Proffer

Proffer

<prah-fur>

offer; propose; give;

to present something for consideration.

She will proffer her opinion without being asked.

Remember:
proffer reminds of offer

At work:
It's a generous monetary proffer. We should accept the deal.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Amity

Amity

<ahm-mit-tee>

friendship; harmony; goodwill;

a good and peaceful relationship.

It was a great vacation because of the amity of the people.

Memory trick:
amity reminds of amicable.

At work:
We're a good team and the amity of the group makes the work fun.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Indolent

Indolent

<in-da-lent>

lazy; idle; slow;

avoiding activity or work.

We will spend the weekend being indolent. We'll do nothing at all.

Memory trick:
indolent reminds of dole.
dole is getting free benefits when not working.

At work:
The hot temperature is making everyone indolent. We need the air conditioner fixed so we can get back to work.

Other stuff:
ARM - Adjustable Rate Mortgage
Means: You pay a small payment at first but then the payment is greatly raised later.
So: It's not a good deal and it's best avoided.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Beset

Beset

<beh-set>

invade; assail; overrun;

to surround and constantly hem in.

Our picnic was beset by ants and we had to leave.

Memory trick
be set upon.

At work:
We were beset by people demanding a demo of our product. It was a good problem to have.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Befog

Befog

<bee-fahg>

dim; muddy; obscure;

something confusing or unclear.

Math would always befog me. I found a tutor and now I understand it.

Memory trick:
fog is hard to see into.

At work:
Make the instructions clear and simple. We don't want to befog the users.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Teem

Teem

<team>

swell; overflow; brimming;

to be full or filled to the maximum.

Our glasses will teem with lemonade and we will drink all day.

Memory trick:
enough for a team.

At work:
Our ads teem with photos so customers can see from all angles.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Repartee

Repartee

<rep-pah-tee>

retort; sarcasm; banter;

giving quick witty replies.

The actors repartee made the movie entertaining. Their comebacks were fast and funny.

Memory trick:
repartee reminds of repeat parts.

At work:
We had a great repartee with the clients. We really enjoyed their clever wit.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Verisimilitude

Verisimilitude

<ver-rah-sah-mil-lit-tood>

plausibility; realism; authenticity;

something appearing to be real.

My dream was a colorful verisimilitude. I could smell the flowers.

Memory trick:
verisimilitude reminds of verify

At work:
The demonstration was a perfect verisimilitude. The client imagined the real thing and closed the deal.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Modish

Modish

trendy; fashionable; chic;

something current with the style of the time.

She wore a modish dress. All the young girls wore them.

Memory trick:
modish reminds of modern

At work:
We need our packaging to be more modish to appeal to more people.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Languid

Languid

<lang-gwid>

lazy; sluggish; relaxed;

being unhurried and leisurely.

We took a languid walk down the shady lane. We took our time.

Memory trick:
languid reminds of lounge

At work:
We felt a languid calm when the deadline was met.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Paucity

Paucity

<pah-sit-tee>

insufficiency; poverty; scarcity;

something in too small an amount.

I never have a paucity of money because I work hard.

Memory trick:
paucity reminds of pauper or poor

At work:
We don't have a paucity of computers because the company believes in technology.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Nullify

Nullify

<nole-la-feye>

Void; undo; invalidate;

to cancel something or make it worthless.

I will nullify the bill and you won't have to pay anything.

Memory trick:
Nullify reminds of null or nothing.

At work:
Making deadlines ensures they won't nullify the contract.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Sumptuous

Sumptuous

deluxe; elegant; grand;

<somp-chew-is>

something rich and splendid.

This cake is sumptuous. I will have another piece.

Memory trick:
sumptuous reminds of sum
It is worth a large sum

At work:
The hotel was sumptuous and the clients were impressed.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Parlance

Parlance

<par-lants>

talk; speech; lingo;

a way of speaking among people with the same interests.

The kids spoke in a parlance foreign to their parents.

Memory trick:
parlance reminds of freelance
a language understood only by freelancers

At work:
The computer programmers talked in a parlance we did not understand.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Pristine

Pristine

<priss-teen>

new; untouched; unused;

something in its original state.

The paper was pristine because she could not think of a thing to write.

Memory trick:
pristine reminds of pri or prior

At work:
I undid the changes and the program is pristine again. We can add the changes again until we find the problem.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Proscribe

Proscribe

<pro-skrybe>

forbid; outlaw; prohibit;

to make a law banning something.

We proscribe the throwing of food in this cafe. Please be polite.

Memory trick:
proscribe reminds of prohibit scribe
scribe reminds of- to write a law
we write a law to prohibit something

At work:
We proscribe the excessive use of exclamation points in our advertisements. Three is too many!!!

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Torpor

Torpor

<tore-per>

laziness; inactivity; idleness;

a lack of movement caused by weariness or fatigue.

I feel into a dreamy torpor after drinking the warm milk.

Memory trick:
torpor reminds of tour poor
we tour poorly when tired

At work:
We fell into a torpor after a big lunch. We all ran to the coffee machine.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Vie

Vie

<veye>

content; fight; compete;

to struggle against an opponent to win a victory.

They vie for the attention of the teacher because they are competitive.

Memory trick:
Vi reminds of victory

At work:
We vie with the other company for every contract and we usually win.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Transfigure

Transfigure

<tranz-fig-yer>

remodel; reorganize; alter;

to change something and make it more beautiful.

The flowers transfigured the lawn into a rainbow of colors.

Memory trick:
transfigure reminds of transfer figure
you transfer the figure into something pretty

At work:
The new pictures will transfigure the presentation into a work of art.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Spurious

Spurious

<spur-ree-us>

phony; fake; false;

something not authentic or not genuine.

Your diamond ring is not spurious. It is worth a fortune.

Memory trick:
it spurs your anger when you learn it is fake

At work:
Their claims were proven spurious and we won the lawsuit.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Rapt

Rapt

<wrapped>

enchanted; spellbound; captivated;

being fascinated in a hypnotic way.

His eyes grew large and his jaw dropped. He watch the movie with rapt attention.

Memory trick:
rapt reminds of rapture

At work:
All heads turned and the room fell silent. They sat in rapt admiration as the president spoke.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Rankle

Rankle

<ranc-kul>

annoy;  bother;  anger

to irritate someone.

We are going to rankle the guests by serving dinner late.

Memory trick:
rankle reminds of rank
something rank smells bad and annoys us

At work:
We have to get the bugs out of the program or we will rankle our users.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Ungainly

Ungainly

<uhn-gane-lee>

uncoordinated; clumsy; awkward;

moving in an ungraceful way.

The turtle was ungainly and I easily outran it.

Memory trick:
ungainly reminds of un gain
something clumsy does not gain

At work:
Your presentation is ungainly because of all the extra exclamation points.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Puerile

Puerile

<pur-ree-ill>

immature; trivial; foolish;

being childish and having bad judgment.

The puerile student frustrated the teacher and distracted the class.

Memory trick:
puerile reminds of pure rile
we are riled when someone acts silly

At work:
We need to be less puerile and get serious about this project.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Rancor

Rancor

<rank-ker>

hate; spite; grudge;

having a long-lasting bitterness for someone.

His rancor became friendship after he got to know her.

Memory trick:
rancor reminds of ran
we ran because we did not like them

At work:
I can work with him. I feel no rancor because I understand why he did those bad things

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Protract

Protract

<pro-trakt>

too long; prolong; lingering;

something that continues on for a long time beyond the normal length.

He did not protract the song. Everyone was relieved.

Memory trick:
protract reminds of prolong

At work:
Don't protract the sales pitch. Stop talking when they agree to buy.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Homage

Homage

<ah-midge>

respect; honor; acclaim;

to praise someone in public with admiration.

We gave him a great homage with cheers.

Memory trick:
homage reminds of home

At work:
We would like to pay you homage for a great job.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Prolix

Prolix

<proh-liks>

tedious; lengthy; rambling;

saying or writing something with too many words.

I find his writing to be prolix and boring.

Memory trick:
prolix reminds of prose and licks
saying too much prose makes us lick our dry lips

At work:
Your presentation is too prolix. Redo it with less words.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Afoot

Afoot

<ah-foot>

going on; brewing; in progress;

something happening now.

Come Watson! The game is afoot and there is no time to waste.

Memory trick:
foot reminds of moving
it is moving now

At work:
The secret meeting is afoot. We need to interrupt it and stop the vote.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers