Vocabulary: Fall List #10

Aficionado- an ardent devotee; fan; enthusiast

sentence- The giants had many supporting aficionados at their stadium when they won. 

Browbeat- to intimidate by overbearing looks or words; bully 

sentence- The boys browbeat him into agreeing.

Commensurate- having the same measure; of equal extent or duration

sentence- I was hired at a position commensurate to my ability. 

Diaphanous- very sheer and light

sentence- The curtains we have are very diaphanous.

Emolument- profit, salary, or fees from office or employment; compensation for services

sentence- Tips are an emolument in addition to wages. 

Foray- a quick, sudden attack

sentence- The defenders made a foray outside the walls. 

Genre- a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique

sentence- I enjoy the genre of epic poetry.

Homily- an inspirational saying or cliche 

sentence- A homily used today is "Just do it". 

Immure- to shut in; seclude or confine

sentence- When I got in a fight with my mom  I immured myself in my room. 

Insouciant- free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant

sentence- On the last day of school my mood was insouciant from school. 

Matrix- something that constitutes the place or point from which something else originates, takes form, or develops 

sentence- The Greco-Roman world was the matrix for western civilization. 

Obsequies- a funeral rite or ceremony

sentence- You're supposed to wear black when attending obsequies. 

Panache- a grand or flamboyant manner; style; flair

sentence- The actress must have had panache in the audition.

Persona- a person's perceived or evident personality, as that of a well known official

sentence- Her persona, fashioned over three decades of self portraits. 

Philippic- any speech or discourse of bitter denunciation

sentence- During the debate the presidential candidate used a scathing philippic in his advantage. 

Prurient- having, inclined to have, or characterized by lascivious or lustful thoughts, desires

sentence- The boy had a prurient curiosity in the universe. 

Sacrosanct- not to be entered or trespassed upon

sentence- She considered her home office sacrosanct. 

Systemic- of or pertaining to a system

sentence- Systemic efficiency of the energy supply is of more concern than actual energy use. 

Tendentious- having or showing a definite tendency

sentence- In supporting a cause his reports were tendentious in helping. 

Vicissitude- a change or variation occurring in the course of something 

sentence- given the vicissitudes in life my future can change at any time. 

Tools That Change the Way We Think

I never truly thought about the effect that the internet has made on me. Now that I'm thinking about it I've realized that it's made me more forgetful. I'll research something on my phone that I'm thinking about at that moment then forget the information fairly quick. Knowing that I can research information at any given moment makes me feel that I don't need to remember it because I could just look it up again later if I need to. It shouldn't be that way though, we should want to learn the information that we're researching. Before the internet and smartphones people had to actually process information. I don't think the internet is bad, I just think we need to process information more into our brains.

Notes on Hamlet

My thoughts have changed a lot since the beginning of the play to now. I used to feel so sorry for Hamlet because he went through so much in a short period of time of having his dad die and his mom remarry to his uncle and then found out that his uncle killed his dad. Everyone pushed him to get over it, but no one really understood him so I felt like he was just so upset with life. After he killed Polonius though my perspective on Hamlet changed. It changed because he didn't exactly care and he said that he shouldn't have been spying. Now he seems to be so focused on killing his uncle that he cares about nothing else and that makes me feel no sympathy for him anymore. I know he's angry with his uncle, but he shouldn't let that get in the way of his other relations with people. I think he's just going to keep pushing everyone else aside until he gets the satisfaction of killing his uncle.

Who was Shakespeare?

Shakespeare, the greatest dramatist who ever lived, is very much a mystery. Most of his life is questionable and there's not much definite information on him. There doesn't have to be though because his plays describe much of who he is and that's what everyone knows him by.

What is known about William Shakespeare is that he was born as the third child and first son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden in 1564 in Stratford, England. He was baptized on April 23, 1564. Later at age eighteen he married Anne Hathaway in 1582. They had a daughter in 1583 named Susanna and then twins in 1585 named Hamnet and Judith.

He began his success in 1588 when he and his family moved to London. In 1594 he became a charter member of a theatrical company. When his creative output lessened after 1608 he moved back to Stratford and settled his family. In 1616 he died at age fifty-two and was buried in the chancel of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Stratford.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/merchant/shakespeare.html

To Facebook or Not to Facebook

I personally enjoy Facebook because it's a way to socialize with friends and family. When you have friends and family in other countries and states it keeps you connected. For instance when I was in Italy, I wasn't aloud to text because of the international cost so I used Facebook each day to communicate with my friends.  I've learned now though that Facebook has risks I wasn't  aware of, which is that it can access our private information even if we think it's private and protected. It's obvious that much of our information as a user is already visible to others like a picture of us, age, and our name. Now I know that even though my profile is stated as private my information can still be seen.  After reading and discussing this information I feel I should be more cautious and careful on Facebook.

Vocabulary: Fall List #9

Abortive- failing to succeed; unsuccessful
sentence- The villain planned an abortive scheme.

Bruit- to spread a report or rumor widely
sentence- The report was bruited through the town.

Contumelious- scornful and insulting behavior
sentence- I choose not to hangout with people who are contumelious.

Dictum- an authoritative pronouncement; judicial assertion
sentence- One of the scientists' dictums was to make things simpler.

Ensconce-to settle securely or snugly
sentence- I was found in the living room, ensconced on the couch.

Iconoclastic- characterized by attack on established beliefs or institutions
sentence-

In medias res-in the middle of things
sentence- My job became in medias res with my school.

Internecine-of or pertaining to conflict or struggle within a group
sentence-  There was an internecine feud among my friends.

Maladroit- lacking in adroitness; unskillful; awkward
sentence- The performance was played out in a very maladroit way.

Maudlin- tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental
sentence- My mom will be a maudlin mess when I go to college.

Modulate- to regulate by or adjust to a certain measure or proportion; soften; tone down
sentence- I had to modulate the noise of the party so that my brother could sleep.

Portentous- ominously significant or indicative
sentence- After the fight there was a portentous defeat among the two.

Prescience- knowledge of things before they exist or happen; foreknowledge; foresight
sentence- The boy would have prescience of dreams each night.

Quid pro quo- one thing in return for another; substitute
sentence- I gave my friend my shirt quid pro quo.

Salubrious- favorable to or promoting health
sentence- We need to create a salubrious air by less littering.

Saturnalian- The festival of Saturn, celebrated in December in ancient Rome
sentence- Romans used to attend the Saturnalian in December.

Touchstone- a test or criterion for the qualities of a thing
sentence- Doubt is the touchstone of  truth.

Traumatic- emotionally distressed or disturbing
sentence- There was a traumatic car accident outside of my house.

Vitiate- to impair the quality of; spoil
sentence- The criminal tried to vitiate his plan.

Waggish- roguish in merriment and good humor; jocular
sentence- I like to read books by waggish writers.

Autopsy: Vocab Midterm

On the midterm I felt I did really well, but I didn't get the score I wanted. I felt I studied very hard for the test and next time have to try harder than that. My study technique of using flashcards really benefited me though because I felt I had a very good understanding of the words. Majority of the words I knew on the test except for a few I drew some blanks. I'm sure next time I'll get the score I hoped for.