Tough Words

Charu S. (India)
21 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. mendicant
    a pauper who lives by begging
    They are disguised as pilgrim mendicants, the better to enable Nilikanthe to seek out his foe. Wagnalls, Mabel
  2. bathetic
    very sentimental or emotional
    Taken together, her tribulations have the makings of bathetic melodrama. New York Times (Jul 15, 2011)
    pronounce just as Pathetic
  3. otiose
    serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being
    Otiose is a colorful, although somewhat old-fashioned, word for "lazy." It also means serving no useful purpose: that steak knife next to your plate is otiose if you're having oatmeal for dinner.
    Otiose, which can be pronounced either with a t sound (OH-tee-ohs) or a sh sound (OH-she-ohs), comes from the Latin word otium "leisure," but its modern meaning is closer to "leisure suit," that is, useless and not very handsome.
  4. bellicose
    having or showing a ready disposition to fight
  5. tempestuous
    characterized by violent emotions or behavior
  6. travail
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
  7. intrusive
    tending to enter uninvited
  8. traverse
    journey across or pass over
  9. prod
    push against gently
  10. preen
    clean with one's bill
  11. vitiate
    make imperfect
  12. tempestuous
    characterized by violent emotions or behavior
  13. vagabond
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
  14. vagabond
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
  15. vagrant
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
  16. hoary
    having gray or white hair as with age
  17. pastoral
    devoted to raising sheep or cattle
  18. plebeian
    of or associated with the great masses of people
  19. apostate
    not faithful to religion or party or cause
  20. sublime
    of high moral or intellectual value
  21. goading
    a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something
Created on Sat Oct 27 15:37:29 EDT 2012 (updated Thu Nov 01 15:00:35 EDT 2012)

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