accentuate
1 use
The high, thin heels are made for accentuating legs while sitting cross-legged.†
accentuating = emphasizing or drawing attention to
Definition
Generally accentuate means:to emphasize or draw attention to
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | All, p.166.97 |
acquisition
1 use
Run along now while f show off my new acquisition.†
acquisition = obtaining; or possession
Definition
Generally acquisition means:obtaining possession of something; or the thing possessed
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 500 |
| 1st use | All, p.257.84 |
adapted
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
adapted to the new rules
It's time to adapt or die."†
adapt = change to fit a different situation; or make suitable
Definition
Generally this sense of adapted means:changed to fit a different situation; or made suitable
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 10 |
| 1st use | All, p.97.49 |
adrenaline
8 uses
The post-fight adrenaline has me literally trembling.†
adrenaline = "fight or flight" stimulating hormone
Definition
Generally adrenaline means:"fight or flight" stimulating hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress (making the body feel excited and ready for action)
Word Statistics
| Book | 8 uses |
| Library | 7 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | All, p.49.55 |
anguish
5 uses
He described how after the mother snapped out of it and realized what she had done, she nearly tore herself to pieces with her horror and anguish.†
anguish = extreme distress
Definition
Generally anguish means:extreme distress of body or mind
Word Statistics
| Book | 5 uses |
| Library | 13 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | All, p.253.16 |
appropriate
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
it is appropriate
He pauses in his trek and glares at me as if I just said something totally inappropriate.†
inappropriate = unsuitable (not fitting) for a particular situation
(editor's note: The prefix "in-" in inappropriate means not and reverses the meaning of appropriate. This is the same pattern you see in words like incomplete, independent, and inexpensive.)
(editor's note: The prefix "in-" in inappropriate means not and reverses the meaning of appropriate. This is the same pattern you see in words like incomplete, independent, and inexpensive.)
Definition
Generally this sense of appropriate means:suitable (fitting) for a particular situation
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 15 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | All, p.155.28 |
archangel
2 uses
They're saying all the surviving archangels should be in the running for Messenger, including you.†
archangels = an angel of high rank
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | All, p.198.50 |
camouflage
9 uses
They are in camouflage and carry rifles like they know how to use them.†
camouflage = the act of hiding something by making it blend in with its surroundings; or hiding the truth; or something that hides or deceives
Definition
Generally camouflage means:the act of hiding something by making it blend in with its surroundings
or:
hiding the truth
or:
something that hides or deceives
or:
hiding the truth
or:
something that hides or deceives
Word Statistics
| Book | 9 uses |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | All, p.157.32 |
conflict
1 use
My mind swirls with conflicting emotions.†
conflicting = opposing (struggling against each other)
Definition
Generally conflict means:a struggle or disagreement
in various senses, including:
- a serious disagreement — as in "political conflict"
- the tension from two opposing ideas or feelings — as in "I'm conflicted about where I should go to college."
- a violent fight or war — as in "the Israeli-Palestinian conflict"
- an idiom that refers to tension between responsibilities to different entities — "conflict of interest"
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 16 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | All, p.99.61 |
contort
8 uses
It's like holding up a flagpole with my arms contorted.†
contorted = twisted or bent to an unnatural shape
Definition
Generally contort means:twist or bend to an unnatural shape — something such as the human body, a facial expression, or the truth
Word Statistics
| Book | 8 uses |
| Library | 4 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | All, p.263.65 |
contrast
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
contrast their writing styles
From this distance, I can't tell what color they are, but I'm willing to bet they would be shocking up close, just in contrast with the rest of him.†
in contrast = in a comparison that shows differences
Definition
Generally this sense of contrast means:point to differences between; or compare to show differences
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 6 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 10 |
| 1st use | All, p.188.27 |
convention
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
conventional behavior
She can roll on her own, thanks to her preference for a conventional chair over the electric kind.†
conventional = normal or typical
Definition
Generally this sense of convention means:something regarded as normal or typical
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 10 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | All, p.2.6 |
imply
3 uses
I don't believe for a second that it's a real angel feather, although that's clearly what's being implied.†
implied = suggested (said indirectly)
Definition
Generally imply means:to suggest or say indirectly — possibly as a logical consequence
Word Statistics
| Book | 3 uses |
| Library | 13 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 10 |
| 1st use | All, p.96.42 |
indecision
2 uses
Being found by the monster as I stand frozen in indecision is the stupidest way to die that I can think of.†
indecision = leaving a decision unmade due to uncertainty; or a general tendency to leave decisions unmade
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | All, p.134.95 |
irony
1 use
1 —1 use as in:
situational irony
Another soldier crosses himself, completely unaware of the irony of such a gesture from a soldier fighting angels.†
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 | 13 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | All, p.273.53 |
irrelevant
2 uses
They continue to argue, completely ignoring us as if any danger we might pose is so irrelevant compared to what they're dealing with that it's not worth their energy to notice us.†
irrelevant = not relevant (not related to the subject being considered, or not important enough to want to consider)
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | All, p.152.28 |
onslaught
2 uses
I feel the nose smash under my onslaught.†
onslaught = powerful attack; or sudden and enormous amount of something that must be handled
Definition
Generally onslaught means:a powerful attack
or:
a sudden and enormous amount of something that must be handled — such as trouble, people or communications
or:
a sudden and enormous amount of something that must be handled — such as trouble, people or communications
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 2 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | All, p.110.71 |
paralysis
7 uses
Everything about the survivors looks freaky spooked, as though the only thing containing their panic is their paralyzing fear.†
paralyzing = making unable to move or make a decision
Definition
Generally paralysis means:loss of the ability to move the body or a part of it
or:
inability to act or make a decision
or:
inability to act or make a decision
Word Statistics
| Book | 7 uses |
| Library | 13 uses in 10 avg bks |
| 1st use | All, p.130.61 |
relevant
2 uses
But I would only prove Raffe right about acting like a little girl, so I tamp down the flood of questions and ask the one that's operationally relevant.†
relevant = relating in a meaningful way to the issue in question
Word Statistics
| Book | 2 uses |
| Library | 5 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 10 |
| 1st use | All, p.174.81 |
vary
1 use
Like their wings, their skin tones vary.†
vary = differ; or change
Definition
Generally vary means:to be different, or to change
Word Statistics
| Book | 1 use |
| Library | 11 uses in 10 avg bks |
| SAT®* | top 100 |
| 1st use | All, p.10.16 |