Convoke

 Convoke

<kon-volk>

assemble; convene; call;

to summon someone to a gathering.

I use a dog whistle to convoke an excited group of happy dogs. They come from miles around.

Memory trick:
convoke reminds of convene.
we convene or call a meeting.

At work:
Let's convoke with the sales department and work out the details. We are ready to ship.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Raucous

Raucous

<rawk-kus>

loud; unruly; wild;

a noisy uncontrolled disturbance.

The children made a raucous in the house. You could not hear yourself think.

Memory trick:
raucous reminds of "rock us".
loud noise rocks us.

At work:
The raucous from the construction will make it impossible to work. It will be too noisy.

(c) 2015 E.  Carruthers
 

Perplex

Perplex

<per-pleks>

baffle; bewilder; puzzle

something that is confusing.

A mystery movie will perplex the audience. They don't know the answer until the end.

Memory trick:
remember perp.
a perp is an unknown person who committed a crime.
they are a mystery.

At work:
The complicated regulations perplex the accountants. They will spend days understanding them.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Unimpeachable

Unimpeachable

<uhn-imm-pee-cha-bul>

reliable; spotless; trustworthy;

someone or something that is dependable and uncorrupted.

The story was unimpeachable because there were many witnesses who saw the same thing.

Memory trick:
unimpeachable reminds of impeach.
we impeach someone when they are dishonest.
impeach means to remove someone from power.
they cannot be impeached because they are honest.
they are- un impeachable.

At work:
The results of the testing are unimpeachable. We get the same results each time.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Hoary

Hoary

<or-ree>

antiquated; old; grizzled;

something that is ancient.

The hoary recliner sat in the den for ages. Dad was not happy to find a new chair in its place.

Memory trick:
we say hooray when something exists a long time.
A hooray is a shout of cheer.

At work:
Our office felt hoary until we replaced everything. It was now bright and happy.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
  

Fete

Fete

<fate>

gala; fiesta; party;

a gathering for a celebration.

We will plan a fete to celebrate your birthday. We will have cake and balloons.

Memory trick:
fete sounds like fate.
it is fate to meet at a party.

At work:
We will have a fete to announce our new product. Either that or it's Friday.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Jocund

Jocund

<jok-kund>

happy; joyful; gleeful;

feeling good and cheerful.

The jocund song made everyone feel great. We all had fun.

Memory trick:
Jocund reminds of joke.

At work:
The office party had a jocund feel because everyone was smiling and laughing.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Lucid

Lucid

<loo-sid>

simple; clear; plain;

something that is easy to understand.

I studied a lot and each question was lucid to me. I scored perfect.

Memory trick:
lucid reminds of lucky.
lucky it is simple.

At work:
I took a walk to think and the answer to the problem became lucid. It was solved.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

 

Opaque

Opaque

<oh-pake>

cloudy; unclear; blurred;

something that cannot be seen through.

The trees made an opaque barrier between the houses. They made the yard private.

Memory trick:
opaque reminds of oppose.

At work:
The prior results must be opaque to the people testing. This way they can't cheat.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Flippant

Flippant

<flip-pant>

playful; rude; impudent;

having a disrespectful attitude.

The student was flippant and the teacher asked her to leave the classroom.

Remember:
flippant reminds of "flip ant".
we flip something by turning it around.
an ant is small.
we make someone feel small when we turn around their words.

At work:
You will get better customer service if you are not flippant. Be nice and pleasant.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Involute

Involute

<in-vah-loot>

intricate; complicated; confused;

something that is complex and involved.

The map is an involute maze of twists and turns. I don't know how to get there.

Remember:
Involute reminds of convoluted.
convoluted means to make something confusing.

At work:
Our software has an involute feel and it is hard to use. We must make it simpler.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Vexation

Vexation

<veks-aay-shun>

anger; aggravation; irritation;

being annoyed or agitated.

The dripping water caused a constant vexation. I woke up and shut off the water.

Remember:
vexation reminds of aggravation.

Our vexation went away when the other company ended the lawsuit. It was a great day.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Extrinsic

Extrinsic

<egg-strinz-zik>

outside; external; imported;

something that is foreign.

The gift came from an extrinsic source. We never knew who gave it.

Memory trick:
extrinsic reminds of external.

At work:
We will be audited by an extrinsic auditor. They will come into the office next week.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
  

Elucidate

Elucidate

<ee-loo-sah-dayte>

explain; clarify; decode;

to make something clear and simple.

A picture will elucidate a complicated story because a picture paints a thousand words.

Memory trick:
elucidate reminds of lucid.
lucid means to think clearly.

At work:
We need to elucidate the instructions. The text is too small and the words are unclear.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
   

Providential

Providential

<pra-vid-den-shul>

fortunate; lucky; opportune;

something happy that happens at a good time.

Winning the lottery was providential after they bought a new house. They paid it off in full.

Remember:
providential reminds of provide.
provide means to give something needed.

At work:
It was providential that the market went up right after the stock went public. We made a lot of money.


(C) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Rigmarole

Rigmarole

<rig-mah-roll>

babble; tale; silliness;

a story that is nonsense.

The fist chapter was rigmarole but the rest of the book was good.

Memory trick:
rigmarole reminds of rig.
something rigged is fake.
example: The game is rigged and you cannot win.

At work:
We must remove the rigmarole from our ads. We should only talk about the product.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Ersatz

Ersatz

<air-zots>

fake; phony; false;

something that is artificial or counterfeit.

Never buy ersatz lemonade. Always make sure it has lemon juice. Some brands are all sugar.

Memory trick:
ersatz reminds of err.
an err is a mistake.
we mistake fake for real.

The bug problem went away when we got ersatz flowers. No one was happy because we missed the aroma the office.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

 
 

Poignant

Poignant

<poy-yant>

bitter; heartbreaking; sorrowful;

something that makes you sad or mournful.

Our poignant moment turned to joy when the lost puppy was found.

Memory trick:
poi reminds of poor.
poor us.

At work:
There were many poignant feelings at the retirement party. He was going to be missed.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Magnanimous

Magnanimous

<mag-nan-nah-mus>

charitable; generous; unselfish;

being forgiving and good to someone less fortunate than you.

The boy was kind and he let the fish go. He was always magnanimous to small animals.

Remember:
magnanimous reminds of generous.

At work:
We're lucky to have a magnanimous CEO. He always treats us well.

(c) 2015 E. Carrruthers
 

Indefatigable

Indefatigable

<inn-deh-fat-tig-gah-bul>

tireless; persistent; energetic;

being consistent and untiring.

The indefatigable dog chased the ball all day. He never got tired.

Memory trick:
indefatigable reminds of "not fatigue".
fatigue means to be tired.

At work:
We are successful because of your indefatigable hard work. You never quit.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Equivocal

Equivocal

<ear-kwiv-vah-kul>

unclear; vague; hazy;

something with many possible meanings or results.

The movie had an equivocal ending. We never learned the end of the story.

Remember:
equivocal reminds of "equal vocal".
it's equally vocal when there can be many answers.

At work:
She never gives us equivocal directions. We always know what to do.

P.S.
You are a neophyte. = You are a beginner who makes mistakes. (knee-oh-fight)

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers



 

Delectation

Delectation

<dee-lek-tay-shun>

joy; happiness; elation;

feeling pleasure or enjoyment.

Candy is my favorite delectation. It always makes me smile.

Remember:
delectation reminds of delectable.
something delectable is pleasant.

At work:
An air of delectation filled the room when we won the contract. A handshake sealed the deal.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
  

Vagary

Vagary

<va-gair-ree>

erratic; change; oddity;

an unexplained and unexpected change.

His wearing a tie was a vagary to everyone. He always wore sweaters.

Remember:
vagary remind of vague.
changes are vague or unclear to us.

At work:
Never drink alcohol at the office party. Vagary behavior will occur and it's never good.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
  

Lackadaisical

Lackadaisical

<lak-ah-days-zik-kal>

lazy; passive; relaxed;

lacking energy or having no interest.

I felt lackadaisical and had no desire to clean. I watch movies all day.

Remember:
lackadaisical reminds of lack.
we have a lack of enthusiasm.

At work:
We felt lackadaisical after the big meal. We got back to work after drinking coffee.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
  

Vehement

Vehement

angry; furious; violent;

<vee-heh-meant>

showing strong and powerful emotions.

Her workouts are vehement. She always works up a sweat.

Remember:
vehement reminds of violent.

At work:
The stockholders showed their vehement opposition to the proposal. They became agreeable when they learned the details.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
  

Ostentatious

Ostentatious

<ahs-sten-tay-shish>

gaudy; classy; showy;

something flashy meant to impress others.

Her ostentatious hat had flowers and diamonds on it. Everyone gasped when they saw it.

Memory trick:
ostentatious reminds of ostrich.
an ostrich is flashy.

At work:
Our presentation should be ostentatious. Let's add dancing clowns with banjos.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

  

Pell-mell

Pell-mell

<pel-mel>

chaotic; hastily; confused;

to do something hurriedly and disordered.

She ran around pell-mell. She packed so quickly she forgot the tickets.

Memory trick:
pell-mell-fell

At work:
We can't build software in a pell-mell way. We have to design it and be organized.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Exultant

Exultant

<ehk-zalt-tant>

elated; happy; joyous;

being gleeful and triumphant.

The exultant crowd roared with joy. The game was over and we won.

Memory trick:
exultant reminds of excitement.

At work:
We became exultant when we learned of winning the award. People danced in the halls.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
  

Unsavory

Unsavory

<uhn-save-or-ree>

unattractive; nasty; shady;

anything unappealing in sight, smell or character.

The man looked unsavory but he looked great after the makeover.

Memory trick:
un reminds of not.
savor means to enjoy.
not enjoy.

At work:
Our menus are unsavory. We need to make them look better.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers