Vocabulary Harvest #1, for Monday, Sept. 15, 2014

accolade(s) – honor, awards, kudos, acclaim.  (often in the plural)

Her performance on the field was so strong that she earned accolades from her opponents and their coaches.

jaundiced – (literally:  yellow)  Most often:  cynical, envying, or hostile.

He had heard his boss contradict herself many times, and as a consequence, he had a jaundiced view about her latest announcement to the staff.

equivocate – to go back and forth; to “flip-flop.”

She tried to pin him down about their relationship, but all he could do was equivocate -- he couldn't commit!

fastidious – according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, there are three “layers” to this definition:

a : having high and often capricious standards : difficult to please.b : showing or demanding excessive delicacy or care.
c : reflecting a meticulous, sensitive, or demanding attitude.

For purposes of Friday's quiz, I suggest that you focus on definition c:  “reflecting a meticulous, sensitive, or demanding attitude.” 

The piano teacher favored students who were fastidious in their rehearsal of scales and arpeggios.

ostracize – to reject; to leave out; to spurn.

Dan, Fred, Ian, and Charlie had been friends throughout eighth grade, but in ninth grade Ian was ostracized by the other three for reasons that never became public.

Spartan – evincing qualities of exceptional self-discipline and courage.

She adopted a Spartan diet after her doctor warned her that she could suffer heart disease as a consequence of being overweight.

vile – abhorrent, obnoxious, distasteful, disgusting,

1.    a vile and cowardly act

2.    What is that vile odor?

3.    His comments were positively vile.

4.    She has a vile temper.         ~  Merriam-Webster Dictionary online.

analogy – a comparison that stresses the similarities of two distinct processes or entities; often, a comparison between two comparisons.

He made an effective analogy when he compared the hard-working men of our church with the fighting American Marines in World War II.  

                3 / 6 ~ = ~ 4 / 8 

Bargain hunters congregate around the main doorway to the mall in much the same way that bees gather at the entrance of a bee-hive.

evince – to reveal; to display; to show outward evidence of.

She evinced a strong interest in piano music at an early age.

The teenager caught shoplifting seemed to evince no remorse.  (Merriam-Webster)

poignant – painfully or powerfully affecting the feelings; touching; moving.

The final movement of the symphony, with its folksongs and dance themes, creates a poignant reminder of the composer’s home in Czechoslovakia.  

(P.S.  Poignant can also mean “pungently pervasive” as in the case of a strong perfume or odor.  ~  Merriam-Webster)