-
abject
- Adj
- Most miserable; wretched.
- King Lear’s life changed from one of luxury and power to one of abject poverty and helplessness.
-
advocate
- Verb
- To plead in favor of; to defend.
- This organization advocates the release of all people imprisoned for their beliefs.
- Noun
- One who argues for or defends a person, group, or idea.
- Former Surgeon General Koop was a strong advocate for a ban on cigarette advertising.
-
Atrocity
- Noun
- An act of great cruelty and wickedness.
- The war crimes judges in The Hague examined atrocities committed during the war in the former Yugoslavia.
-
atrocious
- adj
- 1. Very brutal, wicked, or cruel.
- The Nazis carried out atrocious medical experiments on their prisoners.
- 2. Appallingly bad; outrageous.
- The owners of the kennel were prosecuted after reporters revealed that the animals lived under atrocious conditions.
-
commemorate
- Verb
- To serve as a memorial to; to remember in a solemn manner.
- The tablet on the front of the house commemorates its importance as a station on the Underground Railroad.
-
dialect
- noun
- A form of a language spoken in a certain geographical region that has its own grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary.
- A Spanish-speaking person from Madrid might not completely understand a dialect spoken in Cuba.
-
dire
- adj
- Having terrible consequences; urgent or desperate.
- Pol Pot’s reign in Cambodia, which began in 1975, had a dire effect on the lives of most Cambodians.
-
elite
- noun
- A group that enjoys superior status to others.
- Many of Edith Wharton’s novels are set in the homes of the social elite of New York City during the 1890s.
- adj
- Considered superior to others.
- The greenhouse window in our new kitchen enhances the room’s light, airy feeling.
-
enhance
- verb
- To make greater or better.
- The greenhouse window in our new kitchen enhances the room’s light, airy feeling.
-
flagrant
- adj
- Clearly offensive or bad; conspicuously acting against what is right.
- Trying to conceal the Watergate break-in was a flagrant abuse of presidential power.
-
languish
- verb
- To lose hope, strength, or vitality because of neglect or bad conditions.
- We languished on the porch, our tennis rackets at our feet, as the rain soaked everything.
-
mute
- verb
- To soften or tone down the sound of.
- he state legislature has agreed to build walls at the edge of the airport to mute the roar of the jet engines for nearby residents.
- adj
- Not speaking or not able to speak; silent.
- Julie remained mute when the customs officer asked her name.
-
raze
- verb
- To level to the ground; to destroy completely.
- Just as the row of seventeenth-century buildings was about to be razed, the preservation society requested a delay.
-
reprisal
- noun
- A retaliation for an injury.
- The rocket attack came as a swift and deadly reprisal for the bombing of the embassy.
-
turmoil
- noun
- A state of confusion or agitation; tumult.
- With flood waters rising and an order to evacuate our home in an hour, my family was in a turmoil, trying to decide what to do first.
-
wreak
- verb
- 1. To bring about or inflict.
- The tornado wreaked destruction and death along the path it followed through the center of town.
- 2. To express or vent.
- Sidney wreaked his anger by pounding on the hood of the ruined car.
|
|
