Week 8: vocabulary (etymology)

1) Loathe verb

To hate

e.g. I loathe spinach but I love other green vegetable.

2) Reprimand verb

To show sharp disapproval

e.g. When Ed arrived late, he knew that the grocer would reprimand him.

3) Lackluster adjective

Dull

e.g. Speaking in a monotone, the politician was booed for his lackluster address.

4) Caustic adjective

Sarcastic, biting

e.g. In a caustic article, the drama critic slaughtered the hapless actors.

5) Wrest verb

Take by force

e.g. With the help of his brothers he was able to wrest the leadership of the company from his partner.

6) Infamous adjective

Having a bad reputation

e.g. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was referred to as an infamous deed.

7) Jostle verb

To shove hard

e.g. When he attempted to jostle the old lady, she struck him with her umbrella.

8) Dupe noun

A person easily tricked

e.g. The wealthy dupe consented to buy the often-sold Brooklyn Bridge.

9) Incipient adjective

Just beginning to exist

e.g. By telling the truth, we stopped the incipient rumor from spreading.

10) Inadvertent adjective

Heedless, not attentive

e.g. Through an inadvertent error, the guided missile sped out of control.

11) Viable adjective

Able to exist, perform as intended or succeed

e.g. The company needs to find a more viable location re the business will fail.

12) Repudiate verb

To refuse to accept or obey something or someone; reject

e.g. Carl repudiated his father’s advice and decided to take a different job.

13) Disrupter noun

Someone who prevents something, especially a system, process or event, from continuing as usual or as expected

14) Sneak peak noun

An opportunity to see something before it is officially available

e.g. Tony saw a sneak peak of the new movie because he is going to write a review for the newspaper.

15) Incumbent noun

A person who currently has a particular office or position

e.g. The incumbents are facing tough competition in this year’s election.

16)  Visionary noun

Someone who is able to make plans for the future that are imaginative and wise

e.g. Anastasia is a fashion visionary. She’s always coming up with new and exciting designs.

17)  Leaven verb

To add something that makes a situation, story, film etc more interesting, funny, or exciting

e.g. a serious book that includes a few humorous stories as leaven

18)  Infer verb

To guess that something is true because of the information that you have

E.g. Before the meeting started, Tina had already inferred that she was getting a promotion.

19)  Learning curve noun

How quickly or slowly someone learns a new skill

e.g. The learning curve at Daniel’s company is very high.

20)  Road trip noun

A plan for achieving something

e.g. The government has created a road map to achieve peace, but critics aren’t sure it will work.

21)  Tier verb

To arrange or organize something in layers or levels

e.g. Citizens are tiered by social status. How can they create a more egalitarian society?

22)  Honcho noun

The person in charge

e.g. Stephanie is the head honcho around here. She is our top supervisor.

23)  Proprietary adjective

Owned or controlled by a company

e.g. After I lost my camera cords, I discovered that the proprietary charger had been discontinued, so I had to buy a new camera!

24)  Swill verb

To drink a large amount of something, especially alcohol, in an enthusiastic way

e.g. They sat around the table swilling beer.

25)  Swipe verb

To steal something

e.g. Hey, someone’s swiped my wallet!