arbitration
1 use
They made an offer to submit the whole question at issue to arbitration; and at the end of ten days the unions accepted it, and the strike was called off.
arbitration = an official process of solving a disagreement with the help of an impartial referee
Definition
Generally arbitration means:the process of solving a disagreement with the help of an impartial referee
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 26 |
attribute
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
I attribute it to...
To a musket that broke in a crisis he always attributed the death of his only brother, and upon worthless blankets he blamed all the agonies of his own old age.
attributed = credited (pointed to as the cause of something)
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 30 |
contrast
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
contrast their writing styles
All these horrors afflicted Jurgis all the more cruelly, because he was always contrasting them with the opportunities he had lost.
contrasting = comparing to show differences
Definition
Generally this sense of contrast means:point to differences between; or compare to show differences
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 27 |
correspond (2 meanings)
2 meanings, 3 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
corresponding time period
In piecework they would reduce the time, requiring the same work in a shorter time, and paying the same wages; and then, after the workers had accustomed themselves to this new speed, they would reduce the rate of payment to correspond with the reduction in time!†
correspond = fit together
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 11 |
2 —1 use as in:
foreign correspondent of the paper
It sent a correspondent to Colorado, and printed pages describing the overthrow of American institutions in that state.†
correspondent = reporter
Definition
Generally this sense of correspondent means:a reporter — typically from a foreign country or with a particular expertise
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 30 |
denounce
5 uses
Who denounced in unmeasured terms the exploiters of his own time:
denounced = strongly criticized or accused publicly
Definition
Generally denounce means:to strongly criticize or accuse publicly
or more rarely: to inform against someone (turn someone into the authorities)
or more rarely: to inform against someone (turn someone into the authorities)
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 30 |
dispose
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
disposed the troops along...
...the product of the labor of society, the means of existence of the human race, will always belong to idlers and parasites, to be spent for the gratification of vanity and lust—to be spent for any purpose whatever, to be at the disposal of any individual will whatever—t†
disposal = command
(editor's note: When something is "at someone's disposal" it is "at their command," or "available for their use." They can use it as they please.)
(editor's note: When something is "at someone's disposal" it is "at their command," or "available for their use." They can use it as they please.)
Definition
Generally this sense of dispose means:the arrangement, positioning, or use of things
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 9 |
dubious
2 uses
Seeing the farmer eying him dubiously, he added, "I'll be glad to sleep in the barn."
dubiously = doubtfully or suspiciously
Definition
Generally dubious means:doubtful
in various senses, including:
- doubtful that something should be relied upon — as in "The argument relies on a dubious assumption."
- doubtful that something is morally proper — as in "The company is accused of using dubious sales practices to influence minors."
- bad or of questionable value — as in "The state has the dubious distinction of the highest taxes."
- doubtful or uncertain — as in "She is dubious about making the change."
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 22 |
efface
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
efface the memory
What was any tyranny of prison compared with the tyranny of the past, of the thing that had happened and could not be recalled, of the memory that could never be effaced!
effaced = erased
Definition
Generally this sense of efface means:remove completely from recognition or memory — sometimes by erasing
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 16 |
explicit
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
explicit instructions
...who again and again, in the most explicit language, denounced wealth and the holding of wealth: 'Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth!'†
explicit = clear and detailed
Definition
Generally this sense of explicit means:clear and with enough detail so there is no confusion
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 31 |
florid
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
florid color
In front, upon a raised platform behind a rail, sat a stout, florid-faced personage, with a nose broken out in purple blotches.
florid = reddish colored
Definition
Generally this sense of florid means:a reddish color — (especially about someone's complexion or in various medical contexts)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 16 |
ingenious
5 uses
In the pickling of hams they had an ingenious apparatus, by which they saved time and increased the capacity of the
plant
plant
ingenious = showing cleverness and originality
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 9 |
intractable
2 uses
He had not the most tractable pupils, however.
tractable = easily managed
Definition
Generally intractable means:difficult
in various senses, including:
- of problems or disease — difficult to solve or cure
- of people or animals — difficult to manage or control
- of materials — difficult to manipulate
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 22 |
negative
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
had a negative effect
"I have pointed out some of the negative wastes of competition," answered the other.†
negative = bad or harmful
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 31 |
obstinate
6 uses
Jurgis could be very obstinate when he wanted to, and he was in this case,
obstinate = stubbornly not doing what others want
Word Statistics
| Book | 6 uses |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 4 |
penury
1 use
Poor Jurgis, who had in truth grown more matter-of-fact, under the endless pressure of penury, would not know what to make of these things,
penury = a state of extreme poverty
Definition
Generally penury means:a state of extreme poverty or destitution
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 12 |
positive
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
had a positive effect
I have pointed out some of the negative wastes of competition, answered the other. I have hardly mentioned the positive economies of co-operation.†
positive = good or beneficial
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 31 |
precipitate
1 use
1 —1 use
(adj) as in: a precipitate decision
Seeing the throng, Marija abandoned precipitately the debate concerning the ancestors of her coachman, and, springing from the moving carriage, plunged in and proceeded to clear a way to the hall.
precipitately = with great haste
Definition
Generally this sense of precipitate means:acting with great haste — often without adequate thought
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 1 |
simile
1 use
One could not stand and watch very long without becoming philosophical, without beginning to deal in symbols and similes, and to hear the hog squeal of the universe.
similes = expressions that highlight similarity between things of different kinds
Definition
Generally simile means:a phrase that highlights similarity between things of different kinds — usually formed with "like" or "as"
as in "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," or "She is as quiet as a mouse."
as in "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," or "She is as quiet as a mouse."
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 3 |
speculative
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
a speculative venture
Consider the wastes incidental to the blind and haphazard production of commodities—the factories closed, the workers idle, the goods spoiling in storage; consider the activities of the stock manipulator, the paralyzing of whole industries, the overstimulation of others, for speculative purposes; the assignments and bank failures, the crises and panics, the deserted towns and the starving populations!
speculative = to make money
Definition
Generally this sense of speculative means:done with uncertainty—often a risky investment for profit
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 31 |