01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
abyss n An incredibly deep place, often in the ocean Sailing in the Pacific, I dropped my watch overboard, and it sank forever into the abyss.
allay v To calm or reduce the intensity of, as a pain or a fear 1) Finally I have found a medicine to ally the agony of these terrible headaches. 2) My daughter woke up with nightmares, but I was able to allay her fears and get her back to sleep.
extirpate v To eliminate or to root out, to tear out by the roots After the hated dictator died, his oppressed countrymen tried to extirpate every mention of his name and every image of his face from the entire country.
fortitude n
Strength of character and courage in the face of adversity He bore
up under his hardships with calm fortitude, and we all admired his quiet
courage.
impertinent adj Exceeding the limits of propriety or good manners; improperly forward or bold: It is quite impertinent of a child to lecture a grownup.
inveterate adj Done by force of long habit or experience, usually a negative word Cynthia is unfortunately an inveterate gambler, and we have had to take away all her cash and credit cards to keep her away from the casinos.
lieu n Place, stead--always used in phrase "in lieu of" Since we're both on a diet, why don't we take a brisk walk in lieu of the chocolate cake?
prerogative n Privilege or right belonging to one person or group of persons It is the exclusive prerogative of the teacher to assign grades to the students; the principal cannot interfere.
quixotic
adj
Highly impractical and romantic, idealistic (after Don Quixote) in
Cervantes' novel) O'Toole had the quixotic notion that he could bring peace
to the world by singing "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" in the
middle of Parliament.
temporal
adj
Existing in time as opposed to eternity, temporary We everyday
concern ourselves with temporal issues such as the economy, when in the grand
scheme of eternity it matters very little.