The Vocab Weekly

Aghast

Aghast If Phoenix birds were real, it would have been an amazing sight to see them rise from their ashes. It would have been dumbfounding actually to see a legend come to life. All such legends that we have just red about, would leave us aghast if they were to happen for real. It is an adjective and its first usage dates back to 13th century. Pronunciation: uh-gast, uh-gahst The dictionary definitions for aghast are as follows: 1) Struck with shock that cannot be conquered. (adjective) 2) Filled with amazement. (adjective) 3) Overpowered by sudden and immense fright or horror. (adjective) Master tip to learn aghast: Aghast can be easily learnt with the help of the word ghost. Although, the words neither sound similar nor have the same meaning. However, seeing a ghost you would be aghast .i.e. filled with fright. Wouldnt you be? Aghast can be used in following ways: 1) I was left aghast at watching a good performance by Britney Spears. (Adjective) 2) The play was so bad that the audience were aghast. 3) Harry Potter was aghast when Phoenix healed his wound with is tears.

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Aug 24-Aug 31| Issue 44

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Shilly-shally

Shilly-shally Procrastination in better terms! We all know what procrastination is, after all we have studied it here. Well, shilly-shally (or spelled as shillyshally at times) is more or less the same thing as procrastination: to keep delaying something, that must be done. One should neither shilly-shally nor dilly-dally (another synonym for the same) anything important in life: you never know when you are going to run out of time. The dictionary definitions for Shilly-shally are as follows: 1. The act of procrastinating; putting off or delaying or deferring an action to a later time 2. Be uncertain and vague 3. Postpone doing what one should be doing

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Cur

Cur Its very rude to call anyone a cur, but your cowardly or mean behaviour can give you this name. Pronunciation: kur The dictionary definitions of cur are as follows: 1) A mongrel dog, a worthless or unfriendly one. 2) A mean and cowardly person. 3) A surly person 4) A mixed breed dog, the one that is ill-natured and in poor condition. Master tip to learn cur: Cur can be easily learnt with the help of the word curry, which is yummy and may be a cur can be made yummy too, if cooked. Cur can also be learnt while remembering that Shylock in Merchant of Venice says that Atonio has called him a cur (dog) and also refuses to lend money to Antonio by saying that how can a dog have money to lend. Cur can be used in following ways: 1) He was called a cur when he left his wife-to-be at altar. (Noun) 2) No one likes him for his cur like behaviour. (Adjective)

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Prestigious

The Vocab Weekly

Prestigious Prestigious is all about prestige, prestige is all about honor. That is what this is simple equation is about. Pronunciation: pres-ti-gious Meanings of Prestigious 1. Having status or glamour 2. Impressive or influential 3. Having an illustrious reputation Master tip to learn Prestigious We all watch "prestigious" television awards or filmfare awards. we can remember prestigious from that. Sentences examples for Prestigious 1. How did Krugman actually get a graduate degree, let alone win prestigious awards? 2. One wants to have tenure and as many publications in prestigious places as one can before the next group of promising scholars looking for something "new" comes along. 4. Genre writers seem rarely to have faculty positions in prestigious programs.

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Rash

The Vocab Weekly

Rash A word with many distinct definitions, and is having different contextual meanings in different contexts. The most prominent meaning is reckless, that is disregarding the consequences of an action or a decision you are making, and you might end up in jeopardizing yourself. People with Rash behavior have the tendency that they do not ponder upon the decisions they are making, and ultimately face the ill- effects after that. Another most common meaning of Rash is in context of skin disease that is a change of the skin which affects its color, appearance or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cracked or blistered, swell and may be painful. The causes, and therefore treatments for rashes, vary widely. Pronunciation: rash Meanings of Rash 1. Acting without due consideration or thought. 2. Characterized by or resulting from excessive haste or impetuosity. 3. A series of unexpected and unpleasant occurrences. Masters Tip to learn Rash Look at people around who are suffering because of the Rash decisions they made in their life, or who are subject to constant Rash behaviors. Such people are not liked, because their attitude is not acceptable and has much deviation from the standard one.

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The Vocab Weekly

Succumb

Succumb Surrender or Die? If everything is going against you and you have back to the wall, there will come a stage when you lose the strength to fight. That stage, when you no longer can take, is the one where you succumb, give in or put it a idiomatic manner, the walls cave in. Pronunciation: suh-kuhm Meaning of Succumb 1. To give way in face of the overwhelming force 2. To be fatally overwhelmed 3. To lose the determination to oppose something 4. To accept defeat Master Tip to Learn Succumb Think of the related word submit, as it means "to yield control." Succumb means you have submitted to defeat. You have probably heard someone say, "I can't believe you succumbed to their demands. This statement is in fact one of the most common ways of using this word. Sentence examples for Succumb 1. He was determined not to succumb to temptation while on the diet. 2. After years of suffering, the man finally succumbed to his illness

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Xenophobia

The Vocab Weekly

Xenophobia A person with this phobia will be really scared in hotels in alien cities or countries. However, a person with this phobia would do really well in hostile situations, as he/she would be trained or used to avoid people not known. It is a Noun. Xenophobia seems to have originated from a Greek word Xeno. X in xeno is pronounced as zeno. This Greek word basically means something foreign, a foreigner (a person not known), alien, strange, stranger and Greeks considered every stranger a guest. Hence, a house for guests or as we call it a hotel today was called xenodocheion/xenodochium. Pronunciation: zen-uh-foh-bee-uh, zee-nuhThe dictionary definitions for xenophobia are as follows: An unreasonable fear or hatred of strangers or of something strange/foreign. Master tip to learn xenophobia: Everyone in school must have read about a chemical element called xenon. The most distinctive feature of xenon is that it is mostly unreactive, just like a person with xenophobia, unreactive/ not gelling with other people. However, in this case it is due to fear, which eventually becomes a characteristic of a person just like a property of xenon .i.e. unreactive.

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Work Out Zone

Work Out 1: Match the following words with their respective meanings or synonyms. Word 1 Aghast 2 Cur 3 Prestigious 4 Rash 5 Succumb 6 Xenophobia 7 Shilly-shally Meaning or Synonym A cowardly B procrastination C perish D honoured E intolerance F stunned G reckless

Work Out 2: Did you really understand the word? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. The judgement left him aghast The man who fought bravely was called a cur. Prestigious positions are difficult to attain. Youngsters are usually rash drivers The kid succumbed to the disease. Xenophobia helped him adjust to the foreign location. The boss fired him because of his shilly-shally yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no no no no no no no

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The Vocab Weekly

Answers: Work Out Zone

Work Out 1 1-F, 2-A, 3-D, 4-G, 5-C, 6-E, 7-A Work Out 2 1-yes, 2-no, 3-yes, 4-yes, 5-yes, 6-no, 7-yes

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