acquit
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
she acquitted herself well
He had a penny too—a gift of Sowerberry's after some funeral in which he had acquitted himself more than ordinarily well—in his pocket.†
acquitted = handled (conducted or behaved)
Definition
Generally this sense of acquit means:to handle oneself in a specified way — which is typically in a positive way
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 8 |
advocate (2 meanings)
2 meanings, 2 uses
1 —1 use as in:
to advocate
This allusion to Nancy's doubtful character, raised a vast quantity of chaste wrath in the bosoms of four housemaids, who remarked, with great fervour, that the creature was a disgrace to her sex; and strongly advocated her being thrown, ruthlessly, into the kennel.
advocated = recommended
Definition
Generally this sense of advocate means:to recommend or publicly support (someone or something)
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 100 |
1st use | Chapter 39 |
2 —1 use as in:
an advocate in court
'I have not the inclination to parley,' said Mr. Brownlow, 'and, as I advocate the dearest interests of others, I have not the right.'†
advocate = act as an English lawyer for
Definition
Generally this sense of advocate means:a lawyer or officer of the court in some jurisdictions in Europe, colonial America, and the military
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 49 |
affectation
1 use
Fagin's affectation of humanity
affectation = behaving in an artificial way to make an impression
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 19 |
alacrity
3 uses
The girl jumped up, with great alacrity; poured it quickly out, but with her back towards him; and held the vessel to his lips, while he drank off the contents.
alacrity = quickness; and/or cheerful eagerness
Word Statistics
Book | 3 uses |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 38 |
attribute
3 uses
1 —1 use as in:
I attribute it to...
It had had plenty of room to expand, thanks to the spare diet of the establishment; and perhaps to this circumstance may be attributed his having any ninth birth-day at all.
attributed = credited (pointed to as the cause of)
Definition
Generally this sense of attribute means:to credit (a source for something)
in two typical senses:
- "I attribute it to her work." — to say who or what made something happen
- "Remember to attribute any quotations in your paper." — indicate the source of a quotation or idea
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 100 |
1st use | Chapter 2 |
unquizzed meaning —2 uses
benevolent
8 uses
In fact, if it had not been for a good-hearted turnpike-man, and a benevolent old lady ... he would most assuredly have fallen dead upon the king's highway.
benevolent = kind and generous
Definition
Generally benevolent means:kind, generous, or charitable
Word Statistics
Book | 8 uses |
Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 1000 |
1st use | Chapter 41 |
capacious
1 use
...and thrusting them into pockets which were so surprisingly capacious, that they seemed to undermine his whole suit of clothes in every direction.
capacious = large in capacity
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 10 |
complacent
7 uses
He looked tired and worn, but there was the same complacent repose upon his features that they always wore:
complacent = contented (unworried and happy)
Definition
Generally complacent means:contented (unworried and satisfied) — often to a fault
Word Statistics
Book | 7 uses |
Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 1000 |
1st use | Chapter 2 |
correspond
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
corresponding time period
Mrs. Corney, the matron of the workhouse to which our readers have been already introduced as the birthplace of Oliver Twist, sat herself down before a cheerful fire in her own little room, and glanced, with no small degree of complacency, at a small round table: on which stood a tray of corresponding size, furnished with all necessary materials for the most grateful meal that matrons enjoy.†
corresponding = proportional
Definition
Generally this sense of correspond means:connect or fit together by being equivalent, proportionate, or matched
(Two things are equivalent if they have the same or very similar value, purpose, or result.)
(Two things are equivalent if they have the same or very similar value, purpose, or result.)
Word Statistics
Book | 2 uses |
Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 100 |
1st use | Chapter 23 |
desist
2 uses
Notwithstanding the evidently useless nature of their search, they did not desist until the coming on of night rendered its further prosecution hopeless; and even then, they gave it up with reluctance.
desist = to not do something
Word Statistics
Book | 2 uses |
Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 5 |
discord
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
discordant music
the hideous and discordant din that resounded from every corner of the market
discordant = unpleasant combination of sounds
Definition
Generally this sense of discord means:unpleasant sound — especially a combination of sounds that sound wrong together (though sometimes done intentionally in music)
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 1000 |
1st use | Chapter 21 |
dissemble
1 use
Monks cast a look of hate, which, even then, he could not dissemble, at the astonished boy, and sat down near the door.
dissemble = hide or disguise
Definition
Generally dissemble means:hide or disguise the truth without outright lying
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 51 |
obscure (2 meanings)
2 meanings, 8 uses
1 —3 uses as in:
it obscured my view
and pulling the collar up over his ears so as completely to obscure the lower part of his face:
obscure = hide (make less visible)
Definition
Generally this sense of obscure means:to block from view or make less visible or understandable
Word Statistics
Book | 3 uses |
Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 2000 |
1st use | Chapter 8 |
2 —5 uses as in:
knows the famous and the obscure
Just pausing to observe which appeared the most crowded streets, and consequently the most to be avoided, he crossed into Saint John's Road, and was soon deep in the obscurity of the intricate and dirty ways, which, lying between Gray's Inn Lane and Smithfield, render that part of the town one of the lowest and worst that improvement has left in the midst of London.
obscurity = the condition of being unknown to most people and undistinguished
Definition
Generally this sense of obscure means:not known to many people; or unimportant or undistinguished
Word Statistics
Book | 5 uses |
Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 2000 |
1st use | Chapter 42 |
obstinate
9 uses
There's a obstinate pauper for you!'
obstinate = stubbornly unyielding to other's wishes
Definition
Generally obstinate means:stubbornly not doing what others want
Word Statistics
Book | 9 uses |
Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 41 |
passage
2 uses
Mr. Bumble was meditating; it might be that the insects brought to mind, some painful passage in his own past life.†
passage = a short part of a longer work
Definition
Generally this sense of passage means:a short part of a longer written work
Word Statistics
Book | 2 uses |
Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 100 |
1st use | Chapter 6 |
sanguine
4 uses
The success of Mr. Sowerberry's ingenious speculation, exceeded even his most sanguine hopes.
sanguine = confidently optimistic and cheerful
Word Statistics
Book | 4 uses |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 3 |
sultry
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
a sultry afternoon
He had been poring over them for some time; and, as the day had been uncommonly sultry, and he had exerted himself a great deal, it is no disparagement to the authors, whoever they may have been, to say, that gradually and by slow degrees, he fell asleep.
sultry = hot and humid
Word Statistics
Book | 2 uses |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 34 |
timorous
1 use
...the group, peeping timorously over each other's shoulders, beheld no more formidable object than poor little Oliver Twist,
timorously = timidly
(editor's note: In this context, peeping is a synonym for looking.)
(editor's note: In this context, peeping is a synonym for looking.)
Definition
Generally timorous means:timid (fearful) or shy
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 28 |