benign
1 use
I could see ... the overgrown path I had taken, benign enough in the daylight.
benign = mild or harmless
Definition
Generally benign means:kindly, mild, or harmless
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 20 |
cryptic
1 use
I was tired of the cryptic messages that she so often delivered; messages that seemed not meant for me but instead simply her thoughts escaping.
cryptic = difficult to understand
Definition
Generally cryptic means:secretive or difficult to understand
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 7 |
epitaph
1 use
My father had picked out the headstone he wanted way back when he was so interested in epitaphs.†
epitaphs = short texts in memory of dead people
Definition
Generally epitaph means:a short text in memory of a dead person — especially text written on a tombstone
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 24 |
indicate
4 uses
Sally Jean's face, solemn and defeated, was indication enough that she had not heard what she wanted to hear.
indication = a sign that showed
(editor's note: The suffix "-tion", 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 action, education, and observation.)
(editor's note: The suffix "-tion", 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 action, education, and observation.)
Definition
Generally indicate means:to show (point out, demonstrate, express, or suggest)
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 40 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 10 |
| 1st use | Chapter 11 |
inevitable
1 use
the end seemed inevitably close.
inevitably = with certainty that it will 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 23 |
minute
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
keep the minutes
The minutes from the last UDC meeting were boring, the topic meandering from side to side to discuss who had died and who was in the hospital and who had retired.†
minutes = formal notes (from a meeting)
Definition
Generally this sense of minutes means:a written record of what happened at a meeting
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 14 |
obliterate
2 uses
I imagined a person stepping outside and catching a leaflet in the wind, a leaflet that said, Your city will be obliterated unless your government surrenders,
obliterated = completely destroyed
Definition
Generally obliterate means:do away with completely
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 23 |
obscure
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
knows the famous and the obscure
odd little bits of trivia about obscure inventors and scientists, people he said society had not properly received.
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 24 |
phenomenon
1 use
Even my mother pondered this phenomenon, this perfectly clean creased shirt like the eye of a storm, still and untouched.†
phenomenon = something that exists or happened — often of special interest
Definition
Generally phenomenon means:something that exists or happened — especially something of special interest — sometimes someone or something that is extraordinary
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 4 |
primarily
2 uses
She was that misplaced woman who attempted to maintain aristocracy in a primarily blue-collar town.†
primarily = mainly
Definition
Generally primarily means:mainly (most importantly)
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 4 |
proverb
7 uses
My mother, equally big on little proverbs, often said, oh, what a tangled web we weave, a little lie will lead to a big one; a child who cheats in school will grow up to steal.
proverbs = a short saying — typically well-known and accepted by many as offering good advice
Word Statistics
| Book | 7 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 11 |
senile
1 use
Fred was right when he said she was starting to get senile.†
senile = mental weakness caused by old age; or describing a medical condition as caused by old age
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 24 |
sheer
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
sheered to the left
Her gown was as thin as Mama's sheers in the dining room.†
sheers = change direction abruptly; or to cause such a change of direction — (usually said of a boat)
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 21 |
solemn
4 uses
Sally Jean's face, solemn and defeated, was indication enough that she had not heard what she wanted to hear.
solemn = very serious
Definition
Generally solemn means:in a very serious (and often dignified) manner
Word Statistics
| Book | 4 uses |
| Library | 20 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |
sparse
7 uses
Oliver was stretched out on the far end of the porch ... his fur sparse and gray with age.
sparse = not dense (thinning)
Definition
Generally sparse means:not dense; or few in number and spread out
Word Statistics
| Book | 7 uses |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1 |
spontaneous
1 use
...when my mother came out into the hall, her hair hanging loosely down her back; she had a fondue fork in her hand and a look of surprise on her face. It was planned spontaneity, right down to her bare feet, something she never did.
spontaneity = natural behavior (as though unplanned)
(editor's note: In it's most obvious sense, "planned spontaneity" is a contradiction in terms. The author is saying that the mother was trying to look surprised and natural even though she previously saw Angela's arrival.)
(editor's note: In it's most obvious sense, "planned spontaneity" is a contradiction in terms. The author is saying that the mother was trying to look surprised and natural even though she previously saw Angela's arrival.)
Definition
Generally spontaneous means:behaving in an instinctive, uninhibited manner
or:
happening naturally (without planning or external force)
or:
happening naturally (without planning or external force)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 15 |
stifle
3 uses
1 —3 uses as in:
stifling the urge
she stifled a giggle
stifled = to suppress (prevent something from happening)
Definition
Generally this sense of stifle means:to suppress (prevent something or decrease its development) — often political freedom
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 14 |
stoic
1 use
That was why he had sat so stoically in the middle of the flames.
stoically = without displaying pain or emotion
Definition
Generally stoic means:seeming unaffected by pleasure, pain, or emotions
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 22 |
tact
3 uses
In short, we all tactfully lied a few times during the opening of the gifts.†
tactfully = in a manner that makes others feel good
Definition
Generally tact means:the ability or act of saying or handling things in such a way that others feel good about them
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 21 |
trite
1 use
My own speculations were trite in comparison.
trite = overly familiar
Definition
Generally trite means:lacking impact — typically because it is common or overused
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |