Recently a story popped up on digg.com concerning the American Heritage Dictionary. The editors of this fine English lexicon have determined 100 words every high school graduate should know beyond the basics. However, they didn’t do us the favor of defining the words. I’m sure that a lot of people out there might recognize the words but not know them without context. So for your benefit, I looked up the words and defined them here with some help from my own American Heritage. This took a long time, I respect the men and women who write dictionaries. Let the learning begin.
abjure - v. - abjure, recant, forswear, retract, resile -- (formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure; "He retracted his earlier statements about his religion"; "She abjured her beliefs")
abrogate - v. - abrogate -- (revoke formally)
abstemious –
• adj. - abstemious -- (sparing in consumption of especially food and drink; "the pleasures of the table, never of much consequence to one naturally abstemious"- John Galsworthy)
• adj. - abstemious, light -- (marked by temperance in indulgence; "abstemious meals"; "a light eater"; "a light smoker"; "ate a light supper")
acumen –
• n. - acumen -- (a tapering point)
• n. - insightfulness, acumen -- (shrewdness shown by keen insight)
antebellum - adj. - antebellum -- (belonging to a period before a war especially the American Civil War)
auspicious –
• adj. - auspicious -- (attended by favorable circumstances; "an auspicious beginning for the campaign")
• adj. - auspicious, encouraging, favorable, favourable, lucky, prosperous -- (tending to favor or bring good luck; "miracles are auspicious accidents"; "encouraging omens"; "a favorable time to ask for a raise"; "lucky stars"; "a prosperous moment to make a decision")
belie –
• v. - contradict, belie, negate -- (be in contradiction with)
• v. - misrepresent, belie -- (represent falsely; "This statement misrepresents my intentions")
bellicose - adj. - battleful, bellicose, combative, contentious -- (having or showing a ready disposition to fight; "bellicose young officers"; "a combative impulse"; "a contentious nature")
bowdlerize - v. - bowdlerize, bowdlerise, expurgate, castrate, shorten -- (edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate; "bowdlerize a novel")
chicanery - n. - trickery, chicanery, chicane, guile, wile, shenanigan -- (the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them))
chromosome - n. - chromosome -- (a threadlike body in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order)
churlish –
• adj. - churlish -- (rude and boorish)
• adj. - churlish -- (having a bad disposition; surly; "churlish as a bear"- Shakespeare)
circumlocution –
• n. - circumlocution, periphrasis, ambage -- (a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things)
• n. - circumlocution, indirect expression -- (an indirect way of expressing something)
circumnavigate - v. - circumnavigate, compass -- (travel around, either by plane or ship; "We compassed the earth")
deciduous –
• adj. - deciduous -- ((of plants and shrubs) shedding foliage at the end of the growing season)
• adj. - deciduous -- ((of teeth, antlers, etc.) being shed at the end of a period of growth; "deciduous teeth")
deleterious - adj. - deleterious, hurtful, injurious -- (harmful to living things; "deleterious chemical additives")
diffident –
• adj. - diffident -- (showing modest reserve; "she was diffident when offering a comment on the professor's lecture")
• adj. - diffident, shy, timid, unsure -- (lacking self-confidence; "stood in the doorway diffident and abashed"; "problems that call for bold not timid responses"; "a very unsure young man")
enervate –
• v. - enervate -- (weaken mentally or morally)
• v. - faze, unnerve, enervate, unsettle -- (disturb the composure of)
enfranchise –
• v. - affranchise, enfranchise -- (grant freedom to; as from slavery or servitude; "Slaves were enfranchised in the mid-19th century")
• v. - enfranchise -- (grant voting rights)
epiphany –
• n. - epiphany -- (a divine manifestation)
• n. - Epiphany, Epiphany of Our Lord, Twelfth day, Three Kings' Day, January 6 -- (twelve days after Christmas; celebrates the visit of the three wise men to the infant Jesus)
equinox –
• n. - equinox -- (either of two times of the year when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator and day and night are of equal length)
• n. - equinoctial point, equinox -- ((astronomy) either of the two celestial points at which the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic)
euro - n. - euro -- (the basic monetary unit of most members of the European Union (introduced in 1999); in 2002 twelve European nations (Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Austria, Finland) adopted the euro as their basic unit of money and abandoned their traditional currencies)
evanescent - adj. - evanescent -- (tending to vanish like vapor; "evanescent beauty")
expurgate - v. - bowdlerize, bowdlerise, expurgate, castrate, shorten -- (edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate; "bowdlerize a novel")
facetious - adj. - bantering, facetious, tongue-in-cheek -- (cleverly amusing in tone; "a bantering tone"; "facetious remarks"; "tongue-in-cheek advice")
fatuous - adj. - asinine, fatuous, inane, mindless, vacuous -- (complacently or inanely foolish)
feckless –
• adj. - feckless -- (not fit to assume responsibility)
• adj. - feckless, inept -- (generally incompetent and ineffectual; "feckless attempts to repair the plumbing"; "inept handling of the account")
fiduciary –
• n. - fiduciary -- (a person who holds assets in trust for a beneficiary; "it is illegal for a fiduciary to misappropriate money for personal gain")
• adj. - fiduciary, fiducial -- (relating to or of the nature of a legal trust (i.e. the holding of something in trust for another); "a fiduciary contract"; "in a fiduciary capacity"; "fiducial power")
filibuster –
• n. - filibuster, filibusterer -- (a legislator who gives long speeches in an effort to delay or obstruct legislation that he (or she) opposes)
• n. - filibuster -- (a tactic for delaying or obstructing legislation by making long speeches)
• v. - filibuster -- (obstruct deliberately by delaying; of legislation)
gamete – n. - gamete -- (a mature sexual reproductive cell having a single set of unpaired chromosomes)
gauche - adj. - gauche, graceless, unpolished -- (lacking social polish; "too gauche to leave the room when the conversation became intimate"; "their excellent manners always may be feel gauche")
gerrymander –
• n. - gerrymander -- (an act of gerrymandering (dividing a voting area so as to give your own party an unfair advantage))
• v. - gerrymander -- (divide unfairly and to one's advantage; of voting districts)
hegemony - n. - hegemony -- (the domination of one state over its allies)
hemoglobin - n. - hemoglobin, haemoglobin, Hb -- (a hemoprotein composed of globin and heme that gives red blood cells their characteristic color; function primarily to transport oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues; "fish have simpler hemoglobin than mammals")
homogeneous –
• adj. - homogeneous, homogenous -- (all of the same or similar kind or nature; "a close-knit homogeneous group")
hubris - n. - hubris -- (overbearing pride or presumption)
hypotenuse - n. - hypotenuse -- (the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle)
impeach –
• v. - impeach -- (challenge the honesty or credibility of; as of witnesses)
• v. - impeach -- (charge with an offense or misdemeanor; "The public officials were impeached")
• v. - impeach -- (charge with a crime or misdemeanor)
• v. - accuse, impeach, incriminate, criminate -- (bring an accusation against; level a charge against; "He charged the man with spousal abuse")
incognito –
• adj. - incognito -- (with your identity concealed)
• adv. - incognito -- (without revealing one's identity; "in Holland he lived incognito as a carpenter in the shipyards of the East India company")
incontrovertible –
• adj. - incontrovertible, irrefutable, positive -- (impossible to deny or disprove; "incontrovertible proof of the defendant's innocence"; "proof positive"; "an irrefutable argument")
• adj. - demonstrable, incontrovertible -- (necessarily or demonstrably true; "demonstrable truths")
inculcate - v. - inculcate, instill, infuse -- (teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions; "inculcate values into the young generation")
infrastructure –
• n. - infrastructure, substructure -- (the basic structure or features of a system or organization)
• n. - infrastructure, base -- (the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; "the industrial base of Japan")
interpolate –
• v. - interpolate, extrapolate -- (estimate the value of)
• v. - interpolate, alter, falsify -- (insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby)
irony –
• n. - sarcasm, irony, satire, caustic remark -- (witty language used to convey insults or scorn; "he used sarcasm to upset his opponent"; "irony is wasted on the stupid"; "Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own"--Johathan Swift)
• n. - irony -- (incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs; "the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated")
• n. - irony -- (a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs)
jejune –
• adj. - insubstantial, jejune -- (lacking in nutritive value; "the jejune diets of the very poor")
• adj. - adolescent, jejune, juvenile, puerile -- (displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity; "adolescent insecurity"; "jejune responses to our problems"; "their behavior was juvenile"; "puerile jokes")
• adj. - insipid, jejune -- (lacking interest or significance; "an insipid personality"; "jejune novel")
kinetic –
• adj. - kinetic -- (relating to the motion of material bodies and the forces associated therewith; "kinetic energy")
• adj. - kinetic -- (characterized by motion; "modern dance has been called kinetic pantomime")
• adj. - energizing, energising, kinetic -- (supplying motive force; "the complex civilization of which Rome was the kinetic center"- H.O.Taylor)
kowtow –
• n. - kowtow, kotow -- (a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission)
• v. - scrape, kowtow, genuflect -- (bend the knees and bow in a servile manner)
• v. - fawn, toady, truckle, bootlick, kowtow, kotow, suck up -- (try to gain favor by cringing or flattering; "He is always kowtowing to his boss")
laissez faire – n. Policy of non-interference by govt, especially in commerce. Leaves the Poor to look after themselves, without govt assistance or protection. Advocates Deregulation Popular during the Industrial Revolution and now making a come-back. "It is curious to observe how, through the wise and beneficent arrangement of Providence, men thus do the greatest service to the public, when they are thinking of nothing but their own gain." (from 'Easy Lessons on Money Matters for the Use of Young People', 1850).
lexicon-
• n. - vocabulary, lexicon, mental lexicon -- (a language user's knowledge of words)
• n. - dictionary, lexicon -- (a reference book containing an alphabetical list of words with information about them)
loquacious - adj. - chatty, gabby, garrulous, loquacious, talkative, talky -- (full of trivial conversation; "kept from her housework by gabby neighbors")
lugubrious - adj. - lugubrious -- (excessively mournful)
metamorphosis –
• n. - metamorphosis, metabolism -- (the marked and rapid transformation of a larva into an adult that occurs in some animals)
• n. - transfiguration, metamorphosis -- (a striking change in appearance or character or circumstances; "the metamorphosis of the old house into something new and exciting")
• n. - metamorphosis -- (a complete change of physical form or substance especially as by magic or witchcraft)
mitosis - n. - mitosis -- (cell division in which the nucleus divides into nuclei containing the same number of chromosomes) see also, meiosis.
moiety –
• n. - moiety, mediety -- (one of two (approximately) equal parts)
• n. - moiety -- (one of two basic subdivisions of a tribe)
nanotechnology - n. - nanotechnology -- (the branch of engineering that deals with things smaller than 100 nanometers (especially with the manipulation of individual molecules))
nihilism –
• n. - nihilism -- (a revolutionary doctrine that advocates destruction of the social system for its own sake)
• n. - nihilistic delusion, nihilism -- (the delusion that things (or everything, including the self) do not exist; a sense that everything is unreal)
• n. - nihilism -- (complete denial of all established authority and institutions)
nomenclature - n. - terminology, nomenclature, language -- (a system of words used in a particular discipline; "legal terminology"; "the language of sociology")
nonsectarian –
• adj. - nonsectarian, unsectarian -- (not restricted to one sect or school or party; "religious training in a nonsectarian atmosphere"; "nonsectarian colleges"; "a wide and unsectarian interest in religion"- Bertrand Russell)
notarize - v. - notarize, notarise -- (authenticate as a notary; "We had to have the signature notarized")
obsequious –
• adj. - bootlicking, fawning, obsequious, sycophantic, toadyish -- (attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery)
• adj. - obsequious -- (attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner; "obsequious shop assistants")
oligarchy –
• n. - oligarchy -- (a political system governed by a few people)
omnipotent - adj. - almighty, all-powerful, omnipotent -- (having unlimited power)
orthography - n. - orthography, writing system -- (a method of representing the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols)
oxidize –
• v. - oxidise, oxidize, oxidate -- (enter into a combination with oxygen or become converted into an oxide; "This metal oxidizes easily")
• v. - oxidize, oxidise, oxidate -- (add oxygen to or combine with oxygen)
parabola - n. - parabola -- (a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the curve)
paradigm –
• n. - paradigm -- (systematic arrangement of all the inflected forms of a word)
• n. - prototype, paradigm, epitome, image -- (a standard or typical example; "he is the prototype of good breeding"; "he provided America with an image of the good father")
• n. - substitution class, paradigm -- (the class of all items that can be substituted into the same position (or slot) in a grammatical sentence (are in paradigmatic relation with one another))
• n. - paradigm -- (the generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time; "he framed the problem within the psychoanalytic paradigm")
parameter –
• n. - parameter, parametric quantity -- (a constant in the equation of a curve that can be varied to yield a family of similar curves)
• n. - parameter -- (any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits) its performance)
• n. - parameter -- (a quantity (such as the mean or variance) that characterizes a statistical population and that can be estimated by calculations from sample data)
pecuniary - adj. - monetary, pecuniary -- (relating to or involving money; "monetary rewards"; "he received thanks but no pecuniary compensation for his services")
photosynthesis –
• n. - photosynthesis -- (synthesis of compounds with the aid of radiant energy (especially in plants))
plagiarize - v. - plagiarize, plagiarise, lift -- (take without referencing from someone else's writing or speech; of intellectual property)
plasma –
• n. - plasma, plasm -- (colorless watery fluid of blood and lymph containing no cells and in which erythrocytes and leukocytes and platelets are suspended)
• n. - plasma -- (a green slightly translucent variety of chalcedony used as a gemstone)
• n. - plasma -- ((physical chemistry) a fourth state of matter distinct from solid or liquid or gas and present in stars and fusion reactors; a gas becomes a plasma when it is heated until the atoms lose all their electrons, leaving a highly electrified collection of nuclei and free electrons; "particles in space exist in the form of a plasma")
polymer –
• n. - polymer -- (a naturally occurring or synthetic compound consisting of large molecules made up of a linked series of repeated simple monomers)
precipitous –
• adj. - hasty, overhasty, precipitate, precipitant, precipitous -- (done with very great haste and without due deliberation; "hasty marriage seldom proveth well"- Shakespeare; "hasty makeshifts take the place of planning"- Arthur Geddes; "rejected what was regarded as an overhasty plan for reconversion"; "wondered whether they had been rather precipitate in deposing the king")
• adj. - precipitous -- (characterized by precipices; "a precipitous bluff")
• adj. - abrupt, precipitous, sharp -- (extremely steep; "an abrupt canyon"; "the precipitous rapids of the upper river"; "the precipitous hills of Chinese paintings"; "a sharp drop")
quasar - n. - quasar, quasi-stellar radio source -- (a starlike object that may send out radio waves and other forms of energy; large red shifts imply enormous recession velocities)
quotidian - adj. - everyday, mundane, quotidian, routine, unremarkable, workaday -- (found in the ordinary course of events; "a placid everyday scene"; "it was a routine day"; "there's nothing quite like a real...train conductor to add color to a quotidian commute"- Anita Diamant)
recapitulate –
• v. - recapitulate, recap -- (summarize briefly; "Let's recapitulate the main ideas")
• v. - recapitulate -- (repeat stages of evolutionary development during the embryonic phase of life)
• v. - reprise, reprize, repeat, recapitulate -- (repeat an earlier theme of a composition)
reciprocal –
• n. - reciprocal -- (something (a term or expression or concept) that has a reciprocal relation to something else; "risk is the reciprocal of safety")
• n. - multiplicative inverse, reciprocal -- ((mathematics) one of a pair of numbers whose product is 1: the reciprocal of 2/3 is 3/2; the multiplicative inverse of 7 is 1/7)
• n. - reciprocal cross, reciprocal -- (hybridization involving a pair of crosses that reverse the sexes associated with each genotype)
• adj. - reciprocal, mutual -- (concerning each of two or more persons or things; especially given or done in return; "reciprocal aid"; "reciprocal trade"; "mutual respect"; "reciprocal privileges at other clubs")
• adj. - complementary, interchangeable, reciprocal -- (of or relating to or suggestive of complementation; "interchangeable electric outlets")
• adj. - reciprocal -- (of or relating to the multiplicative inverse of a quantity or function; "the reciprocal ratio of a:b is b:a")
reparation –
• n. - reparation -- (compensation (given or received) for an insult or injury; "an act for which there is no reparation")
• n. - reparation -- ((usually plural) compensation exacted from a defeated nation by the victors; "Germany was unable to pay the reparations demanded after Wordl War I")
• n. - repair, fix, fixing, fixture, mend, mending, reparation -- (the act of putting something in working order again)
• n. - reparation, amends -- (something done or paid in expiation of a wrong; "how can I make amends")
respiration –
• n. - respiration, internal respiration, cellular respiration -- (the metabolic processes whereby certain organisms obtain energy from organic moelcules; processes that take place in the cells and tissues during which energy is released and carbon dioxide is produced and absorbed by the blood to be transported to the lungs)
• n. - respiration -- (a single complete act of breathing in and out; "thirty respirations per minute")
• n. - breathing, external respiration, respiration, ventilation -- (the bodily process of inhalation and exhalation; the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide by exhalation)
sanguine –
• adj. - sanguine -- (confidently optimistic and cheerful)
• adj. - rubicund, ruddy, sanguine -- (inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life; "a ruddy complexion"; "Santa's rubicund cheeks"; "a fresh and sanguine complexion")
soliloquy –
• n. - soliloquy, monologue -- (speech you make to yourself)
• n. - soliloquy -- (a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections)
subjugate –
• v. - repress, quash, keep down, subdue, subjugate, reduce -- (put down by force or intimidation; "The government quashes any attempt of an uprising"; "China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently"; "The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land")
• v. - subjugate, subject -- (make subservient; force to submit or subdue)
suffragist – n. - suffragist -- (an advocate of the extension of voting rights (especially to women))
supercilious –
• adj. - disdainful, haughty, lordly, prideful, sniffy, supercilious, swaggering -- (having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy; "some economists are disdainful of their colleagues in other social disciplines"; "haughty aristocrats"; "his lordly manners were offensive"; "walked with a prideful swagger"; "very sniffy about breaches of etiquette"; "his mother eyed my clothes with a supercilious air"; "shaggy supercilious camels"; "a more swaggering mood than usual"- W.L.Shirer)
• adj. - supercilious, sneering, snide -- (expressive of contempt; "curled his lip in a supercilious smile"; "spoke in a sneering jeering manner"; "makes many a sharp comparison but never a mean or snide one")
autology –
• n. - tautology -- ((logic) a statement that is necessarily true; "the statement `he is brave or he is not brave' is a tautology")
• n. - tautology -- (useless repetition; "to say that something is `adequate enough' is a tautology")
taxonomy –
• n. - taxonomy -- (a classification of organisms into groups based on similarities of structure or origin etc)
• n. - taxonomy -- ((biology) study of the general principles of scientific classification)
• n. - taxonomy -- (practice of classifying plants and animals according to their presumed natural relationships)
tectonic –
• adj. - tectonic -- (pertaining to the structure or movement of the earth's crust; "tectonic plates"; "tectonic valleys")
• adj. - tectonic, architectonic -- (of or pertaining to construction or architecture)
tempestuous - adj. - angry, furious, raging, tempestuous, wild -- ((of the elements) as if showing violent anger; "angry clouds on the horizon"; "furious winds"; "the raging sea")
thermodynamics –
• n. - thermodynamics -- (the branch of physics concerned with the conversion of different forms of energy)
totalitarian –
• adj. - totalitarian -- (characterized by a government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control; "a totalitarian regime crushes all autonomous institutions in its drive to seize the human soul"- Arthur M.Schlesinger, Jr.)
• adj. - totalitarian, totalistic -- (of or relating to the principles of totalitarianism according to which the state regulates every realm of life; "totalitarian theory and practice"; "operating in a totalistic fashion")
unctuous - adj. - buttery, fulsome, oily, oleaginous, smarmy, unctuous -- (unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech; "buttery praise"; "gave him a fulsome introduction"; "an oily sycophantic press agent"; "oleaginous hypocrisy"; "smarmy self-importance"; "the unctuous Uriah Heep")
usurp –
• v. - assume, usurp, seize, take over, arrogate -- (seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession; "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he usurped my rights"; "She seized control of the throne after her husband died")
• v. - usurp -- (take the place of; "gloom had usurped mirth at the party after the news of the terorist act broke")
vacuous –
• adj. - asinine, fatuous, inane, mindless, vacuous -- (complacently or inanely foolish)
• adj. - empty, hollow, vacuous -- (devoid of significance or point; "empty promises"; "a hollow victory"; "vacuous comments")
• n. this blog
vehement –
• adj. - fierce, tearing, vehement, violent, trigger-happy -- (marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently; fervid; "fierce loyalty"; "in a tearing rage"; "vehement dislike"; "violent passions")
• adj. - vehement -- (characterized by great force or energy; "vehement deluges of rain"; "vehement clapping"; "a vehement defense")
vortex –
• n. - whirl, swirl, vortex, convolution -- (the shape of something rotating rapidly)
• n. - whirlpool, vortex, maelstrom -- (a powerful circular current of water (usually the resulting of conflicting tides))
winnow –
• n. - winnow, winnowing, sifting -- (the act of separating grain from chaff; "the winnowing was done by women")
• v. - winnow, fan -- (separate from chaff; "She stood there winnowing grain all day in the field")
• v. - winnow -- (blow on; "The wind was winnowing her hair")
• v. - winnow -- (treat by exposure to a current of air so that waste matter is eliminated; "winnow grain")
• v. - winnow -- (remove by a current of air; "winnow chaff")
wrought –
• v. - work -- (exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; "I will work hard to improve my grades"; "she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor")
• v. - work, do work -- (be employed; "Is your husband working again?"; "My wife never worked"; "Do you want to work after the age of 60?"; "She never did any work because she inherited a lot of money"; "She works as a waitress to put herself through college")
• v. - work, act -- (have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected; "The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"; "How does your idea work in practice?"; "This method doesn't work"; "The breaks of my new car act quickly"; "The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water")
• v. - function, work, operate, go, run -- (perform as expected when applied; "The washing machine won't go unless it's plugged in"; "Does this old car still run well?"; "This old radio doesn't work anymore")
• v. - work, work on, process -- (shape, form, or improve a material; "work stone into tools"; "process iron"; "work the metal")
• v. - exercise, work, work out -- (give a work-out to; "Some parents exercise their infants"; "My personal trainer works me hard"; "work one's muscles")
• v. - make, work -- (proceed along a path; "work one's way through the crowd"; "make one's way into the forest")
• v. - work -- (operate in a certain place, area, or specialty; "She works the night clubs"; "The salesman works the Midwest"; "This artist works mostly in acrylics")
• v. - work -- (proceed towards a goal or along a path or through an activity; "work your way through every problem or task"; "She was working on her second martini when the guests arrived"; "Start from the bottom and work towards the top")
• v. - work -- (move in an agitated manner; "His fingers worked with tension")
• v. - bring, work, play, wreak, make for -- (cause to happen or to occur as a consequence; "I cannot work a miracle"; "wreak havoc"; "bring comments"; "play a joke"; "The rain brought relief to the drought-stricken area")
• v. - work, put to work -- (cause to work; "he is working his servants hard")
• v. - cultivate, crop, work -- (prepare for crops; "Work the soil"; "cultivate the land")
• v. - work -- (behave in a certain way when handled; "This dough does not work easily"; "The soft metal works well")
• v. - influence, act upon, work -- (have and exert influence or effect; "The artist's work influenced the young painter"; "She worked on her friends to support the political candidate")
• v. - work -- (operate in or through; "Work the phones")
• v. - work -- (cause to operate or function; "This pilot works the controls"; "Can you work an electric drill?")
• v. - work -- (provoke or excite; "The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy")
• v. - work -- (gratify and charm, usually in order to influence; "the political candidate worked the crowds")
• v. - shape, form, work, mold, mould, forge -- (make something, usually for a specific function; "She molded the riceballs carefully"; "Form cylinders from the dough"; "shape a figure"; "Work the metal into a sword")
• v. - work -- (move into or onto; "work the raisins into the dough"; "the student worked a few jokes into his presentation"; "work the body onto the flatbed truck")
• v. - knead, work -- (make uniform; "knead dough"; "work the clay until it is soft")
• v. - exploit, work -- (use or manipulate to one's advantage; "He exploit the new taxation system"; "She knows how to work the system"; "he works his parents for sympathy")
• v. - solve, work out, figure out, puzzle out, lick, work -- (find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of; "did you solve the problem?"; "Work out your problems with the boss"; "this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out"; "did you get it?"; "Did you get my meaning?"; "He could not work the math problem")
• v. - ferment, work -- (cause to undergo fermentation; "We ferment the grapes for a very long time to achieve high alcohol content"; "The vintner worked the wine in big oak vats")
• v. - sour, turn, ferment, work -- (go sour or spoil; "The milk has soured"; "The wine worked"; "The cream has turned--we have to throw it out")
• v. - work -- (arrive at a certain condition through repeated motion; "The stitches of the hem worked loose after she wore the skirt many times")
• adj. - shaped, molded, wrought -- (shaped to fit by or as if by altering the contours of a pliable mass (as by work or effort); "a shaped handgrip"; "the molded steel plates"; "the wrought silver bracelet")
xenophobe –
• adj. - xenophobic -- (suffering from xenophobia; having abnormal fear or hatred of the strange or foreign)
yeoman –
• n. - yeoman, yeoman of the guard, beefeater -- (officer in the (ceremonial) bodyguard of the British monarch)
• n. - yeoman -- (in former times was free and cultivated his own land)
ziggurat –
• n. - ziggurat, zikkurat, zikurat -- (a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians)
• Your body is a ziggurat.
