adapt
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
adapted to the new rules
His political and scientific activities, though dwarfed in the eyes of our generation by his artistic production, yet showed the adaptability of his talent in the most diverse directions, and helped to give him that balance of temper and breadth of vision in which he has been surpassed by no genius of the ancient or modern world.†
adaptability = the degree to which something can change to fit a different situation
Definition
Generally this sense of adapt means:changed to fit a different situation; or made suitable
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
anguish
10 uses
O full-orb'd moon, did but thy rays Their last upon mine anguish gaze!†
anguish = extreme pain, suffering, or distress
Definition
Generally anguish means:extreme pain, suffering, or distress (of body or mind)
Word Statistics
| Book | 10 uses |
| Library | 12 uses in 10 avg bks |
attribute (2 meanings)
2 meanings, 2 uses
1 —1 use as in:
It is an attribute of...
MEPHISTOPHELES (in FAUST'S long gown) Mortal! the loftiest attributes of men, Reason and Knowledge, only thus contemn, Still let the Prince of lies, without control, With shows, and mocking charms delude thy soul, I have thee unconditionally then!†
attributes = characteristics (of something or someone)
Definition
Generally this sense of attribute means:a characteristic (of something or someone)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
2 —1 use as in:
I attribute it to...
In 1587 a life of him appeared, in which are attributed to him many marvelous exploits and in which he is held up as an awful warning against the excessive desire for secular learning and admiration for antique beauty which characterized the humanist movement of the time.
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 |
beguile
7 uses
What dreams beguile you on your poet's height?†
beguile = to charm, enchant, or entertain someone; or to deceive — especially through charm
Word Statistics
| Book | 7 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
delude
9 uses
Yet fixed is this delusion in our heart; Who, of his own free will, therefrom would part?†
delusion = a false belief
(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 delude means:deceive (convince to have a false belief)
Word Statistics
| Book | 9 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
despair
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
do not despair
A devil's pluck thou'rt wont to show; As for a devil who despairs, Nothing I find so mawkish here below.†
despairs = loses hope
Definition
Generally this sense of despair means:to lose hope
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 9 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
dominion
5 uses
Lo, where a car of fire, on airy pinion, Comes floating towards me I I'm prepar'd to fly By a new track through ether's wide dominion, To distant spheres of pure activity.†
dominion = dominance or power over others; or a region so dominated
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
elaborate
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
elaborate on your plan
...that have naturally been emphasized by performance on the stage, and by virtue of these alone "Faust" may rank as a great drama; but it is the result of Goethe's broodings on the mystery of human life, shadowed forth in the symbolic parts and elaborated with still greater complexity and still more far-reaching suggestiveness—and, it must be added, with deepening obscurity—in the Second Part, that have given the work its place with "Job," with the "Prometheus Bound," with "The Divine...†
elaborated = added details or explained 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 |
forthwith
7 uses
One or the other, mark me well, Forthwith must leave the cell.†
forthwith = immediately
Definition
Generally forthwith means:immediately — (most typically seen in legal documents, formal use, or classic literature)
Word Statistics
| Book | 7 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
fraught
4 uses
In that great moment, rapture-fraught, I felt myself so small, so great; Fiercely didst thrust me from the realm of thought Back on humanity's uncertain fate!†
fraught = full of negative things; or marked by or causing distress
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
heed
8 uses
Take heed, The import of this primal sentence weigh, Lest thy too hasty pen be led astray!†
heed = pay close attention to; or do what is suggested
Definition
Generally heed means:pay close attention to; or to do what is suggested — especially with regard to a warning or other advice
Word Statistics
| Book | 8 uses |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
loathe
7 uses
Thither I will not go, I loathe the place.†
loathe = hate
Definition
Generally loathe means:hate, detest, or intensely dislike
Word Statistics
| Book | 7 uses |
| Library | 10 uses in 10 avg bks |
malicious
4 uses
FAUST So thou with thy cold devil's fist Still clench'd in malice impotent Dost the creative power resist, The active, the beneficent!†
malice = the desire to hurt others or see them suffer
Definition
Generally malicious means:wanting to see others suffer; or threatening evil
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
mortal
4 uses
1 —4 uses as in:
mortal body
Yet here ye dance, as other mortals do!†
mortals = humans (especially merely humans) or people subject to death
Definition
Generally this sense of mortal means:human (especially merely human); or subject to death
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
profound
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
profound sadness
with energy profound
profound = intense
Definition
Generally this sense of profound means:of greatest intensity or emotional depth
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
scorn
5 uses
The crowd's applause assumes a scornful tone.†
scornful = full of strong disrespect or rejection
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 |
secular
1 use
In 1587 a life of him appeared, in which are attributed to him many marvelous exploits and in which he is held up as an awful warning against the excessive desire for secular learning and admiration for antique beauty which characterized the humanist movement of the time.
secular = non-religious
Definition
Generally secular means:not religious
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
yearn
11 uses
How my poor heart, without relief, Trembles and throbs, its yearning grief Thou knowest, thou alone!†
yearning = strongly desiring; or a strong desire
Definition
Generally yearn means:have a strong desire — often for something difficult or impossible to have
Word Statistics
| Book | 11 uses |
| Library | 11 uses in 10 avg bks |
zeal
9 uses
Up scholar, lave, with zeal undying, Thine earthly breast in the morning-red!†
zeal = active interest and enthusiasm
Word Statistics
| Book | 9 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |