Just Vocabulary: Recent Episodes
Jan
consign (verb) Definition: 1. to give someone something for care and safekeeping; 2. to get rid of something; 3. to commit or assign to something, especially something unpleasant Example Sentences: – We consigned our ailing...
exert (verb) Definition: 1. to apply influence, power, or authority in order to effect situation; 2. to make a great physical or mental effort Example Sentences: – Foster parents are supposed to exert parental control...
capitalize (verb) Definition: 1. to benefit from or take advantage of something; 2. to finance something; 3. to exchange debt for stock; 4. to write in capital letters Example Sentences: – I’m capitalizing on my...
expatriate (verb, noun) Definition: (v.) 1. to banish or exile someone from a country; 2. to permanently leave one’s country; (n.) an expatriated person Example Sentences: – Hemingway was an American expatriate who wrote of...
inflammatory (adjective) Definition: 1. likely to cause a strong emotional response, especially anger; 2. characterized by inflammation Example Sentences: – His speech was so inflammatory it started a riot. (angering, incendiary) – According to the...
regal (adjective) Definition: 1. suitable for royalty; 2. of noteworthy excellence or magnificence Example Sentences: – The Academy Award ceremony is an occasion where celebrities outfit themselves in regal attire and walk the red carpet...
didactic (adjective) Definition: 1. tending to give instruction or advice, even when it is neither welcome or necessary; 2. containing a political or moral message Example Sentences: – The movie was somewhat entertaining, but it...
seminal (adjective) Definition: 1. original and influential, especially of ideas revolutionary for their time; 2. containing or contributing the seeds of later development Example Sentences: – It was a seminal movie that changed the way...
aesthetic (adjective, noun) Definition: (adj.) concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste; (n.) a theory as to what is beautiful Example Sentences: – It wasn’t the prettiest web site, but its...
malefactor (noun) Definition: 1. a convicted criminal, especially a felon; 2. someone who does wrong or who hurts others Example Sentences: – It is the job of the police department to protect the people from...
desist (verb) Definition: to cease or stop doing something permanently Example Sentences: – If you do not desist in following me, I will be forced to call the police. (stop, discontinue) – The lawyer requested...
dismay (verb, noun) Definition: (v.) to cause somebody to feel discouraged or disappointed; (n.) a feeling of hopelessness, disappointment, or discouragement Example Sentences: – The parents were dismayed when they learned that their child was...
deign (verb) Definition: to do something that you consider a great favor or beneath your dignity to do Example Sentences: – Everyone wondered if Mr. Smith, the local snob, would deign to attend the party....
impartial (adjective) Definition: unbiased, not partial, and showing equal treatment Example Sentences: – If there is a dispute over the contract, we will take our case before an impartial authority. (unbiased, neutral) – She was...
Endearing (adjective) Definition: endearing refers to something or someone that is charming or attractive. Example Sentences: – His gracious and gentlemanly behavior endeared him to her. (attracted) – Her child-like behavior was so endearing, I...
implore (verb) Definition: 1. to beg, plead, or beseech; 2. to request, as in prayer Example Sentences: – With tears streaming down her cheeks, she implored him to forgive her. (begged, entreated) – Being a...
germinate (verb) Definition: 1. to start growing from a seed; 2. to create and begin the process of development Example Sentences: – Once the new CEO’s ideas began to germinate, the company quickly turned around....
manifest (verb, adjective) Definition: (v.) 1. to display or exhibit something, or show evidence for; 2. to appear; 3. to make something clear, known, or revealed; 4. to record items on a shipment list; (adj.)...
Predilection (noun) Definition: a preference for something Example Sentences: – We went to the Chinese restaurant across town because he had a predilection for their egg rolls. – Her predilection for buying designer shoes is...
Repress (verb) Definition: 1. to hold back as an act of constraint; 2. to force out of one’s consciousness; 3. to put down by force before control has been lost, as with a rebellion Example...
Fledgling (noun, adjective) Definition: (n.) 1. a young or inexperienced person; 2. a young bird with new feathers, just learning how to fly; (adj.) new and lacking experience in some activity–just starting out Example Sentences:...
Feint (noun, verb) Definition: (n.) 1. a deceptive move in sports or the military that uses any distracting maneuver to draw the opponent away from the real target; 2. a false appearance or action which...
Lurid (adjective) Definition: 1. horrifyingly gruesome or savage; 2. shocking and sensational; 3. shining or glowing with an unnatural, usually red, brightness; 4. extremely pale. Example Sentences: – I wasn’t interested in hearing about all...
Unilateral (adjective) Definition: 1. involving or decided by only one group or country; 2. tracing the lineage of only one parent Example Sentences: – That country’s forces operated unilaterally, without the help of armed forces...
Tantalizing (adjective) Definition: 1. pleasantly inviting; 2. tempting, but unavailable or unattainable Example Sentences: – I am not in a position to accept your offer to buy our company, but I do admit it sounds...
Renaissance (noun) Definition: 1. a rebirth or revival of an activity or interest, especially art, literature, or music; 2. the humanistic cultural revival in Europe, dating from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century, of classical...
Confound (verb) Definition: 1. to confuse someone; 2. to prove something to be incorrect; 3. to damn or curse something or someone; 4. to confuse or mistake two or more things as being similar Example...
Brash (adjective) Definition: 1. rash, hasty, or premature; 2. assertive to the point of being offense; 3. brittle or breakable; 4. overly colorful, bold, or bright Example Sentences: – We have plenty of time to...
Pretext (noun) Definition: a made up excuse used to hide the truth Example Sentences: – I called her on the pretext that I lost our homework assignment, but really I just wanted an excuse to...
Feasible (adjective) Definition: Example Sentences: – The producer was concerned about the feasibility of the special effects in the movie. – She felt it was feasible to make it on her own in a new...
Caveat (noun) Definition: 1. a warning against certain acts; 2. in law, an official request to a court not to proceed with a case without notice to the person making the request Example Sentences: –...
Tenure (noun) Definition: 1. the time spent in a particular office or position; 2. the granting of permanent employment after a provisional period, used especially in the teaching profession; 3. the holding of land Example...
Implication (noun) Definition: 1. something that is implied as a natural consequence of something else; 2. involvement or entanglement of somebody in something Example Sentences: – Her implication was that if I was ever late...
Accentuate (verb) Definition: 1. give more force or attention to; 2. to put emphasis on a given syllable in a word; 3. to draw attention to something to make it more noticeable Example Sentences: –...
Flagship (noun) Definition: 1. the most important of a group of related things; 2. the ship in which the commanding officer is stationed Example Sentences: – This new, top-of-the-line computer will be our flagship, model....
Assay (verb, noun) Definition: (v.) 1. to test or examine something to determine its quality and/or components; 2. to try to do something; (n.) 1. a test or analysis; 2. a sample of the thing...
Seethe (verb) Definition: 1. to be in an angry or otherwise agitated emotional state; 2. to boil vigorously; 3. to be noisy with activity or boiling movements Example Sentences: – The neighbors will positively seethe...
Craven (adjective) Definition: contemptibly cowardly Example Sentences: – Wes believed that his craven agreement with everything his boss said would advance him professionally. – When his bravado evaporated, the mobster cravenly gave police the names...
Tarry (verb, adjective) Definition: (v.) 1. to stay someplace longer than necessary; 2. to wait or hesitate; (adj.) like tar Example Sentences: – We can’t tarry around campus all day; we need to go home...
Machiavellian (adjective) Definition: using clever trickery, immoral methods, and expediency to achieve a desired goal, especially in politics Example Sentences: – The VP of Marketing, known for his Machiavellian maneuvers, has long been plotting his...
Asylum (noun) Definition: 1. a shelter from hardship or danger; 2. a hospital for the mentally disabled Example Sentences: – Several hundred Cuban refugees managed to get onto U.S. soil and asked for political asylum....
Foremost (adjective) Definition: 1. the most important; 2. before all else Example Sentences: – First and foremost, we will try to have fun, but our secondary goal is winning. – Professor Jackson was the university’s...
Sustain (verb) Definition: 1. to maintain something or keep it in existence; 2. to experience something, especially suffering; 3. to support and encourage Example Sentences: – She works two jobs in order to sustain her...
Widespread (adjective) Definition: 1. common and occurring widely or affecting many people or places; 2. spread far apart Example Sentences: – The region has been plagued with widespread mudslides due to the unusually heavy rainfall....
Apposite (adjective) Definition: Highly appropriate and well-suited to the circumstance. Example Sentences: – Since her research was apposite to the topic of the conference, the committee accepted her paper. – Child development is an apposite...
Nest (verb / noun) Definition: 1. to fit snugly together or inside one another; 2. to make a comfortable home or make oneself comfortable; 3. to occupy a nest and rear children Example Sentences: –...
Multifarious (adjective) Definition: having many diverse elements, parts, members, or components. Multifarious is similar to multi-faceted and has a similar meaning. In both cases, the prefix multi- means “many.” Multifarious refers to anything varied and...
Precendence (noun) Definition: Having importance or priority Example Sentences: – You can’t have a value structure without a hierarchy. They’re the same thing because a value structure means one thing takes precedence over another. –...
Snide (adjective) Definition: Insulting or critical in a sarcastic or indirect way. You may have heard the phrase “snide remark.” This usually refers to indirect, and often sarcastic, criticism. If someone is snide, he or...
Loiter (verb) Definition: 1. to stand around or hang out in an area, without a reason for being there; 2. to move unnecessarily slowly Example Sentences: – The police officer asked the teenagers not to...
Befitting (adjective) Definition: suitable, fitting, or appropriate to Example Sentences: – It was a very elegant and opulent dinner, with a table setting that was befitting a king. – The Prime Minister was greeted by...
Dissipation (noun) Definition: 1. dispersion, scattering, or disappearance; 2. wasteful indulgence Example Sentences: – “Meditation is the emptying of the mind of all thought, for thought and feeling dissipate energy“ – Karen’s anger dissipated after...
Supercilious (adjective) Definition: 1. showing haughty superiority over someone else; 2. characterized by or expressive of contempt Example Sentences: – Janet’s boss spoke in a supercilious tone that was patronizing to everyone. – Jerry’s supercilious...
Formal (adjective) Definition: 1. following established rules, traditions, or conventions; 2. done in an organized and methodical manner; 3. in language, used in a serious or official context, but not in everyday speech; 4. refined...
Antagonist (noun) Definition: Antagonist is a more sophisticated way of saying “opponent.” In the body, an antagonist is a muscle that relaxes while another muscle contracts (opposing muscle), while in pharmacology, an antagonist is a...