acrimony
1 use
Relying on bottled oxygen as an aid to ascent is a practice that's sparked acrimonious debate ever since the British first took experimental oxygen rigs to Everest in 1921.
acrimonious = angry and bitter
Definition
Generally acrimony means:anger—often accompanied by bitterness
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 11 |
atrophy
1 use
Over the weeks that followed he languished in the hospital, staring blankly at the ceiling, arms curled tightly at his sides, muscles atrophying, his weight dropping below eighty pounds.
atrophying = withered or weakened
Definition
Generally atrophy means:to wither or weaken — especially from lack of use
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 8 |
capacious
1 use
Glancing around the helicopter's capacious interior, I tried to fix the names of my teammates in my memory.
capacious = large in capacity
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 3 |
censure
1 use
How can it be explained, not only to loved ones left behind, but to a censorious public?
censorious = critical
Definition
Generally censure means:harsh criticism; or formal criticism from an organization — such as the U.S. Senate
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 21 |
claustrophobia
2 uses
Unable to grasp the benefits of the inflatable chamber and terrified of it, Ngawang asked that a Buddhist lama be summoned, and before consenting to being zipped into its claustrophobic interior, he requested that prayer books be placed in the bag with him.
claustrophobic = causing fear of being closed in a confined space
Definition
Generally claustrophobia means:abnormal fear of being closed in a confined space
Word Statistics
Book | 2 uses |
Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 11 |
deride
1 use
...was loudly derided by knowledgeable mountaineers...
derided = laughed at or made fun of—while showing a lack of respect
Definition
Generally deride means:to criticize with strong disrespect — often
with humor
with humor
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 8 |
diligent
1 use
Now I dream of ... the smell of soil crumbling between my fingers, and the brilliant green of plants that I diligently nurture.
diligently = with hard work and care
Definition
Generally this sense of diligent means:hard work and care in tasks — often continuing when others might quit because of difficulties
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 1000 |
1st use | Epil. |
disparage
1 use
Her eminent companions on the 1994 attempt said nothing disparaging about Pittman, at least not in public.
disparaging = critical and disrespectful
Definition
Generally disparage means:to criticize or make seem less important — especially in a disrespectful or contemptuous manner
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 500 |
1st use | Chapter 8 |
dissent
1 use
"I will tolerate no dissension up there."
dissension = disagreement
(editor's note: The suffix "-sion", converts a verb into a noun that denotes the action or result of the verb. Typically, there is a slight change in the ending of the root verb, as in admission from admit, discussion from discuss, and invasion from invade.)
(editor's note: The suffix "-sion", converts a verb into a noun that denotes the action or result of the verb. Typically, there is a slight change in the ending of the root verb, as in admission from admit, discussion from discuss, and invasion from invade.)
Definition
Generally dissent means:to disagree; or disagreement or conflict — typically between people who cooperate, and often with official or majority beliefs
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 12 |
engender
1 use
The crowds of novices being escorted to the top for a fee, huffed Sir Edmund, were engendering disrespect for the mountain.
engendering = causing
Definition
Generally engender means:cause — usually a feeling (possibly a situation)
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 3 |
expedient
1 use
In the Icefall, though, expediency dictated that each of us climb independently, without being physically connected to one another in any way.
expediency = the need to be practical
Definition
Generally expedient means:a practical action — especially one that accepts negative tradeoffs due to circumstances
or:
convenient, speedy, or practical
or:
convenient, speedy, or practical
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 6 |
fastidious
1 use
If the name of Hall's business, Adventure Consultants, mirrored his methodical, fastidious approach to climbing, style, Mountain Madness was an even more accurate reflection of Scott's personal style.
fastidious = giving careful attention to detail
Definition
Generally fastidious means:giving careful attention to detail
or:
excessively concerned with cleanliness or matters of taste
or:
excessively concerned with cleanliness or matters of taste
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 5 |
guile
1 use
People were drawn to Fischer's energy and generosity, his absence of guile, his almost childlike enthusiasm.
guile = cunning (shrewdness and cleverness) and deceit
Definition
Generally guile means:cunning (shrewdness and cleverness) and deceitful
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 6 |
lucid
2 uses
In pondering how this disaster could have occurred, it is imperative to remember that lucid thought is all but impossible at 29,000 feet.
lucid = clear thinking
Definition
Generally lucid means:of a person: capable of thinking clearly
or:
of language: clearly expressed so it is easily understood
or:
of language: clearly expressed so it is easily understood
Word Statistics
Book | 2 uses |
Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 14 |
orthodox
3 uses
Experienced guides would later question his decision to descend so far ahead of his clients—extremely unorthodox behavior for a guide.
unorthodox = unusual
(editor's note: The prefix "un-" in unorthodox means not and reverses the meaning of orthodox. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.)
(editor's note: The prefix "un-" in unorthodox means not and reverses the meaning of orthodox. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.)
Definition
Generally orthodox means:normal (describing thinking or behavior as commonly or traditionally accepted)
Word Statistics
Book | 3 uses |
Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 11 |
perpetrator
2 uses
The consequences of a poorly tied knot, a stumble, a dislodged rock, or some other careless deed are as likely to be felt by the perpetrator's colleagues as the perpetrator.
perpetrator = someone who did something wrong or illegal
Definition
Generally perpetrator means:someone who has does something wrong — usually something illegal
Word Statistics
Book | 2 uses |
Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 3 |
repudiate
1 use
And now you have repudiated the character of Lopsang with your "tattle tale" accounts of him.
repudiated = strongly rejected
Definition
Generally repudiate means:strong rejection — especially when the idea or thing being rejected was once embraced
Word Statistics
Book | 1 use |
Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
SAT®* | top 1000 |
1st use | Epil. |
somber
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
a somber mood
In a New Zealand television interview following the expedition, Hall somberly described how he took their favorite climbing rope and lowered Ball's body into the depths of the glacier.
somberly = solemnly (in a manner that is serious—not cheerful or lighthearted)
Definition
Generally this sense of somber means:serious and without humor or fun — perhaps sad
Word Statistics
Book | 2 uses |
Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 3 |
transpire
4 uses
I say "probably" because of what transpired four days after Norton's summit assault.
transpired = happened
Definition
Generally transpire means:to happen; or to become known
Word Statistics
Book | 4 uses |
Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 2 |
zeal
2 uses
Above 26,000 feet, moreover, the line between appropriate zeal and reckless summit fever becomes grievously thin.
zeal = enthusiasm
Definition
Generally zeal means:active interest and enthusiasm
Word Statistics
Book | 2 uses |
Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
1st use | Chapter 2 |