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Elements of Writing. Vocab: Week 8. Assiduous. Adj: Done with diligence or care Robert Langdon carefully attempted to open the small coded box with assiduous and careful movements of his hands. If he slipped up or moved to hastily, the contents could be destroyed. Belabor.
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Elements of Writing Vocab: Week 8
Assiduous • Adj: Done with diligence or care • Robert Langdon carefully attempted to open the small coded box with assiduous and careful movements of his hands. If he slipped up or moved to hastily, the contents could be destroyed.
Belabor • Verb: To beat soundly; to assail or attack verbally; to “beat to death” • Mazer Rackham belabored the point that young Wiggin could never give up, could never stop, could never halt his training. He pounded and beat the idea into Wiggin’s brain.
Brusque • Adj. Blunt; abrupt • The brusque mother told Tom Joad that he’s got to go. She was very blunt and frank about it, which isn’t very surprising; the whole family is known for their candor and blunt honesty.
Commensurate • Adj. Equal in extent • corresponding or equal in size, extent, amount or degree • Jack Ryan’s position in the NSA shows that despite being outside the three equal branches of the government, any agency can have commensurate power with the presidency. At the end of the book, Ryan confronts the President and shows he can wield just as much power.
Commiserate • Verb: To feel or express pity or sympathy for • Diana commiserated with her friend over the color of her hair. The friend’s attempt to dye her hair black resulted in a horrible shade of green; the original red hair was much nicer, but Diana was there to cry with her.
Esoteric • Adj. Known only to a chosen few • Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler went to the esoteric island off the coast of Costa Rica. There, known only to a few people, millionaire John Hammond embarked on a grand project involving cloning and genetics.
Felicitous • Adj. suitable expressed or well-chosen; apt • The felicitous title of this book is an appropriate selection because Trisha McFarland often hallucinates that she sees her all-time favorite baseball player while she’s lost in the woods. It’s a well-chosen title!
Gratuitous • Adj: given freely; unwarranted • The Ring, because it was a gratuitous gift, didn’t overwhelm and twist the Halfling. Since his adoptive uncle gave him the Ring freely, he did not feel the powerful effects as strongly as if he had stolen it or killed to get it.
Hiatus • Noun. A gap or pause • The gravedigger provides a bit of comic relief and a small hiatus to the drama of the play. It kick’s back up full swing after the pause in the intensity with the protagonist and his foil tumbling into the grave of a girl who drowned.
Jaded • Adj: to tire or dull by excess or repetition • Marvin, a jaded robot, does nothing but whine and complain. I don’t really blame him for being worn out by the humdrum of the universe. He was left on a desolate planet for several million years until the universe came to an end.
Meander • Verb. To wind or turn in course; to wander • Bill Bryson meandered up the east coast along the Appalachian trail. His movements turned this way and that way as he slowly worked his way along the winding trail.
Rapacious • Adj. Excessively grasping; plundering • Fagin and his gang of rapacious pick-pockets tried to plunder as much as they get their grubby little hands on.
Sardonic • Adj. Disdainful; sarcastic • John Corey, a sardonic cop on sick leave after being shot on duty, found himself thrown into a crazy, dangerous mystery full of death, mayhem, spies, women, and sarcastic comments. It culminates in a climactic conclusion on Plum Island.
Zenith • Noun. The point directly overhead in the sky; a summit • Taran, assistant pig-keeper, battled the undead soldiers of Arawn, death lord, near the zenith of Mount Dragon. Here, at the summit, he risked his life to save the world from evil.
