determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
Cane’s capricious personality made him a fun friend but a terrible boss; social spontaneity was exciting but workplace unpredictability was frustrating.
As a young politician, Dane believed he could stop the corruption that ran through the county government, but he was quickly disillusioned by the extent of the illegal activity.
Nan was naïve in thinking that no one looked at her online social page except her friends; her father was shocked by the pictures she posted last month.
Ironically, the actor once known for his outspoken behavior actually became reticent in his later years, refusing to grant interviews for the last twenty years of his life.
marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
The smug senior thought that she had the homecoming election all wrapped up; however, she was beaten by a junior who was much more polite to the underclassmen.
“Putting the pieces together, I’m assuming they’re going to appeal,” said Judy Waxman, Vice President, Health and Reproductive Rights at the National Women’s Law Center.
Salon
(May 1, 2013)
He secured an interview using the pretense that he had a doctorate from Yale, but the hiring committee quickly discovered that this was not true. Word Forms: pretenseful, pretension, pretentious,
determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
The babysitter’s whimsical personality meant that the kids were never bored; one minute they were making peanut butter cookies, and the next they were reenacting a scene from a famous play.
The teacher was disappointed in the students’ apathy toward the field trip; she had mistakenly believed that this trip would finally excite them about learning.
Mrs. Armstrong, my English teacher, is known for her ardor for the literature William Faulkner; last summer she even visited his hometown in Mississippi in order to better visualize the settings of his books.
Constantine is the consummate host; he greets his guest, makes sure they are comfortable and enjoying themselves, and introduces new friends to everyone.
a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning
Many textbooks erroneously teach the fallacy that George Washington cut down a cherry tree; it is widely believed that an author made up that story to increase the sales of his book.
The author’s new novel is a frivolous look at life in the city; although it lacks the serious tones of his previous novels, it’s a fun and enjoyable story.
The differences between the real money and the counterfeit money are imperceptible, so it was no surprise that the cashier did not notice the fake bill.
Landon was lauded for his achievements at the autism research laboratory; he had made more progress in a year than most scientists had made in a decade.
lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
Mitch was grounded for a week when he broke curfew, but his mom mitigated his punishment by several days when she learned that he had been late because he was taking a sick friend to the hospital.
Patrick was constantly patronizing me during the movie; he kept pausing it to explain what happened in a scene, even though I understood it as well as he did.
The most transient years of your life are those spent in high school; someday when you realize how quickly your time there passed, you’ll wish you had spent more time enjoying your youth.
Be sure to avoid trite expressions in your essay; instead of writing clichés like “I learned my lesson the hard way,” choose original sentences such as “It was a difficult lesson to learn.”
Vanessa vacillated between the two universities; one minute she was attending the in-state school, and the next she was going to the college three states away.
a crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking refinement
Boris was a boor at the dinner party; after telling the host that her house was cheaply decorated, he ate his steak with his fingers and burped during the meal.
Although I told the clerk I was in a hurry, she was a bureaucrat and insisted I complete every field on the form, even though she already had my information.
someone who records past events in the order that they occurred
The reporter was hired by the army to serve as a chronicler during the war; without his employment, we would never have known the true order of events during the conflict.