Chapter 1

LaNeta W.
50 words 2 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. unambitious
    having little desire for success or achievement
    So your grave, middle-aged family practitioner vanishes into thin air, my dear Watson, and there emerges a young fellow under thirty, amiable, unambitious, absent-minded, and the possessor of a favourite dog, which I should describe roughly as being larger than a terrier and smaller than a mastiff."
  2. practitioner
    someone who carries out a learned profession
    It was just such a stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner used to carry--dignified, solid, and reassuring.
  3. disarrange
    disturb the arrangement of
    "Only that you have disarranged our little deductions.
  4. astutely
    in a wise or thoughtful manner
    "No mention of that local hunt, Watson," said Holmes with a mischievous smile, "but a country doctor, as you very astutely observed.
  5. rimmed
    having a rim or a rim of a specified kind
    He was a very tall, thin man, with a long nose like a beak, which jutted out between two keen, gray eyes, set closely together and sparkling brightly from behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.
  6. engrave
    carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface
    "To James Mortimer, M.R.C.S., from his friends of the C.C.H.," was engraved upon it, with the date "1884."
  7. underrate
    make too low an estimate of
    "I am bound to say that in all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own small achievements you have habitually underrated your own abilities.
  8. dignify
    confer honor upon
    It was just such a stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner used to carry--dignified, solid, and reassuring.
  9. disarranged
    having the arrangement disturbed; not in order
    "Only that you have disarranged our little deductions.
  10. deduction
    the act of removing a part from the whole
    It gives us the basis for several deductions."
  11. inference
    a conclusion you can draw based on known evidence
    "Well, then, supposing that 'C.C.H.' does stand for 'Charing Cross Hospital,' what further inferences may we draw?"
  12. minded
    mentally oriented toward something specified
    So your grave, middle-aged family practitioner vanishes into thin air, my dear Watson, and there emerges a young fellow under thirty, amiable, unambitious, absent-minded, and the possessor of a favourite dog, which I should describe roughly as being larger than a terrier and smaller than a mastiff."
  13. frayed
    worn away or tattered along the edges
    He was clad in a professional but rather slovenly fashion, for his frock-coat was dingy and his trousers frayed.
  14. slovenly
    negligent of neatness especially in dress and person
    He was clad in a professional but rather slovenly fashion, for his frock-coat was dingy and his trousers frayed.
  15. entitle
    give the right to
    Winner of the Jackson prize for Comparative Pathology, with essay entitled 'Is Disease a Reversion?'
  16. infrequent
    not occurring regularly or at short intervals
    Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all night, was seated at the breakfast table.
  17. stimulate
    cause to act in a specified manner
    Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it.
  18. inadvertently
    without knowledge or intention
    I trust, sir, that I have not inadvertently ------" "Just a little," said Holmes.
  19. convex
    curving or bulging outward
    Then with an expression of interest he laid down his cigarette, and carrying the cane to the window, he looked over it again with a convex lens.
  20. incredulously
    in a disbelieving manner
    I laughed incredulously as Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his settee and blew little wavering rings of smoke up to the ceiling.
  21. agile
    moving quickly and lightly
    He had long, quivering fingers as agile and restless as the antennae of an insect.
  22. fallacy
    a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning
    When I said that you stimulated me I meant, to be frank, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided towards the truth.
  23. amiable
    diffusing warmth and friendliness
    So your grave, middle-aged family practitioner vanishes into thin air, my dear Watson, and there emerges a young fellow under thirty, amiable, unambitious, absent-minded, and the possessor of a favourite dog, which I should describe roughly as being larger than a terrier and smaller than a mastiff."
  24. reassure
    cause to feel confident
    It was just such a stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner used to carry--dignified, solid, and reassuring.
  25. excel
    distinguish oneself
    "Really, Watson, you excel yourself," said Holmes, pushing back his chair and lighting a cigarette.
  26. reassuring
    restoring confidence and relieving anxiety
    It was just such a stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner used to carry--dignified, solid, and reassuring.
  27. confront
    oppose, as in hostility or a competition
    I came to you, Mr. Holmes, because I recognized that I am myself an unpractical man and because I am suddenly confronted with a most serious and extraordinary problem.
  28. stimulating
    that stimulates
    Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it.
  29. presume
    take to be the case or to be true
    I presume that it is Mr. Sherlock Holmes whom I am addressing and not ------" "No, this is my friend Dr. Watson."
  30. consult
    seek information from
    I married, and so left the hospital, and with it all hopes of a consulting practice.
  31. wavering
    the quality of being unsteady and subject to changes
    I laughed incredulously as Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his settee and blew little wavering rings of smoke up to the ceiling.
  32. overlook
    have a view of something from above
    "I trust that there is nothing of consequence which I have overlooked?"
  33. erroneous
    containing or characterized by mistakes
    "I am afraid, my dear Watson, that most of your conclusions were erroneous.
  34. habitually
    according to custom or routine
    "I am bound to say that in all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own small achievements you have habitually underrated your own abilities.
  35. stimulated
    emotionally aroused
    When I said that you stimulated me I meant, to be frank, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided towards the truth.
  36. benevolence
    disposition to do good
    Though young, his long back was already bowed, and he walked with a forward thrust of his head and a general air of peering benevolence.
  37. emerge
    come out into view, as from concealment
    So your grave, middle-aged family practitioner vanishes into thin air, my dear Watson, and there emerges a young fellow under thirty, amiable, unambitious, absent-minded, and the possessor of a favourite dog, which I should describe roughly as being larger than a terrier and smaller than a mastiff."
  38. observe
    watch attentively
    "Now, you will observe that he could not have been on the staff of the hospital, since only a man well-established in a London practice could hold such a position, and such a one would not drift into the country.
  39. probable
    likely but not certain to be or become true or real
    On what occasion would it be most probable that such a presentation would be made?
  40. dignified
    formal or stately in bearing or appearance
    It was just such a stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner used to carry--dignified, solid, and reassuring.
  41. practised
    skillful after much practice
    "I can only think of the obvious conclusion that the man has practised in town before going to the country."
  42. corresponding
    similar especially in position or purpose
    Corresponding member of the Swedish Pathological Society.
  43. justified
    having words so spaced that lines have straight even margins
    I think that I am fairly justified in my inferences.
  44. establish
    set up or found
    "Now, you will observe that he could not have been on the staff of the hospital, since only a man well-established in a London practice could hold such a position, and such a one would not drift into the country.
  45. conviction
    an unshakable belief in something without need for proof
    There was such a ring of conviction in his voice that I glanced up in surprise.
  46. intention
    an anticipated outcome that guides your planned actions
    It is not my intention to be fulsome, but I confess that I covet your skull."
  47. established
    brought about or set up or accepted
    "Now, you will observe that he could not have been on the staff of the hospital, since only a man well-established in a London practice could hold such a position, and such a one would not drift into the country.
  48. development
    a process in which something passes to a different stage
    I had hardly expected so dolichocephalic a skull or such well-marked supra-orbital development.
  49. observed
    discovered or determined by scientific observation
    "No mention of that local hunt, Watson," said Holmes with a mischievous smile, "but a country doctor, as you very astutely observed.
  50. presence
    current existence
    He is a professional brother of yours, and your presence may be of assistance to me.
Created on Fri Aug 23 14:08:03 EDT 2013

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