acquiesce
1 use
I had wished her out of my life, and she had acquiesced, floating out of her body to escape my terrible hatred.
acquiesced = reluctantly complied
Definition
Generally acquiesce means:reluctant or unenthusiastic compliance, consent, or agreement
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 13 |
benevolent
3 uses
"Little sister, been a long time since I play with dolls," he said, smiling benevolently.
benevolently = with kindness
Definition
Generally benevolent means:kind, generous, or charitable
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 7 |
despair
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
she felt despair
It was one of complete despair and horror, for losing Bing, for being so foolish as to think she could use faith to change fate.
despair = distress (at not knowing how to improve a bad situation)
Definition
Generally this sense of despair means:hopelessness; or distress (such as extreme worry or sadness from feeling powerless to change a bad situation)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 9 |
discord
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
discordant music
I learned to play only the most ear-splitting preludes, the most discordant hymns.
discordant = unpleasant sounding
Definition
Generally this sense of discord means:unpleasant sound — especially a combination of sounds that sound wrong together (though sometimes done intentionally in music)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |
disparage
2 uses
As is the Chinese cook's custom, my mother always made disparaging remarks about her own cooking.
disparaging = critical or belittling
Definition
Generally disparage means:to criticize or make seem less important — especially in a disrespectful or contemptuous manner
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 13 |
dowry
5 uses
I listened to him with my nose held high, sniffing the stink of his words when he told me my father would not likely give the dowry he required.
dowry = money or property given by a woman's family to the husband at marriage
Definition
Generally dowry means:in some societies, money or property given by a woman's family to the husband at marriage
or less formally: money or property a bride brings to a marriage
or less formally: money or property a bride brings to a marriage
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 3 |
exasperated
5 uses
I was mad at Harold and he was exasperated with me.
exasperated = greatly annoyed
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 15 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 15 |
indifferent
2 uses
He has always been politely indifferent.
indifferent = uninterested
Definition
Generally indifferent means:without interest
in various senses, including:
- unconcerned — as in "She is indifferent to what is served to eat."
- unsympathetic — as in "She is indifferent to his needs."
- not of good quality (which may imply average or poor quality depending upon context) — as in "an indifferent performance"
- impartial — as in "We need a judge who is indifferent."
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 15 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 2 |
irrational
1 use
And I knew he had done that, not out of any concern for me, but because when he wants something, he gets impatient and irrational about people who make him wait.
irrational = unreasonable
Definition
Generally irrational means:not reasonable
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 14 |
lament
11 uses
But now she laments that she never did anything to stop them.
laments = expresses regret
Definition
Generally lament means:to express grief or regret
Word Statistics
| Book | 11 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 5 |
pavilion
11 uses
The boat looked like a floating teahouse, with an open-air pavilion larger than the one in our courtyard.
pavilion = a large roofed structure without walls
Definition
Generally pavilion means:a large structure separate from a main structure
in various senses, including:
- a large roofed structure without walls — often found in parks
- a temporary structure — such as a large tent to house exhibits at a fair, to provide sports facilities, or to put on a show
- a section of a large hospital or office complex adjacent to other parts
Word Statistics
| Book | 11 uses |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 5 |
peasant
12 uses
It was at this shop, working like a peasant, that I met Clifford St. Clair.
peasant = used historically or possibly in relation to a very poor country: a person of low income, education, and social standing
Definition
Generally peasant means:used historically or possibly in relation to a very poor country: a person of low income, education, and social standing — especially one who raises crops or livestock
Word Statistics
| Book | 12 uses |
| Library | 12 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2 |
pious
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
a good, pious woman
They were pious people, Muslims, who believed the twin babies were a sign of double luck,
pious = religious
Definition
Generally this sense of pious means:religious or highly moral
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 20 |
pretense
3 uses
One minute she was talking to my father, complaining about the tenants upstairs, scheming how to evict them under the pretense that relatives from China were moving in.
pretense = something that helps one pretend (in this case, pretend that the room is needed)
Definition
Generally pretense means:a false appearance or action to help one pretend
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2 |
prodigy
8 uses
And when I lost, I was filled with growing dread, and then terror that I was no longer a prodigy, that I had lost the gift and had turned into someone quite ordinary.
prodigy = short for "child prodigy" — someone who is a master of a skill at an early age
Definition
Generally prodigy means:an impressive or wonderful example of a particular quality
or:
a child prodigy (someone who is a master of one or more skills or arts at an early age)
or:
a child prodigy (someone who is a master of one or more skills or arts at an early age)
Word Statistics
| Book | 8 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 10 |
refugee
3 uses
She wore the same brown-checked Chinese dress until the Refugee Welcome Society gave her two handme-down dresses, all too large in sizes for American women.
refugee = someone who fled their homeland
Definition
Generally refugee means:someone who has fled their homeland to getaway from a dangerous or difficult situation; or related to such people
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 11 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2 |
relevant
2 uses
Because when I want something to happen—or not happen—I begin to look at all events and all things as relevant, an opportunity to take or avoid.
relevant = relating in a meaningful way to the issue in question
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 10 |
| 1st use | Chapter 12 |
remorse
3 uses
a memory I recall from time to time with a mixture of nausea and remorse.
remorse = deep regret for doing something that was wrong
Definition
Generally remorse means:a feeling of deep regret for doing something that was wrong
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 4 |
revere
3 uses
He promised to revere her as if she had been First Wife, his only wife.
revere = deeply respect and admire
Definition
Generally revere means:regard with feelings of deep respect and admiration — sometimes with a mixture of wonder and awe or fear
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 11 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 20 |
somber
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
a somber mood
to sit and wait for our own deaths with proper somber faces
somber = serious—without humour or fun
Definition
Generally this sense of somber means:serious and without humor or fun — perhaps sad
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 2 |