accentuate
1 use
Rule Number One: a pretty, petite girl should accentuate with makeup and good posture.
accentuate = draw attention (in this case, what is attractive)
Definition
Generally accentuate means:to emphasize or draw attention to — possibly to emphasize by increasing
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 5 |
alternative
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
an alternative plan
Three pages outlining the idea, the details, and the lie. Which was that a hard working and respected colored maid has agreed to let me interview her and describe in specifics what it's like to work for the white women of our town. Weighing it against the alternative, that I planned to ask a colored woman for help, saying she'd already agreed to it seemed infinitely more attractive.
alternative = other possibility
Definition
Generally this sense of alternative means:something available as another possibility
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 8 |
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anonymous
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
an anonymous author
"It's been written anonymously," I say, "but with Hilly around, there's still a good chance people will know it was me."
anonymously = by an unnamed author so others will not know who wrote it
Definition
Generally this sense of anonymous means:an unknown person, or of an unknown person — such as an unknown author, or donation of an unknown person
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 28 |
asthma
7 uses
But Benny got the asthma tonight, so Minny ain't gone make it.
asthma = a common respiratory disorder characterized by wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and sometimes coughing
Definition
Generally asthma means:a common lung disorder characterized by wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and sometimes coughing
Word Statistics
| Book | 7 uses |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 4 |
candid
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
your candid opinion
...actually agreed to talk to you candidly?
candidly = with honesty and directness
Definition
Generally this sense of candid means:honest and direct
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 8 |
compulsive
3 uses
I guess she was a compulsive liar even back then.
compulsive = done too much because of an uncontrollable desire
Definition
Generally compulsive means:describing something someone does as done too much because of an uncontrollable desire — such as excessive gambling or eating
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 25 |
disdain
1 use
But the dichotomy of love and disdain living side-by-side is what surprises me.
disdain = lack of respect
(editor's note: In this context, dichotomy means "division or contrast.")
(editor's note: In this context, dichotomy means "division or contrast.")
Definition
Generally disdain means:a lack of respect — often suggesting distaste and an undeserved sense of superiority
or:
to reject as not good enough
or:
to reject as not good enough
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 19 |
divine
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
to forgive is divine
"Yes, um, I heard Spencer Tracy's supposed to be divine," I say.
divine = wonderful
Definition
Generally this sense of divine means:wonderful; or god-like or coming from God
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 25 |
domestic
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
domestic happiness
I've come to get more books for Aibileen and check if anything's ever been written about domestic help.
domestic = relating to a home
Definition
Generally this sense of domestic means:relating to a home or family
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | Chapter 27 |
duplicity
1 use
I stand, frozen by how duplicitous my life has become.
duplicitous = deceptive
Definition
Generally duplicity means:deception (lying to or misleading others) — usually over an extended period
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 20 |
highlight
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
highlight the main findings
And we're adding a fashion column, highlighting some of the best outfits worn by our members, and a makeup column with all the latest trends.
highlighting = emphasizing (drawing attention to)
Definition
Generally this sense of highlight means:emphasize (call attention to something)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 27 |
implication
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
the implication is that...
I leave out everyone's name and I pause at the implication of this, knowing it's not good. Even though he is asking to be my husband, I don't know him enough to trust him completely.
implication = something shown indirectly (in this case, something realized as a logical consequence of the precaution taken)
Definition
Generally this sense of implication means:Something that follows from something else.
The thing that follows could be:
- something suggested indirectly (not said directly)
- something that can be concluded (often a logical consequence)
- something that results from something else
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 1000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 28 |
initiative
16 uses
For the second week in a row, I leave out Hilly's bathroom initiative.
initiative = proposal or thing started (in this case a movement or plan to segregate private bathrooms)
Definition
Generally initiative means:the ability and tendency to determine what should be done and to start doing it without instruction
or:
to start something
or:
to start something
The exact meaning of starting something depends upon the context. For example:
- "She did it on her own initiative." — started it without anyone telling her to
- "She seized the initiative." — started actions that force others to react to her rather than her having to react to them
- "the peace initiative" — a plan or the start of actions to bring about something
- "a ballot initiative" — a proposed law that is started by citizen petition rather than by the legislature (applicable in many jurisdictions such as California)
Word Statistics
| Book | 16 uses |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Chapter 1 |
minute
2 uses
1 —2 uses as in:
keep the minutes
In your satchel when I was hunting for the minutes?†
minutes = formal notes
Definition
Generally this sense of minutes means:a written record of what happened at a meeting
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 13 |
mundane
3 uses
The talk turns mundane at times, with complaints of low pay, hard hours, bratty children.
mundane = ordinary (lacking interest or excitement)
Definition
Generally mundane means:ordinary or lacking interest or excitement — possibly to the point of being boring
or more rarely:
belonging to this earth or world; not ideal or heavenly
or more rarely:
belonging to this earth or world; not ideal or heavenly
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 5 |
obstinate
3 uses
Elizabeth fiddles with a clump of hair that's slipped out of her roller, grimaces at its obstinacy.
obstinacy = refusal to do what she wants
Definition
Generally obstinate means:stubbornly not doing what others want
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 3 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 6 |
ostentatious
1 use
For the next fifteen minutes, I follow Mother and Missus Whitworth from one ostentatious room to the next.
ostentatious = intended to attract notice and impress others
Definition
Generally ostentatious means:intended to attract notice and impress others — especially with wealth in a vulgar way
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 20 |
pathetic (2 meanings)
2 meanings, 2 uses
1 —1 use as in:
Her pathetic look saddened us.
I don't let myself say to him what I'd like to, that he probably deserved whatever she did, but he's just too pathetic-looking.
pathetic = pitiful
Definition
Generally this sense of pathetic means:pitiful (arousing pity)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 13 |
2 —1 use as in:
a pathetic attempt to insult me
calling the governor 'a pathetic man with the morals of a streetwalker.'
pathetic = so bad he is laughable
Definition
Generally this sense of pathetic means:very bad — possibly so bad it is laughable (possibly mixed with some feeling of pity)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 8 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Chapter 19 |
perspective
3 uses
1 —3 uses as in:
Look at it from her perspective
No one's ever written a book like this.... We'd be breaking new ground. It's a brand-new perspective.
perspective = way of seeing and thinking about things
Definition
Generally this sense of perspective means:a particular way of seeing or thinking about things
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Chapter 7 |