candid
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
your candid opinion
Such candor hasn't been easy in his first few days home.
candor = honesty and directness
Definition
Generally this sense of candid means:honest and direct
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 8 |
descend
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
descend the mountain
With only a few seconds before they descend on him, Cedric slips out of his turry black vest-Donald quickly grabs it-and drops his bookbag full of clothes.†
descend = move downward
Definition
Generally this sense of descend means:move or slope downward
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |
diffident
1 use
So Cedric, sensing this diffident fascination, smiles at all comers but offers few openings.
diffident = hesitant and unassuming
Definition
Generally diffident means:hesitant and unassertive — often due to a lack of self-confidence
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 8 |
digress
1 use
He flips forward to the chapter on series, an odd digression from the mostly tangible issues of calculus dealing with force or velocity or the trajectory of objects as they bump and bounce through the world.
digression = a wandering from a direct or straight course
(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 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 13 |
discern
4 uses
Cedric turns it down a barely discernible notch.
discernible = noticeable
Definition
Generally discern means:to notice or understand something — often something that is not obvious
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 14 |
discord
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
discord amongst the group
...their discussion of this obscure point drifts into discord.
discord = argument
Definition
Generally this sense of discord means:conflict or disagreement — especially among those expected to cooperate
or (especially in the form discordant):
seeming different or wrong along with everything else
or (especially in the form discordant):
seeming different or wrong along with everything else
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 11 |
disdain
1 use
A hundred yards away, inside a long, low mess hall, Cedric Gilliam looks disdainfully at the steam trays of corned beef hash before sliding forward his Styrofoam tray for a ladleful.
disdainfully = with a lack of respect; or sense of distaste
Definition
Generally disdain means:a lack of respect — often suggesting distaste and an undeserved sense of superiority
or:
to reject as not good enough
or:
to reject as not good enough
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 3 |
diverse
7 uses
Ultimately, Yale had to bend to accommodate new ways of thinking and learning from a more diverse student body.
diverse = varied (having variety with differences)
Definition
Generally diverse means:varied (having variety amongst things of the same kind) — especially with regard to ideas or members of a population group
Word Statistics
| Book | 7 uses |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 7 |
diversity
17 uses
The first step is to agree that most people share the goal of true diversity, with many races competing freely and successfully.
diversity = the condition of variety (in this case, referencing members of a population group who are of different races or cultures)
Definition
Generally diversity means:the condition of variety — especially in reference to members of a population group who are of different races or cultures
Word Statistics
| Book | 17 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 4 |
doleful
1 use
"Guess everybody knows it's not going too good," he says with a doleful laugh and passes it across to her.
doleful = sad
Definition
Generally doleful means:expressing or causing sadness
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 5 |
highlight
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
highlight the main findings
In February of 2001, an educational program inside the federal government, called the Department of the Interior University, created a forum to highlight "career balance and diversity."†
highlight = emphasize (call attention to)
Definition
Generally this sense of highlight means:emphasize (call attention to something)
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 13 |
interloper
1 use
While parties across campus jam to twice their usual size—accommodating interlopers from near and far—the kids of East Andrews, realizing suddenly how their days are numbered, try to recapture some of the rosy-cheeked spontaneity of last fall.
interlopers = people or things that, without invitation, insert themselves
Definition
Generally interloper means:someone or something that, without invitation, inserts itself — such as an uninvited guest at a party or a species that invades non-native territory
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 14 |
Ivy League
22 uses
An Ivy League credential, an indisputable American prize.
Ivy League = a group of universities and colleges in the northeastern United States with a reputation for scholastic achievement and social prestige
Definition
Generally Ivy League means:a group of universities and colleges in the northeastern United States that regularly compete against each other in sports and have a reputation for scholastic achievement and social prestige
(Specifically: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, & Yale)
(Specifically: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, & Yale)
Word Statistics
| Book | 22 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 3 |
meticulous
4 uses
choose your words meticulously and then let them rumble up from some deep furnace of conviction.
meticulously = in a manner treating details with great care
Definition
Generally meticulous means:treating details with great care
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 4 |
obscure (3 meanings)
3 meanings, 4 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
it obscured my view
...a plain fact is obscured: they were suited to their times then and they are, likewise, suited to their times now, as middle-aged baby boomer parents.
obscured = hidden (or overshadowed)
Definition
Generally this sense of obscure means:to block from view or make less visible or understandable
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 9 |
2 —1 use as in:
the view or directions are obscure
They both slip into the car, ignoring the driver, as their discussion of this obscure point drifts into discord.
obscure = not clearly understood
Definition
Generally this sense of obscure means:not clearly seen, understood, or expressed
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 11 |
3 —1 use as in:
knows the famous and the obscure
Cedric just smiles, and around the room they go, pulling up obscure CDs and humming songs and reminiscing.
obscure = not known to many people
Definition
Generally this sense of obscure means:not known to many people; or unimportant or undistinguished
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 13 |
pedantic
1 use
Some other math professors at Brown have murmured that it's dense and pedantic almost to the point of being unusable or, as Berman warned some students, "definitely not self-serve."
pedantic = with excessive concern for formal rules, details, or book learning
Definition
Generally pedantic means:too concerned with formal rules, details, or book learning
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 13 |
pious
3 uses
1 —3 uses as in:
a good, pious woman
She gazes into the wide center section of the church, passing over the familiar faces of women and a few men. No one from here-no one from this place of public piety and sacrifice-seems suitable.
piety = highly religious and moral behavior
Definition
Generally this sense of pious means:religious or highly moral
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 2 |
rigorous
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
a rigorous math class
He read rigorously for several days, caught a few small errors, and penciled in supporting facts, especially about his evolved musical tastes.
rigorously = with energetic effort (in a difficult and demanding manner)
Definition
Generally this sense of rigorous means:difficult and demanding
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | A.N. |