Vocabulary Week 1

Vocabulary Week 2 GoldWord 1: Ambiguous Def: Unclear because it has more than one meaning Sent: However sugarcoated and ambiguous, every form of authoritarianism must start with a belief in some group's greater right to power. Gloria Steinem

Young &Old ladyWord 2: BenevolentDef: Generous, Willing to help othersSent: And thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine. Thomas jefferson

Word 3: ConsumeDef: To eat or use upSent: Those big-shot writers could never dig the fact that there are more salted peanuts consumed than caviar. Mickey Spillane

Word 4: DauntingDef: Worried about something because it is difficult to achieveSent: Strange about parents. We have such easy access to them and such daunting problems of communication. James Merrill

Word 5: ElusiveDef: Difficult to catch or achieveSent: It is the Vague and Elusive. Meet it and you will not see its head. Follow it and you will not see its back. Lao Tzu (on leadership)

Word 6: Fanatic / FanaticalDef: Irrational or over enthusiastic about a religious idea, political belief, sport etcSent: The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves. Bernard Russell

Word 7: AdversaryDef: Someone you are fighting or competing againstSent: Treating your adversary with respect is giving him an advantage to which he is not entitled. Samuel Adams

Word 8: CharismaDef: Personality that people like and are attracted to Sent: Charisma becomes the undoing of leaders. It makes them inflexible, convinced of their own infallibility, unable to change. Peter Drucker

Word 9: InfallibleDef: Certain to work as intended, not capable of making mistakesSent: The longer I am out of office, the more infallible I appear to myself. Henry Kissinger

Word 10: ImpedeDef: To make more difficultSent: The pursuit of perfection often impedes improvement. George Wills

Word 11: Epiphany Def: A sudden realization or great idea Sent: An artists duty is rather to stay open-minded and in a state where he can receive information and inspiration. You always have to be ready for that little artistic Epiphany. Nick Cave

Word 12: Irrelevant Def: Not important to what is being done or discussed Sent: Guilt or innocence becomes irrelevant in the criminal trial as we flounder in a morass of artificial rules poorly conceived and often impossible of application. Warren Earl Burger

Word 13: Prolific Def: Producing in large numbersSent: Periods of tranquility are seldom prolific of creative achievement. Mankind has to be stirred up.

Word 14: Lucrative Def: Very profitableSent: To establish any mode to abolish war, however advantageous it might be to Nations, would be to take from such Government the most lucrative of its branches. Thomas Paine

Word 15: QuandaryDef: State of uncertainty where it is hard to decide Sent: We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. Barbara Jordan

Word 16: Thrive Def: To be successful and growSent: Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion.

Word 17: ZanyDef: Strange in a funny waySent: then I did this zany thing, and all of a sudden I had tons of friends. Jim Carrey

Word 18: AnarchyDef: A state of chaos where there is no government or social control Sent: Anarchy is anarchy is anarchy. Neither race nor color nor frustration is an excuse for either lawlessness or anarchy. Thurgood Marshall

Word 19: BogusDef: Made up, not real factsSent: All you need to do is set up some website somewhere selling some bogus product at twenty percent off.. Kevin Mitnick

Word 20: ClusterDef: Things that are closely grouped togetherSent: The Image is more than an idea. It is a vortex or cluster of fused ideas and is endowed with energy. Ezra Pound