adulterate
1 use
Fauji cement was reputed to be reasonable and not too adulterated with additives to crumble in Himalayan weather.
adulterated = made inferior by adding an inferior substance
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 6 |
banish
4 uses
He wants you banished from Pakistan.
banished = expelled or gotten rid of
Definition
Generally banish means:to expel or get rid of
in various senses, including:
- to force someone to leave a country as punishment
- to push an idea from the mind
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 9 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 7 |
clone
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
Can we clone it?
If it were possible to clone fifty more Gregs, there is no doubt in my mind Islamic terrorism would quickly become a thing of the past.†
clone = copy
Definition
Generally this sense of clone means:to make a copy of something — especially a genetically identical copy created with technology
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 20 |
defer (2 meanings)
2 meanings, 2 uses
1 —1 use as in:
deferred the decision
Mortenson decided to defer the raise the board had approved for him,
defer = delay
Definition
Generally this sense of defer means:delay or postpone (hold off until a later time)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 21 |
2 —1 use as in:
deferred to her wishes
She ... was the first educated woman in a valley of three thousand people. She didn't defer to anyone,
defer = yield her opinions in favor of those of others
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 22 |
dispose
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
disposed the troops along...
With Syed Abbas, he visited the nurmadhar of Chunda, Haji Ibramin, and convinced him to put the men of his village at their disposal.†
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 16 |
doctrine
1 use
Pakistan's dysfunctional educational system made advancing Wahhabi doctrine a simple matter of economics.
doctrine = a belief (or system of beliefs or principles) accepted as authoritative by some group
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 19 |
empower
4 uses
If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of infant mortality, the answer is to educate girls.
empower = give knowledge to someone that permits doing something
Definition
Generally empower means:give or delegate authority or power to
or:
give knowledge or confidence to someone that permits doing something
or:
give knowledge or confidence to someone that permits doing something
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 12 |
establish
3 uses
1 —3 uses as in:
establish a positive tone
It had stood for nearly five hundred years, and had served as a Buddhist temple before Islam had established a foothold in Baltistan.†
established = created
Definition
Generally this sense of establish means:create, start, or set in [a] place
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 25 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 4 |
fatwa
18 uses
Parvi said that a local sher, a religious leader who doesn't like the idea of us educating girls, just declared a fatwa on me, trying to prevent CAI from building any more schools in Pakistan.
fatwa = ruling on a point of Islamic law that is given by a recognized authority
Definition
Generally fatwa means:a ruling on a point of Islamic law that is given by a recognized authority
Word Statistics
| Book | 18 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 15 |
grave
3 uses
Ordinarily, the cleric carried himself with a grave dignity and released words with the same measured regularity with which he fingered his tasbih, or string of prayer beads.†
grave = serious and solemn
Definition
Generally this sense of grave means:serious and/or solemn
The exact meaning of this sense of grave can depend upon its context. For example:
- "This is a grave problem," or "a situation of the utmost gravity." — important, dangerous, or causing worry
- "She was in a grave mood upon returning from the funeral." — sad or solemn
- "She looked me in the eye and gravely promised." — in a sincere and serious manner
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 15 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Intr. |
illustrate
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
an illustrated children's book
Dr. Nazir Abdul, a pediatrician, explained that while the Taliban had ruled Kabul, they had banned all books with illustrations and publicly burned any they found.†
illustrations = drawings or photographs
(editor's note: The suffix "-tions", 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 actions, illustrations, and observations.)
(editor's note: The suffix "-tions", 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 actions, illustrations, and observations.)
Definition
Generally this sense of illustrate means:to draw pictures (or provide photographs) to accompany a book or other writing
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 21 |
impoverish
10 uses
In this impoverished community of mud and stone huts, both Mortenson's life and the lives of northern Pakistan's children changed course.
impoverished = poor
Definition
Generally impoverish means:make someone poorer; or make something less valuable
Word Statistics
| Book | 10 uses |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Intr. |
migrate
2 uses
The Balti had originally migrated southwest from Tibet, via Ladakh, more than six hundred years ago, and their Buddhism had been scoured away as they traveled over the rocky passes and replaced by a religion more attuned to the severity of their new landscape—Shiite Islam.†
migrated = moved from one place to another
Definition
Generally migrate means:move from one place to another — sometimes seasonally
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 18 |
non-governmental organization
3 uses
I knocked on doors and visited NGOs that had been in the business of educating girls for a long time.
NGOs = non-governmental organizations (private, non-profit organizations working for member goals at the international level)
Definition
Generally non-governmental organization means:private, non-profit organizations working for member goals at the international level — possibly through direct action, but especially by lobbying government officials
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 18 |
novel
1 use
Another forceful personality, Brigadier General Bhangoo, had a more novel way of demonstrating his support for Mortenson.†
novel = new and original
Definition
Generally this sense of novel means:new and original — typically something considered good
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 22 |
privation
1 use
They had the hard, winnowed look of men who've spent much of their life outdoors, suffering privation.
privation = lack of basic things needed to live in a satisfactory manner
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 13 |
procure
2 uses
Every moment of every day had been filled with tasks, from packing and sorting sacks of flour and freeze-dried food, to procuring permits and arranging plane tickets, to hiring porters and mules.
procuring = getting by special effort
Definition
Generally procure means:get by special effort
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 6 |
somber
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
a somber mood
"There has been far too much dying in these hills," Sadhar Khan said, somberly.
somberly = solemnly (in a manner that is serious—not cheerful or lighthearted)
Definition
Generally this sense of somber means:serious and without humor or fun — perhaps sad
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 23 |
vanquish
3 uses
In valleys like the Upper Braldu, Islam has never completely vanquished older, animist beliefs.
vanquished = completely defeated
Definition
Generally vanquish means:to defeat completely
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |