Unit 3 Focus Words abominate, ascribe, commiserate, enjoin, proclivity, tenuous Wordnik

abominate  verb  verb: abominate; 3rd person present: abominates; past tense: abominated; past participle: abominated; gerund or present participle: abominating  To have an intense dislike or hatred for  detest; loathe.  mid 17th century: from Latin abominat- ‘deprecated,’ from the verb abominari, from ab-‘away, from’ + omen, omin- ‘omen.’

Timmy abominated peas, so he turned his head and refused to eat.

ascribe  Verb  To assign or refer to (as a cause or source), attribute attribute (a text, quotation, or work of art) to a particular person or period. "a quotation ascribed to Thomas Cooper" regard (a quality) as belonging to. "tough-mindedness is a quality commonly ascribed to top bosses"  Middle English: from Latin ascribere, from ad- ‘to’ + scribere ‘write.’

We ascribed his foul mood to the fact that he forgot to eat lunch.

commiserate  verb  To sympathize with, have pity or sorrow for, share a feeling of distress  late 16th century: from Latin commiserat- ‘commiserated,’ from the verb commiserari, from com- ‘with’ + miserari ‘to lament’ (from miser ‘wretched’).

Suzy commiserated with her friend when she broke her toy. She knew how much the toy meant to her friend.

enjoin  verb  verb: enjoin; 3rd person present: enjoins; past tense: enjoined; past participle: enjoined; gerund or present participle: enjoining  To direct or order  To prescribe a course of action in an authoritative way  LAW prohibit someone from performing (a particular action) by issuing an injunction.  late 16th century: from French intercéder or Latin intercedere ‘intervene,’ from inter- ‘between’ + cedere ‘go.’

The police enjoined the protesters from entering the property. They had to hold their signs across the street.

proclivity  noun  a tendency to choose or do something regularly; an inclination or predisposition toward a particular thing.  A natural or habitual inclination or tendency (especially of human character or behavior)  late 16th century: from Latin proclivitas, from proclivis ‘inclined,’ from pro- ‘forward, down’ + clivus ‘slope.’

Many online companies tack customers proclivity for online purchases in order to optimize advertising.

tenuous  Thin, slender, not dense, insubstantial  Lacking clarity or sharpness  Of slight importance  Lacking a sound basis, poorly supported  ate 16th century: formed irregularly from Latin tenuis ‘thin’ + -ous.

The tenuous thread was not going to hold his weight. I was afraid that his tenuous grip on reality, especially after he started to hear voices, would end with his commitment in a mental facility.

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