schmaltz: \ˈshmȯlts, ˈshmälts\

too sentimental esp. in music or soaps.

Why are people inclined towards schmaltzy soap operas now a days ?

colloquium: \kə-ˈlō-kwē-əm\

academic meeting at which specialists deliver addresses on a topic or on related topics

Students at higher levels learn better by participating in colloquiums.

pecuniary: \pi-ˈkyü-nē-ˌer-ē\

relating to or pertaining to money.

The memorandum of understanding was signed on pecuniary advantage.

parsimony:: \ˈpär-sə-ˌmō-nē\

the fact of being extremely unwilling to spend money

People who are parsimonious should understand that penny wise can be pound foolish.

parlous: \ˈpär-ləs\

full of danger or risk

Who is to be blamed for the parlous condition of the country today!

parlance: \ˈpär-lən(t)s\

formal debate or parley ; a particular way of expressing yourself i.e common/ legal/ modern parlance.

A judge should understand legal parlance, but a commner need not.

plenum \ˈple-nəm, ˈplē-\

a meeting attended by all members of a committee;

the quality or state of being full;

A plenum space or chamber refers to air filled house (at greater pressure than atmospheric pressure)

A plenum assembly is where the legislative assembly is full.






( at greater pressure

phlegmatic: \fleg-ˈma-tik\

having or showing a slow and stolid temperament

They lost the war because they were phlegmatic.

pragmatic: \prag-ˈma-tik\

practical as opposed to idealistic

Pragmatic men of power have had no time or inclination to deal with…social morality

denouement: \ˌdā-ˌnü-ˈmäⁿ, dā-ˈnü-ˌ\

the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work.

Shakespearean plays are well-known for the denouement.

loquacious: \lō-ˈkwā-shəs\ :

full of excessive talk : wordy; talkative

He bored everyone with his loquacious speech.

taciturn: \ˈta-sə-ˌtərn\

temperamentally disinclined to talk; silent

Can a judge be a taciturn ?

ambivalence \am-ˈbi-və-lən(t)s\

inconsistent, contradictory

Many women today feel ambivalent about marriage.

ambiguous \am-ˈbi-gyə-wəs\

'having more than one possible meaning'

She gave a cleverly ambiguous reply.

turbid \ˈtər-bəd\

opaque and cloudy;

The river was slow & turbid.

turgid: \ˈtər-jəd\

swollen & overflowing;

The river is turgid after the heavy rains.

abjure: \ab-ˈju̇r\

to renounce ; (more generally) to abandon or abstain from;

He had abjured from all religious belief.

adjure \ə-ˈju̇r\

to request earnestly;

They were all shouting at once adjuring each other to have another pint.

faux pas: \ˈfō-ˌpä, fō-ˈ\

a social blunder

The official addressed the CM as PM , which is a faux pas.

fatwa \ˈfət-wə, ˈfät-wä\

a legal ruling given by the religious leader of the islamic community.

The imam gave the fatwa , which cannot be disobeyed

malign \mə-ˈlīn\

evil in nature, influence, or effect

the malign effects of illicit drugs.

malinger: \mə-ˈliŋ-gər\

to pretend or exaggerate incapacity or illness.

He malingered when he was asked to work over time.

exhilarate:\ig-ˈzi-lə-ˌrāt\

to make cheerful and excited

Rama was exhilarated by her success.

exuberant:: \-b(ə-)rənt\

joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic

They were over joyed by their exuberant prosperity

emaciated: \i-ˈmā-shē-ˌāt\

becoming wasted away & thin

Jews at the concentration camp were emaciated.

emancipated: \i-ˈman(t)-sə-ˌpāt\

freed from bondage & slavery

They were emancipated after the World War.

"facetious": \fə-ˈsē-shəs\

joking or jesting often inappropriately

She was reprimanded for a facetious remark.

fractious" : \ˈfrak-shəs\

tending to be troublesome

He had to face a fractious crowd.

factious: \ˈfak-shəs\

having to do with opposition or being outrageous

They always indulge in factious disputes.

factitious \fak-ˈti-shəs\

not genuine ; made up

They created a factitious demand by spreading rumors of shortage.

climactic: \klī-ˈmak-tik, klə-\

related to climax scene

The film's climactic scene has captured our mind.

climatic: \klī-ˈma-tik, klə-\

pertaining to climate,

The climatic conditions are suitable for the growth of coffee bean here.

discreet: \di-ˈskrēt\

having or showing discernment or good judgment in conduct and especially in speech.

A person should be discreet in choosing his partner.

discrete \dis-ˈkrēt, ˈdis-ˌ\

constituting a separate entity : individually distinct.

He took out the discrete random variables.

complaisant: \-s^ənt, -z^ənt, -ˈzant, -ˈzänt\

willing to please; marked by an inclination to please.

Naina is ready with her complaisant smile, when it comes to getting her things done.


complacent: \kəm-ˈplā-s^ənt\

smug & self-satisfied;

The teacher always tells her students not to be complacent with their performance.

appraise: \ə-ˈprāz\

to estimate the value of; estimate.

The engineer was asked to appraise the cost of the building.

apprise: : \ə-ˈprīz\

to give notice to ; tell ;inform.

They apprised him of his rights.

exonerate: \ig-ˈzä-nə-ˌrāt, eg-\

to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship.

The thief was exonerated,as he pleaded for mercy with the judge.

exasperate: \ig-ˈzas-pə-ˌrāt\

to excite the anger of

His behaviour was exasperating, so the teacher sent him out of the class.

apprehend: \ˌa-pri-ˈhend\

to become aware of ; arrest ; seize ;

The thief was apprehended by the police.

comprehend: \ˌkäm-pri-ˈhend, -prē-\

to grasp the nature, significance, or meaning of

The students were unable to comprehend the theory.

prescribe: \pri-ˈskrīb\

recommend for or permit something

This text book has been prescribed for college.

proscribe:: \prō-ˈskrīb\

to condemn or forbid the use of

This part of the drama has been proscribed as it has objectionable parts.

auger: \ˈȯ-gər\

an auger is a tool like a large corkscrew used for boring holes;

Fetch the auger, I want to drill holes to hang the curtains.

augur: \ˈȯ-gər\

is a prophet or soothsayer.

there is also a verb to augur, meaning either 'to predict' or 'portend a good or bad outcome'!

Their new house augured well for them

baluster: \ˈba-lə-stər\

a pillar supporting an ornamental rail around a gallery or terrace.


banister \ˈba-nəs-tər\

a banister is a single post supporting a handrail at the side of a staircase.

abysmal: \ə-ˈbiz-məl, a-\

profound ;immeasurably low

Abysmal conditions of the poor is unbearable.

abyssal: \ə-ˈbi-səl\

of or relating to the bottom waters of the ocean depth; unfathomable.

The present world politicians should try to bridge the abyssal gap between' the haves & the have- nots' .

preponderance: \pri-ˈpän-d(ə-)rən(t)s\

a superiority in weight, power, importance, or strength

Gandhi preferred a preponderance of women over men in his entourage .

presumptuous: \pri-ˈzəm(p)-chə-wəs, -chəs, -shəs\

taking liberties; overstepping due bounds

She was presumptuous taking advantage of his softness .

insidious \in-ˈsi-dē-əs\

awaiting a chance to entrap;treacherous

She was reeling under the insidious pressure of modern life.

invidious: \in-ˈvi-dē-əs\

tending to cause discontent or animosity or envy

Political leaders indulge in invidious task of arbitration.

alter ego: \ˌȯl-tər-ˈē-(ˌ)gō also -ˈe-(ˌ)gō\

second self , a close friend, counterpart


Ever since I have met him he has been my alter ego

sine die: \ˌsī-ni-ˈdī(-ˌē), ˌsi-nā-ˈdē-ˌā\

indefinitely put off

The meeting has been postponed sine die

ipso facto: \ˈip-(ˌ)sō-ˈfak-(ˌ)tō\

by the very fact

As he is already married this marriage would be void ipso facto.


Sine qua non \ˌsi-ni-ˌkwä-ˈnän, -ˈnōn also ˌsē-; also ˌsī-ni-ˌkwā-ˈnän\

the most essential, necessity

Reliability is a Sine qua non for a job

pince-nez: \paⁿs-ˈnā, pan(t)s-\

eyeglasses held by spring on the nose

His old fashioned pince-nez makes him look very old.

penchant:\ˈpen-chənt, especially British ˈpäⁿ-ˌshäⁿ\

a strong desire or liking

With her penchant for teaching she has proved herself to be a great teacher

acrimonious: \ˌa-krə-ˈmō-nē-əs\

Something caustic, biting ,rancorous in speech

A speaker has to listen to acrimonious debates in the assembly many times.


parsimonious: \ˌpär-sə-ˈmō-nē-əs\


frugal to the point of stinginess

Don't be parsimonious.

discombobulate: \ˌdis-kəm-ˈbä-b(y)ə-ˌlāt\
To upset or confuse

She discombobulated her students.

chutzpah \ˈhu̇t-spə, ˈḵu̇t-, -(ˌ)spä\

temerity , audaciously mischievous which we do admire sometimes

His grandparents loved his chutzpah which made him a prankster !

abrogate \ˈa-brə-ˌgāt\means' to repeal, annul, or cancel'.

The new regime abrogated the constitution.

arrogate: \-ˌgāt\ means' to lay claim to without justification often in the structure ' arrogate (something) to oneself'.

The regime arrogated to itself whatever powers it chose.

19th August 2009
Wednesday


Today's words

1.Ad hoc \ˈad-ˈhäk, -ˈhōk; ˈäd-ˈhōk\

An ad hoc committee of doctors was formed to study the effects of swine flu

2. Haute couture- \ˌōt-ku̇-ˈtu̇r\

the houses or designers that create exclusive and often trend-setting fashions for women; also : the fashions created

Paris is famous for its Haute Couture

Today's words...
1.Nouveau- \nü-ˈvō\
newly arrived or developed

2.Avant garde-\ˌä-ˌvän(t)-ˈgärd, ˌa-; ə-ˈvänt-ˌ; ˌa-ˌvōⁿ-ˈ, ˌa-ˌvȯn(t)-ˈ\
an intelligentsia that develops new or experimental concepts especially in the arts

Welcome to the world of words

This is my debut.This is for the folks who want to feed their Tabula Rasa....
I am posting three new words everyday from today on...
Increase in vocabulary would actually mean increase in the power to
communicate and expand your vistas whatever you do as a profession..
So lets go on...
1.Tabula Rasa-: \ˌta-byə-lə-ˈrä-zə, -sə\
a : the mind in its hypothetical primary blank or empty state before receiving outside impressions
b: something existing in its original pristine state