A Soldier of the Great War — Vocabulary
Mark Helprin
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Exemplary sample	Uses	ACT/SAT
	15	top 500
despaira feeling of hopelessness Don't give in to despair.more Show sample from book The passage from hope to despair21 more hopelessness Show general definition for despair (as in: she felt despair) hopelessness; or distress (such as extreme worry or sadness from feeling powerless to change a bad situation)
	7	top 500
despair#2lose hope Don't despair. Next year will be better.more Show sample from book At first I despaired that he should live as I had, and then, eventually, I was resigned to it, as I had to be, for he never came back.†21 more despair → despaired:lost hope Show general definition for despair (as in: do not despair) lose hope or feel distress
	24	top 500
aestheticaesthetic → aesthetically:related to beauty or good taste It was not aesthetically pleasing.more Show context notes Aesthetically is the British spelling. Americans spell it esthetically. Show sample from book My field was the aesthetics of painting.23 more aesthetic → aesthetics:the study of what is beautiful Show context notes Aesthetics is the British spelling. Americans spell it esthetics. Show general definition related to beauty or good taste -- often referring to one's appreciation of beauty or one's sense of what is beautiful or: beautiful or tasteful
	3	top 2000
attributeattribute → attributes:characteristics The spreadsheet has a column to describe the breed of dog and then ten additional columns to indicate attributes of the breeds. For example, the second column has the average full-grown weight.more Show sample from book Had these things been in Rome they would have been surrounded by other such things, their attributes bled into chaotic illusion.†9 more attribute → attributes:characteristics (of something or someone) Show general definition for attribute (as in: It is an attribute of...) a characteristic or feature (of something or someone)
	7	top 100
attribute#2attribute → attributed:credited (pointed to as the source of) She attributed this quotation to Shakespeare.more Show sample from book Men with families were pulled from the ranks along with equally mystified adolescents and put to death for acts attributed to others whom they had never seen.†9 more attribute → attributed:credited (pointed to as the cause of something) Show general definition for attribute (as in: I attribute it to...) 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
	31	top 2000
sentryperson standing guard She successfully bluffed her way past the sentry.more Show sample from book I want one sentry at the gate and one on the ramparts.30 more person who stands guard Show general definition someone who stands guard
	24	top 1000
tranquilcalm I love a lake with tranquil blue water.†more Show sample from book The air at two thousand meters was so thin and tranquil that it seemed to be only a gloss of the light.†23 more calm and undisturbed Show general definition calm and undisturbed
	5	top 100
conveycommunicate or express She dresses to convey a sense of a successful, no-nonsense woman.more Show sample from book As Rafi tried to explain to the stunned railwaymen, in pantomime, that he was Jewish and didn't eat ham (the first part of the pantomime was to convey that he was circumcised) Alessandro grabbed him by the shoulder.†6 more Show general definition for convey (as in: convey her thoughts) communicate or express
	2	top 2000
convey#2transport I was ordered to convey her to London.more Show sample from book Alessandro was taken to Stella Maris, a short distance from Rome, in half a dozen conveyances.†6 more convey → conveyances:means of transport Show general definition for convey (as in: convey her safely to) transport Show editor's word notes Today, this sense of convey is seldom seen outside of historic literature.
	14	top 1000
luminousshining The sky was luminous with stars.more Show sample from book My orders would for a time have glowed white, and luminously reformed the world.†13 more luminous → luminously:glowing or shining… Show general definition glowing or shining (also used metaphorically to describe beauty or intelligence)
	25	top 100
appropriatesuitable (fitting) for a particular situation These clothes aren't appropriate for work.more Show sample from book For such things your education is appropriate and mine non-existent.25 more suitable (fitting)
	1	top 200
appropriate#2appropriate → appropriated:set aside for a particular use The money has been appropriated, but it hasn't yet been spent.more Show sample from book He set up a government within the government-by moving the decimal points in appropriations and salaries, sending his speechless enemies to tiny towns in Calabria, and rewarding sycophants with sinecures.25 more appropriate → appropriations:budgeted amounts Show general definition for appropriate (as in: Congress will appropriate funds) to set aside for a particular use
	21	top 2000
ascendmove upward We saw the rocket ascend.more Show sample from book Orange sparks ascended from wave-like sheets of flame21 more ascend → ascended:moved upward Show general definition for ascend (as in: ascend the mountain) to move or slope upward -- sometimes figuratively as when climbing the corporate ladder
	1
ascend#2ascend → ascending:from the tenth most popular to the most popular It lists the top-ten books by popularity in ascending order.more Show sample from book The difference between your flesh and the animate power within, which can feel, understand, and love, in that very ascending order, will be clear to you in ten thousand ways, ten thousand times over.21 more ascend → ascending:moving from least important to most important Show general definition for ascend (as in: in ascending order) move up a scale -- as from smaller numbers to larger, or lower notes to higher
	9
obsequiousexcessively eager to please She complained that her AI assistant is too obsequious, constantly showering her with compliments she knew she didn’t deserve.more Show sample from book Can you be obsequious?8 more excessively eager to flatter or serve Show general definition too eager to please, flatter, or obey someone -- often in a way that seems insincere
	1	top 2000
minutetiny Don't eat a lot of poppy seeds for a few days before a drug test. They have a minute amount of a chemical that can cause a false positive when testing for heroin use.more Show sample from book Had things been minutely different sometime earlier, the Giulianis might now be together on the beach.1 more minute → minutely:slightly Show general definition for minute (as in: minute size) small, exceptionally small, or insignificant
	1
minuteswritten record of what happens at a meeting The secretary keeps the minutes of the meeting.more Show sample from book Your father plans to retain one old order scribe such as myself to record minutes, take letters, and accompany him to court.1 more formal notes (from a meeting) Show general definition for minutes (as in: keep the minutes) a written record of what happened at a meeting
	1	top 2000
vengeancerevenge Most Americans wanted vengeance after the 9-11 attacks.more Show sample from book We had known that our happiness would end, but we had not thought that it would be totally destroyed, as if in vengeance.†1 more the act of taking revenge Show general definition for vengeance (as in: vengeance is mine) the act of taking revenge (Revenge means to harm someone to get them back for something harmful that they have done.)
	1
with a vengeancewith intensity I thought I was getting over my cold and went to work, but it came back with a vengeance.more Show sample from book From the Nineties on, we had begun to look to Africa with a vengeance.†1 more Show general definition for with a vengeance (as in: with a vengeance) with intensity
	5
whitecapswind-blown waves with white foam at their crest The strong winds caused whitecaps to form on the surface of the lake.more Show sample from book Soon, they were underway in the wind, gulls maneuvered around them, and whitecaps appeared in the water.†4 more Show general definition wind-blown waves with white foam at their crest