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agrarian adj Of or pertaining to a farming community or lifestyle. Since the explosion of the industrial revolution and the rise of the cities, we have seen a gradual erosion of our formerly agrarian economy in favor of a more industrialized one.
approbation n Approval or acclaim. The audience signaled its approbation with a thunderous round of applause.
bastion n A fortress or stronghold, a line of defense. 1) English teachers are one of the last bastions against bad grammar that we have. 2) Stoutly defended behind an earthen bastion, the rebel army held out to the last man.
facilitate v To aid or to make easier. I'm not going to run the meeting; I'm merely going to facilitate it by providing comfortable seating, snacks, pens and paper, and by keeping distractions to a minimum.
intractable adj Difficult
to manage, govern, mold, or manipulate. 1) Your monstrous little brat is
absolutely intractable; he was so disobedient that we finally had to tie him to
his chair with duct tape. 2) Norma's pain was intractable; the doctors
tried everything to cure it, but to no avail.
invective n Harsh and denouncing language, language meant to harm and diminsih. We thought that the debate between candidates would be a calm and reasoned discussion of the issues, but instead it turned into a contest of each hurling ugly and bitter invective at the other.
mitigate v To soften or ease, to make less harsh. 1) Noah thought to mitigate the pain of his headache with three aspirin, but they failed completely. 2) Because the accused murderer had killed the other man in defense of his home and family, the judge decided to mitigate his punishment and give him the lightest sentence allowed by law.
mortification n
Related to "mort," meaning death. Extreme and humiliating
embarrassment--so much so as that the victim wishes "he could die." When
the Queen tripped over an exposed root and stumbled into the mud puddle, she
turned beet red and could not conceal her mortification.
parochial
adj Limited
or restricted, especially to a single point of view or to a small geographical
or intellectual area--often associated with Catholic schools. 1) Having gone
to a small parochial school for his first nine years of education, Ignatius was
not prepared for the beehive of activity in the public high school. 2) I
think that your political background as mayor of Podunk is rather to parochial
to qualify you for national office.
precept
n
An idea or belief that is adhered to as a core of a political or
religious system. The most fundamental precept of our American judicial
system is that a defendant is guilty until he has been proved innocent.