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anomaly
- |əˈnäməlē|
- noun (pl. anomalies)
- 1 something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected: there are a number of anomalies in the present system | a legal anomaly | [ with clause ] : the apparent anomaly that those who produced the wealth were the poorest | the position abounds in anomaly.
- 2 Astronomy the angular distance of a planet or satellite from its last perihelion or perigee.
- ORIGIN
- late 16th cent.: via Latin from Greek anōmalia, from anōmalos (see anomalous) .
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equivocal
- |əˈkwivək(ə)l|
- adjective
- open to more than one interpretation; ambiguous: the equivocal nature of her remarks.
- • uncertain or questionable in nature: the results of the investigation were equivocal.
- DERIVATIVES
- equivocality |əˌkwivəˈkalədē| noun.
- equivocally |əˈkwivək(ə)lē| adverb.
- equivocalness |əˈkwivəkəlnəs| noun
- ORIGIN
- mid 16th cent.: from late Latin aequivocus, from Latin aequus ‘equally’ + vocare ‘to call.’
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precipitate
- |prəˈsipəˌtāt| [ with obj. ]
- 1 cause (an event or situation, typically one that is bad or undesirable) to happen suddenly, unexpectedly, or prematurely: the incident precipitated a political crisis.
- • cause to move suddenly and with force: suddenly the ladder broke, precipitating them down into a heap.
- • (precipitate someone/something into) send someone or something suddenly into a particular state or condition: they were precipitated into a conflict for which they were quite unprepared.
- 2 Chemistry cause (a substance) to be deposited in solid form from a solution.
- • cause (drops of moisture or particles of dust) to be deposited from the atmosphere or from a vapor or suspension.
- adjective |prəˈsipədət|
- done, made, or acting suddenly or without careful consideration: I must apologize for my staff—their actions were precipitate.
- • (of an event or situation) occurring suddenly or abruptly: a precipitate decline in cultural literacy.
- noun |prəˈsipədətprəˈsipəˌtāt| Chemistry
- a substance precipitated from a solution.[from modern Latin praecipitatum .]
- DERIVATIVES
- precipitable |prəˈsipədəb(ə)l| adjective.
- precipitately |prēˈsipədətlēprəˈsipədətlē| adverb.
- precipitateness |priˈsipətətnəs| noun
- ORIGIN
- early 16th cent.: from Latin praecipitat- ‘thrown headlong,’ from the verb praecipitare, from praeceps, praecip(it)- ‘headlong,’ from prae ‘before’ + caput ‘head.’ The original sense of the verb was ‘hurl down, send violently’; hence ‘cause to move rapidly,’ which gave rise to sense 1 (early 17th cent).
- usage: The adjectives precipitate and precipitous are sometimes confused. Precipitate means ‘sudden, hasty’: a precipitate decision | the fugitive's precipitate flight. Precipitous means ‘steep’: the precipitous slope of the mountain | a precipitous decline in stock prices.
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assuage
- |əˈswāj|
- verb [ with obj. ]
- make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense: the letter assuaged the fears of most members.
- • satisfy (an appetite or desire): an opportunity occurred to assuage her desire for knowledge.
- DERIVATIVES
- assuagement noun
- ORIGIN
- Middle English: from Old French assouagier, asouagier, based on Latin ad- ‘to’ (expressing change) + suavis ‘sweet.’
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erudite
- |ˈer(y)əˌdīt|
- adjective
- having or showing great knowledge or learning.
- DERIVATIVES
- eruditely |ˈer(y)əˌdītlē| adverb
- ORIGIN
- late Middle English: from Latin eruditus, past participle of erudire ‘instruct, train’ (based on rudis ‘rude, untrained’).
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opaque
- |ōˈpāk|
- adjective (opaquer, opaquest)
- not able to be seen through; not transparent: the windows were opaque with steam.
- • (especially of language) hard or impossible to understand; unfathomable: technical jargon that was opaque to her.
- noun
- an opaque thing or substance.
- • Photography a substance for producing opaque areas on negatives.
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prodigal
- |ˈprädəɡəl|
- adjective
- 1 spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant: prodigal habits die hard.
- 2 having or giving something on a lavish scale: the dessert was crunchy with brown sugar and prodigal with whipped cream.
- noun
- a person who spends money in a recklessly extravagant way.
- • (also prodigal son or daughter)a person who leaves home and behaves recklessly, but later makes a repentant return.[with biblical allusion to the parable in Luke 15:11–32.]
- DERIVATIVES
- prodigality |ˌprädəˈɡalədē| noun.
- prodigally |ˈprädəɡ(ə)lē| adverb
- ORIGIN
- late Middle English: from late Latin prodigalis, from Latin prodigus ‘lavish.’
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enigma
- |iˈniɡmə|
- noun (pl. enigmas)
- a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.
- ORIGIN
- mid 16th cent.: via Latin from Greek ainigma, from ainissesthai ‘speak allusively,’ from ainos ‘fable.’
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fervid
- |ˈfərvəd|
- adjective
- intensely enthusiastic or passionate, especially to an excessive degree: a letter of fervid thanks.
- • literary burning, hot, or glowing.
- DERIVATIVES
- fervidly adverb
- ORIGIN
- late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘glowing, hot’): from Latin fervidus, from fervere ‘to boil.’ Compare with fervent and fervor.
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placate
- |ˈplākāt|
- verb [ with obj. ]
- make (someone) less angry or hostile: they attempted to placate the students with promises.
- DERIVATIVES
- placater noun.
- placatingly |pləˈkātiNG-lē| adverb.
- placation |plāˈkāSHən| noun
- ORIGIN
- late 17th cent.: from Latin placat- ‘appeased,’ from the verb placare .
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zeal
- |zēl|
- noun
- great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective: his zeal for privatization | Laura brought a missionary zeal to her work.
- ORIGIN
- late Middle English: via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek zēlos .
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audacious
- |ôˈdāSHəs|
- adjective
- 1 showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks: a series of audacious takeovers.
- 2 showing an impudent lack of respect: an audacious remark.
- DERIVATIVES
- audaciously |ôˈdāSHəslē| adverb.
- audaciousness noun
- ORIGIN
- mid 16th cent.: from Latin audax, audac- ‘bold’ (from audere ‘dare’) + -ious.
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desiccate
- |ˈdesəˌkāt|
- verb [ with obj. ]
- 1 (usu. as adj. desiccated) remove the moisture from (something, especially food), typically in order to preserve it: desiccated coconut.
- 2 (as adj. desiccated) lacking interest, passion, or energy: a desiccated history of ideas.
- DERIVATIVES
- desiccation |ˌdesəˈkāSHən| noun.
- desiccative |ˈdesəˌkādiv| adjective
- ORIGIN
- late 16th cent.: from Latin desiccat- ‘made thoroughly dry,’ from the verb desiccare .
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gullible
- |ˈɡələb(ə)l|
- adjective
- easily persuaded to believe something; credulous: an attempt to persuade a gullible public to spend their money.
- DERIVATIVES
- gullibility |ˌɡələˈbilədē| noun.
- gullibly |-blē| adverb
- ORIGIN
- early 19th cent.: from gull2 + -ible.
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laudable
- |ˈlôdəb(ə)l|
- adjective
- (of an action, idea, or goal) deserving praise and commendation: laudable though the aim might be, the results have been criticized.
- DERIVATIVES
- laudability |ˌlôdəˈbilədē| noun.
- laudably |ˈlôdəblē| adverb
- ORIGIN
- late Middle English: from Latin laudabilis, from laus, laud- ‘praise.’
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pedant
- |ˈpednt|
- noun
- a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning.
- ORIGIN
- late 16th cent.: from French pédant, from Italian pedante, perhaps from the first element of Latin paedagogus (see pedagogue) .
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vacillate
- |ˈvasəˌlāt|
- verb [ no obj. ]
- alternate or waver between different opinions or actions; be indecisive: I had for a time vacillated between teaching and journalism.
- DERIVATIVES
- vacillation |ˌvasəˈlāSH(ə)n| noun.
- vacillator |-ˌlātər| noun
- ORIGIN
- late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘sway unsteadily’): from Latin vacillat- ‘swayed,’ from the verb vacillare .
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adulterate
- |əˈdəltəˌrāt|
- verb [ with obj. ]
- render (something) poorer in quality by adding another substance, typically an inferior one: the meat was ground fine and adulterated with potato flour.
- DERIVATIVES
- adulteration |əˌdəltəˈrāSH(ə)n| noun.
- adulterator |əˈdəltəˌrādər| noun
- ORIGIN
- early 16th cent. (as an adjective meaning ‘spurious’): from Latin adulterat- ‘corrupted,’ from the verb adulterare .
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capricious
- |kəˈpriSHəskəˈprēSHəs|
- adjective
- given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior: a capricious and often brutal administration | a capricious climate.
- DERIVATIVES
- capriciously |kəˈpriSHəslēkəˈprēSHəslē| adverb.
- capriciousness |kəˈpriSHisnəskəˈprēSHisnəs| noun
- ORIGIN
- early 17th cent.: from French capricieux, from Italian (see capriccioso) .
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engender
- |ənˈjendər|
- verb [ with obj. ]
- cause or give rise to (a feeling, situation, or condition): the issue engendered continuing controversy.
- • archaic (of a father) beget (offspring).
- ORIGIN
- Middle English (formerly also as ingender): from Old French engendrer, from Latin ingenerare, from in- ‘in’ + generare ‘beget’ (see generate) .
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homogeneous
- |ˌhōməˈjēnēəs| (also homogenous |həˈmäjənəs| )
- adjective
- of the same kind; alike: timbermen prefer to deal with homogeneous woods.
- • consisting of parts all of the same kind: culturally speaking the farmers constitute an extremely homogeneous group.
- • Mathematics containing terms all of the same degree.
- DERIVATIVES
- homogeneously |ˌhōməˈjēnēəslē| adverb.
- homogeneousness |ˌhōməˈjēnēəsnəs| noun
- ORIGIN
- early 17th cent. (as homogeneity): from medieval Latin homogeneus, from Greek homogenēs, from homos ‘same’ + genos ‘race, kind.’
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laquacious
- |lōˈkwāSHəs|
- adjective
- tending to talk a great deal; talkative.
- DERIVATIVES
- loquaciously |ləˈkwāSHəslē| adverb.
- loquaciousness |ləˈkwāSHəsnəs| noun
- ORIGIN
- mid 17th cent.: from Latin loquax, loquac- (from loqui ‘talk’) + -ious.
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pragmatic
- |praɡˈmadik|
- adjective
- dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations: a pragmatic approach to politics.
- • relating to philosophical or political pragmatism.
- • Linguistics of or relating to pragmatics.
- ORIGIN
- late 16th cent. (in the senses ‘busy, interfering, conceited’): via Latin from Greek pragmatikos ‘relating to fact,’ from pragma ‘deed’ (from the stem of prattein ‘do’). The current sense dates from the mid 19th cent.
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volatile
- |ˈvälədl|
- adjective
- 1 (of a substance) easily evaporated at normal temperatures.
- 2 liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse: the political situation was becoming more volatile.
- • (of a person) liable to display rapid changes of emotion.
- • (of a computer's memory) retaining data only as long as there is a power supply connected.
- noun (usu. volatiles)
- a volatile substance.
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apathy
- |ˈapəTHē|
- noun
- lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern: widespread apathy among students.
- ORIGIN
- early 17th cent.: from French apathie, via Latin from Greek apatheia, from apathēs ‘without feeling,’ from a- ‘without’ + pathos ‘suffering.’
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ephemeral
- |əˈfem(ə)rəl|
- adjective
- lasting for a very short time: fashions are ephemeral.
- • (chiefly of plants) having a very short life cycle.
- noun
- an ephemeral plant.
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laconic
- |ləˈkänik|
- adjective
- (of a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words: his laconic reply suggested a lack of interest in the topic.
- ORIGIN
- mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘Laconian’): via Latin from Greek Lakōnikos, from Lakōn ‘Laconia, Sparta,’ the Spartans being known for their terse speech.
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mitigate
- |ˈmidəˌɡāt|
- verb [ with obj. ]
- make less severe, serious, or painful: he wanted to mitigate misery in the world.
- • lessen the gravity of (an offense or mistake): (as adj. mitigating) : he would have faced a prison sentence but for mitigating circumstances.
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belile
- |bəˈlī|
- verb (belies, belying, belied) [ with obj. ]
- 1 (of an appearance) fail to give a true notion or impression of (something); disguise or contradict: his lively alert manner belied his years.
- 2 fail to fulfill or justify (a claim or expectation); betray: the notebooks belie Darwin's later recollection.
- ORIGIN
- Old English belēogan‘deceive by lying,’ from be-‘about’ + lēogan‘to lie’ Current senses date from the 17th cent.
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Myrid
- |ˈmirēəd| literary
- noun
- 1 a countless or extremely great number: networks connecting a myriad of computers.
- 2 (chiefly in classical history) a unit of ten thousand.
- adjective
- countless or extremely great in number: the myriad lights of the city.
- • having countless or very many elements or aspects: the myriad political scene.
- ORIGIN
- mid 16th cent. ( sense 2 of the noun): via late Latin from Greek murias, muriad-, from murioi ‘10,000.’
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quizotic
- |kwikˈsädik|
- adjective
- exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical: a vast and perhaps quixotic project.
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