adulterate
1 use
She d heard the story from history-the unadulterated truth-and she'd become intoxicated by it.†
unadulterated = pure or complete
(editor's note: The prefix "un-" in unadulterated means not and reverses the meaning of adulterated. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.)
(editor's note: The prefix "un-" in unadulterated means not and reverses the meaning of adulterated. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.)
Definition
Generally adulterate means:corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 18 |
authenticity
1 use
As payment, the USS Nimitz had taken ten large crates filled with canisters of powder that a team of virologists from the World Health Organization quickly confirmed contained an antivirus, though there was no way to verify its authenticity for at least ten hours.†
authenticity = quality of being real or true
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 36 |
compel
7 uses
I doubt love compels the daughter of Qurong.†
compels = forces; or (more rarely) convinces
Definition
Generally compel means:to force someone to do something
or more rarely:
to convince someone to do something
or more rarely:
to convince someone to do something
Word Statistics
| Book | 7 uses |
| Library | 9 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 28 |
complicity
4 uses
The fact that she'd been complicit in condemning Justin only made her anger toward the deception that blinded them more acute.†
complicit = guilty as a helper in wrongdoing
Definition
Generally complicity means:guilt as a helper in a crime or offense
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 21 |
condone
1 use
The Justin I knew would never have condoned such blasphemy.†
condoned = accepted without criticism; or approved of
Definition
Generally condone means:accept without criticism; or approve of
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 2 |
detrimental
1 use
Since the death of his wife, Thomas has been a detriment to us all.†
detriment = harm or damage
Definition
Generally detrimental means:causing harm or damage
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 34 |
engender
1 use
But he needed the man's full cooperation these last few days, and there was no better way than engendering his complete trust.†
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 24 |
exemplify
1 use
Then again, marriage to such a powerful man who exemplified all that was truly honorable about being human might not be such a bad thing.†
exemplified = to act as an example
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |
ferret out
1 use
A staff of twenty-five screeners with PhDs in related fields scoured thousands of incoming threads and passed on any that fit the primary model that Raison Pharmaceutical had established to ferret out an antivirus.†
ferret out = search for and discover through persistent investigation
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 14 |
flippant
1 use
Matters of the histories are never established flippantly," Ciphus said.†
flippantly = with an inappropriate lack of seriousness
Definition
Generally flippant means:showing an inappropriate lack of seriousness
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 13 |
forgo
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
a foregone conclusion
Then you would have foregone the pleasure of riding with me today.†
foregone = done in the past
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 28 |
high-strung
1 use
They re pretty high-strung in there.†
high-strung = tense and easily upset
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 9 |
introspection
1 use
To most he was the mighty warrior turned introspective philosopher.†
introspective = thoughtful about one's own thoughts and feelings
(editor's note: The suffix "-ive" converts a word into an adjective; though over time, what was originally an adjective often comes to be used as a noun. The adjective pattern means tending to and is seen in words like attractive, impressive, and supportive. Examples of the noun include narrative, alternative, and detective.)
(editor's note: The suffix "-ive" converts a word into an adjective; though over time, what was originally an adjective often comes to be used as a noun. The adjective pattern means tending to and is seen in words like attractive, impressive, and supportive. Examples of the noun include narrative, alternative, and detective.)
Definition
Generally introspection means:the contemplation of one's own thoughts and feelings
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 27 |
latent
1 use
Our initial estimations of the virus's latency period were only that, estimates.†
latency = the amount of time before something that exists is evident or active
Definition
Generally latent means:potentially existing but not presently evident or active
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 29 |
mandate
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
a legal mandate
Their simple mud dwellings were only temporary, a necessity mandated by the need to build so many houses in a short period of time.†
mandated = an instruction that must be followed; or to command
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |
pyre
3 uses
Each man, woman, and child carried a blazing torch, ready to light the pyre at the appropriate moment.†
pyre = a pile of wood or other burnable material
Definition
Generally pyre means:a pile of wood or other burnable material — especially to burn a dead body as in a funeral rite
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2 |
squalor
2 uses
Thomas saw the true squalor of the Horde on every side.†
squalor = extremely dirty and unpleasant living conditions
Definition
Generally squalor means:(describing a place) extremely dirty and unpleasant — typically due to poverty
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 18 |
status quo
2 uses
But Justin was never for embracing the status quo.†
status quo = the existing state of affairs
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2 |
ungainly
1 use
A man in a white robe was performing an ungainly dance, whether motivated by religion or drugs, Phil couldn't tell.†
ungainly = lacking grace in movement or appearance; or difficult to handle or manage
Definition
Generally ungainly means:lacking grace in movement or appearance; or difficult to handle or manage — especially because of shape
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 20 |
veritable
1 use
They d built a veritable fortress down here.†
veritable = used for emphasis to introduce a dramatic metaphor
Definition
Generally veritable means:used for emphasis: to describe one thing as almost like another (more intense) thing
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 7 |