Vocabulary #10
1. dul·cet adjective
1 : sweet to the taste
2 : pleasing to the ear <dulcet tones>
3 : generally pleasing or agreeable <a dulcet smile>
- dul·cet·ly adverb
2. dy·ad noun 1 : PAIR; specifically : two individuals (as husband and wife) maintaining a sociologically
significant relationship
2 : a meiotic chromosome after separation of the two homologous members of a tetrad
3 : a mathematical operator indicated by writing the symbols of two vectors without a dot or cross between (as AB)
- dy·ad·ic adjective
- dy·ad·i·cal·ly adverb
3. dyb·buk noun, plural dyb·bu·kim also dybbuks
: a wandering soul believed in Jewish folklore to enter and control a living body until exorcised by a religious rite
4. dys·pep·sia noun
1 : INDIGESTION
2 : ill humor : DISGRUNTLEMENT
- dys·pep·tic adjective or noun
- dys·pep·ti·cal·ly adverb
5. ef·fete adjective
1 : no longer fertile
2 a : having lost character, vitality, or strength <the effete monarchies...of feudal Europe -- G. M. Trevelyan> b :
marked by weakness or decadence <the effete East> c : soft or delicate from or as if from a pampered existence
<peddled...trendy tweeds to effete Easterners -- William Helmer> <effete tenderfeet>; also : characteristic of an effete
person <a wool scarf...a bit effete on an outdoorsman -- Nelson Bryant>
3 : EFFEMINATE 1 <a good-humored, effete boy brought up by maiden aunts -- Herman Wouk>
- ef·fete·ly adverb
- ef·fete·ness noun
6. ef·flu·vi·um noun, plural -via also -vi·ums
1 : an invisible emanation; especially : an offensive exhalation or smell
2 : a by-product especially in the form of waste
7. élan noun
: vigorous spirit or enthusiasm
8. el·ee·mo·sy·nary adjective
: of, relating to, or supported by charity
9. el·e·gy noun, plural –gies
1 : a poem in elegiac couplets
2 a : a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation especially for one who is dead b : something (as a speech)
resembling such a song or poem
3 a : a pensive or reflective poem that is usually nostalgic or melancholy b : a short pensive musical composition
10. eli·sion noun
1 a : the use of a speech form that lacks a final or initial sound which a variant speech form has (as 's instead of is in
there's) b : the omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable in a verse to achieve a uniform metrical pattern
2 : the act or an instance of omitting something : OMISSION
11. emend transitive verb
: to correct usually by textual alterations <emended the manuscript>
synonym see CORRECT
- emend·able adjective
- emend·er noun
12. en·co·mi·um noun, plural -mi·ums also en·co·mia
: glowing and warmly enthusiastic praise; also : an expression of this
synonyms EULOGY
13. en·sconce transitive verb
1 : SHELTER, CONCEAL <ensconced themselves within the protection of three great elms -- Mark Twain>
2 : ESTABLISH, SETTLE <ensconced in a new job>
14. epiph·a·ny noun
1 capitalized : January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first
manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ
2 : an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being
3 a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) : an
intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) : an illuminating discovery,
realization, or disclosure b : a revealing scene or moment
15. epis·te·mol·o·gy noun
: the study or a theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge especially with reference to its limits and validity
- epis·te·mo·log·i·cal adjective
- epis·te·mo·log·i·cal·ly adverb
- epis·te·mol·o·gist noun
16. epis·to·lary adjective
1 : of, relating to, or suitable to a letter
2 : contained in or carried on by letters <an endless sequence of...epistolary love affairs -- Times Literary
Supplement>
3 : written in the form of a series of letters <an epistolary novel>
17. ep·onym noun
1 : one for whom or which something is or is believed to be named
2 : a name (as of a drug or a disease) based on or derived from an eponym
- ep·onym·ic adjective
18. equi·poise noun
1 : a state of equilibrium
2 : COUNTERBALANCE
19. er·satz adjective
: being a usually artificial and inferior substitute or imitation <ersatz turf> <ersatz intellectuals>
- ersatz noun
20. eruct verb
: BELCH