Mr. Sheehan

WORD OF THE DAY

May 14-18

Monday, May 14, 2012 

·         prerogative (pri-rog’e-tiv)  noun 

Definition:  a special right or privilege

Sentence: A person suspected of a crime has the prerogative of refusing to answer questions unless his lawyer is present.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

·         tactless (takt’lis)  adjective

Definition:  insensitive—lacking skill or sensitivity in dealing with others

Sentence:  It was rather tactless of Jon to brag about his great new job in front of his brother who had just lost his.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

·         negate (ni-gate’)   verb

Definition:  to make invalid; void

Sentence:  The board of trustees had to negate the results of the election when it was discovered that the voting machines were malfunctioning.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

·         haphazard  (hap-haz’erd)   adjective

Definition:  careless; lacking a plan or order

Sentence:  The student did a haphazard job of proofreading his paper; consequently, he caught only a few errors.

Friday, May 18, 2012

·         rigorous  (rig’er-es)   adjective

Definition:  difficult; challenging

Sentence:  Erin is going through rigorous fitness training to get ready to run a marathon next month.

WORD OF THE DAY

May 7- May 11

Monday, May 7, 2012 

·         colloquial (ka-lo’kwe-el)  adjective

Definition:  informal speech or writing; ordinary, commonplace words and phrases

Sentence: The students enjoyed the lecturer’s easygoing, colloquial style.  He made topics more interesting than a stiff, formal speaker would have done.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

·         crass (krass)  adjective

Definition:  vulgar; insensitive

Sentence:  The candidate lost the election after making a crass comment about his opponent’s weight.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

·         discerning (di-sur’ning)   adjective

Definition:  observant; perceptive

Sentence:  When we try to hide things from our mothers, we quickly realize that they are the most discerning people on earth.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

·         hyperbole  (hi-pur’ba-lee)   noun

Definition:  an exaggeration, usually for effect or emphasis

Sentence:  My students often use hyperboles without even knowing it.   “We have to read about a thousand pages tonight and do a million problems in math” is one of my favorites.

Friday, May 11, 2012

·         incisive  (in-si’siv)   adjective

Definition:  penetrating; clear and sharp; pointed

Sentence:  Professor Martin is a great teacher whose lectures are always clear, incisive, and to the point.

WORD OF THE DAY

April 30- May 4

Monday, April 30, 2012 

·         thwart (thwort)  verb

Definition:  to block; to oppose

Sentence:  The burglar’s attempt to break into our house was thwarted by our dog.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012  

·         placid (plas’id)   adjective

Definition:  peaceful; calm

Sentence:  The small boat drifted across the placid surface of the lake.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

·         trite  (trite)   adjective

Definition:  overused and commonplace; stale

Sentence:  The trite expression, “Have a nice day,” wasn’t appreciated by the disgruntled customer.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

·         intangible (in-tan’ja-ble)   adjective

Definition:  not touchable; not material

Sentence:  Stress, fear, and guilt are considered intangibles, but we can certainly feel them.

Friday, May 4, 2012

·        penitent (ˈpenitnt)   adjective

Definition:  feeling sorry for past crimes

Sentence:  Having grown penitent, he wrote a long letter of apology, asking forgiveness.

WORD OF THE DAY

April 23-27

Monday, April 23, 2012 

·         cordial (kor’jel)  adjective

Definition: friendly

Sentence:  Moving into their new apartment, the newlyweds received a cordial welcome from the family next door.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

·         defame (di-fame’)  verb

Definition: to slander; to damage the good name or reputation of 

Sentence:  A false friend is someone who is friendly to your face but then tries to defame you behind your back.

Wednesday, April 25 2012

·         submissive (sub-miss’ive)   adjective

Definition: Giving in to the authority of others; obedient

Sentence:  Some dogs are dominant; others are submissive.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

·         indict  (in-dite’)   verb

Definition: to charge with an offense; to accuse

Sentence: A grand jury listens to evidence and then decides whether the evidence is sufficient to indict someone for a crime.

Friday, April 27, 2012

·        discrepancy (disˈkrepənsē)   noun

Definition: a difference or variance between two or more things.

Sentence: The bank teller noticed a discrepancy between the signatures on the two checks and refused to cash them.

WORD OF THE DAY

April 16-20

Monday, April 16, 2012 

·         elusive (i-loo’sive)  adjective

Definition: hard to capture or identify

Sentence:  The musician was trying to write a song, but the melody remained elusive.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

·         formidable (for’mi-da’ble)  adjective

Definition:  very challenging; difficult

Sentence:  Many experts believed The University of Kentucky would be a formidable opponent this year in the NCAA tournament.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

·         accommodate (a-kom’a-date)   verb

Definition:  to provide with something needed

Sentence:  Most mini-vans can accommodate seven passengers.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

·         obliterate  (a-blit’e-rate)   verb

Definition: to wipe out; to destroy

Sentence:   The sand castle was obliterated when the tide rolled in and a wave washed over it.

Friday, April 20, 2012

·         debilitate  (di-bil’i-tate)   verb

Definition: to weaken

Sentence: Influenza can seriously debilitate elderly patients, so their flu shots should be administered on time each year.

WORD OF THE DAY

April 2-6

Monday, April 2, 2012 

·         composure (kem-po’zher)  noun

Definition: cool-headedness

Sentence:  Michael Jordan’s composure was never in doubt even during the most intense games.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

·         urbane (ur-bane’)  adjective

Definition:  smooth in manner; polished; suave

Sentence:  The restaurant owner is a gracious, urbane woman, always poised and at ease among her most famous guests.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

·         aberration  (ab’e-ra’shen)   noun

Definition:  something abnormal; an oddity

Sentence:  Eggs with two yolks are an aberration, but you do find one from time to time.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

·         extol  (ek-stole’)   verb

Definition:  to praise highly; to glorify

Sentence:  Advertisements all extol the product they are selling, saying that it is the best of its type.

Friday, April 6, 2012

·         zany  (zay’nee)   adjective

Definition: absurdly funny; wildly silly

Sentence: The audience at the basketball game applauded the Railerman’s zany halftime antics. 

WORD OF THE DAY

March 26-30

Monday, March 26, 2012 

·         egregious (i-gre’jes)  adjective

Definition: obviously bad

Sentence:  It was an egregious mistake to paint our living room hot pink.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

·         premonition (pre’me-nish’en)  noun

Definition:  a feeling that something bad is going to happen

Sentence:  Although I had a premonition that I shouldn’t get on the airplane, nothing bad happened.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

·         prestigious  (pre-ste’jes)   adjective

Definition:  highly valued; honored

Sentence:  When the student stepped to the podium to receive the prestigious scholarship to Harvard, he was speechless.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

·         reverent  (rev’er-ent)   adjective

Definition:  expressing respect or awe

Sentence:  As the young students walked through the art museum, the teacher spoke in hushed, reverent tones about the masterpieces being seen.

Friday, March 30, 2012

·         stupor  (stoo’per)   noun

Definition: a drowsy state; a daze

Sentence: Many truck drivers get too little sleep and often drive in a stupor, unaware their senses are dulled.

WORD OF THE DAY

March 19-23

Monday, March 19, 2012   

·         irrefutable (ir-i-fyoo’ta-bel)  adjective

Definition:  indisputable; impossible to disprove

Sentence: Although many people claim to have seen Bigfoot, no one has ever come up with irrefutable proof that any such creature exists.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

·         diligent (dil-i-juhnt)  adjective

Definition:  hard-working; with painstaking effort

Sentence:  After days of diligent work, the detective was able to crack the case.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

·         partisan  (par’ti’zen)   adjective

Definition:  one-sided; strongly supporting a specific party, cause, or person

Sentence:  The League of Women Voters is not partisan; rather, it remains neutral and provides information about all candidates.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

·         cajole  (ke-jol)   verb

Definition: to persuade with flattery; to sweet-talk

Sentence:  The children managed to cajole their parents into letting them stay up past their usual bedtime.

Friday, March 23, 2012

·         satirical  (sa-tir’i’kel)   adjective

Definition: attacking human foolishness through irony, humor, or sarcasm

Sentence: South Park presents a satirical look at nearly every aspect of American culture, including religion, government, race, and social class.

WORD OF THE DAY

March 12-16

Monday, March 12, 2012 

·         indigent (in’di-jent)  adjective

Definition: very poor; impoverished

Sentence: Mother Teresa was famous for her work among the indigent people of India.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

·         provincial (pra-vin’shel)  adjective

Definition:  narrow-minded; unsophisticated

Sentence:  Local newspapers are often considered provincial, with stories written from a very limited point of view.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

·         buoyant  (boi’ent)   adjective

Definition:  capable of floating

Sentence:  Helium balloons are buoyant because the helium gas in them is lighter than air.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

·         incorrigible  (in-kor’i-ja’bel)   adjective

Definition: uncontrollable; unmanageable

Sentence:  The dog trainer gave up when he realized his dog was completely incorrigible and could not be taught anything.

Friday, March 16, 2012

·         marred  (mard)   verb

Definition: damaged; made less perfect thorough injury or damage

Sentence: The college’s reputation was marred when a bullying incident at a campus party led to a student’s death.

WORD OF THE DAY

March 5-9

Monday, March 5, 2012  No School

·         desecrate (des’i-krate) verb

Definition: to treat with extreme disrespect 

Sentence: Food vendors and postcard stands are not allowed at war memorials; such commercialism would desecrate the shrines to those who have fought for our country.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

·         appertain (ap-er-TEYN) verb

Definition: to belong as a part of something

Sentence: Scuba gear doesn’t really appertain to going rock climbing.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

·         paragon  (par’a-gon)   noun

Definition: a model of excellence or perfection

Sentence: Coach John Wooden will always be considered a paragon who rose above the win-at-all-cost attitudes often seen in college athletics.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

·         usurp  (yoo-surp’)   verb

Definition: to seize power or position by force; to seize without the right to do so

Sentence: Some people have accused city council members of trying to usurp the mayor’s powers.

Friday, March 9, 2012

·         steadfast (sted’fast’)   adjective

Definition: consistently loyal

Sentence: A dog is often said to be a model of steadfast friendship; in fact, the traditional dog name, “Fido,” is Latin for “I am faithful.”