bona fide
1 use
The principal knew Moon as a good teacher and bona fide musician who had played trombone in Cleveland's lauded all-black Navy band, an association that came into being because of segregation, so he lured Moon from another public school.
bona fide = real
Definition
Generally bona fide means:real (genuine, true, or sincere)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2.16 |
civil rights movement
1 use
I'm too curious to be scared, and I'd like to know more about how a black kid growing up in the sixties—when the civil rights movement and Vietnam War divided the country and cities like Cleveland were on fire—beat the odds and ended up in Juilliard's classical music program.
civil rights movement = popular effort to establish political and social equality for African Americans in the USA (1954-1968)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.2 |
contempt
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
feels contempt towards her
I ask what pieces he's been working on, but he flicks my inept question away with contempt, as if only a moron would ask such a thing at this particular moment.
contempt = lack of respect
Definition
Generally this sense of contempt means:lack of respect for someone or something thought inferior — often accompanied by a feeling of dislike or disgust
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 3.27 |
daunt
1 use
No matter how good you were, someone was better, and across the street was Avery Fisher Hall, home of the New York Philharmonic and the best of the best. The math was pretty simple and the odds daunting. The vast majority of Juilliard's students would never set foot in Avery Fisher or any other concert hall without buying tickets.
daunting = discouraging or intimidating
Definition
Generally daunt means:to discourage or intimidate
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 3.26 |
denounce
1 use
...his flat face wrinkled into a scowl as he denounces the nicotine junkies whose weakness rots the underpinnings of civil society.
denounces = strongly criticizes
Definition
Generally denounce means:to strongly criticize or accuse publicly
or more rarely: to inform against someone (turn someone into the authorities)
or more rarely: to inform against someone (turn someone into the authorities)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.3 |
despondent
1 use
I'm also worried that if he ever calmed down and reflected on the things he said, he may be despondent.
despondent = depressed
Definition
Generally despondent means:emotionally depressed — especially a feeling of grief and hopelessness after a loss
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 3.28 |
devious
1 use
I call Patricia Lopez when I get back to my office and ask if she'll go in with me on my devious little plan.
devious = deceitful (not honest and straightforward) — often in a complicated, clever manner
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.3 |
dispassionate
1 use
A column is a personal take, and as such, it's less dispassionate than a straight news story.
dispassionate = unaffected by emotion or bias
Definition
Generally dispassionate means:unaffected by strong emotion or bias
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.3 |
epiphany
1 use
It was in Philadelphia in the mid-1980s that I had an epiphany.
epiphany = sudden realization
Definition
Generally epiphany means:a sudden realization — especially one of importance
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.6 |
fastidious
1 use
The fastidious dresser became a disheveled wreck who wandered the streets with musical instruments, slept in the woods and carved names into trees.
fastidious = giving careful attention to detail
or:
excessively concerned with cleanliness or matters of taste
or:
excessively concerned with cleanliness or matters of taste
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.2 |
highlight
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
highlights of the year
The highlight of your day is going to be getting up from your desk to go to a meeting.†
highlight = best part
Definition
Generally this sense of highlight means:something that stands out
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 3.22 |
incessant
1 use
There's incessant muttering and...
incessant = continuous (and often annoying)
Definition
Generally incessant means:continuous — often in an annoying way
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.5 |
inevitable
1 use
For me, it's a low point that now seems as though it was inevitable,
inevitable = certain to happen
Definition
Generally inevitable means:certain to happen (even if one tried to prevent it)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 23 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 3.28 |
intractable
1 use
Nathaniel, for all his intractable habits, has nothing on me when it comes to...
intractable = difficult
Definition
Generally intractable means:difficult
in various senses, including:
- of problems or disease — difficult to solve or cure
- of people or animals — difficult to manage or control
- of materials — difficult to manipulate
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 3.22 |
irony
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
situational irony
I note the irony of my being introduced to so rarefied an artistic community by a homeless man,
irony = when what happened was very different than what might have been expected
Definition
Generally this sense of irony means:when what happens is very different than what might be expected; or when things are together that seem like they don't belong together — especially when amusing or an entertaining coincidence
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 16 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2.17 |
morose
1 use
Prchal looks morose.
morose = unhappy (or depressed)
Definition
Generally morose means:unhappy — often with a withdrawn personality
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.10 |
notorious
1 use
...the notorious L.A. gangs are selling drugs outside twelve-step programs,
notorious = well known for something bad
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 9 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2.13 |
philanthropy
1 use
The music center project had been foundering despite a $50 million donation from the wife of Walt Disney, but local philanthropist Eli Broad stepped in after her death and willed the Gehry-designed hall into existence, with a grand opening in 2003.
philanthropist = someone who helps others — especially by donating money to worthy causes
(editor's note: In this context, foundering means "breaking down".)
(editor's note: In this context, foundering means "breaking down".)
Definition
Generally philanthropy means:helping others — especially donating money to worthy causes; or an organization that does so
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.12 |
resignation
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
submitted her resignation
John Carroll, the man who hired me, is resigning to avoid one more day of battling the hog butchers in Chicago.
resigning = quitting (his job)
Definition
Generally this sense of resignation means:to quit — especially a job or position; or a document expressing such an act
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 12 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 1.11 |
trepidation
1 use
"I'm in a hurry at the moment," I tell him, "but I'd like to come back and hear you play again."
"Oh, all right," he says, smiling appreciatively but with trepidation.
"Oh, all right," he says, smiling appreciatively but with trepidation.
trepidation = nervousness
Definition
Generally trepidation means:nervousness (fear or anxiety about what will happen)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Pref. |