Word to learn, remember and use! - Affluent

Affluent

Understanding the Origin of the word:

In Middle English, affluent meant "abundant, flowing," from Old French, from Latin affluēns, from affluere "to abound in," from the prefix ad- "to, at" plus fluere "to flow." The meaning of "abundant, flowing" is still seen in phrases such as "affluent prose." But mostly, when you use the word affluent, the thing understood to be flowing is cash.

Meaning:

adjective, having a lot of money or owing a lot of things.

What we are seeing increasingly is a society of private affluence and public squalor.

adjective, Generously supplied with money, property or possessions, Plentiful; abundant; Flowing Free; Copious.

The centre of the city had sadly become a pit of penury, while, only five miles away, multi-million dollar homes spoke of affluence.

Affluent Style homes for sale in FL

noun, A stream or river that follows into a larger one; a tributary

noun, A person who is well-off financially

The so-called emerging affluent.

Learn, remember and use a word - VINDICATE & VINDICTIVE

Understanding the source of these words:

Vindictive is from Latin vindicta "revenge." The related Latin verb vindicare has the very different meaning "to defend or clear someone from guilt," and this is the source of the English verb vindicate.

Vindicate

Synonym: Justify, Defend

Meaning: to clear of accusation, blame, suspicion or doubt with supporting arguments or proofs. 

For example,

• Our society permits people to sue for libel so that they may vindicate their reputations.
• He denied the allegations and said he would be vindicated in the end.
• They said they welcomed the trial as a chance to vindicate themselves.

Vindictive

Synonym: Justify, Defend

Meaning: adj, disposed to seek revenge; revengeful; marked by or resulting from a desire to hurt; spiteful. 

For example,

• It is no fun hanging out with vindictive people, who are forever out to get back at people they think have hurt them. If you forget to say hello to them on day in the hall, they will carry a grudge against you into next week.
• This are vindictive rumours show a spirit full of revenge
• Ian was an angry, bitter, vindictive person, with little thought about how his actions impinge on others.
• Punishments were more vindictive in nature.
• Snakes are very vindictive when people mess up with them. 

Read more:

• Vocabulary.com 
• https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/vindictive
• Wordnik
• http://www.wordnik.com/words/vindictive

Word to learn, remember and use! - BLEAK

Bleak

Meaning:
[COD]

• If a place is bleak, it is empty and not welcoming or attractive. For example. The house stands on a bleak, windswept moor.  
•  
  
• If a situation is bleak, there is little or no hope for the future. For example, The economic outlook is bleak. 
  

[Wordnik.com]

adjective, gloomy and somber
Life in the Aran islands has always been bleak and difficult (John Millington Synge)

 
adjective, providing no encouragement; depressing. A bleak prospect.  

adjective, Exposed to the elements; unsheltered and barren: the bleak, treeless regions of the high Andes 

adjective, Cold and cutting. Bleak winds of North Atlantic.

noun,  A small European freshwater fish of the genus Alburnus that is related to the carp and has silvery scales used in the manufacture of artificial pearls.

Word to learn, remember and use! - DEMURE

Demure

Meaning:

adjective, (especially of a woman) to be modest, Reserved and shy

Usage:

adverb, She sat with her hands folded demurely in her lap

adjective, She gave him a demure smile 

"Demure" and "submissive" were not words in her vocabulary, thus making her nearly opposite of the feminite ideal of her day. 

She looked too demure ever to do such a bold thing. 

 

GRE Roots (Verbal)

Today's word list

Passage to read:

"Is the GRE important?", this is a very interesting question, and one with diametrically opposed answers, depending how one interprets the question. One common answer is that the GRE is not important at all, and it is an arbitrary test that purports to measure some elusive concept known as intelligence, or, more pejoratively, IQ. It is at best a rite of passage—much like ritual scarring—one must suffer if they are to ascend to the rarefied realm of grad school. 

Words to learn:

Diametrical  :  
(adjective) Exactly opposite; contrary.
(adverb) completely; utterly (esp in the phrase diametrically opposed)

Purport :  
(verb) to pretend to be or to do something, especially in a way that is not easy to believe  
Example sentences:

• They purport to represent the wishes of the majority of parents at the school.
• The study purports to show an increase in the incidence of the disease.
• The tape recording purports to be of a conversation between the princess and a secret admirer. 

 Elusive :
(adjective) difficult to describe, find, achieve or remember.
Example sentences:

 

• An elusive image (as above)
• The answers to these questions remain as elusive as ever.
• Success, however, remained elusive for her.
• Elusive memories  
• Failures are more finely etched in our minds than triumphs, and success is an elusive, if not mythic, goal in our demanding society - Hugh Drummond. [TFD]
  
• A haunting elusive odor - (difficult to describe, impossible to identify) [TFD] 

 Pejoratively :
(adjective)  

• disapproving or suggesting that something is not good or is of no importance  
• Tending to make or become worse.
  Disparaging; belittling.

(noun)

• A disparaging or belittling word or expression

 Example sentences:

• Make sure students realise that 'fat' is an unflattering or pejorative word.
• It comes as quite a shock to still hear a judge describing a child as 'illegitimate', with all the pejorative overtones of that word. 

 

Indian Chaos - Reading Comprehension

Passage to read:

Delhi plunged into darkness and subsequent chaos since the wee hours of Monday following a disturbance in the Northern Grid that resulted in a blackout across eight northern States. Essential services like train, metro and water supply were affected due to the outage. A collection of images of the harrowed times Delhi residents went through several hours before power supply was restored.

Words to learn and use:

Plunged:

verb. to (cause someone or something to) move or fall suddenly and often a long way forward, down or into something.
example.
We ran down to the beach and plunged into the sea.
The car went out of control and plunged over the cliff.
Cook the peas by plunging them into boiling water
Niagara Falls plunges 55.5 meters.
The fall in demand caused share prices to plunge.
Our income has plunged dramatically. 

 Over there are the fish ponds, you'll have plenty of opportunity to catch a mess of trout, or brass, or even catfish. I'm a miser. I love to make things work. The ponds are in series, according to the nature of the fish. But the water starts working up in the mountains. It irrigates a score of mountain meadows before it makes the plunge and is clarified to crystal clearness in the next few rugged miles; and at the plunge from the highlands it generates half the power and all the lighting used on the ranch. Then it sub-irrigates lower levels, flows in here to the fish ponds, and runs out irrigates miles farther on.

Explanations from 'Wordnik.com'

verb. to thrust or throw forcefully into a substance or place.
example. Plunge the lobsters, head first, into the large pot of rapidly boiling salted water. 

verb. to cast suddenly, violently or deeply into a given state or situation.
example. The street was plunged in cool shadow

verb. to fall or throw oneself into a substance or place.
example. we plunged into the icy mountain lake.

verb. to throw oneself earnestly or wholeheartedly into an activity or situation.
example. I plunged into my studies

verb. to enter or move headlong through something.
example. The hunting dogs plunged into the forest.

verb. to descend steeply, fall precipitously.
example. a cliff that plunges to the sea.

verb. to move forward and downward violently.
example. the rider plunged from the bucking horse.

verb. to become suddenly lower, decrease dramatically.
example. Stock prices plunged during the banking crisis.

verb. to speculate or gamble extravagantly.

noun. to act or an instance of plunging

noun. a place or area, such as a swimming pool, for diving or plunging.

noun. a swim, a dip.
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Wee

adjective. small, little
example.
There's a wee cottage inside the grounds.
Would you care for a wee bit more to eat?
adjective. Very early,
example, the wee hours of the morning

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Harrowed

adjective. looking as if you have suffered
example. His face was harrowed.