adrenaline
2 uses
Rod felt cold ripple of adrenalin shock trickle down his back and out his finger tips.†
Adrenalin = a trademark name for the chemical that is the "fight or flight" stimulating hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress
Definition
Generally adrenaline means:"fight or flight" stimulating hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress (making the body feel excited and ready for action)
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 10 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1 |
alternative
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
an alternative plan
I was simply pointing out alternatives.†
alternatives = possibilities
Definition
Generally this sense of alternative means:something available as another possibility
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 15 |
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approach
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
approached the city
The tree stood in a semi-clearing but Jack brought Rod to it through bushes which came close to the trunk and made the final approach as a belly sneak.†
approach = getting near
Definition
Generally this sense of approach means:to get closer to (near in space, time, quantity, or quality)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 104 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 6 |
confound
5 uses
It's just that we have been so confounded busy.†
confounded = confused or frustrated
Definition
Generally confound means:to confuse, prove wrong, frustrate, or express frustration
in various senses, including:
confuse or surprise — sometimes specifically to confuse one thing with another
- "confounded by the puzzle" — confused or perplexed
- "Test results confounded the experts." — surprised and confused
- "Do not confound confidence with correctness." — mistake one thing for another
prove wrong, defeat, or frustrate
- "The test results confounded my theory." — proved wrong
- "Their defense confounded our offense." — defeated or frustrated
make worse
- "She confounded the problem by painting without sanding." — made worse
- "The task is complicated by other confounding factors." — making worse
an exclamation expressing anger or frustration
- "Confound it! Will I ever get this thing to work?"
- "I don't understand the confounded directions!"
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 8 |
contempt
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
feels contempt towards her
the little carnivores contemptuously known as dopy joes
contemptuously = showing a lack of respect for them
Definition
Generally this sense of contempt means:lack of respect for someone or something thought inferior — often accompanied by a feeling of dislike or disgust
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 13 |
convention
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
conventional behavior
From there on he climbed more conventionally, digging the spurs into the tree's smooth bark and setting his feet more comfortably on branches when they began to be close enough together to form a ladder.†
conventionally = something regarded as normal or typical
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 11 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 3 |
distort
3 uses
Space-time distortion, but I'm no mathematician.†
distortion = to alter something in an unnatural or untrue way
(editor's note: The suffix "-tion", 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 action, education, and observation.)
(editor's note: The suffix "-tion", 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 action, education, and observation.)
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 11 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 15 |
dwell
4 uses
1 —4 uses as in:
a modest dwelling
No. Cliff dwellings, you've seen pictures.†
dwellings = houses or shelters in which people live
Definition
Generally this sense of dwelling means:a house or shelter in which someone lives
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |
elaborate
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
elaborate on your plan
Jackie said that she had no wish to go back to Terra and Jimmy was elaborating.†
elaborating = adding details or explaining in detail
Definition
Generally this sense of elaborate means:add details or explain in detail
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 14 |
environment
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
her family environment
He said that if tests were held on Earth, the candidates would just study up on terrestrial environments.†
environments = instances of surrounding conditions
Definition
Generally this sense of environment means:surrounding conditions
in various senses, including:
- conditions in a location or geographic area — as in "the desert environment"
- conditions that affect a particular activity — as in "the learning environment"
- conditions that create a certain mood — as in "a competitive environment," or "a romantic environment,"
- conditions that impact a particular computer system, subsystem, or program — as in "the Windows environment"
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 10 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 5 |
establish
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
establish a positive tone
But when the main body of our great race re-establishes contact with us, it is up to us, this little group here tonight, whether they find a civilized society or flea-bitten animals without language, without arts, with the light of reason grown dim .... or no survivors at all, nothing but bones picked clean.†
re-establishes = restores
(Editor's note: The prefix "re-" in re-establishes means again. This is the same pattern you see in words like reconsider, rearrange, and regenerate.)
(Editor's note: The prefix "re-" in re-establishes means again. This is the same pattern you see in words like reconsider, rearrange, and regenerate.)
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 | Chapter 8 |
futile
4 uses
Futile.†
futile = effort that is pointless because it is unproductive or unsuccessful
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 8 |
irony
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
verbal irony
"The Corporation has been assured that the colonists are volunteers." It seemed to Rod that the announcer's tone was ironical. "This is understandable when one considers the phenomenal population pressure..."
ironical = saying one thing while meaning something else
Definition
Generally this sense of irony means:saying one thing, while meaning the opposite or something else — usually as humor or sarcasm
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1 |
irrelevant
2 uses
He felt that he knew what "Deacon" Matson would say .... something about the irrelevancy of fairness to survival.†
irrelevancy = the state of not being relevant (not related to the subject being considered, or not important enough to want to consider)
Definition
Generally irrelevant means:not relevant (not related to the subject being considered, or not important enough to want to consider)
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 5 |
migrate
5 uses
Three days later the migration of animals started.†
migration = movement from one place to another
(editor's note: The suffix "-tion", 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 action, education, and observation.)
(editor's note: The suffix "-tion", 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 action, education, and observation.)
Definition
Generally migrate means:move from one place to another — sometimes seasonally
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 13 |
minute
3 uses
1 —3 uses as in:
keep the minutes
Each evening she opened proceedings by reading the minutes of the previous meeting.†
minutes = formal notes (from a meeting)
Definition
Generally this sense of minutes means:a written record of what happened at a meeting
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |
resignation
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
submitted her resignation
...had even considered one restless night the advisability of resigning and letting someone who had not lost face take over the responsibility.
resigning = quitting (his job)
Definition
Generally this sense of resignation means:to quit — especially a job or position; or a document expressing such an act
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 12 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 14 |
revise
1 use
You said that a revised draft was being prepared and the report would be delayed.†
revised = changed
Definition
Generally revise means:to change (and hopefully improve) — most frequently to improve a written document, but it can be any intentional change such as a change in an estimated amount, a plan, or a series of procedures
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 10 |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |
rigorous
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
we follow a rigorous procedure
...they should be determined by rigorous scientific criteria.
rigorous = thorough and careful
Definition
Generally this sense of rigorous means:thorough and careful procedures
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 8 |
scorn
5 uses
Jacqueline looked scornfully at the figure on the ground.†
scornfully = in a disrespectful or rejecting manner
Definition
Generally scorn means:disrespect or reject as not good enough
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 10 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 5 |