Green Lesson One
Terms
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- bewail
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v. To express deep regret or sorrow over.
[Many football fans bewailed the replacement of real grass by AstroTurf when the new stadium was built.] - destitute
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adj. 1. Without resources or possessions, especially the necessities of life. [Winter is especially painful for destitute people in the cities of the Northeast.] 2. Lacking; devoid of.
[Staring at the blank sheet of paper on which I was supposed to write a poem, I found myself destitute of ideas.]
destitution n.
[Destitution caused by the mid-nineteenth-century potato famine forced many Irish families to seek better lives in America.] - detract
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v. To take away, especially from the value, beauty, or importance of.
[The addition of a modern family room detracted from the cozy style of the bungalow. ]
detractor n.
[The plan's detractors were especially critical of the expected cost of the new town hall.] - emancipate
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v. To set free from slavery; to liberate.
[Some teenagers feel emancipated when they get a driver's license.] emancipation n.
[In 1863, Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation stated that all slaves in the Confederacy were, from then on, free.] - extol
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v. To praise highly.
[The Scout leader extolled the virtues of truth and honor.] - flamboyant
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adj. Excessively showy; unrestrained.
[My conservative aunt considered her husband's brightly colored, boldly patterned necktie too flamboyant for the governor's reception.] flamboyance or flamboyancy n.
[With an air of flamboyance, the actor flung out her arm and pointed to
the door.] - impetus
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n. 1. A driving force; anything that causes an action.
[Her hope of winning an athletic scholarship provided the impetus for years of grueling training on the swim team.]
2. Increased activity resulting from a driving force.
[The drop in interest rates gave impetus to the real estate market after last year's slump in sales.] - insuperable
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adj. Incapable of being overcome or defeated.
[During my senior year, passing Greek seemed an insuperable obstacle to my
graduating with my class.] - intermittent
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adj. Not continuous; happening at intervals.
[Showers were intermittent throughout the day, although the forecast had promised sunshine.] - maxim
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n. A general truth or rule of conduct; a short saying.
[Remember the maxim "Haste makes waste" and slow down!] - obligatory
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adj. Required or demanded.
[Physical education is obligatory unless you have a medical excuse for gym class. ] - plumb
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v. 1. To measure the depth of water.
[The lake was too deep for us to plumb.]
2. To reach the deepest part of.
[The bathyscaphe is a vessel designed to plumb the oceans of the world.]
3. To understand by examining closely; to solve.
[Her latest book of poems is a valiant attempt to plumb the human souL]
adj. Straight up and down; vertical.
[The bricklayer keeps checking to make sure that the wall being built is plumb.] - vagabond
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n. A person who wanders from place to place.
[He spent a few years as a vagabond before settling in a city and getting a job in a factory.] - visage
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adj. [The vagabond life of traveling musicians suited the members of the band.]
n. A face, especially one that expresses feelings.
[The smiling visage of a young girl looked out from the portrait.] - wheedle
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v. 1. To coax by using sly persuasion or insincere praise.
[He tried to wheedle his father into lending him the new sports car.]
2. To gain by using sly persuasion or insincere praise.
[The agent wheedled several thousand dollars from the couple for a life insurance policy that was practically worthless.]