week 30

Something that's gaudy is showy, bright and definitely tacky. So think twice about that gaudy rainbow-colored suit and shiny gold shoes ensemble.Gaudy is an adjective that means "ostentatious" — in other words, flashy and in your face, and not in a good way. Someone in a gaudy outfit is probably trying too hard to be cool and stylish.

A snooty waiter might condescend to serve you dinner at a fancy restaurant, meaning that he'd consider himself far too important to carry out the mundane task of delivering your hamburger and fries.You might have noticed that condescend contains the word descend, meaning to move down from a higher place. You can think of condescend as lowering yourself to do a task that you feel is far beneath you. Kings and queens would never condescend to do their own laundry at the palace, for example. If the

Zenith means the high point––it comes from astronomy, where it describes the highest point in an arc traveled by a star or a planet or another celestial body. The sun reaches its zenith when it is as high in the sky as it is going to go on that day.Zenith — and it's opposite, "nadir" — have been appropriated by non-astronomers and are used to describe high and low points in non-astronomical contexts. "The party lasted all night, but the zenith was definitely the moment when we climbed up onto th

To wheedle is to sweet talk, or flatter someone in the hopes of getting something in return. You might try to wheedle a meter maid into not giving you a parking ticket. Good luck with that.If you want your parents to do something for you that they don’t want to do, you may have to wheedle them with breakfast in bed and a shower of compliments in order to get what you want. To wheedle someone is to “charm” that person, though it’s a little more on the “suck up to” side than it is charming.

A burden or serious concern is an encumbrance. Your being five feet tall could be an encumbrance when it comes to your dream of playing professional basketball.Something that blocks you from doing what you want to do is an encumbrance, like the rocky soil in your garden that makes it impossible for you to grow tomatoes. A burden or hindrance can also be an encumbrance, the way wearing thick knitted mittens makes it harder for you to dial your cell phone — your mittens are an encumbrance.

If you malign someone, you badmouth them — just like the jilted girlfriend who tells the whole school her ex has bad breath and head lice. Because when you malign someone you're attacking their character or reputation with a lot of trash talk. That would actually make it appropriate to then describe you as "a malign influence" — in other words, evil and full of malignant purpose.

If you want to describe someone who can do absolutely anything, reach for the adjective omnipotent.Omnipotent comes from the Latin words for total (omni) and power (potent). Omnipotent is frequently used for deities, but can apply to any exaggerated description of power. If you think that love rules the world, then to you, love is omnipotent. On the other hand, if you think that brute force wins, then maybe your idea of an omnipotent person is a mob boss.

A charlatan is a quack, a person who is trying to deceive you with false claims. Beware of charlatans who try to sell you access to the fountain of youth or to a Ponzi scheme disguised as an exclusive investment fund.Other words for charlatan are impostor, cheat, or pretender. Charlatans are marked by the elaborate schemes they cook up.

Something that no longer exists and has no living representative is extinct. Dinosaurs are extinct. Polar bears may become extinct. Sadly, history teachers who force their students to memorize long lists of dates are in no danger of becoming extinct.
You often hear of a species being extinct: there are no living representatives of the species left. But extinct also describes something that has gone out or grown cold, as in a dormant volcano "extinct volcano" or a tobacco pipe whose flame has die

Your friend Robert who always makes funny observations and light-hearted quips? He’s jocose, meaning he's good humored and jokes around a lot.

A precedent is something that sets a standard for future events. It's hard to say what the legal community would do without the word precedent, since so many legal judgments and decisions are based on what came before.Lawyers and judges often look for a precedent can be used as a guide for a similar case. This word is used elsewhere too. Your mom might not let you stay up late because it would set a bad precedent for future bedtimes. A teacher who lets kids chew gum is setting a precedent that g

When you think of the word rustic, think of the rural country. This word can be given a positive or a negative spin depending on how you use it; a rustic inn, for example, might be quaint or it might be virtually uninhabitable.while rustic refers to the unrefined qualities associated with country life. The best antonym is cosmopolitan, which implies the sophistication and worldliness of city life.

A week at the beach that goes perfectly is an idyllic vacation. Idyllic means so wonderful it seems almost magical.
Are you having an idyllic childhood? You may not think so now, but in your old age, you may remember your days as a youngster as simple and carefree. The clear, blue water of the Caribbean Sea, the beautiful village perched on a cliffside, the sunny grassy field of wildflowers, these are all Idylls — simple peaceful scenes — that you may or may not find idyllic.

Candor usually means the quality of being open, honest, and sincere. If someone tells you they think you are dumb, you might reply with, "While I appreciate your candor, I don't think we need to be friends anymore."The corresponding adjective is candid, as in "I want you to be candid. Do these pants make me look fat?"

A fledgling is a fuzzy baby bird just learning to fly, or someone (like a baby bird) who's brand new at doing something. Awww.If you're not talking about a baby bird, fledgling is often used as an adjective describing a new participant in something, like a fledgling senator still learning the ropes of how to legislate, or a fledgling drama program trying to build audiences for its plays. It can also mean inexperienced and young

Decorum is proper and polite behavior. If you let out a big belch at a fancy dinner party, you're not showing much decorum.The corresponding adjective is decorous, meaning "well-behaved in a particular situation." Both decorum and decorous are often used to describe behavior in a classroom or courtroom.

The verb galvanize refers to stimulating muscles with an electrical current, and is also used to suggest stimulating someone into action.Nowadays, people use this term much more figuratively, like when they describe galvanizing a political movement or even a sports team into action.

To mortify someone is to cause them extreme embarrassment. Your mother may not have been trying to mortify you when she showed up at your senior prom with a bunch of unicorn balloons, but she did.To mortify something used to mean to destroy its life, but now mortify is mostly used when you feel so ashamed or embarrassed you “want to die.” To punish yourself through deprivation from food or another desire, you can mortify that compulsion, but it’s probably best to just mortify your parents by sho

Peremptory comments are like orders. If you say something in a peremptory manner, you want people to stop what they’re doing and do what you say. Peremptory comments put an end to a discussion, and that’s final!Basically, peremptory commands destroy the conversation. They are given with an air of authority, and they are often barked. In the courtroom, peremptory orders are not open to appeal; they’re final. Outside of the courtroom, a peremptory manner is just plain rude.

If you were the quarterback that threw the touchdown pass that won the Super Bowl, you would be jubilant: filled with joy.When you feel jubilant, you’re full of extreme happiness. Usually people are jubilant after great victories, whether in sports, politics, or life. When you're jubilant, it's a moment of extreme happiness, like giving birth or watching a child graduate. There can also be jubilant songs, jubilant performances, even jubilant periods in history, times when people are especially p