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Vocab
1
elegy
n
a formal poem of mourning for a deceased
person. Not to be confused with “eulogy,” an elegy is a very precisely
formal piece, not just “nice words.” At the death of the king, the poet
laureate was commissioned to write an elegy celebrating his life and mourning
his loss.
empirical
adj.
based
on observed evidence, determined by experiment and practical observation I
don’t really care what your theories predict should be the outcome of this
experiment; the empirical data prove that your theoretical model is incorrect.
fervent
adj
characterized
by great emotional warmth and eagerness Though we wanted to give the criminal
life in prison for his misdeeds, his victim’s fervent plea that we be merciful
moved us to commute his sentence to 20 years.
homily
n
a short speech, like a sermon, filled with
wisdom and meaning, often used to refer to the sermon given in a Catholic mass. Having
gotten used to long half-hour sermons in the Presbyterian church, Randolph was
surprised that the Catholic homily lasted less than 10 minutes.
loathe
v/adj 1)
to actively hate, to feel disgust for I
loathe the idea that this child molester might be allowed to walk free after
paying a fine; he should be locked up.
manifest
n/adj/v 1) n. the list of cargo on a ship or a plane We checked the ship’s
manifest to assure ourselves that what was listed as cargo was actually in the
hold. 2) obvious to the eyes or to the perception Our manifest destiny in
the 19th century was to expand the United States westward to the
Pacific 3) to become visible or obvious My diagnosis confirms that you
are HIV positive, but you have not yet begun to manifest the symptoms of the
disease.
mawkish
adj
foolishly
sentimental The mawkish emotionalism of the scene where the little girl lies
dying while her faithful terrier keeps watch over her left the audience actually
holding back the laughter.
minion
n
one
who serves and acts as slave to another. The devil has thousands of minions
that he sends out to do his evil bidding upon earth.
momentous
adj
of
utmost importance, serious, such as an occasion. On the momentous occasion of
your graduation from college, I present you with this plaque.
myriad
n/adj
1) A great many. As a noun,
literally ten thousand. Joseph was proud of his coat of myriad
colors, and his brothers were jealous of his finery.