Saturday, February 28, 2015

Daily Vocabulary Wordlist -28 februrary 2015

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idyll [ ahyd-l ]
[noun]
MEANING :
1. a narrative of a sequence of events in verse or prose
2. an episode of idyllic appeal
3. a short-lived romantic affair
4. a sentimental musical composition
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
She narrated their life story in the form of an idyll.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Her clothes were for ordinary women, but they carried in their abundant floral folds the promise of some bucolic idyll far removed from the urban cool of Biba.
The Telegraph, Laura Ashley florals celebrated in new book, Judy Rumbold, 21 August 2009, accessed 26 August 2009.
jeremiad [ jer-uh’-MAHY-uh’ d, -ad ]
[noun]
MEANING :
1. a sermon or speech warning of disaster or prophecy of doom
2.a mournful lamentation or complaint
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The congregation went home fearing their own shadows after the jeremiad delivered by the pastor.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Once upon a time, Labour used to issue jeremiads about the creeping privatisation of the NHS
BBC, What's next for the NHS, 1 August 2006
killjoy [ KIL-joi ]
[noun]
MEANING :
a spoilsport, a wet blanket, one ruining the pleasure or enthusiasm of others
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
Our elderly neighbour is a regular killjoy always complaining about the loud music that we enjoy.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Obama needs to strike a balance between fashioning himself an advocate of clean living and coming across as a public scold or a killjoy.
Washington Post, Media Notes, Howard Kurtz, 11 June 2009
complaisance [ kuh’ m-PLEY-suh’ ns, -zuh ’ns, KOM-pluh’-zans ]
[noun]
MEANING :
affability, agreeableness or amiability
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The complaisance of the head boy earned him popularity among his peers.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
The awful thought occurs to you that there was dignity in the struggle for workers’ rights, but that complaisance may be a living death.
Telegraph, Liverpool Biennial: 'Made Up', 22 September 2008
unfeigned [ uhn-FEYND ]
[adjective]
MEANING :
sincere, genuine
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
Many friends attended his funeral and expressed unfeigned grief.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
The context had changed, and in a time of famine and drought, Christians had to respond – not out of guilt, but out of unfeigned love.
University of Oxford, Sermon, the Revd Dr Sabina Alkire, 10 May 2009
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