Daily Wordlist 03 March 2015

		xenophobia [ zen-uh’-FOH-bee-uh’ ] [noun] MEANING : an abnormal hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange USAGE EXAMPLE 1: Some of the tribesmen who suffered from acute xenophobia attacked the luxury bus in which the foreign tourists were travelling. USAGE EXAMPLE 2: South Africa's government has denied claims that little has been done to tackle xenophobia a year after a deadly wave of attacks on migrants began. BBC, South Africa appeal on xenophobia, 11 May 2009

		jointure [ JOIN-cher  ] [noun] MEANING : 1. property set aside by a man for his wife which she may use for her livelihood after his death 2. an act, state or instance of being joined USAGE EXAMPLE 1: The lawyer explained to the grieving widow that her husband had left her the farm as jointure. USAGE EXAMPLE 2: The book starts by describing Burton Fire Brigade's humble beginnings of volunteer fire fighters and manual fire engines, and concludes with the brigade's jointure with Staffordshire in the more high-tech year of 1974. BBC, Sarah Williams, 2003

		zealot [ ZEL-uh’t ] [noun] MEANING : 1. a fanatic 2. a fervent and militant proponent of something USAGE EXAMPLE 1: When he denied that he was a zealot, his friends told him that he should live and let live. USAGE EXAMPLE 2: Afghanistan's former Justice Minister is a religious zealot known for ruthlessly implementing the Taleban's strict laws. BBC, Profile: Nuruddin Turabi, 8 January 2002

		zenith [ ZEN-ith; ZEE-nith ] [noun] MEANING : 1. the point on the celestial sphere that is directly above the observer 2. the point of culmination; the peak USAGE EXAMPLE 1: While he boasted of having reached the zenith of his career someone remarked that now the poor guy had nowhere to go but down. USAGE EXAMPLE 2: Unsurprisingly, anti-nuclear protests reached their zenith during the decade. CNN, Fueling the future, Matthew Knight, 25 April 2008

gullible [ guhl-uh'-buh'l ] [adjective] MEANING : credulous, easily cheated, tricked or duped USAGE EXAMPLE 1: He promised his parents that he would protect his gullible sister from harm. USAGE EXAMPLE 2: Some consumer watchdog groups say it's too simplistic to say that people are gullible. CNN, How I got taken by a work-at-home scam, John Blake, 7 January 2009

Daily Vocabulary Wordlist -28 februrary 2015

		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