audacious
1 use
Your daughter had the audacity to come to my house and ask me to teach her how to speak properly so that she could get a place in a flower-shop.
audacity = boldness and daring
Definition
Generally audacious means:bold and daring (inclined to take risks) — especially in violating social convention in a manner that could offend others
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 2 |
blasphemy
1 use
That's middle class blasphemy.
blasphemy = something said or done that is disrespectful of something considered sacred
Definition
Generally blasphemy means:something said or done that is disrespectful of something considered sacred — especially God or religion
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 5 |
consonant
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
consonant or vowel?
As if I ever stop thinking about the girl and her confounded vowels and consonants.
consonants = speech sounds that are not vowels
Definition
Generally this sense of consonant means:a letter of the alphabet (or a speech sound) that is not a vowel
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Pref. |
decorum
1 use
[He goes out with impressive decorum, and spoils it by slamming the door savagely]
decorum = proper manners and conduct
Definition
Generally decorum means:manners and conduct considered to be proper and in good taste
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 4 |
didactic
2 uses
who repeat the parrot cry that art should never be didactic.
didactic = intended to instruct
Definition
Generally didactic means:describing something intended to instruct; or someone excessively inclined to instruct
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Pref. |
diffident
1 use
Here I am, a shy, diffident sort of man.
diffident = hesitant and unassertive
Definition
Generally diffident means:hesitant and unassertive — often due to a lack of self-confidence
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 2 |
dogmatic
1 use
HIGGINS [dogmatically, ...] Well, I haven't. I find that the moment I let a woman make friends with me, she becomes jealous, exacting, suspicious, and...
dogmatically = stating his opinion as though it were absolute truth
Definition
Generally dogmatic means:prone to stating opinions as absolute truth
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 2 |
establish
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
establish a positive tone
And it is notable that though she never nags her husband, and frankly loves the Colonel as if she were his favorite daughter, she has never got out of the habit of nagging Higgins that was established on the fatal night when she won his bet for him.†
established = created
Definition
Generally this sense of establish means:create, start, or set in [a] place
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 25 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Act 5 |
extricate
1 use
He goes to the divan, stumbling into the fender and over the fire-irons on his way; extricating himself with muttered imprecations; and finishing his disastrous journey by throwing himself so impatiently on the divan that he almost breaks it.
extricating = freeing or removing from constraint or difficulty
Definition
Generally extricate means:free or remove from constraint or difficulty
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 3 |
impudent
2 uses
HIGGINS [disagreeably surprised] Damn his impudence!
impudence = improper boldness or disrespect
Definition
Generally impudent means:improperly bold or disrespectful — especially toward someone who is older or considered to be of higher status
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 5 |
indifferent
4 uses
Some of the acquaintances to whom she had been a tedious or indifferent or ridiculous affliction, dropped her:
indifferent = without interest (average)
Definition
Generally indifferent means:without interest
in various senses, including:
- unconcerned — as in "She is indifferent to what is served to eat."
- unsympathetic — as in "She is indifferent to his needs."
- not of good quality (which may imply average or poor quality depending upon context) — as in "an indifferent performance"
- impartial — as in "We need a judge who is indifferent."
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 15 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Act 5 |
inevitable
1 use
though to some extent ridiculed and mimicked in West Kensington ... she was accepted as a rational and normal—or shall we say inevitable?
inevitable = certain to happen
Definition
Generally inevitable means:certain to happen (even if one tried to prevent it)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 23 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Act 5 |
languish
1 use
It exasperated her to think that the dungeon in which she had languished for so many unhappy years had been unlocked all the time,
languished = suffered in a bad situation for a long time
Definition
Generally languish means:to suffer in a bad situation for a long time
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 5 |
obscure
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
knows the famous and the obscure
As it was, he impressed himself professionally on Europe to an extent that made his comparative personal obscurity, and the failure of Oxford to do justice to his eminence, a puzzle to foreign specialists in his subject.
obscurity = the condition of not standing out or being well known by many people
Definition
Generally this sense of obscure means:not known to many people; or unimportant or undistinguished
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Pref. |
obstinate
1 use
Freddy backed up Eliza in her obstinate refusal to believe that they could save money by engaging a bookkeeper with some knowledge of the business.
obstinate = stubbornly unyielding to other's wishes
Definition
Generally obstinate means:stubbornly not doing what others want
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 5 |
pedantic
1 use
LIZA [speaking with pedantic correctness of pronunciation and great beauty of tone] How do you do, Mrs. Higgins?
pedantic = excessive concern with formal rules, details, or book learning
Definition
Generally pedantic means:too concerned with formal rules, details, or book learning
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 3 |
perfunctory
1 use
He perfunctorily thrusts them into his pockets, unconsciously decorating himself with the protruding ends of the chains.
perfunctorily = done quickly without concern or attention to detail
Definition
Generally perfunctory means:done without much interest or effort — especially as when dispensing with a formality
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 4 |
petulant
1 use
His manner varies from genial bullying when he is in a good humor to stormy petulance when anything goes wrong;
petulance = unreasonable annoyance and irritability
Definition
Generally petulant means:unreasonably annoyed or upset
or:
easily annoyed or upset
or:
easily annoyed or upset
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Act 2 |
positive
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
I'm absolutely positive!
Only, Clara is so down on me if I am not positively reeking with the latest slang.†
positively = with certainty; or absolutely (used for emphasis)
Definition
Generally this sense of positive means:certain (having no doubt; or used for emphasis)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 22 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 3 |
prudent
1 use
it makes a man feel prudent like; and then goodbye to happiness.
prudent = sensible and careful
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Act 2 |