bumptious
1 use
It was their confidence, maybe—their blissful, swinish ignorance, their bumptious self-satisfaction, and, worst of all, their hope.
bumptious = offensively assertive or confident
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 6 |
decorum
1 use
She is a lady I have watched with the greatest admiration. Soul of fidelity, decorum.
decorum = proper manners and conduct
Definition
Generally decorum means:manners and conduct considered to be proper and in good taste
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |
diversity
1 use
...the slow process of unification in which the diversities of existence are utilized, and nothing, nothing is lost.
diversities = varieties
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 | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 9 |
dogmatic
1 use
the builders are hammering, replacing the door for (it must be) the fiftieth or sixtieth time ... except that they make small, foolish changes, adding a few more iron pegs, more iron bands, with tireless dogmatism.
dogmatism = believing something will work despite evidence that it will not (In this case, believing that minor improvements to the door, will make the door strong enough.)
Definition
Generally dogmatic means:prone to stating opinions as absolute truth
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 1 |
enmity
1 use
a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears.
enmity = hatred
Definition
Generally enmity means:hatred toward someone or between people — typically long-lasting
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2 |
establish
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
establish a positive tone
The rhythm is re-established!†
re-established = restored
(Editor's note: The prefix "re-" in re-established means again. This is the same pattern you see in words like reconsider, rearrange, and regenerate.)
(Editor's note: The prefix "re-" in re-established means again. This is the same pattern you see in words like reconsider, rearrange, and regenerate.)
Definition
Generally this sense of establish means:create, start, or set in [a] place
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 25 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 5 |
inchoate
1 use
He mumbles a few inchoate phrases to someone who is not there.
inchoate = imperfectly formed
Definition
Generally inchoate means:only partly in existence; or imperfectly formed
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 9 |
inevitable
3 uses
Inevitably, after I'd stood there a while, ... I screwed my nerve up and dove.
inevitably = with certainty that it will happen
Definition
Generally inevitable means:certain to happen (even if one tried to prevent it)
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 23 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 2 |
inexorable
2 uses
That beat—steady, inhumanly steady; inexorable.
inexorable = unstoppable
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 11 |
infallible
1 use
His fingers picked infallibly, as if moved by something beyond his power, and the words stitched together out of ancient songs,
infallibly = without ever being wrong (on the strong string or at the wrong time or wrong...)
Definition
Generally infallible means:never wrong; or never failing
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 4 |
irony
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
situational irony
[in a discussion of freedom] He said angrily (unaware of the irony that he, a prince, had a right to anger, and the old man, a peasant, did not).
irony = when things are together that seem like they don't belong together
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 8 |
obscure
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
the view or directions are obscure
I was filled with a wordless, obscurely murderous unrest.
obscurely = 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 3 |
obsequious
1 use
The priests approach them, carrying torches, their shaggy white heads bent, obsequious.
obsequious = eager to serve — in an exceedingly humble manner
Definition
Generally obsequious means:excessively eager to flatter or serve
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 9 |
ordeal
5 uses
Hrothgar is asleep now, resting up for tomorrow's ordeal of waiting.
ordeal = a very difficult or painful experience
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 8 |
ponderous
1 use
He shook his ponderous head.
ponderous = large
Definition
Generally ponderous means:large or of great weight; or slow and unwieldy — especially because of size
or
boring — especially because of length
or
boring — especially because of length
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 5 |
portent
2 uses
Three dead trees on the moor below, burned up alive by lightning, are ominous portents.
portents = signs of something about to happen
(editor's note: The word ominous tells us the portents are signs of something threatening or bad.)
(editor's note: The word ominous tells us the portents are signs of something threatening or bad.)
Definition
Generally portent means:a sign of something about to happen
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 7 |
putrid
2 uses
Why do we stand this putrid, stinking hole?
putrid = disgusting
Definition
Generally putrid means:rotting (an advanced state of decomposition) with a foul odor; or anything that is disgusting
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2 |
solemn
10 uses
like an old drunk preparing a solemn face for court.
solemn = serious and dignified
Definition
Generally solemn means:in a very serious (and often dignified) manner
Word Statistics
| Book | 10 uses |
| Library | 20 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 4 |
temporal
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
temporal world
O the ultimate evil in the temporal world is deeper than any specific evil, such as hatred, or suffering, or death!
temporal = concerned with the material (in contrast to the spiritual) world
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 0 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 9 |
torment
6 uses
Flattering me into tormenting them because he ... loved viciousness.
tormenting = causing great suffering (in)
Definition
Generally torment means:to cause or to experience great mental or physical suffering
Word Statistics
| Book | 6 uses |
| Library | 17 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 4 |