BOSTON, MA — The editors of the American Heritage® dictionaries have compiled a list of 100 words they recommend every high school graduate should know."The words we suggest," says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, "are not meant to be exhaustive but are a benchmark against which graduates and their parents can measure themselves. If you are able to use these words correctly, you are likely to have a superior command of the language."The following is the entire list of 100 words:abjureabrogateabstemiousacumenantebellumauspiciousbeliebellicosebowdlerizechicanerychromosomechurlishcircumlocutioncircumnavigatedeciduousdeleteriousdiffidentenervateenfranchiseepiphanyequinoxeuroevanescentexpurgatefacetiousfatuousfecklessfiduciaryfilibustergametegauchegerrymanderhegemonyhemoglobinhomogeneoushubrishypotenuseimpeachincognitoincontrovertibleinculcateinfrastructureinterpolateironyjejunekinetickowtowlaissez fairelexiconloquaciouslugubriousmetamorphosismitosismoietynanotechnologynihilismnomenclaturenonsectariannotarizeobsequiousoligarchyomnipotentorthographyoxidizeparabolaparadigmparameterpecuniaryphotosynthesisplagiarizeplasmapolymerprecipitousquasarquotidianrecapitulatereciprocalreparationrespirationsanguinesoliloquysubjugatesuffragistsupercilioustautologytaxonomytectonictempestuousthermodynamicstotalitarianunctuoususurpvacuousvehementvortexwinnowwroughtxenophobeyeomanzigguratDon't let the list frighten you - many Americans don't know the meanings of all these words !
AUSPICIOUS - adjective (Showing signs that something is likely to be successful in the future.)
1. affording a favorable AUSPICE : PROPITIOUS ( made an auspicious beginning)
2. attended by good AUSPICES : PROSPEROUS ( an auspicious year)
~ An auspicious start to new school year.
~ It was an auspicious date for a wedding.
~ Their first meeting was hardly auspicious.
~ His acclaimed first novel was an auspicious debut.
~ Told him she couldn't dance with him just then, but her auspicious smile encouraged him to ask again later.
1) In the antebellum South [of the United States) there was a sort of caste system. Poor individual farmers at the bottom, and large plantation owners at the top. Middle class people like merchants were looked down upon by both classes.
ABSTEMIOUS - adjective (Not allowing yourself to have much food or alcohol, or to do things that are enjoyable.)
1. marked by restraint especially in the consumption of food or alcohol; also
2. reflecting such restrain < an abstemious diet>
~ She is known as an abstemious eater and drinker.
~ He was a hard-working man with abstemious habits.
~ Being abstemious diners, they avoid restaurants with all-you-can-eat buffets.
ABJURE - verb(to promise publicly that you will give up or reject a belief or a way of behaving)
1. a: to renounce upon oath
b: to reject solemnly
2. to abstain from: AVOID
~ abjured some long-held beliefs when she converted to another religion.
~ a strict religious sect that abjures the luxuries, comforts, and conveniences of the modern world.
Aisha, let's try to help everyone! You can put in a definition, and we'll see who is the first to make up a sentence. Then someone else can supply a definition, and so forth and so on.
OK?
Comments
1. affording a favorable AUSPICE : PROPITIOUS ( made an auspicious beginning)
2. attended by good AUSPICES : PROSPEROUS ( an auspicious year)
~ An auspicious start to new school year.
~ It was an auspicious date for a wedding.
~ Their first meeting was hardly auspicious.
~ His acclaimed first novel was an auspicious debut.
~ Told him she couldn't dance with him just then, but her auspicious smile encouraged him to ask again later.
Noun - auspiciousness
Adverb - auspiciously
existing before a war; especially the American Civil War
~ The laws of antebellum American South.
LATIN - antebellum = before war
keenness and depth of perception, discernment, or discrimination especially in practical matters
~ Her political acumen won her the election.
~ A lack of business acumen.
Business acumen, political acumen, commercial acumen, financial acumen, etc.
1. marked by restraint especially in the consumption of food or alcohol;
also
2. reflecting such restrain < an abstemious diet>
~ She is known as an abstemious eater and drinker.
~ He was a hard-working man with abstemious habits.
~ Being abstemious diners, they avoid restaurants with all-you-can-eat buffets.
Noun - abstemiousness
Adverb - abstemiously
1. to officially end a law, an agreement,etc. (The rule has been abrogated by a mutual consent.
2. to abolish by authoritative action (The U.S. Congress can abrogate old treaties that are unfair to Native Americans.
3. to treat as nonexistent (The company's directors are accused of abrogating their responsibilities.
Noun - abrogation
1. a: to renounce upon oath
b: to reject solemnly
2. to abstain from: AVOID
~ abjured some long-held beliefs when she converted to another religion.
~ a strict religious sect that abjures the luxuries, comforts, and conveniences of the modern world.
Noun - abjurer
OK?
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next