alacrity
1 use
She completed each assignment with alacrity.
alacrity = quickness
Definition
Generally alacrity means:quickness; and/or cheerful eagerness
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Scene 2 |
aloof
1 use
People who don't know her, think she is aloof from the rest of the team, but she is just focused on the game.
aloof = socially distant or uninterested
Definition
Generally aloof means:socially distant or uninterested in something that interests others — often thinking oneself superior to others
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Scene 3 |
banal
1 use
The movie was banal, but it led to a fascinating conversation.
banal = uninteresting due to a lack of anything original or unusual
Definition
Generally banal means:uninteresting due to a lack of anything original or unusual
(editor's note: This word is correctly pronounced differently by various educated speakers of American English.)
(editor's note: This word is correctly pronounced differently by various educated speakers of American English.)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Scene 3 |
congregation
1 use
It's a casual congregation where many people wander into services late.
congregation = people who worship together in the same building
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 10 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Intr. |
deprecate
1 use
You should not deprecate her efforts.
deprecate = treat as unimportant
Definition
Generally deprecate means:to diminish or treat something as unimportant or of low quality; or to express disapproval
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Scene 1 |
descend
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
descend the mountain
We saw the rocket descend.
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 | Scene 2 |
diligent
1 use
She's the kind of diligent worker we want to hire.
diligent = showing hard work and care
Definition
Generally this sense of diligent means:hard work and care in tasks — often continuing when others might quit because of difficulties
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Scene 1 |
dogged
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
dogged determination
She worked with dogged determination.
dogged = continuing effort to achieve something despite difficulties
Definition
Generally this sense of dogged means:continuing effort to achieve something despite difficulties (persistent)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Scene 2 |
ecstatic
2 uses
They are ecstatically in love.
ecstatically = with feelings of intense happiness
Definition
Generally ecstatic means:feeling intense happiness and excitement (as when in a state of ecstasy)
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Scene 2 |
epitaph
1 use
John Belushi's epitaph reads, "I may be gone, but Rock and Roll lives on."
epitaph = text written on his tombstone
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 | Scene 3 |
futile
1 use
Resistance is futile.
futile = pointless because it cannot produce anything useful
Definition
Generally futile means:effort that is pointless because it is unproductive or unsuccessful
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Intr. |
languid
3 uses
No urging could increase his languid pace.
languid = slow (lacking energy or relaxed)
Definition
Generally languid means:lacking energy or relaxed or moving slowly
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Scene 1 |
morbid
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
a morbid curiosity
She has a morbid interest in death.
morbid = disturbing
Definition
Generally this sense of morbid means:suggesting death and decay; or an unhealthy interest in disturbing thoughts — such as of death or cruelty
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Intr. |
pantomime
1 use
Though she didn't speak Chinese, she was able to pantomime her meaning.
pantomime = express through gestures and body movements (without words)
Definition
Generally pantomime means:a performance or expression of something through gestures and body movements without words
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Intr. |
perplex
2 uses
She was perplexed by the rules of the game.
perplexed = confused
Definition
Generally perplex means:to confuse
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 9 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Scene 2 |
placid
2 uses
The sky is clear and the lake placid.
placid = calm
Definition
Generally placid means:calm and not easily excited
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Scene 3 |
poignant
2 uses
It is a poignant story about a girl who is paralyzed in a car accident.
poignant = arousing sadness
Definition
Generally poignant means:sharp or intense — typically arousing deep emotion such as sadness, but possibly having or creating a sharp smell, taste, or insight
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Intr. |
saunter
1 use
It was pleasant to saunter lazily through the park.
saunter = walk leisurely
Definition
Generally saunter means:to walk leisurely
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Scene 1 |
subtle
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
a subtle shade of blue
Her warning was subtle, but unmistakable.
subtle = understated (so as not to draw attention to itself)
Definition
Generally this sense of subtle means:understated so as not to draw attention to itself
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Intr. |
tranquil
1 use
I love a lake with tranquil blue water.
tranquil = calm
Definition
Generally tranquil means:calm and undisturbed
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Scene 3 |