Afflicted means "impaired" or "stricken" and usually refers to a person who is mentally or physically unfit, or has been grievously affected by disease.

This adjective's Latin root, afflictare, means "to damage, harass, or torment," which may sometimes be a good description of how an afflicted person feels. Those with mental illness may be tormented by voices in their head and thus be unable to distinguish what is real from what is not. Those afflicted by ALS, or Lou
Gehrig's Disease, slowly lose control of their muscles and become paralyzed.

A telegram is a message sent by a telegraph, which is also called a wire.

Over time, there have been many means of communicating, such as messenger pigeon, telephone, text message, letter, and email. Another is the telegram, which is a message sent by a telegraph. People often said a telegram was sent
"by wire" because the sender and receiver of telegrams were connected by a wire. The electric telegraph has been around since the late 1800's. In the Civil War, important information was sent by telegram, which was the speediest means of communication.

The verb hasten means to move at a high speed. If you hasten to your room, no one will know that you came in late.

Hasten comes from the word haste, which means "excessive speed or urgency." The words hurry and hasten are synonyms. Hasten can also mean "to make happen quickly," like when you open a window in the kitchen when you are cooking to hasten the room's cooling down. Hasten also means "to be quick," like when you hasten to tell everyone that the rumor going around about you isn't true

t takes a bit of planning to forestall something, meaning stop it from happening. To forestall the effects of aging, exercise and take care of your health all your life.

You can break the word forestall into parts to figure out its meaning. The prefix fore is one you've seen in words like forewarn, which means "to warn in advance." And you probably know that stall means "delay." So to forestall is to stall in advance, or put another way, to try to prevent or put off something you don't want to happen.

A peddler is a specific type of salesperson: someone who travels from town to town selling their wares.

A peddler is someone who sells things, but it's a very specific type of selling. Peddlers — also known as hawkers and pitchmen — travel from town to town, especially with a carnival or circus.
Peddlers are also found on the street, selling many different things, from jewelry to DVDs. There's a shady implication to this word, since peddlers have included people selling snake oil and other worthless products. Instead of buying from a peddler, you're probably better off at a store.

The man in the bespoke suit is likely to be either the best-dressed or the most overdressed person at your backyard barbecue, depending on how you look at it. Bespoke means custommade.

Clothing that's made to order, tailored especially for you, is called bespoke. It's an adjective that is more common in Britain than in the United States.
Bespoke can also describe non-clothing items that are made-to-order, as well as the person who makes such things: a bespoke jeweler. The term was originally bespoken, meaning "spoken of or arranged beforehand." Obviously, if you wanted a custom-made suit, you had to make arrangements before buying it.

Repression is a kind of holding back or holding down. There's repression of feelings (willing yourself not to cry), as well as social repression
(where the government limits freedom or shuts out certain groups).

Repression is like suppression: you restrain, inhibit, or subdue something. Not allowing women to vote is a perfect example of political repression. If you have trouble expressing your feelings and keep things bottled up, then emotional repression is a big part of your personality. People often turn to repression because they're scared of what will happen if they say what's on their mind.
Unfortunately, political and emotional repression can often lead to anger and even violence.

A suspension is a temporary stoppage. If you receive one in school, you temporarily can't attend classes and if the referee gives you one, you have to sit out for the rest of the game.

If there is a suspension of diplomatic relations with another country or a suspension of sales of a product, these things are stopped too. When you are suspended in mid-air, you are hanging above the earth unable to use your feet. Think of floating like this as another sense of suspension. In your car, the suspension system stops the bumps in the road from knocking you around. In science, suspension is when particles that should sink are made buoyant by another substance and float, like bubbles, off the bottom of a vessel.

Things that are elusive are hard to find, pin down, or remember. They slip right out of your grasp

Ever try to catch a mouse? It's not easy, because mice are quick and elusive — they're tough to catch. Rabbits are speedy, so they're elusive too. Also, things that are tough to understand or describe are elusive — like the concepts of love and beauty. If you had an idea and then forgot it, the idea is elusive: it slipped away. Anything you can't get hold of, with your hands or with your brain, is elusive.

To strive is to endeavor, reach, or strain for something above or beyond. We strive for selfimprovement, a better world, or success in general.

The Old French origin of this word, estriver
("quarrel," "dispute"), had its 800th birthday not too long ago. Though it shares its roots with strife ("conflict"), it changed over the years
(centuries, actually) to describe something more like a conflict with oneself, the attempt to overcome limitations and stay focused on a goal, regardless of whatever quarrels or disputes come up.

The adjective tumultuous means "disruptive,"
"troubled," "disorderly," or "turbulent."

You might hear the adjective tumultuous in news stories about riots because it's one of the best words to describe a group of people in turmoil or disorder, but it can mean anything in a state of unrest. For example, you might steer your boat into a safe harbor before a heavy storm, so the tumultuous waves won't sweep you onto the rocks.

Persistence is the ability to stick with something.
If you practice the violin for over a year before you can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star perfectly, that's persistence!

Persistence can also mean something that lasts for a very long time. The persistence of bullying, despite years of efforts by the school, has frustrated many parents. Bed bugs are known for their persistence. Despite near eradication in the 1950s, they are back and harder to eliminate than ever.

Importunity is when you beg someone to do something. "Please, please take me to the mall!" is probably something said by many teens with importunity.

The adjective importunate describes a plea that is so persistent or demanding that it becomes annoying. You can use the noun importunity to describe an example of this kind of pleading. You might ask for a bite of your friend's dessert with importunity, moaning about how hungry you are and how deliciously fudgy her chocolate cake looks. The root of importunity is the Latin importunitatem, which means "unsuitableness or incivility," and comes from importunus, "unfit or troublesome."

If something pokes your hand, you will probably look at your hand to see if it pierced the skin. To pierce means to go right through, especially with something sharp.

Pierce has several meanings, but they all involve something sharp penetrating something else, like scissors through a plastic bag or a pen through a pocket. You can also pierce confusion by saying something that makes everything clear. Another meaning has to do with sound.
Much like a knife, a sharp sound can pierce the silence and a loud, high shriek will pierce your ears.

Use the adjective exalted to describe something
(or someone) that is raised in rank, value, or power. Which group has the most exalted status at your high school depends on who you ask. If you ask music kids, they may say marching band. If you ask a football player...

Exalted goes back to Latin exaltare, combining ex "up" and altus "high." You may not have an exalted position at school — maybe you're even one of the peons who isn't going to have a fullpage spread dedicated to their achievements in the yearbook — but you'll always have an exalted role in your family, where your quiet humor and up-for-everything attitude brings your siblings together.