Wow 2013

IMPEL• DEFINITION:

drive, force, or urge (someone) to do something

• ORIGIN: impel is from Latin…the root verb pello "to knock, drive“

The Declaration of Independence states that a group that feels the need to break free "should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

VERB

EMPIRICAL• DEFINTION: based on,

concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic

• ORIGIN: empirical comes from the Greek verb to test or try (PEIRAW). FWIW, it has nothing to do with "empire" or "imperial" or "imperative.“

ADJECTIVE

Scientists rely on empirical data to confirm their theories.

ANIMUS• DEFINITION: a usually prejudiced and often spiteful or malevolent ill will

The fans of the home team displayed animus towards anyone wearing the colors of the visiting team.

Synonyms Antonyms

Animosity Amity

Grudge Goodwill

“Bad blood” Acceptance

Bitterness Tolerance

NOUN

The former political prisoner felt animus toward the government that had imprisoned him, but he tried to show forgiveness.

JEJUNE• DEFINITION: naïve, simplistic, and superficial;

(of an idea or writing) dry or uninteresting• Origin: Latin.

Inconsistencies of character and plot mar thislively but jejune debut.

ADJECTIVE

CONCEIT CONCEDE• DEFINITION: Holding a

high opinion of one's own qualities or abilities; especially, one that is not justified

Since he won the race, Craig has been full of conceit about his athletic prowess.

• DEFINITION: to accept as true, valid, or accurate; to acknowledge grudgingly or hesitantly

I prefer baseball to football but I have to concede that football has more action.

The congressman stubbornly stood his ground, refusing to make any concessions to his opponents, even in the name of compromise.

NOUN VERB

EDIFY• DEFINITION: instruct or improve (someone)

morally or intellectually

In the novel A Lesson Before Dying, the narrator is a teacher who is brought in to try to edify a death-row inmate, but to his surprise the teacher ends up learning as much as he teaches.

VERB

QUESTION: Who is responsible

for your edification?

PHOBIA• DEFINITION: an exaggerated

usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation

ORIGIN: Phobia is from the Greek word for fear. Phobos was the Greek god of fear, the son of Ares

http://phobialist.com/ Have a fear? Give it a name using

the website above!

The famously wealthyand eccentric industrialist andaviator, Howard Hughes, whodesigned the giant hydroplane "TheSpruce Goose," suffered so muchfrom agoraphobia that he becamea recluse during the last few years ofhis life.

Considered to be an unluckynumber, many hotels omit the13th floor using 12a or skippingdirectly to 14, which is sure to pleasemany triskaidekaphobics.

NOUN

PERPETUATEDEFINITION: cause to last infinitelyORIGIN: Latin adjective perpetuus meaning

“everlasting”.• Bad habits and stereotypes perpetuate unless conscious

efforts are made to put an end to them.• Radnor football has been 12-2 against LM since 1999, and

looks to perpetuate that recent success with another victory this weekend.

TRANSITIVE VERB

Perpetuate is… Perpetuate is not…

Infinite Finite

Immortal Mortal

Eternal Temporary

TAUTOLOGYDEFINITION: the saying of the same thing twice in

different words, generally considered to be a fault of style.

When they are in trouble, children often turn a deaf ear to their parents’ tautological lectures.

TAUTOLOGY EXAMPLES:“In my opinion, I think that…”“Say it again, once more.” Hot water heater

NOUN

ORIGIN: Greek. Tautologia, from tautologos "repeating what has been said," from tauto "the same" + -logos "saying.”

MUNIFICENT• DEFINITION: larger or more

generous than is usual or necessary (referring to a gift or a sum of money)

• A generous gift need not be monetary.

• When applied to a person, "munificent" also means "characterized by great generosity".

TRIVIA: What Disneyprotagonist is named after anANTONYM of the WOW? What actress will play the partof the Evil Queen in the2014 movie?

ADJECTIVE

The munificent host presided over many charitable events at his mansion.

One need not be rich to be munificent: the world is full of people who are generous in small but meaningful ways.

EUPHORIA• DEFINITION: a feeling of well-being or elation

The prefix “eu” means “well” or “successfully”

• ORIGIN: Greek

When the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, the entire city of Philadelphia was ina state of bliss and euphoria.

You could sense the euphoria oozing from the hallways during LM Week. The feelingcontinued onto the football field and back into the building for “Half-day Monday.”

NOUN

SERENDIPITY Definition: the occurrence and development of events

by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

How serendipitous it was that I just found the very same twenty dollar bill that I had misplaced months ago.

The musical group Daft Punk liked their song "Obtain Serendipity" but had a hard time getting the lyrics to fit rhythmically until they rewrote it to say simply "Get Lucky".

NOUN

ORIGIN: 1754 (but rare before 20c.), coined by Horace Walpole

(1717-92) in a letter to Mann (dated Jan. 28); he said he formed it

from the Persian fairy tale "The Three Princes of Serendip," whose

heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity,

of things they were not in quest of."

FATHOMNOUNA unit of length equal to sixfeet, usually in water.

These pumps are capable ofsupplying ample air to twodivers simultaneously, at thedepth of twelve fathoms.

VERBTo understand

When bad things happen, it isnot always easy to fathom thereasons why they happen.

ORIGIN: Old English

Omphaloskepsis (Om-pha-lo-skep-sis)

DEFINITION: The contemplation of one’s navel;metaphorically, it refers to self-absorptionORIGIN: Ancient Greek omphalos – navel, and skepsis – reflection

For some people, omphaloskepsis can be a form of meditation.

NOUN

CHAGRINNOUNDEFINITION: mental unease,distress or embarrassmentcaused by failure,disappointment or adisconcerting event.

VERBDEFINITION: to feel distressedor humiliated

ORIGIN: French

The TV weatherman appeared chagrined when he reported on the brutal storm that was bearing down on his city, but he rejoiced on the inside, because he knew that dismal weather could help his career.

Much to everyone's chagrin, the final image of the series was a disturbing and violent cliffhanger which would never be resolved.

SYNONYMS: humiliate, mortify, abase ANTONYMS: comfort, confidence, triumph

NEMESISDEFINITION: retributive justice OR an opponent

that cannot be overcome or beatenORIGIN: Ancient Greek

The cat is seen as the mouse's biggest arch nemesis, as portrayed in the cartoon "Tom and Jerry."

Good normally prevails over evil despite a nemesis' attempt at foiling peaceful ways.

NOUN

EXAMPLES NON-EXAMPLES

ENEMY FRIEND

RIVAL ASSOCIATE

FOE VINDICATOR NEMESISGreek Goddess of Revenge

BURGEONDefinition: To grow or develop quickly; to send

forth new growth: sprout; bloom; flourish

The market for collectables has burgeoned in the past couple of years.

No thanks to the mild winter, mosquito populations are burgeoning this spring.

VERB

APPRAISEDEFINITION: To assess the value or quality of or (of an offical or expert) set a price on; value

ORIGIN: LatinOwner of the pawnshop prided himself on appraising items appropriately.

The house was appraised at a value lower than expected. VERB

APPRAISE IN DAILY LIFEAntique Store Real Estate

Pawn Shop

PARADIGMDEFINITION: a typical example or pattern of something; a modelORIGIN: Greek in origin, derived from paradeigma or "pattern" or "example"

The company's marketing paradigm shifted to a much more conservative one after they rose from being the underdog newcomer to the industry leader.

Andy Warhol ushered in a new paradigm for art in the 1960s, bringing common objects and pop culture into the spotlight to replace more traditional subject matter.

NOUN

https://www.google.com/search?q=PARADIGM&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=qofxUsLnLuHgs

PARAGONDEFINITION: a person or thing regarded as the perfect example ofa particular qualityORIGIN: Middle French

Such a paragon never wears jeans, or drinks alcohol, or smokes.Oddly enough, I'm not a paragon of health.

Who or what is perfect in your eyes?

NOUN

What it is… What it isn’t…

Perfect Imperfect

Paradigm Worst

Nonpareil Flawed

HARBINGERDEFINITION/ETYMOLOGY

DEFINITION: someone or something that announces the approach of another.

ORIGIN: Old French from Old German

SENTENCE EXAMPLES

Courtesy of Dr. McGay• The blooming of crocuses are a harbinger of the

arrival of spring.• A sore throat is often the harbinger of a more serious

sickness, like a cold or the flu. • When her water broke, the expectant mother knew

this was the harbinger that her baby was about to be born.

From Dictionary.com• Another harbinger of spring on Mars is huge dust

storms that sweep across the planet. • Virtue is the root of good fortune, and evil the

harbinger of calamity. • The fainting episode, a potential harbinger of heart

trouble, was the first symptom to study.

NOUN

DIVERGENTDefinition: tending to be different or develop in different directions When the movie Divergent is

released, undoubtedly moviegoers will express divergent opinions

about how faithful the film was to the book.

Tessa’s teaching philosophy is divergent from her coworkers, but they still manage put their differences aside to

work productively.

SYNONYMS ANTONYMSDIFFERENT SAMEDISSIMILAR SIMILAR

UNALIKE ALIKEDISPARATE RELATED

CONFLICTING COMPARABLE

NOUN

RUMINATEDEFINITION: to think carefully

and deeply about something

ORIGIN: Latin

VERB

While some individuals are impulsive, others can ruminate for days or weeks before making a decision.

Facing a tough decision, she ruminated over her options through the course of the week.

FECUNDDEFINITION: producing or capable of producing

an abundance of new growth.ORIGIN: Latin

A lush and fecund garden will be the product of the rainy spring season.

ADJECTIVE

What it is… What it IS NOT…

Fertile Infertile

Fruitful Barren

Productive Unproductive

NASCENTDEFINITION: beginning to exist; recently formedor developed ORIGIN: Latin

The actress is now focusing on her nascent singing career.

It was almost 80 years ago that the Wright brothers from Ohio ventured toKitty Hawk for the uplift its steady winds offered their nascent passion,airplanes. —Robert R. Yandle, Popular Photography, March 1993

ADJECTIVE

INCISIVEClear and direct; able to explain difficult ideas clearly and confidently

A professor

YodaA doctor

ADJECTIVE

Synonyms Antonyms

Keen Vague

Astute Rambling

Insightful

Perceptive

EXAMPLES

He is one of the most intellectually incisive executives in corporate America.

BUCOLICDEFINITION: of or relating to the pleasant aspects of

the countryside and countryside lifeORIGIN: Ancient Greek

The land was quite bucolic – with rolling fields and beautiful landscape.

Many universities create bucolic environments even in urban settings.

ADJECTIVE

SCHISMDEFINITION: a division that occurs among a group

because they disagree on something

A schism was created in the United States between the North and South when the Civil War broke out.

Deciding who was to payfor the wedding led toa schism between the

two families that, to this day, either side is willing to mend.

NOUN

PORTENDDEFINITION: a sign or warning that (something,

especially something momentous or calamitous) is likely to happen.

ORIGIN: Latin

The drop in temperature and darkening skies portend a storm is imminent.Sandy does not believe a palm reader can portend the future.

VERB