avenge
2 uses
"We will avenge him," they whispered.
avenge = take revenge
Definition
Generally avenge means:take revenge for a perceived wrong
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 1 |
beckon
1 use
He winked, beckoned me with a backward movement of his head.
beckoned = called (to come—in this case by nodding the head)
Definition
Generally beckon means:to call — typically to ask or tell someone to come nearer by using a hand gesture or a nod of the head
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 13 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 2 |
content
2 uses
The baby slept, contented.
contented = satisfied and unworried
Definition
Generally this sense of content means:satisfied
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 54 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 2 |
emerge
1 use
He grinned sheepishly, or stared in amazement, as if emerged from an astounding dream.
emerged = having come out
Definition
Generally emerge means:to come out, or to appear
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 58 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Part 1 |
exasperated
1 use
... I said, exasperated with him.
exasperated = greatly annoyed
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 15 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 2 |
farce
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
the meeting was a farce
It's a farce, man.
farce = a ridiculous situation
Definition
Generally this sense of farce means:a situation that is so badly organized or going so poorly that it seems ridiculous
or:
a situation that is made to look like one thing, but is really another
or more specifically:
a situation that is supposed to be fair, but is completely unfair
or:
a situation that is made to look like one thing, but is really another
or more specifically:
a situation that is supposed to be fair, but is completely unfair
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 1 |
flourish (2 meanings)
2 meanings, 2 uses
1 —1 use as in:
the business is flourishing
Great place for young life to flourish.
flourish = grow or develop well
Definition
Generally this sense of flourish means:to thrive (grow or develop well)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Part 1 |
2 —1 use as in:
dismissed them with a flourish
He swung his arm out with a flourish.
flourish = a showy gesture
Definition
Generally this sense of flourish means:a showy gesture
or:
the act of waving — a hand or an item
or:
the act of waving — a hand or an item
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 2000 |
| 1st use | Part 2 |
glower
1 use
Askew glowered. His face flushed.
glowered = stared angrily
Definition
Generally glower means:to stare angrily
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 1 |
hypnotize
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
hypnotized to try to remember
Hypnotism or something?
hypnotism = the act of putting someone into a trance-like state of focused concentration and heightened suggestibility
Definition
Generally this sense of hypnotize means:to put someone into a state of hypnosis (a trance-like state of focused concentration and heightened suggestibility)
(Heightened suggestibility means that the hypnotized person is more inclined to accept and act on suggestions of the hypnotist.)
(Heightened suggestibility means that the hypnotized person is more inclined to accept and act on suggestions of the hypnotist.)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 1 |
mock
1 use
A gasp of mock-fright from the children, then The Snow Queen began.
mock = pretend (not real)
Definition
Generally mock means:making fun of
or:
not real
or:
not real
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 31 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | Part 2 |
poise
1 use
He was poised as if to begin running.
poised = ready and prepared
Definition
Generally poise means:calm and in control — as in "shows poise under pressure"
and/or:
prepared for action — as in "poised for action" — (sometimes suspended or hovering as in "a finger poised over the mute button")
and/or:
confident and graceful in movement — as in "the poise and balance of a dancer"
and/or:
prepared for action — as in "poised for action" — (sometimes suspended or hovering as in "a finger poised over the mute button")
and/or:
confident and graceful in movement — as in "the poise and balance of a dancer"
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 11 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 2 |
preoccupied
1 use
She knew I was preoccupied by Grandpa, but my head was also filled now with storytellers and magicians in dark caves.
preoccupied = took up the attention of
Definition
Generally preoccupied means:busy thinking about or doing something so that other things are not noticed or done
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 10 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 2 |
pummel
1 use
kids slid in great struggling bunches on their backs across the ice, yelled threats and curses at each other, shrieked like demons, pummeled each other with huge handfuls of frozen snow.
pummeled = repeatedly hit
Definition
Generally pummel means:to hit repeatedly — usually with fists
or:
to damage seriously
or:
to defeat decisively
or:
to damage seriously
or:
to defeat decisively
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 2 |
reminiscence
1 use
There were many tears, but afterward the house rang with laughter as the reminiscences and stories started.
reminiscences = things remembered from the past
Definition
Generally reminiscence means:something remembered from the past; or the act of remembering it
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 1 use in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 3 |
resurrection
2 uses
"Resurrection, eh?" he murmured. He laughed dryly to himself. We gathered around the dead one.
resurrection = to rise again after inactivity (in this case, after death)
Definition
Generally this sense of resurrection means:to rise again after failure, inactivity, or disuse
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 1 |
Shakespeare
2 uses
The greatest writers, like Chaucer, or Shakespeare.
Shakespeare = author widely regarded as the greatest in the English language and whose works include Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet
Definition
Generally this sense of Shakespeare means:English dramatist and poet frequently cited as the greatest writer in the English language and who wrote such works as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet (1564-1616)
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 11 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 1 |
sparse
1 use
He found the tiny thorny plants that grew sparsely there, the only things that grew now.
sparsely = in a manner where there are few and they are spread out
Definition
Generally sparse means:not dense; or few in number and spread out
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 2 |
stifle
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
stifling the urge
Sometimes a squeak of fear from someone, sometimes a stifled snigger.
stifled = suppressed (prevent something from happening or continuing to happen)
(editor's note: Snigger refers to a "quiet, disrespectful, laugh".)
(editor's note: Snigger refers to a "quiet, disrespectful, laugh".)
Definition
Generally this sense of stifle means:to suppress (prevent something or decrease its development) — often political freedom
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 1 |
vertical
1 use
I turned once more, saw the rooftops of Stoneygate, dark lines of coal smoke rising vertically from them.
vertically = straight up
Definition
Generally vertical means:oriented straight up and down (90 degrees relative to the floor)
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 9 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | Part 2 |