Wednesday, February 26, 2014

MY VOCABULARY #2

Purge - v. To rid of whatever is impure or undesirable; cleanse; purify.
The hypocrisy of last year's purge of long-term faculty is now obvious, especially to students.
Crucial - adj. Involving an extremely important decision or result; decisive; critical: a crucial experiment.
Studies show that coaches often make poor choices in crucial situations.
Wailed - v. To utter a prolonged, inarticulate, mournful cry, usually high-pitched or clear-sounding, as in grief or suffering
We were only a few blocks from home when the air-raid siren wailed.
Caustic - adj. Severely critical or sarcastic
His caustic and satirical humor expressed itself in a style that astounded government departments.
Canvass - v. To solicit votes, subscriptions, opinions, or the like from
Canvassed on behalf of the Labor party.
Sibylline - adj. Of, resembling, or characteristic of a sibyl; prophetic; oracular.
In these sibylline leaves are gathered the scattered prophecies of the past upon the cases in which the ax will fall.
Tenuous - adj. Lacking a sound basis, as reasoning; unsubstantiated; weak
Dugongs are now legally protected throughout their range, but their populations are still in a tenuous state.
Supercilious - adj. Haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
The supercilious bearing of the old nobility could not be borne by the new peers.
Bleak - adj. Bare, desolate, and often windswept
In light of human population pressures and deforestation, the future appears bleak for the wild tiger.
Mellifluous - adj. Sweetly or smoothly flowing; sweet-sounding
The most noteworthy thing about him is his mellifluous voice.
Conversely - adj. Opposite or contrary in direction, action, sequence, etc.; turned around.
And, conversely, the perception of rhythm in things external to oneself is both easy and pleasurable.
Curvature - n. The act of curving or the state of being curved.
By tweaking the features of the model fish, they could estimate how body curvature affected range.
Calibrations - v. To determine, check, or rectify the graduation of (any instrument giving quantitative measurements).
Calibrate the thermometer to his desired settings?
Wormhole - n. A theoretical passageway in space between a black hole and a white hole.
Gravity would crush the throat of the wormhole, destroying any travelers trying to reach the other side.
Theories - n. A coherent group of tested general propositions, commonly regarded as correct, that can be used as principles of explanation and prediction for a class of phenomena
Demands on it grew continuously, and theories of what it might capably do expanded to meet those demands.
Limitations - n. A limiting condition; restrictive weakness; lack of capacity; inability or handicap
Not because we're above it, but because at some point one must realize their own limitations.
Instantaneously - adj. Occurring, done, or completed in an instant
Enter the letters on your tile rack and instantaneously, words you probably never knew existed appear for your selection and use.
Vicariously - adj. Performed, exercised, received, or suffered in place of another
What an enjoyable article, it was great fun to visit these old saloons vicariously.
Exotic - adj. Of foreign origin or character; not native; introduced from abroad, but not fully naturalized or acclimatized: exotic foods
Immigrant fish can also carry exotic diseases or can be aggressive predators that threaten native populations directly.
Theoretically - adj. Of, pertaining to, or consisting in theory; not practical (distinguished from applied )
Sheep and humans are both mammals and the technology used to clone one species could theoretically be applied to the other.

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