ERWC Vocabulary Six

Avaricious Adjective Extremely greedy Avarice: noun (greed) Extremely greedy The avaricious investment banker ripped off many of his clients.

Bane Noun Something harmful Bane is a bane for Gotham City.

Boon Noun Something beneficial The extra credit assignment was a boon for the entire class.

Censure Verb To criticize harshly O’Neal censured the class with such fury and disdain that half of them began weeping immediately.

Deride Verb To mock or ridicule someone Derision: Noun To mock or ridicule someone The team was derided by all of the other teams until they started winning.

Enumerate Verb To list items individually She carefully enumerated all of the reasons why she was breaking up with him.

Flippant Adjective Disrespectful/Sarcastic His flippant remark earned him a chancla to the head.

Gesticulate Verb To move one’s hands while speaking/to communicate meaning He couldn’t figure out that the people on the beach were gesticulating to him to get out of the water because a crocodile was following him.

Grammar Nuance Farther vs. Further Farther: for a measurable physical distance. I walked farther than you. You threw the ball farther than I. Further: imaginary, unmeasurable, to a greater degree Let’s discuss this matter further later.

Ghastly Adjective Shocking/horrible The basketball player suffered a ghastly injury while chasing down a fast break.

Incredulous Adjective Unwilling or unable to believe I was incredulous when I discovered the following: at an average rate of return, Bill Gates earns over $100 per second from his investments and interest. (mic.com)

Obtuse Adjective Slow to understand (sometimes on purpose) I get frustrated with my obtuse friend who cannot understand any of the vocabulary that I use.

Grammar Nuances Weather vs. Whether Weather: rain, snow, etc. This weather sucks. Whether: Possibility I’m not sure whether or not I will go.

Precarious Adjective Unsteady Precariously: adverb (unsteadily) Unsteady The precarious pile of books on my desk is about to tip over.

Sordid Adjective Indecent/Sleazy No one wants to hear the sordid details of your inane relationship.

Superfluous Adjective Beyond what is necessary Since you already have 100% in the class, the extra credit is superfluous.

Grammar Nuance That vs. Who Who is for people: There are many who agree with me. You are the one who took my Taylor Swift T-shirt. That is for things and animals: I couldn’t sleep because of the dog that was barking. The cars that passed were noisy, too.