october, 2009. meaning: not suitable; out of place; inappropriate; awkward; clumsy; lacking reason...

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHS

October, 2009

IneptMeaning: not suitable; out of place; inappropriate; awkward;

clumsy; lacking reason or judgment; foolish; absurdSentence: Appointing his son as our supervisor

smacked of nepotism; besides, he was inept at the job.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 1, 2009

in-ept : adj.

Variants: ineptitude, nounSentence: The workers had little respect for their supervisor, because his ineptitude and lack of experience rendered him useless.

sagaciousMeaning: possessing excellent judgment and

powers of discernment; able to make wise decisions

Sentence: Professor Blake’s sagacious reputation made him one of the university’s most popular lecturers and advisors.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 2, 2009

suh-gey-shuh s : adj.

didacticMeaning: focused on communicating a moral,

political, or educational message; presenting a clear vision of right and wrong; projecting morality

Sentence: Some authors and lecturers are subtly didactic, while others are more obvious and preachy.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 5, 2009

dahy-dak-tik : adj.

encroachMeaning: go beyond proper or usual limits; make gradual

inroads on; trespass upon the property or rights of another, especially stealthily or by gradual advances; intrude

Sentence: Over the years the sea has encroached upon the shore and submerged the beach.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 6, 2009

en-krohch : verb

Variants: encroachment, nounSentence: The government forced the company to halt construction when it was determined that the parking lot had a 10-foot encroachment on neighboring private property.

ameliorate

Meaning: to improve or upgrade; to make better or put right. When an unacceptable state of affairs is changed for the better, it is said to have been ameliorated.

Sentence: The marriage counselor’s attempts to ameliorate conflicts between the Smiths were welcomed, but, unfortunately, they were not successful.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 7, 2009

uh-meel-yuh-reyt : verb

clemencyMeaning: a show of mercy or leniency toward a

wrongdoer or opponent, under appropriate circumstances

Sentence: Jake’s parents showed clemency and allowed him to keep his car even after his a speeding conviction, inspiring him to drive more carefully.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 8, 2009

klem-uh n-see : noun

irascibleMeaning: marked by hot temper and resentful

anger; having or showing a disposition to be easily incensed; irritable

Sentence: The miserable man became so irascible that within six months he lost his wife and half of his office staff.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 9, 2009

i-ras-uh-buh l: adj.

extenuateMeaning: make the seriousness of (guilt, a fault, an

offense, etc.) seem less; diminishSentence: The suspects neither

concealed nor extenuated their crime.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 13, 2009

ik-sten-yoo-eyt: verb

Variants: extenuating, adj.Sentence: One should not be in a rush to judgment about someone’s guilt or innocence; there may be extenuating circumstances not yet brought to light.

panderMeaning: to indulge someone’s weaknesses or

questionable wishes or tastes; to appeal to the worst in someone

Sentence: The director refused to pander to the wishes of some of his greedy advisors, and he left the film PG so that children could see it.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 14, 2009

pan-der : verb

vehement

Meaning: expressed with intense feelings and conviction; strongly felt, or marked by high emotion; forceful or emphatic; vigorous

Sentence: In the 1960s, many expressed vehement dissatisfaction with the administration policy regarding the Vietnam conflict.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 15, 2009

vee-uh-muh nt : adj.

Variants: vehemently, adv.Sentence: In the 1960s many protestors vehemently opposed the Vietnam war.

perturbMeaning: disturb greatly; make

uneasy or troubled; distress cause disorder or irregularity in; agitate

Sentence: Mother was much perturbed by my illness.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 16, 2009

per-turb: verb

nonchalantMeaning: cool; indifferent; without warmth or

animationSentences: Julio’s seemingly nonchalant

manner is actually a cover-up for his nervousness.

Detective Gates sauntered over to the suspect in a nonchalant way, trying not to arouse his suspicion.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 20, 2009

non-shuh-lahnt: adj.

insatiableMeaning: that cannot be satisfied;

extremely greedySentence: His friends

nicknamed him “the human trash compactor” because of his insatiable appetite.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 21, 2009

in-sey-shuh-buh l,: adj.

circumspectMeaning: careful; cautious; prudentSentences: The killer was

circumspect about leaving any clues that would tie him to the victim.

We complimented the lawyer for his circumspect handling of the embarrassing matter.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 22, 2009

sur-kuh m-spekt : adj.

GIBEMeaning: speak sneeringly; jeer; scoff; sneer;

express scorn; mockSentence: His friends gibed at him

for his cowardice.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 23, 2009

jahyb: verb

jahyb: nounMeaning: a jeer; taunt; sneerSentence: David was determined

not to allow his classmates’ gibes to hurt him visibly.

loquaciousMeaning: talkative; garrulousSentences: With a few drinks under

his belt, my normally quiet cousin became quite loquacious.

The loquacious talk-show host never gave his guests a chance to tell about themselves.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 26, 2009

loh-kwey-shuh s : adj.

harangueMeaning: a long, blustering, noisy, or

scolding speech; tiradeSentence: I recall that every poor

grade on my report card brought forth a harangue on the subject of studying.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 27, 2009

huh-rang : noun

gratuitousMeaning: freely given or obtained; free without

reason or cause; unnecessary; uncalled-forSentences: Homemade fun is gratuitous.Everyone was shocked at her gratuitous

insult, considering that the woman had always been kind to her.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 28, 2009

gruh-too-i-tuh s : adj.

nepotismMeaning: favoritism shown by someone in power

to relatives and friends in professional matters, especially when appointing them to good positions

Sentence: When senior managers all share the last name of a company’s founder, it’s unusual if no one is accused of nepotism.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 29, 2009

nep-uh-tiz-uh m : noun

digression

Meaning: a turning aside from the main subject in talking or writing

Sentence: Her speech contained many digressions from its main theme.

WORD OF THE DAY @ IEKHSOctober 30, 2009

di-gresh-uh n : noun

Variants: digress, verbSentence: I shall not pursue these points further, because I don’t want to digress too far from my main theme.