Day 8 Words of the Day

Words - When Breath Becomes Air

1) Polymath - a person wide knowledge/learning, a person who knows a lot of many different subjects

• He was a polymath and was offered a history scholarship before opting for medicine

2) Maudlin -tearfully/weakly emotional,foolishly sentimental

• a maudlin story of a little orphan and her lost dog.

3) Austere - stern and cold in appearance or manner

• He was an austere man,with a rigidly puritanical outlook

                  - markedly simple,plain

• an austere style of writing 

4) Prose - written or spoken language in its ordinary form,without metrical structure

• a short story in prose
• her prose was quite lyrical,almost poetic in a way

5) Brim - to fill or be full to the top

• She's brimming with confidence
• The philanthropist naturally loves his fellow man and is brimming with first-order desires to help.

6) Poignant - evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret.

• A poignant reminder of the passing of time
• The photograph awakens poignant memories of happier days,

7) Wry - showing that you find a bad or difficult situation slightly funny

• a wry smile/comment

8) Gaunt - very thin,especially because of sickness or hunger.

• Her face was gaunt and grey

- empty and not attractive

• The house looked gaunt and unwelcoming

9) Haggard - looking exhausted and unwell,especially from fatigue,worry or suffering.

• She was pale and haggard
• He'd been drinking the night before and was looking abit haggard.

10) Intricacy - the quality or state of being intricate (complicated)

• She admired the composition for its beauty and intricacy.
• I enjoyed the film,but I couldn;t follow all the intricacies of the plot.

11) Commiserate - express/ feel sympathy or pity (sympathize)

• She went over to commiserate with Rose on her unfortunate circumstances,
• I began by commiserating with her over the defeat.

12) Plausible - seeming reasonable or probable

• a plausible explanation would seem to be that people are fed up with the government
• ...The plausibility of the theory

13) Juxtaposed - to put things that are not similar side by side

• Black and white photos of slums were starkly(obvious) juxtaposed with colour images
• The exhibition juxtaposes Picasso's early drawing with some of his later works.

14) Therein - in or into a particular place,thing

• It is a thrilling tale of a haunted house and the ghosts therein.
• therein lies the problem

15) Ferocious - savagely fierce,cruel,or violent

• a ferocious predator
• a ferocious butchery of women and children.

16) Cinch - something that is very easy or certain to be done/happen

• Training a puppy is a cinch of you bribe him with treats
• His advice cinched her decision to accept the offer.

17) Meek - quiet,gentle and easily imposed

• She brought her meek little husband along
• She seemed so very meek and mild.

18) Reprieve - an escape from a bad situation or experience

• the injection provided a temporary reprieve from the pain

19) Culmination - The point at which an event or series of events ends,having developed until it reaches this point.

• Winnig first prize was the culmination of years of practice and hard work
• The book was a fitting culmination to his career.

20) Amalgam - a mixture or blend

• a curious amalgam of the traditional and the modern