DILIGENT WORDS (WORDS # 38)

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DESOLATE

Adjective – A desolate place is completely empty with no people or pleasant features in it

               -   When a person is feeling very sad and lonely

Those streets are very desolate

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DISMEMBER

Verb (transitive) – To cut someone’s body to pieces

                       -  To take away important parts of an organization or system so that it can no longer function properly

Sam’s brilliant team is being slowly dismembered

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DOMICILE

Noun (Formal, countable) – Someone’s home

You need to register a permanent domicile for your bank account address

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DISCONSOLATE

Adjective – Extremely unhappy or disappointed

The team was disconsolate with the news of the lack of funds for the project

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MY COMMENTS ON THESE WORDS

An interesting list o words! Some of them are actually quite useful.

“Desolate” could be useful when offering condolences to a friend. You could say that you were “desolate” at the news. I have also seen this word used quite often in fiction, both to describe feelings and also to describe a landscape which is rather grim and empty. Writer use the expression “desolate wastes” for these landscapes.

“Dismember” could be gruesome if related to real human or animal bodies, but when used in relation to a group or a team or perhaps to the geographical boundaries of a country, or a particularly broken up coast line, like the southern coasts of Chile, it is a useful word that really describes the idea you want to convey.

“Domicile” is also a useful word, it means the same as “home”, but this is the term that is used on all official documents and papers of all kinds. A hospital, for instance, will request the “domicile” of the patient, and so on.

“Disconsolate” is a way of saying “very unhappy” but it seems to be a more formal expression. It is often used, both in everyday life and in news reports or fiction. A useful word!

There is good news for Spanish speakers! The words desolado, desmembrar, domicilio and desconsolado all exist, sound similar and mean the same! This is a great help for the graduate entry tests, which demand knowledge of these words in English.

So study up your words and I’ll see you on the next post!

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© 2013  joveron  (Joan Robertson)

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COOL WORDS (WORDS # 37)

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CATARACT

Noun (countable) -  A large waterfall

(Medical) a condition affecting your eyes in which they become white and you gradually lose the ability to see

The Niagara Falls are really wonderful natural cataracts!

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 CANDOR

 

Noun (uncountable) – Honesty, even when the truth is not pleasant

He was really brutal in his explanation, which he gave with great candor

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CIRCUMLOCUTION

Noun (formal, countable/uncountable) – The use of too many words to say something, especially in order to avoid saying something clearly

The descriptions in that book are full of circumlocutions; I don’t recommend it for clarity

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 COMPLICITY

 

Noun (uncountable) – The fact that someone is involved in or knows about something bad that happens

It was difficult to prove their complicity as they had been very clever in hiding their movements

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MY COMMENTS ON THESE WORDS

An interesting collection indeed! 

I have often wondered where the examiners get these lists of words from. 

Another question I frequently ask myself is why are they considered so important for the graduate entry tests in general?

The truth is, they are on the lists, and therefore need to be reviewed, so here I will include some personal comments.

“Cataract” is an easy one; I think most people know that this means a large waterfall. However, things get more complicated when the word is used in relation to our eyes. In this case, cataracts refer to a defect in the eye that makes it difficult to see. It is usually associated to progressive aging. 
Fortunately it can be operated on and checked.

“Candor” is an easy word, and I’ve seen it used frequently, so there doesn’t seem to be a big problem with this one!

“Circumlocution” is certainly not an everyday word! I have seen it used, but have never used it myself, mainly because it’s so long and tedious-looking. It is a rather formal expression, too. I really think this is a far-fetched word, not really very useful to know. Of course you have to know it for the tests, but still!

“Complicity“ is an “everyday” word, this one is easier! I also think that the word “accomplice” is more frequently used, and this last word is related to “complicity”. This should help to learn the word on the list. 

There is good news for Spanish speakers! The following words all exist: catarata, candor, circunloquio, complicidad. They sound similar to the English version and the meanings are the same.  This should be a big help viz the graduate entry tests!

So study up these words and I’ll see you on the next post!

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© 2013  joveron  (Joan Robertson)

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SENSATIONAL WORDS (WORDS # 36)

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SALVAGE

Verb (transitive) – To save property or possessions from a building that has been damaged; to succeed in saving something in a situation that has been a failure

The residents worked desperately to salvage their possessions after the storm.

He put a lot of effort into salvaging the project

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SCHISM

Noun (formal, countable/uncountable) – a group divides into two groups because of a disagreement

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SERPENTINE

Adjective (formal) – Full of bends and twists

A serpentine country lane.

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SOLICITUDE

Noun (formal, uncountable) – A way of behaving that shows that you care about a person’s health, feelings, care, etc.

That clinic treats its patients with solicitude

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MY COMMENTS ON THESE WORDS

This collection seems relatively average, in the sense that none of the words on this short list are especially obscure.

“Salvage” is used quite frequently on news reports, and I think it is common to mentally associate it with the idea of saving something. We must be careful not to confuse it with “savage”, there’s only a difference of one letter!

“Schism” is a horrible looking word, so many letters in such a short expression. I don’t easily connect this word with any common every day event, my mind takes me off to such ideas as “schism of the Church” or “schism of the Roman Empire”, or “the East-West schism”.  It seems to be more related to academic topics.

“Serpentine” is a word that is easily associated with “serpent” which makes it relatively easy to understand. However, I wouldn’t really use it; I’d say “winding” or “coiled” instead.

“Solicitude” is a relative common word; it’s not easy to think of a substitute expression, this word expresses what it’s meant to express so it is difficult to avoid using it if that is the idea you want to transmit. It is generally related to the way persons treat other persons, and it implies a feeling of affection or love.

For Spanish speakers there are some problems here.

It is easy to confuse “salvage” with salvaje, which means “savage” and this is no help, in fact it is confusing.

The word cisma exists and means the same as “schism”, but I’m not sure if it’s easy to relate the one with the other.

The word serpentina exists and means the same, so maybe that would be a help.

The word solicitud exists, but it means “request”. “Solicitude” in the English sense would be translated as solícito, so I don’t think this is much of a help.

Well, there you have it, there’s nothing for it but to study up these words!

I hope to see you on my next post!

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© 2013  joveron  (Joan Robertson)

I will be very happy to receive your comments! Just click the word “comments” lower down.

RESILIENT WORDS (WORDS # 35)

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RAUCOUS

Adjective – rude, noisy and violent

A raucous group of violent looking men

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RAVENOUS

Adjective – Very hungry.

The children were ravenous after their swim

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RECONCILE

Verb (transitive) -  To find a way to make ideas, beliefs and people that are opposed to each other, capable of existing together

Management and labor are attempting to reconcile their differences

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RECONDITE

Adjective – Not easily understood; obscure or hidden

The professor loved to teach about the most recondite matters

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MY COMMENTS ON THESE WORDS

Another interesting collection of words!

“Raucous” is not a word I have seen in use very frequently. I’ve read it in novels, when describing scenes that are not very pleasant.  Its use seems to be reserved for describing the behavior of people who are not very educated, or who have a tendency to be violent. Another use I have seen is in relation to the sounds made by certain animals; these sounds are loud and unpleasant, and the writer would say, its raucous calls resounded through the countryside… or something like that.

“Ravenous” is certainly used! Adolescents can often be “ravenous” with hunger! Wild animals can pounce on their prey and devour it ravenously. Normal people can feel ravenous at certain moments of the day. All in all, it’s a useful word that should be quite well known.

“Reconcile” is another useful word, which is used quite frequently. The example stated above is really very clear. People can become reconciled to their fate. A marriage could be saved by means of a “reconciliation”. This is without doubt, a frequently used word!

“Recondite” on the other hand, is not used all that much. Some academics write in a recondite style, or use recondite words. Then the meaning of their paragraphs can become obscure, and people think they are very learned!

The good news for Spanish speakers is that reconciliar and recóndito both exist, sound similar and mean the same, which should be a help!

So study your words and improve your rating on the graduate entry tests!

I hope to see you on my next post!

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© 2013  joveron  (Joan Robertson)

I will be very happy to receive your comments! Just click the word “comments” lower down.