The Big Book of Words You Should Know

by David Olsen

  Professor Wells sternly informed me that he would prefer that I use the term “COITUS” in describing the activities of the test couples, rather than the less formal “making whoopee.”

  collegiality (kuh-LEEG-ee-al-ih-tee), noun

  An effective working relationship among colleagues.

  The COLLEGIALITY of the office is one reason there’s very little turnover there.

  commensurate (kuh-MEN-sir-it), adjective

  Having an equal measure; of equivalent duration or extent. Something that is commensurate with something else is of a proper scope or size by comparison.

  Michael received a raise COMMENSURATE with his performance.

  commiserate (kuh-MIZ-uh-rate), verb

  To share in another’s sorrow or disappointment. Commiserate comes from the Latin roots for “with” and “pitiable.”

  Jane and Anita COMMISERATED with Frank over the failure of the business.

  complacent (kum-PLAY-sent), adjective

  Satisfied with oneself; smug; content.

  Brian was so COMPLACENT during the practice scrimmages before the big game that his coach considered benching him and playing the backup quarterback instead.

  complicity (kum-PLIS-ity), verb

  To be involved in or be associated with, or to participate in or have previous knowledge of, an instance of wrongdoing.

  Although he did not receive money for throwing the 1919 World Series, Buck Weaver was nevertheless suspended from baseball for life, because his failure to expose the scheme was seen as COMPLICITY in his teammates’ plans.

  compote (KOM-poat), noun

  A stewed fruit and sugar dessert.

  In addition to an unidentifiable brownish meat in a dark, concealing sauce, many of the TV dinners I ate as a child included a rather leaden strawberry COMPOTE.

  concave (kahn-CAVE), adjective

  Curving inward, as the inside of a sphere. (See, for comparison, the entry for convex.)

  After Bill threw it in anger, the baseball left a CONCAVE impression in the wall.

  conciliatory (kun-SILL-ee-uh-tore-ee), adjective

  Describes someone willing to compromise or to make concessions in order to preserve peaceful relations.

  After Lou lost his temper with Margery, he was excessively CONCILIATORY to her for weeks afterward.

  confluence (KON-flu-ence), noun

  A point of meeting or flowing together. Literally, a confluence is the point at which two rivers join. The word has been expanded significantly through metaphorical use.

  It is on the issue of human spiritual growth that the two philosophies find their CONFLUENCE.

  congenital (kun-JEN-it-ul), adjective

  Present or existing from birth. A congenital disease or condition can be inherited, or can result from environmental influences (usually influences on growth within the womb).

  The young child suffered from a CONGENITAL heart defect.

  conjoin (kuhn-JOIN), verb

  To join together or unite. The word often is used to mean “to wed.”

  After the battling factions CONJOINED, they were able to accomplish peacefully most of their separate goals.

  connubial (kuh-NUBE-ee-uhl), adjective

  Of, or related to, the state of being married.

  My parents will celebrate fifty years of CONNUBIAL bliss this year.

  consecrate (KON-si-krate), verb

  To proclaim as sacred; to set aside or declare to be holy. By extension, to consecrate oneself to a given goal is to commit to it with a conviction in keeping with strong faith.

  Lincoln’s words, more than any other action after the carnage, served to CONSECRATE the battlefield at Gettysburg.

  consortium (kon-SOR-tee-um), noun

  A union, partnership, or alliance, especially one among financial or business entities. Consortium also has a legal meaning related to the rights of married persons, but use in this sense is rare.

  Mr. Sparks represented a CONSORTIUM of firms.

  contrition (kun-TRISH-un), noun

  Sadness or remorse over past wrong actions. Technically, contrition is one of the conditions for absolution from sin for members of the Roman Catholic church. The word is also used in a broader secular sense.

  He showed not the least CONTRITION for his acts, even when confronted by his victims.

  convex (kon-VEX), adjective

  Curving outward, as the outside of a sphere. (See, for comparison, the entry for concave.)

  Little Stephen laughed as he watched the tiny car plunge off the CONVEX surface of his large toy ball.

  copious (KO-pee-us), adjective

  Abundant; large or generous in extent. That which is broad in scope or abundant is copious.

  The winter’s COPIOUS rainfall was welcomed by area farmers.

  cornucopia (korn-yuh-COE-pee-uh), noun

  This Latin word means “horn of plenty,” and a cornucopia has become a familiar symbol of Thanksgiving: a horn-like container overflowing with nature’s bounty. In general, a cornucopia is an overabundance, a seemingly inexhaustible supply of something.

  Jenny returned from the beach with a CORNUCOPIA of beach junk: T-shirts, coffee mugs, and liquefied bags of saltwater taffy.

  corollary (KORE-uh-lare-ee), noun

  Accompanying element; consequence; thing brought about as a result (of some factor).

  The natural COROLLARY of your theory that Hawkins murdered his mistress to silence her would appear to be that she had told him she was about to go public with details of their affair.

  corporal (KOR-puh-rul), adjective

  Related to the body. Also: a military rank. (See, for comparison, the entry for corporeal.)

  The school has a strict policy forbidding CORPORAL punishment.

  corporeal (kor-PORE-ee-ul), adjective

  Tangible; having material existence. (See, for comparison, the entry for corporal.)

  The estate sold the late author’s CORPOREAL assets, but it retained the copyright of all his intellectual properties, both published and unpublished.

  correlate (KORE-uh-late), verb

  To relate logically or systematically; to link; as a noun (KORE-uh-lut), something correlated to something else.

  I believe I can demonstrate convincingly that the increased cancer rate in the town is directly CORRELATED to the dumping practices of your firm over the past twenty.

  corroborate (kuh-ROB-uh-reyt), verb

  To make more certain; to confirm.

  The witness was able to CORROBORATE the defendant’s testimony.

  couplet (KUP-lut), noun

  In poetry, two related lines, similar in rhyme or rhythm.

  The use of the rhymed COUPLET at the end of a scene is a stock technique employed by Elizabethan playwrights to alert the audience to an upcoming shift in the action.

  credulous (KREJ-uh-luss), adjective

  Given to acceptance or belief. A credulous person is one who accepts even outlandish assertions easily.

  The swindler found a ready market for his wares in the CREDULOUS townsfolk.

  cull (kull), verb

  To assemble or collect bit by bit; to select.

  Having CULLED the most impressive poems from her early work, Ariel felt she was ready to submit the collection for publication.

  curriculum (KUH-rik-yuh-lum), noun

  The courses of study, educational plan, or study path of a learning institution.

  The history department here offers a solid, challenging CURRICULUM equal to that of the more prestigious Ivy League schools—and at a fraction of the cost.

  cursory (KUR-suh-ree), adjective

  Performed with haste and without care.

  Mrs. Wallace avoided giving tests on the Friday before a vacation, as she knew her students’ efforts would be CURSORY at best.

  curtail (ker-TALE), verb

  To abridge or truncate; to lessen, usually by taking or cutting away from.

  His new office’s 8:00 a.m. meetings meant Dwight wou
ld have to CURTAIL his late-night television watching.

  dawdle (DAW-dull), verb

  To waste time; to loiter or loaf.

  “If you don’t stop DAWDLING,” Mrs. Adams scolded her husband, “we’ ll be late for the opera.”

  debilitate (dih-BILL-ih-tate), verb

  To enfeeble or weaken. Something that debilitates a person devitalizes him and depletes his strength.

  Fran’s DEBILITATING illness slowly sapped her will to live.

  deciduous (dih-SID-you-us), adjective

  Describes something that falls off or sheds seasonally during development.

  Every autumn people travel here from miles around to watch the multihued pageant of DECIDUOUS trees.

  decimate (DESS-ih-mate), verb

  Technically, something is decimated if it is reduced one-tenth. But the term has been generalized to mean greatly reducing something, to the point of wiping it out.

  Logging has DECIMATED North America’s Northern Spotted Owl population.

  decorous (DECK-er-us), adjective

  Marked by good taste, dignity, and propriety.

  Marshall’s DECOROUS demeanor will serve him well as an ambassador.

  defunct (dih-FUNKT), adjective

  Related to something that—or someone who—has ceased to exist.

  Once a staple of the American landscape, so-called five-and-dime stores are now all but DEFUNCT in the United States.

  deify (DAY-ih-fy), verb

  To elevate to the level of divinity. When something is deified, it is exalted or revered as godlike.

  To promote a celebrity is one thing, to DEIFY him quite another.

  delineate (di-LIN-ee-ate), verb

  To outline; to describe the primary features of. One can delineate by sketching, or by using words or concepts to describe the principal points of something.

  The rules, which had been quite vague, were now DELINEATED clearly.

  dell (dell), noun

  A small wooded valley; a glen.

  I emerged from the tent in the wee hours of the morning to find a sand-colored doe peering at me from the edge of the DELL.

  deluge (DELL-yoodje), noun

  A great flood or heavy rain; an overwhelming inundation of anything.

  As the newest member of the accounting firm, Fred was unprepared for the DELUGE of tax returns that landed on his desk two weeks before the April 15 deadline.

  dementia (duh-MEN-chuh), noun

  A mental illness characterized by loss of reason. Dementia is caused by neuron damage or loss within the brain.

  Owing to the deceased’s DEMENTIA at the time the will was signed, there was considerable legal wrangling over the estate.

  denote (de-NOTE), verb

  To indicate or make clear; to serve as sign or symbol for something else. To say that A denotes B is to say that A signifies or indicates B.

  Her chills and discoloration, Dr. Smith observed, DENOTED severe hypothermia.

  depose (dih-POZE), verb

  To oust or remove from office or a position of power and authority; also, to take testimony from someone under oath.

  After the dictator was DEPOSED, the country set about healing the wounds of a long civil war.

  deprecate (DEP-ri-kate), verb

  To belittle or make known one’s disapproval of. To deprecate someone is to “cut him down” verbally.

  Jean insisted that her report contained not a single DEPRECATING word, but it was easy enough to read between the lines.

  deracinate (dee-RASS-ih-nate), verb

  To uproot or to remove by force.

  The hurricane DERACINATED populations all over the island.

  determinism (dih-TUR-mun-iz-um), noun

  The belief that a person’s course of action is not free but predetermined by external circumstances.

  A true disciple of DETERMINISM, Jerry felt he should not be held accountable for having married three women—since, as he argued, each of the relationships had been “meant to be.”

  detritus (dih-TRITE-us), nounLoose material worn away

  from rocks or, generally, debris of any kind.

  The DETRITUS left by the beachgoers made it clear why our oceans are polluted.

  diadem (DIE-uh-dem), noun

  A royal crown.

  The princess arrived at the state banquet wearing a DIADEM of emeralds and diamonds.

  diaphanous (die-APH-uh-nuss), adjective

  So fine and sheer as to allow light to pass through. Also, describes something insubstantial or vague.

  Your DIAPHANOUS logic might impress some people, but I can always tell when you’re just shooting bull.

  diffident (DIFF-ih-dunt), adjective

  Unassertive and lacking a sense of self-worth. A shy, retiring person can be said to be diffident.

  Cheryl was perhaps too DIFFIDENT to work comfortably in such an outgoing office environment.

  dilatory (DIL-uh-tore-ee), adjective

  Likely to cause delay. That which proceeds at an unsatisfactorily slow rate is dilatory.

  The workers’ DILATORY attitude lost them a large contract.

  diminution (dim-ih-NOO-shen), noun

  Reduction or decrease due to outside influence. In music, diminution is the repetition of a theme in notes of briefer duration than the original passage.

  The stock fell in value by 75% in just over three hours; few issues can fully recover from such DIMINUTION.

  discerning (dis-SURN-ing), adjective

  Insightful; sound in evaluation or judgment.

  Although Jamie is excellent at acquiring reference works, she is not the most DISCERNING editor when it comes to evaluating children’s book proposals.

  discomfit (diss-KUM-fit), verb

  To cause to come into disorder. Discomfit can also mean “to frustrate (someone).”

  Fern’s household was DISCOMFITED by the sudden, unannounced arrival of her relatives.

  disingenuous (diss-in-JEN-yoo-uss), adjective

  Not inclined toward open dealing; less than truthful; other than appearances would suggest.

  The Mayor’s carefully worded denials never explicitly touched on her involvement in her campaign’s alleged effort to buy votes, leading many to conclude that she was being DISINGENUOUS.

  disparage (diss-PARE-udge), verb

  To speak or write debasingly of. To disparage is to communicate in such a way as to diminish another’s reputation.

  His DISPARAGING remarks damaged both her character and her pride.

  dissidence (DISS-uh-dents), noun

  Strong disagreement, especially with a government. You might also see the adjective form of this word, which is dissident. Recently, the word dissident has become a noun, describing someone who expresses dissidence.

  The newly-formed government decided to crack down on DISSIDENCE by jailing anyone who disagreed with governmental policies.

  dissolution (diss-so-LOO-shun), noun

  The act of dissolving into fragments or parts. Dissolution is the disintegration of that which comprises something.

  The union’s DISSOLUTION seemed imminent, but a change of leadership forestalled that crisis.

  dissuade (diss-SWADE), verb

  To convince to take alternate action. Someone who dissuades someone from doing something persuades that person to pursue another course.

  Marge DISSUADED her brother from joining the army.

  diurnal (dye-UHR-nul), adjective

  Occurring during the daytime. That which is not nocturnal and occurs only while the sun is out is diurnal.

  Unlike other members of this species, the one we are studying is DIURNAL.

  doctrinaire (dok-trin-AIR), noun

  Favoring doctrines without concern for their practicability.

  The resident is not well served by such DOCTRINAIRE advisers as Hawkins.

  dubious (DOO-bee-uss), adjective

  Tending to cause skepticism, uncertainty, or doubt. Dubious can also mean “reluctant to accept a pa
rticular version or account (of something).”

  His claim of direct descent from Richard II was regarded as DUBIOUS at best.

  dupe (doop), verb and noun

  To fool, trick, or deceive. As a noun: a person so deceived.

  Cliff’s attempts to DUPE me into finishing his homework for him were about what I expected from an older brother used to getting his own way.

  duress (dur-ESS), noun

  Compulsion resulting from the threat of force; coercion. Also: physical restraint or imprisonment.

  The prisoner’s confession, which had clearly been obtained under DURESS, was instantly ruled inadmissible by the judge.

  echelon (ESH-uh-lon), noun

  A level of command. Literally, echelon pertains to military organizational structure.

  Tom’s proposal eventually won the approval of the company’s upper ECHELON.

  edifice (ED-ih-fiss), noun

  A building, particularly one that is large and imposing.

  Jacob, who had worked for twelve years in a small family-owned firm, was unprepared for the prospect of working at the Webster corporate headquarters, a massive EDIFICE of brick and glass located in midtown Manhattan.

  efface (ih-FACE), verb

  To rub away.

  Although the letter had been filed and held and folded so many times that the embossed seal pressed into it by the county clerk was nearly EFFACED, it was genuine.

  egalitarian (ih-gal-uh-TARE-ee-un), adjective

  Arising from a belief in the equality of all persons. Something is egalitarian if it is scrupulously fair toward all parties.

  I must admit that Miles took an EGALITARIAN approach to assigning office space.

  egregious (ih-GREE-juss), adjective

  Flagrantly incorrect or bad. An egregious error is one that stands out dramatically and therefore should not have been made.

  Tim, an EGREGIOUS liar, is the last person I would go to for reliable information.

  elephantine (ELL-uh-fun-tine), adjective

  An elephant is an extremely large animal, so the adjective derived from the animal describes anything that is huge in size or scope.

  I figured out that the ELEPHANTINE present had to be a new refrigerator.

  elixir (e-LIX-ur), noun

  A solution meant to be used for medicinal purposes; in medieval times, a supposedly curative drink made from mixing alcohol and drugs in water.

  Dr. Callahan’s ELIXIR of Life, a patent medicine popular in Kansas in the late 1880s, may have owed part of its popularity to the coca leaves used in its preparation.