week 26

If something is hostile, it's unfriendly. If you are zealous about the political causes you believe in, you will be hostile to any suggestion that the other side of the argument is reasonable.But you don't have to be from a warring nation to be hostile. You can talk about a hostile nation, a hostile takeover, a hostile remark, or a hostile attitude. Some synonyms are inimical, antagonistic, unfavorable, unfriendly.

If you have an aversion to something, you have an intense dislike for it. Commonly its food, but you could have an aversion to black and white movies, driving with the windows open, taking calls from salespeople or being barefoot outdoors.
An aversion is also the person or thing that is the object of such intense dislike: her aversions included all kinds of vegetables and fruits.

A tussle is a rowdy fight. If the rambunctious kids you're babysitting get into a tussle, you may have to separate them for a while and calm them down.
Though a tussle is often a physical fight, it's rarely a serious one. Two wrestling dogs, a couple of scuffling teenagers — these are examples of tussles.

Use the adjective acute for when you want to describe something as sharp or extremely serious.
The word acute is one word; it's not two words, nor does it have anything to do with something small, cuddly, and pretty! Acute really means "sharp" or "severe" or "intense" and modifies certain kinds of angles in geometry or describes a certain kind of illness of short duration.

Something prevalent is common in a particular place at a particular time. Prevalent things are hard to avoid. When you see the word prevalent, think "It's everywhere!"
Have you ever noticed how all of a sudden a new word, band, or hairstyle will become super-popular? You may never have seen those things before, and then suddenly they're prevalent. When something is common, it's prevalent. You could say drug use is prevalent among criminals. You could say good study habits are prevalent among goo

Anything superficial has to do with the surface of something. If you're judging a book by its cover, you're being superficial. People who worry too much about their clothes and hair may also be considered superficial.
The word superficial has to do with appearances and the surface. If a car is in an accident, but it only has a few scratches, you could say it has superficial damage, because the important parts are OK. If you just glanced at a movie for a second, your opinion will be more superfic

The intrinsic qualities of something have to do with its nature. An intrinsic quality of dogs is that they're loyal.
Anything intrinsic comes from within. Doing a job for only money is not intrinsic. Doing a job because you love it is intrinsic; the motivation comes from within. It's good to treat people as having intrinsic value. If you like someone for intrinsic reasons, then you have no other motivation. The opposite of intrinsic is extrinsic, for things that come from the outside instead of

Use the adjective transient to describe something that always changes or moves around, like how a teenage girl can have a temporary crush on one boy one week and another boy the next week.
Transient is most often used to modify nouns like nature, threat, source and cause, which suggests that the word often shows up in formal contexts, such as analysis of finance or global terrorism. But it can also be used for anything that moves quickly from one thing to another, like a transient feeling or fac

When you feel lethargic, you're sluggish or lacking energy. Being sleepy or hungry can make anyone lethargic.
Being lethargic makes it hard to get anything done: you feel weak and sleepy. Whatever the reason, a lethargic person needs to snap out of it and get some energy, maybe by eating something or by taking a nap. Being lethargic also goes well with watching TV, since that takes almost no energy at all.

If you receive a rebuke, it means that you have been reprimanded, or scolded.
The word rebuke can be a verb, meaning to sternly reprimand or scold but it can also be a noun, because a rebuke is the result of being scolded.

Jettison means to push to the side or toss away. If a boat is leaking or an airplane is running out of fuel, you can buy more time by jettisoning cargo, or throwing it overboard. During the month that the Winter Olympics are aired on TV, figure-skating fans across the country jettison homework and other responsibilities in order to watch.

When you need a quick summary of the essentials, rather than the whole story or a thorough explanation, you're looking for the gist.

To the President, protecting our nation's security is of paramount importance — it's at the very top of his to-do list.
Paramount goes way beyond "important." It's absolutely critical. Something that is of paramount importance has a great urgency to it. Getting your oil changed is important, but making sure your car's brakes are working before you drive down a steep, icy slope is absolutely paramount.

The verb evince means to show or express clearly; to make plain. Evidence can evince the innocence of the accused, and tears can evince the grief of the mourning.
Evince is a rather formal word that reveals the presence of something hidden — usually a feeling. So, if you are happy, your smile might evince your happiness. And if you are angry, the skull and crossbones on your tee shirt might evince your anger. Evincing is about expressing. If you are keeping your feelings inside, there's not a lo

If something is inevitable, it will definitely happen, like death or tax season.
Inevitable comes from the Latin word inevitabilis, which means unavoidable. If you say something is inevitable, you give the sense that no matter what scheme you come with to get around it, it's going to happen sooner or later. You can use all the skin products you want, but wrinkles are inevitable.

Terse means brief, or using very few words. If your teacher tells you to make your writing in your essay style terse and to the point, he's saying use as few words as you can and be simple and clear.
A terse reply or command may seem rude or unfriendly––but the word terse itself doesn't mean unfriendly or rude. Synonyms are succinct or concise, though these words have a more positive tone.

If it's your turn to bring in the coffee and donuts for your early morning meeting, and you forget, then your co-workers can say that you were remiss in fulfilling your responsibility to keep them awake with sugar and caffeine. Don't expect to get much done at your meeting.
The adjective remiss is often used in the phrase "remiss in one's duty." The principal was remiss in her duty to tell parents about the incident at school.

If something is the latest vogue, it is the latest fashion. When your new hairstyle catches on, it's in vogue — or if it becomes unpopular, it’s not.
Anything trendy or popular — an activity, fashionable clothing, a home decorating style, board games — can be called “in vogue.” If you notice everyone scrambling to collect, say, robotic hummingbirds, you'll know that they are the vogue item. You might think that tall boots are no longer in vogue, and you notice a lot of short skirts showing up in

Use lucrative to refer to a business or investment that makes money. The drug trade has proved very lucrative, if dangerous, for people willing to risk their lives to take part in it.But there is no shame in the sense of lucrative––if you're lawn mowing job proves lucrative over the summer, you might be able to buy yourself an old car.

When you make a cogent argument, it means your argument is clear and persuasive. In these days of 24-hour entertainment news and sound-bite sized explanations of complex government policy, it’s hard to find a cogent argument amidst all the emotional outbursts. If you try to convince your mayor to build a new park by saying that playgrounds are good, seeing the sky is nice, and raccoons are cool…well that’s not a cogent argument; it’s just random. But you could cogently argue that parks contribut