begrudge
11 uses
I know that I deserve my punishment. I do not begrudge it.
begrudge = resent
Definition
Generally begrudge means:to resent (feel bitterness—usually over unfairness); or to give unwillingly
Word Statistics
| Book | 11 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 58 |
deliberate
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
deliberate insult
there just aint nothing justifies the deliberate destruction of what a man has built with his own sweat
deliberate = intentional
Definition
Generally this sense of deliberate means:to do something intentionally (do it on purpose)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 53 |
descend
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
descend the mountain
They descend the hill in a series of spine-jolting jumps,
descend = move down
Definition
Generally this sense of descend means:move or slope downward
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 3 |
despair
4 uses
1 —4 uses as in:
she felt despair
They too are breathing now with a deep groaning sound; looking back once, their gaze sweeps across us with in their eyes a wild, sad, profound and despairing quality as though they had already seen in the thick water the shape of the disaster which they could not speak and we could not see.
despairing = hopeless
Definition
Generally this sense of despair means:hopelessness; or distress (such as extreme worry or sadness from feeling powerless to change a bad situation)
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 23 |
detach
3 uses
When we speak our voices are quiet, detached.
detached = emotionally uninvolved (separated from ourselves)
Definition
Generally detach means:to separate something from something else (physically or emotionally)
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 10 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 12 |
engender
3 uses
...sparks rain on it in scattering bursts as though they engendered other sparks from the contact.
engendered = gave rise to
Definition
Generally engender means:cause — usually a feeling (possibly a situation)
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 50 |
flout
9 uses
flouting the will of God
flouting = openly disregarding
Definition
Generally flout means:to openly disregard — typically a law, rule, or custom
Word Statistics
| Book | 9 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 6 |
gaunt
5 uses
He too has lost flesh; like ours, his face has an expression strained, dreamy and gaunt.
gaunt = thin and bony
Definition
Generally gaunt means:very thin and bony — often from hunger or as though having been worn to the bone
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 11 |
irrevocable
3 uses
her soul faced the awful and irrevocable judgment
irrevocable = final (incapable of being undone)
Definition
Generally irrevocable means:incapable of being undone
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 12 |
mortal
3 uses
1 —3 uses as in:
mortal body
It is our mortal lot to suffer and...
mortal = human
Definition
Generally this sense of mortal means:human (especially merely human); or subject to death
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 39 |
muse
4 uses
1 —4 uses as in:
her musings
...from behind his slack-faced astonishment he muses as though from beyond time, upon the ultimate outrage.
muses = thinks (reflects deeply)
Definition
Generally this sense of muse means:reflect (think) deeply on a subject — perhaps aloud
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 10 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 17 |
oblige
6 uses
1 —6 uses as in:
I'm much obliged for your kindness
I'm obliged to you.
obliged = grateful or indebted
Word Statistics
| Book | 6 uses |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 46 |
omnipotent
1 use
Praise to Thee in Thy bounteous and omnipotent love; O praise.
omnipotent = all powerful
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 41 |
profound
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
profound sadness
the profound desolation of the ocean
profound = of great intensity
Definition
Generally this sense of profound means:of greatest intensity or emotional depth
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 27 |
rapt
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
rapt attention
watching Vernon with rapt absorption.
rapt = deep interest and focus
Definition
Generally this sense of rapt means:deeply interested and focused (on something) — often while admiring
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 37 |
rein
12 uses
...holding the horse reined back.
reined = restrained
Definition
Generally this sense of rein means:to restrain or control; or a means of control
The meaning of rein depends upon its context. For example:
- "keep a tight rein on the new employee," or "rein in a horse" — to control or restrain
- "give the new employee free rein," or "give the horse full rein" — do not restrain
- "the reins of government" — means of control
- "the reins of the horse" — leather straps used with a bit to control a horse (You might like to think of other senses of rein as being figurative derivations from this sense.)
Word Statistics
| Book | 12 uses |
| Library | 11 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 27 |
sacrilege
2 uses
It would be sacrilege to try to.
sacrilege = disrespectful of something others consider sacred
Definition
Generally sacrilege means:disrespect of something others consider important or sacred
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 36 |
sullen
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
a sullen mood
sullenly willing to be disappointed all at the same time.
sullenly = with a gloomy (or bad) mood
Definition
Generally this sense of sullen means:being unhappy and withdrawn
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 45 |
twilight
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
pink clouds in a twilight sky
He looks up at the gaunt face framed by the window in the twilight.
twilight = light from the time of day between daylight and darkness
Definition
Generally this sense of twilight means:the time of day between daylight and darkness (just after sunset or just before sunrise); or the light from the sky at that time
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 12 |
ubiquitous
1 use
He tries to smoothe it again, clumsily, his hand awkward as a claw, smoothing at the wrinkles which he made and which continue to emerge beneath his hand with perverse ubiquity, so that at last he desists, his hand falling to his side and stroking itself again, palm and back, on his thigh.†
ubiquity = being everywhere all the time
Definition
Generally ubiquitous means:being present everywhere or all the time
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 12 |