Recently Added Articles Page #119

ennoble - vocabulary

verbTo dignify, to elevate in degree or respect; to exalt; to confer nobility upon. [S]uffering does not ennoble. It destroys. To resist destruction, self-hatred, or lifelong hopelessness, we have to throw off the conditioning of being despised, the ...

enormity, enormousness - vocabulary

nounEnormity: outrageous or heinous character; largeness of size, immensity.Enormousness: largeness of size or scope.Note: Use enormousness when meaning “large” and enormity when wishing to emphasize the awfulness of something. Enormity is freque...

epiphany - vocabulary

nounA sudden appearance or bodily manifestation of a deity; a sudden, intuitive perception of the essential meaning or significance of something, usually initiated by a commonplace occurrence.Note: The proper noun Epiphany names a Christian festival,...

epithet - vocabulary

nounAny word or phrase applied to a person or thing and used to describe an actual or attributed quality, as in The Great Communicator used to describe Ronald Reagan or man’s best friend used to describe a dog.Also, a term of abuse, as in racial ep...

epitome - vocabulary

nounA person or thing that is typical of or represents to a high degree the attributes of an entire class; a summary or abstract of a larger literary work.Note: The word epitome does not mean “pinnacle” or “climax” though many people use it t...

equanimity - vocabulary

nounEmotional or mental stability or composure, especially when tensed or strained; calm. We could not help contrasting the equanimity of Nature with the bustle and impatience of man. His words and actions presume always a crisis near at hand, but sh...

equity - vocabulary

nounCharacterized by fairness. In law, the term courts of equity refers to a parallel system of courts in England and, later, the United States, that could give remedies deemed inadequate in courts of law. The term equitable remedies refers to forms ...

equivocal - vocabulary

verbEquivocate: To hedge, to utter ambiguous statements, to use unclear expressions.adjectiveEquivocal: Ambiguous, open to more than one interpretation; often intentionally misleading, as in an equivocal statement. Elizabeth saw directly that her fat...

erudition, erudite - vocabulary

nounErudition: deep, extensive knowledge and learning.adjectiveErudite: characterized by great knowledge and learning. [Abraham Lincoln] became an erudite lawyer, one of the best in Illinois, representing important corporations, presenting cases in t...

eschew - vocabulary

verbTo stay away from, to avoid, to abstain from. Revelry rules the roost on New Year's Eve, but there are those who value fine dining more than noise-making. Many of Long Island's best restaurants are planning spectacular memory-making feasts for th...

estimable - vocabulary

adjectiveWorthy of respect, deserving esteem and admiration. But this is truly a wonderful occasion, the culmination of years of hard work and remarkable generosity, and all of which was due to the good grace of the estimable board of trustees of thi...

euphemism - vocabulary

nounA figure of speech by which a less offensive phrase is substituted to convey a harsh thought. For example, pass away is a euphemism for die. Euphemisms abound for prostitution, but spend a week combing through the phone records of the so-called "...

evince - vocabulary

verbTo make manifest or evident; to show clearly, to prove; to reveal the possession of a quality or trait. Presidents and prime ministers everywhere, I suspect, sometimes wonder how history will deal with them. Some even evince a touch of the insec...

evoke - vocabulary

verbTo call up or summon forth memories or feelings; to elicit, draw forth; to summon. Railroad iron is a magician’s rod, in its power to evoke the sleeping energies of land and water.—Ralph Waldo Emerson Speech, Boston, Massachusetts, February 7...

execrable - vocabulary

adjectiveAbominable, detestable, abhorrent; very bad. But is an enemy so execrable that though in captivity his wishes and comforts are to be disregarded and even crossed? I think not. It is for the benefit of mankind to mitigate the horrors of war a...

expiate - vocabulary

verbTo atone for, to make amends for, as in to expiate his crimes. “Dolly!” he said, sobbing now; “for mercy's sake, think of the children; they are not to blame! I am to blame, and punish me, make me expiate my fault. Anything I can do, I am r...

explicate - vocabulary

verbTo make clear or plain; to explain, interpret; to develop a theory or principle. "This book is about life as it is interpreted by books," Edward Mendelson begins. He takes as his subjects Birth, Childhood, Growth, Marriage, Love, Parenthood and (...

extenuate - vocabulary

verbTo diminish the gravity or importance of an offense, fault, or crime; to underestimate, make light of, underrate.Note: The present participle extenuating appears as a verbal adjective to mean to partially excuse, as in extenuating circumstances. ...

extricate - vocabulary

verbTo release or free from entanglement, to disengage, usually from a situation. Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricat...

fatuous - vocabulary

adjectiveFoolish, inane, silly, especially in a self-satisfied way. I’m sick of the Powder Room. I’m sick of pretending that some fatuous male’s self-important pronouncements are the objects of my undivided attention, I’m sick of going to fil...

fervor, fervid - vocabulary

nounFervor: great warmth or earnestness of feeling; intense heat.adjectiveFervid: intense, heated, or vehement in enthusiasm; intensely hot, burning, glowing. Abortion rights groups are wasting no time in trying to rally support in the wake of last w...

foible - vocabulary

nounA minor failing or weakness of character; slight defect or flaw. It is the foible especially of American youth,—pretension. The mark of the man of the world is absence of pretension. He does not make a speech, he takes a low business-tone, avoi...

forego, forgo - vocabulary

verbForego: to go before, precede. The past tense is forewent, the past participle foregone.Forgo: to refrain from, to do without; to give up, renounce. The past tense is forwent, the past participle forgone.Note: Consider the following discussion fr...

fungible - vocabulary

adjectiveUsually used to describe goods of a nature or kind that may be freely exchangeable or replaceable for others of like kind or nature. In finance, fungible assets refers to securities or commodities that are freely mixed and whose ownership is...

farther, further - vocabulary

adjective, adverbFarther: the comparative form of the adjective and adverb far; is often followed by than.Further: may be used in the adverbial sense of “moreover,” as in Further, you hurt my feelings; in the adjectival sense of “more extended,...