Word:
Argosy
Pronunciation:
\AHR-guh-see\
POS:
noun
Meanings:
1 : a large ship;
especially : a large merchant ship
2 : a rich supply
Example sentence:
Uncle Ken is always armed with an
argosy of jokes, and he keeps the family entertained for hours.
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Word:
Sententious
Pronunciation:
\sen-TEN-shus\
POS:
adjec.
Meanings:
1 : given to or abounding in aphoristic expression or excessive moralizing
2 : terse, aphoristic, or moralistic in expression
Example sentence:
The paper that Jed handed in to his teacher was not so much a research paper as a sententious manifesto denouncing globalization.
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Word:
Case-harden
Pronunciation:
\KAYS-hahr-dun\
POS:
verb
Meanings:
1 : to harden (a ferrous alloy) so that the surface layer is harder than the interior
2 : to make callous or insensible
Example sentence:
All locks at the warehouse will be checked to ensure that they are
case-hardened and in good working condition.
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Word:
calamari
Pronunciation:
\kah-luh-MAHR-ee\
POS:
noun
Meanings:
squid used as food
Example sentence:
Ophelia tried fried
calamari for the first time from a small seafood shack near the beach.
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Word:
Repudiate
Pronunciation:
\rih-PYOO-dee-ayt\
POS:
verb
Meanings:
1 : to refuse to have anything to do with
: disown *2 : to refuse to acknowledge, accept, or pay
Example sentence:
The nation's president has unequivocally
repudiated the arms treaty, and it is very probable that he has green-lighted the manufacturing of strategic nuclear weapons.
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Word:
manumit
Pronunciation:
\man-yuh-MIT\
POS:
verb
Meanings:
: to release from slavery
Example sentence:
After they were manumitted by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, millions of former slaves celebrated their newfound freedom.
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Word:
destitute
Pronunciation:
\DESS-tuh-toot\
POS:
adjective
Meanings:
1 : lacking something needed or desirable 2 : lacking possessions and resources;
especially : suffering extreme poverty
Example sentence:
"He gave thanks for our food and comfort, and prayed for the poor and
destitute in great cities, where the struggle for life was harder than it was here with us." (Willa Cather,
My Antonia)
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Word:
obnubilate
Pronunciation:
\ahb-NOO-buh-layt\
POS:
verb
Meanings:
: becloud, obscure
Example sentence:
The essays include a significant amount of digression and extra commentary, all of which tends to obnubilate the author's main point.
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Word:
Philadelphia lawyer
Pronunciation:
\fill-uh-DELL-fee-uh-LAW-yer\
POS:
noun
Meanings:
a lawyer knowledgeable in the most minute aspects of the law
Example sentence:
When they realized that their broker had cozened them to gain fatter commissions, Brad and Julia quickly hired a team of
Philadelphia lawyers to comb through their financial contracts and file a lawsuit.
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Word:
Jocund
Pronunciation:
\JAH-kund\
POS:
noun
Meanings:
: marked by or suggestive of high spirits and lively mirthfulness
Example sentence:
I had heard that Perry had been in a sour mood lately, so I was surprised and relieved to discover that he was his usual
jocund self when he met me for coffee.
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Word:
eclogue
Pronunciation:
\ECK-log\
POS:
noun
Meanings:
a poem in which shepherds converse
Example sentence:
"Be it in the appropriation of the goatherd or shepherd in the pastoral eclogue, or the neatly controlled terraces of the Georgics, the pastoral has always been an idyllicised representation of the rural world...." (John Kinsella,
The Literary Review, January 2005)
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Word:
malinger
Pronunciation:
\muh-LING-gur\
POS:
verb
Meanings:
: to pretend or exaggerate incapacity or illness (as to avoid duty or work)
Example sentence:
The beautiful spring weather put Lynn in a mood to malinger, so she called in sick to work and headed to the park.
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Word:
subvention
Pronunciation:
\sub-VEN-shun\
POS:
noun
Meanings:
1 a : the provision of assistance or financial support: as b : endowment* c : a subsidy from a government or foundation
Example sentence:
The earliest documented subvention for the museum was a grant from the federal government in 1853.
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Word:
spurious
Pronunciation:
\SPYUR-ee-us\
POS:
adjective
Meanings:
1 : of illegitimate birth 2 : not genuine
: false
Example sentence:
Reid’s claim that his grandfather was friends with Mickey Mantle sounded
spurious to me, and I didn't believe it until he showed me a photo of his grandfather alongside the legendary slugger.
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Word:
tenebrous
Pronunciation:
\TEN-uh-brus\
POS:
adjective
Meanings:
1 : shut off from the light
: dark, murky
2 : hard to understand
: obscure
3 : causing gloom
Example sentence:
"A zigzag line of windows … cuts up from the base of the building, bringing light into its once-
tenebrous interior." (Philip Kennicott,
The Washington Post, September 28, 2008)