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Vocab
8
cortege n Pronounced <kor-TEZH>. A long line or a procession following a king or a hearse. Though the king, in life, was followed by a huge cortege of flatterers and bodyguards, in death he was followed by an even larger cortege of citizens who loved him.
fathom v To fully understand or get to the bottom of. (In the 19th century, riverboat captains who wished to understand the depth of the river would measure its depth by the fathom--6 feet.) Though I have taken calculus twice now, I still cannot fathom its complexities; perhaps I am destined to be an English major.
futile
adj Hopeless
and without effect. In a futile attempt to fly, Wilhelm stood in the back
yard and flapped his arms furiously.
infamous adj Famous for bad, having a reputation for evil. Hitler, the most infamous dictator of the 20th century, will still be remembered in 300 years as one of humanity's monsters.
marauder n One who pillages and plunders, one who robs and destroys. Our tiny village could not fight off the hundreds of marauders from the north, and we were destroyed and sold into slavery.
oracle n One who foretells the future, a seer. Oedipus, having been told by the oracle that he would kill his father and marry his mother, fled Corinth in horror, vowing never to look upon his parents again.
revile v To assail with abusive language. It is sad and embarrassing to tune in to the Jerry Springer show and watch the contestants revile each other with such hatred on national television.
scourge n/v 1) A whip or something which destroys. Penicillin is the scourge of bacterial infection, saving millions of lives annually. 2) To do great harm to or to whip violently. Captain Bligh used to scourge his seamen with a whip if they even mentioned mutiny.
spurn v To reject or scorn, to push away. I thought the most beautiful girl in school would spurn my advances when I asked her for a date, but she turned out to be charming and funny, and we had a great time.
zeal
n
Enthusiastic devotion to a cause, an ideal, or a goal and
tireless diligence in its furtherance. ("Zealot" is a person with
zeal, and "zealous" is the quality of having it.). 1) With
ill-concealed zeal for adventure, Indiana eagerly recommended that we go in
search of King Solomon's lost mine. 2) Because Wanda believed desperately
in the cause of animal rights, her zeal to protect them sometimes overcame her
good judgement.