic sources rather than just one.

9. Budapest's architecture is an eclectic mix of eastern and western styles.

10. Indonesia has an eclectic range of Japanese restaurants as Japan has long been the biggest investor in the country

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Eclectic synonyms:
all-embracing, assorted, broad, comprehensive, dilettantish, discriminating, diverse, diversified, extensive, general, heterogeneous, inclusive, liberal, manifold, many-sided, mingled, mixed, multifarious, multiform, selective, universal, varied, wide-ranging.

Eclectic Antonyms:
incomprehensive, narrow, particular, specific, unvaried

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Eclectic Mnemonics:
Relate it to elect, which means to choose the best from many sources.

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples of Eclectic in a sentence:

1. The band was formed from an eclectic group.

2. His eclectic tastes range from Bach to the Beatles.

3. While teaching a new language to a learner, an eclectic approach produces better results than a single, fixed method.

4. Kreps is a delightful book and an excellent eclectic introduction to game theory’s strengths and problems.

5. I consider Robert a freestyle manager, and he calls himself an eclectic value manager.

6. The song displays an eclectic mix of influences.

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Specious Meaning and Usage

2009-08-17T20:45:00.006+05:30

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Specious Meaning:

adjective

- having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually fallacious
- plausible, but deceptive; apparently, but not actually true;
- superficially attractive, deceptively attractive.

“a specious claim” “a specious argument” “specious statistics”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Derivatives:

speciously - adverb
speciosity - noun
speciousness - noun

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Use specious in a sentence:

1. The internet is full of websites claiming speciously about making “easy” money online.

2. They realized that the sales pitch was specious when the company suddenly went out of business.

3. The jury saw through the defense lawyer's specious argument and convicted the murderer on the weight of the evidence.

4. The priest tried to convince me that evolution was false, but his arguments were specious.

5. The candidate affected a specious show of liberality merely to attract votes.

6. Jane tried to talk her way out of the ticket, but the cop told her that her argument was specious.

7. From the get-go Jane felt that Mark's claim was specious, but he insisted he was telling the truth and she couldn't at first prove otherwise.

8. As he took yet another deep breath of that speciously sweet cinnamon smell, it seemed to him that he had never wanted anything so badly in his whole life.

9. It was her neglecting to account for the difference in time zones that made Goody’s calculated arrival time specious.

10. The student's specious excuse for being late sounded legitimate, but was proved otherwise when his teacher called his home.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Specious Synonyms:
alleged, apparent, apparently right, beguiling, casuistic, colorable, conceivable, counterfactual, credible, deceptive, fallacious, false, gilded, hypocritical, illogical, insincere, invalid, meretricious, misleading, ostensible, plausible, possible, presumable, presumed, presumptive, probable, purported, seeming, seemingly just, sophistic, sophistical, spurious, superficial, supposed, truthless, unsound, untrue, untruthful, wrong.

Specious Antonyms:
real, true, valid

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Specious Mnemonic:
This word is actually close to a similar sounding word: “suspicious”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some more sentences:

1. There was a specious attractiveness about Mark which might conceivably win a girl's heart for a time; he wrote poetry, talked well, and had a nice singing voice; but, as a partner for life ... well, he simply wouldn't do.

2. The title had seemed so promising overnight--so full of strenuous possibilities. It was still speciously attractive; but now that the moment had arrived for writing the story, its flaws became manifest.

3. “The chauffeur continued his specious examination of the sky”

4. The "do nothing, yet earn millions" claim made by some of the online businesses are specious in nature.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Evanescent Meaning and Usage

2009-08-17T09:34:00.010+05:30

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meaning:

Adjective.

- vanishing or likely to vanish like vapor.
- quickly fading away; ephemeral or transitory
- tending to become imperceptible; scarcely perceptible.
"evanescent beauty"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Derivatives:

evanescently - adverb
evanescence - noun

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Synonyms:
impermanent, temporary, ephemeral, fleeting, fugacious, momentary, passing, short-lived, temporal, transient, transitory.

Antonyms:
permanent, unlimited, abundant

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Use evanescent in a sentence:

1. The evanescent mirage could only be seen at a certain angle.

2. "Money leads such an evanescent existence in my pocket, I shall never be wealthy."

3. "The sight of Anna’s evanescent breath in the chilly air made Mike’s heart race a little faster yet."

4. You don't realize how evanescent youth really is until you are older.

5. There is nothing more glorious than the evanescent beauty of a sunset.

6. “All was unstable; quivering as leaves, evanescent as lightning.”

7. There was something evanescent about Sam, she thought, something shifting and false.

8. An evanescent ring surrounded the moon as it rose. It was there for a moment, and then it disappeared.

9. As a valetudinarian, James spent a lot of time supine on the couch when he could have been enjoying the evanescent pleasures of life while they lasted.

10. A face floated into his mind…into his memory. A face he had not seen since his last year at Hogwarts…a face that disappeared from his life…a face that haunted him in his dreams and memories. She was an evanescent memory, but he could still see and hear her like it was only yesterday.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you know?

"Evanescent" derives from the Latin verb "evanescere," which means "to evaporate" or "to vanish."

English has several other words that mean lasting or staying only a short time.

"Ephemeral" and "transitory" apply to what is bound to pass ("superstardom is transitory"); "ephemeral," especially, implies striking brevity of duration ("fads, by their very nature, are ephemeral").

"Fugitive" and "fleeting" imply passing so quickly as to make apprehending difficult ("a fugitive smile flitted across his face"; "caught a fleeting glimpse").

"Fugacious," is used of all things fleeting and transitory; it's also the least common of these synonyms.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some more examples:

1. The evanescent mist soon began to dissipate from the heat of the sun.

2. The evanescent smoke from the cannon’s muzzle vanished within minutes.

3. The subject of the poem is the evanescent nature of young love.

4. He had thought he loved her to distraction; he had regarded his passion as adoration; and behold it was only a poor little evanescent partiality.

5. Every tornado is a little different, and they are all capricious, evanescent and hard to get a fix on.

6. The accidentally famous. . . may write books, appear on talk shows, and, in so doing, attract even greater public attention. This type of celebrity status, of course, is brittle and evanescent.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mnemonic:

Evanescent sounds like "Vanishing Scent"; the scent that would vanish, that wouldn't stay for long.
So evanescent means vanishing..

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prosaic Meaning and Usage

2009-08-15T00:15:00.003+05:30

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meaning:

adjective

- consisting or characteristic of prose.
- matter-of-fact; straightforward
- lacking in imagination and spirit; dull.

“prosaic details of everyday life”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Derivatives:

prosaically - adverb
prosaicness – noun

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Use prosaic in a sentence:

1. The Board needs to focus less on lofty ideas and more on the prosaic operations and management-related issues that drive this company

2. Instead, the evidence is beginning to point to a less prosaic possible explanation.

3. “You can go through your whole life telling yourself that life is logical, life is prosaic, life is sane”

4. He wanted to do something new; he was tired of the prosaic activities his parents suggested each day.

5. Anna came in a prosaic gray suit to help convince voters of her political savvy and gravitas.

6. The only entertainment would be a prosaic game of cards.

7. His instructor offered a more prosaic explanation for the surge in interest

8. I applied my attention prosaically to my routine

9. Most students would find all of this rather prosaic not to say archaic.

10. Life in a small industrial town seems very prosaic to the sons and daughters who have been away to college

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Synonyms:

arid, aseptic, banal, boring, colorless, common, commonplace, drab, dry, dull, earthbound, everyday, flat, flavorless, hackneyed, hardheaded, humdrum, lackluster, lifeless, lusterless, matter-of-fact, mundane, objective, ordinary, pedestrian, practical, pragmatic, prosy, realistic, regular, routine, sober, spiritless, stale, sterile, stodgy, tame, tedious, tiresome, trite, unexciting, unglamourous, unimaginative, uninspiring, uninteresting, unrhetorical, unromantic, vapid, workaday.

Antonyms:

creative, imaginative, inspired, interesting, thinking, exciting

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mnemonic:

Mosaic is beautiful artistic work with full of vibrant colours.
Prosaic is opposite of that - dull, boring, very common.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some more examples:

1. I've always loved the sight of windfarms, yet to be honest being up this close it seems more prosaic.

2. The reality, however, is probably more prosaic.

3. After jumping naked into the fountain downtown in an attempt to escape his prosaic life, Mark found himself living an even more prosaic life in prison.

4. John was tired of his prosaic job as a clothes salesman.

5. “I confess I never was able to dislodge from my memory the ever so prosaic sentence found in his letter”

6. He walked straight over to the administrative buildings, where, in the most prosaic way possible, he asked for the information about the course.

7. For students, one of the more challenging and useful steps in the revision stage of the writing process surfaces in the removal of prosaic sentence formations that include clichés, simple narration, and vague expressions.

8. The prosaic fact of the universe’s existence single-handedly defeats the pragmatist and the cynic.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Internecine Meaning and Usage

2009-08-13T21:48:00.006+05:30

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meaning:

adjective

- of or relating to struggle within a nation, organization, or group.
- mutually destructive; ruinous or fatal to both sides.
- characterized by bloodshed or carnage.

"an internecine feud among proxy holders"
"internecine war"
“internecine feuds between aspirants to the throne”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Use internecine in a sentence:

1. The new Department of Homeland Security was created, among other reasons, to reduce the internecine competition between the various security agencies of the federal government.

2. The internecine strife between Lewis aficionados about the order of the Narnia books shows no signs of abating.

3. When the three brothers took over the family business together, it didn't take long for the internecine feuding to begin.

4. Their family was a victim of an internecine political struggle.

5. History demonstrates that brutal dictatorships and savage tribes engaged in internecine warfare are not transformed by handouts. After all, billions of dollars have already been poured into the country. What it needs is freedom, not welfare.

6. When high party officials are executed for corruption, it’s tough to find out whether it is a genuine case or a ploy in the internecine power struggles.

7. The Mongol people were plagued by internecine conflicts until Genghis Khan unified them and focused their aggression outwards on other peoples.

8. Invasions from southern India, combined with internecine strife, pushed Sinhalese kingdoms southward.

9. Although the Irish were subsequently free from foreign invasion for 150 years, internecine clan warfare continued to drain their energies and resources.

10. Internecine strife in Gaza claimed its most senior victim yesterday when militants assassinated one of the most hated security chiefs there

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Synonyms:
exterminating, sanguinary, internal, domestic, baneful, brutal, calamitous, cataclysmal, cataclysmic, catastrophic, consuming, consumptive, deadly, deathful, deathly, demolishing, demolitionary, depredatory, desolating, destroying, destructive, devastating, disastrous, doomful, fatal, fateful, feral, fratricidal, killing, lethal, malign, malignant, mortal, nihilist, nihilistic, pernicious, ravaging, ruining, ruinous, savage, self-destructive, subversionary, subversive, suicidal, vandalic, vandalish, vandalistic, virulent, wasteful, wasting, withering

Antonyms:
bloodless, constructive, lively, immortal, external

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WORD HISTORY:
When is a mistake not a mistake? In language at least, the answer to this question is “When everyone adopts it,” and on rare occasions, “When it's in the dictionary.” The word internecine presents a case in point.

Today, it usually has the meaning “relating to internal struggle,” but in its first recorded use in English, in 1663, it meant “fought to the death.” How it got from one sense to another is an interesting story in the history of English.

The Latin source of the word, spelled both internecīnus and internecīvus, meant “fought to the death, murderous.” It is a derivative of the verb necāre, “to kill.” The prefix inter– was here used not in the usual sense “between, mutual” but rather as an intensifier meaning “all the way, to the death.”

This piece of knowledge was unknown to Samuel Johnson, however, when he was working on his great dictionary in the 18th century. He included internecine in his dictionary but misunderstood the prefix and defined the word as “endeavoring mutual destruction.” Johnson was not taken to task for this error. On the contrary, his dictionary was so popular and considered so authoritative that this error became widely adopted as correct usage. The error was further compounded when internecine acquired the sense “relating to internal struggle.”

This story thus illustrates how dictionaries are often viewed as providing norms and how the ultimate arbiter in language, even for the dictionary itself, is popular usage.

internecine. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved August 13, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/internecine

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------