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admonish v To warn and to scold simultaneously. 1) The teacher admonished the class about their constant talking and reminded them that learning is impossible in a noisy environment. 2) Having been severely admonished not to go near the pond alone, Herbert gave it a wide berth.
advent n The opening or beginning of something, often an event. 1) To prepare us for the coming Christmas season, my mom used to buy us an advent calendar; it had one little surprise in it for every day leading up to the birth of Christ. 2) With the advent of the automobile, people became more mobile than they ever had been before.
askance adv To the side, with suspicion--usually said of a look or a glance. His mother looked askance at Shlomo when she caught him pilfering from the candy jar, and her disapproving glance was all he needed to warn him of his transgression.
chimera n Something sought for but never found, named after the fabulous monster of Greek mythology that lived atop a mountain. In our youth-worshipping culture, keeping one's vitality and good looks for decades remains a vain chimera on which the hopeful spend billions of wasted dollars.
halcyon adj Pertaining to days of happiness and prosperity--named after the halcyon bird of Greek mythology which was supposed to calm the seas every spring in order to lay its eggs in a floating nest upon the waters. Though many praise the teen years as the time of greatest happiness, I prefer to think that I am just now entering my halcyon days. The kids are grown, there's money to spend, and I finally know who I am.
incessant adj Without letup, constant and unremitting. Mr. Clydesdale here seems to be the victim of incessant pain, nurse, and we have to provide him with some relief before he goes mad from the agony.
listless adj Tired, uninterested, bored, and without energy. Once energetic and full of pep, my dog seems to have grown weary and listless of late. Do you think it could have anything to do with the fact that he's 18 years old?
subterfuge n An underhanded maneuver intended to gain an advantage over one's opponent. Through a clever bit of subterfuge, my opponent made me think he had mistakenly placed his queen open to capture. Like an idiot, I took it, and I was checkmated two moves later.
susceptible adj Tending to fall victim to or to suffer from. 1) Naive people are susceptible to telephone and internet scams where shifty characters cheat them out of their savings. 2) Elaine was so susceptible to colds and allergies that she spent most of her time calling in sick to work.