week 27

An array is a display of something — usually something varied. So, you might encounter an array of bathing suits on the beach or an array of cereal brands in the cereal aisle of the grocery store. Which would you prefer?It can be an intentional design of people or features — everything from software packages to fashion shows can have an "impressive array" of components. Or, an array can fall together in nature or by chance: "the clouds became an array of beautiful shapes after the storm."

So, they took the thing you most loved, and you're never going to get it back. You've gone beyond just plain grief-stricken — you're bereft.
The way in which bereft differs just from plain mournful or grief-stricken is in its sense of deprivation or lack.When you see your bereft relatives at a funeral, it's very sad, but if your friend says that their cookie is bereft of chocolate chips, you know they are using exaggerated language to be a little funny.

Invective is harsh, abusive language, like, "you dirty rotten scoundrel." I'm sure you can think of harsher and more obscene examples, but we won't get into them here.examples: "She spewed invective," "She hurled invective," "She burst forth into invective." You can follow it with a phrase like, "picking up her plate and throwing it across the room."

If you're an inveterate doodler, all your notebooks are covered with drawings. If you're an inveterate golf player, you probably get twitchy if you haven't been out on a course in a week.
In Middle English inveterate was associated with chronic disease. Now it simply refers to something that is a signature habit with a person. Unless you're an inveterate gambler, drinker or smoker––in which case you're addicted and we're back to talking about being sick.

The verb culminate is used to describe a high point or a climactic stage in a process. For example, the goal of a Major League baseball team is to have their season culminate in a World Series victory.Use culminate when you are referring to a crowning moment or a final conclusion: “I want my experiments combining strawberry jam with burnt toast to culminate in a Nobel Prize in Chemistry.”

"Woohoo!" That's an expression you might shout in exultation or extreme happiness. On New Year's Eve, Times Square is bursting with exultation as people shout and sing joyfully to ring in the new year.Think of leaping for joy and you've pretty much captured the sentiment of exultation. This word is used to describe a kind of triumphant joy, the kind you might see at the end of a football game when the winning team is pumping their fists, cheering and dumping Gatorade all over their coach.

Consider that volume is a measure of size. That will help you understand that voluminous refers to something very large in size or extent.
Suppose instead of calling a book a book, you called it a volume. Suddenly, it seems to be part of a much bigger thing. And what if it were only Volume I, with 23 more volumes to go? Even bigger, right? In fact, it's more than big; it’s voluminous. Voluminous describes very large things.

Use pungent to describe a taste or smell that gives a sharp sensation. "What is that pungent odor?" is a polite way of suggesting that someone in the room has BO.Ginger and mustard seed are examples of pungent spices. Limburger cheese has the distinction of being the most pungent of all cheeses. And if your pet has an accident in the house, there may be a pungent odor. And pungent can be used in a figurative sense: pungent language is stimulating and expressive.

Going as far into the sky as you can go on foot, you'll reach the highest point, or pinnacle, of the Himalayas. A successful climb like that might also become the pinnacle, or peak, of your success.
Two synonyms for pinnacle also start with the letter "p," "peak" and "point." A pinnacle can be a physical thing, like the top of a high mountain or the antenna on the very top of a building, or it can be a high point that can’t be measured with a ruler, like an achievement or a goal.

To besmirch means to dirty or tarnish, particularly someone's reputation — like when you call Billy a cheater at kickball (even though you know he's just better at bunting than you).
Besmirch may sound kind of funny, but it goes hand in hand with other hurtful words like defame and slander. It can also mean to literally stain something. So that time you tracked mud all over the new white carpet and then blamed it on your little brother? That was a double besmirching — dirtying the rug and then f

If you stubbornly refuse to change your mind about something, you are adamant about it. In English, people began to use the word to refer to something that cannot be altered, and then in the twentieth century — after adamant had been in English for about a thousand years — it came to be used as an adjective to mean "unyielding as stone." If you're adamant about something, no amount of persuasion is going to convince you otherwise.

If you are ardent, you are passionate about something. A pop star's ardent admirers might go so crazy at his concert that they faint from excitement.
Ardent is most often used to modify words like supporter, fan, advocate, admirer, and defender — but also opponent. Although you can either ardently support or oppose something, support is by far the more common use. The word literally means "burning" or "glowing"

A prodigy is someone who is so naturally talented at something that they become a master of that particular skill as a child––you can be a musical prodigy or a math prodigy. Mozart was one, writing symphonies and playing for kings when he was only five years old.
Prodigy is one of those wonderful words whose different meanings tell a story about how the meanings of words bloom over time.

In retrospect — that is, in looking back and contemplating the past — we sometimes find ourselves wishing that we had done some things differently.
Though this word most commonly appears as a noun in the phrase "in retrospect," it can also be used as a verb. The prefix retro- means “back," and spect is a component of the words inspect, spectator, spectacles, and perspective, among others, which all have to do with looking or seeing. So it makes sense that retrospect means to look back in time.

Humility is the quality of being humble. If you meet one of your heroes and feel nervous and in awe for her, you are experiencing humility.Someone who spends his life taking care of others shows humility. Although it's related to humiliation (which makes you feel low in a bad way), humility is usually used to talk about a lack of ego.

If something is obscure, it's vague and hard to see. Be careful if you're driving in heavy rain — the painted lines can be obscure.We tend to use obscure in the metaphorical senses: an obscure sound is unclear, an obscure village is hidden away in the countryside, and an obscure poet is little known and probably insignificant. Obscure can also be used as a verb. If you get really nervous when you speak during a debate, your embarrassing twitches and shaking hands can obscure your argument.

Falter means to hesitate, stumble, or waver, and everything from faith to voices can do it. So if you want to keep your bride or groom happy, it's best not to falter when it's your turn to say "I do."
Experts may falter if you ask them where falter came from, because the origins are pretty unclear. But everyone agrees on the current meaning: someone who falters is unsteady, wobbly, or unsure. You might falter while reciting a poem if you forget some of the lines, or falter crossing a rickety rop

Mean, nasty, and caustic as the worst acid, vitriolic words can hurt feelings, break hearts, and even lead to violence.
Vitriolic is an adjective related to the noun vitriol — which means a metal sulphate. However, you will most likely NOT hear vitriolic used to describe a chemical reaction. You are more likely to hear vitriolic used to describe caustic words. We've seen some examples in recent political campaigns, and the results are always embarrassing. Avoid using vitriolic language whenever