augment
7 uses
Its population was sparse until augmented through the relocation subplan of the Great New York Urban Renewal Program, A.D. twenty-twenty-five through twenty-thirty.
augmented = increased
Definition
Generally augment means:enlarge or increase
Word Statistics
| Book | 7 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1 |
clandestine
4 uses
Two days after our manifesto a "clandestine" radio started beaming to Terra.
clandestine = hidden
Definition
Generally clandestine means:secret; or conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 21 |
conjecture
7 uses
I conjecture that the names they represent are in the Security Chiefs data storage location.
conjecture = conclude or guess based on inconclusive evidence
Definition
Generally conjecture means:a conclusion or opinion based on inconclusive evidence; or the act of forming of such a conclusion or opinion
Word Statistics
| Book | 7 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 7 |
consonant
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
consonant or vowel?
Nulls are defined as any consonant followed by X, Y, or Z; any vowel followed by itself except E and 0; any—†
consonant = a letter of the alphabet that is not a vowel
Definition
Generally this sense of consonant means:a letter of the alphabet (or a speech sound) that is not a vowel
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1 |
defer
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
deferred to her wishes
He deferred to Prof but rarely to anybody else.
deferred = yielded (to accept Prof's opinions over his own)
Definition
Generally this sense of defer means:submit or yield (typically to another person's opinion because of respect for that person or their knowledge)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 27 |
denounce
5 uses
When I brushed him off, he threatened to denounce me to Adam Selene
denounce = to strongly criticize
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 25 |
diffident
3 uses
voice sounded diffident
diffident = lacking self-confidence
Definition
Generally diffident means:hesitant and unassertive — often due to a lack of self-confidence
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |
digress
1 use
Chairman said that there had been many irrelevancies yesterday and matters discussed best left undiscussed—and that he would permit no digressions today.
digressions = wanderings off topic
(editor's note: The suffix "-sions", converts a verb into a plural noun that denotes results of the verb. Typically, there is a slight change in the ending of the root verb, as in discussions from discuss, explosions from explode, and revisions from revise.)
(editor's note: The suffix "-sions", converts a verb into a plural noun that denotes results of the verb. Typically, there is a slight change in the ending of the root verb, as in discussions from discuss, explosions from explode, and revisions from revise.)
Definition
Generally digress means:wander from a direct or straight course — typically verbally
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 17 |
dispose
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
disposed the troops along...
Hold yourself at the disposal of this committee.†
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 | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 19 |
divert
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
divert the traffic or funds
If neither one gets through, we have shots farther back which can be diverted—for example easy to shift targets among Delaware-Bay-Chesapeake-Bay group.
diverted = put to another use than that originally intended
Definition
Generally this sense of divert means:to change the direction of something, or the purpose for which it is used
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 27 |
minute
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
keep the minutes
Not going to detail what new Congress did and said that session and later; minutes are available.†
minutes = formal notes
Definition
Generally this sense of minutes means:a written record of what happened at a meeting
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 21 |
novel
2 uses
Wall Street Journal called it "an attractive high-risk-high-gain investment with novel growth potential."
novel = pleasantly new and original
Definition
Generally this sense of novel means:new and original — typically something considered good
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 9 |
redundant
5 uses
Any method of communication needs redundancy, or information can be lost.
redundancy = a secondary component designed to work if the primary component fails
Definition
Generally redundant means:more than is needed — often something that is unnecessarily repeated
or in technical usage: a secondary component designed to work if the primary component fails; or of such a system
or in technical usage: a secondary component designed to work if the primary component fails; or of such a system
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 4 |
relevant
1 use
I have incomplete data which might be relevant.
relevant = relating in a meaningful way to the issue in question
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 10 |
| 1st use | Chapter 7 |
repudiate
3 uses
Sir, if nominated, I shall repudiate it.
repudiate = strongly reject
Definition
Generally repudiate means:strong rejection — especially when the idea or thing being rejected was once embraced
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 21 |
resignation (2 meanings)
2 meanings, 2 uses
1 —1 use as in:
submitted her resignation
What you are doing is forcing me to resign.
resign = quit (a 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 26 |
2 —1 use as in:
accepted it with resignation
If we ever managed to leave, price to lift that mass to Luna would hurt—I was resigned to abandoning a p-suit with years more wear in it
resigned = accept something undesired as unavoidable or the lesser of evils
Definition
Generally this sense of resignation means:acceptance of something undesired as unavoidable or the lesser of evils
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 18 |
whimsical
2 uses
If you spoke English, results might be whimsical; multi-valued nature of English gave option circuits too much leeway.
whimsical = determined by chance (and sometimes amusing)
Definition
Generally whimsical means:playful, amusing, or impulsive rather than seriously rational
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1 |
yield (2 meanings)
2 meanings, 3 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
will yield valuable data
Mike's "head" works faster; he answered, "The concussion of a hundred-tonne mass on Terra approaches the yield of a two-kilotonne atomic bomb."†
yield = production
Definition
Generally this sense of yield means:to produce (usually something wanted); or the thing or amount produced
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 8 |
2 —1 use as in:
yield to pressure
During evening session Prof reported on trip and then yielded to me—Committee Chairman Korsakov consenting—so that I could report what "five-year plan" meant and how Authority had tried to bribe me.†
yielded = gave in, gave way, or gave up
Definition
Generally this sense of yield means:to give in, give way, or give up
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 14 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 21 |