The Big Book of Words You Should Know

by David Olsen

  excommunicate (eks-kuh-MYOO-nih-kate), verb and noun

  To banish; to revoke formally one’s status as member of a group. Excommunicate is used primarily with regard to members of the Catholic church who are excluded from that church due to misconduct or doctrinal conflict.

  The priest knew that he faced EXCOMMUNICATION if he refused to resign from the legislature.

  execrable (ig-ZEK-ruh-bul), adjective

  Disgusting; detestable; vulgar.

  Collectors of unauthorized Beatles records must be prepared to pay high prices for the illegal discs, which often feature tracks of EXECRABLE recording quality.

  exploitation (eck-sploy-TAY-shun), noun

  The use of something for profit, especially if the profit-making does not benefit the person or thing being used.

  Paying uneducated workers less than educated ones for the exact same work is an example of EXPLOITATION, Mr. Crowthers.

  extradition (eks-tra-DISH-un), noun

  The handing over of an alleged fugitive from one country, state, etc., to another.

  Because there was no formal EXTRADITION agreement between the two countries, the trial of the accused did not begin until two years after the warrant for his arrest had been issued.

  fascist (FASH-ist), adjective

  Fascism is a governmental system run with an iron grip by a dictator. The adjective form, fascist, has come to describe any person, system, group, etc. that is run as though by dictatorial control.

  As his supervisor got increasingly bossy and meddlesome, Paul began to describe him as FASCIST.

  fastuous (FASS-chew-us), adjective

  Haughty and arrogant.

  Despite her beauty, Jenny rarely got asked out, due to her FASTUOUS behavior.

  fatuous (FAT-yoo-uss), adjective

  Stupid or foolish. That which is complacently idiotic is fatuous.

  She made so many FATUOUS remarks at the party that I became disgusted and stopped apologizing for her.

  feckless (FEK-liss), adjective

  Ineffective or feeble. A person who lacks initiative or ability in a given area could be said to be feckless in that area.

  We had hoped for a well-trained and motivated consulting firm; what showed up was a pack of FECKLESS hangers-on.

  felonious (fuh-LONE-ee-uss), adjective

  Criminal; villainous; reminiscent of or relating to a felony crime.

  Although no court in the land would consider it FELONIOUS, my brother’s attempt to blackmail me over that little dent I put in my parent’s car was, in my mind, worthy of a long jail sentence.

  fetid (FET-id), adjective

  Smelly. That which has an unpleasant odor is fetid.

  The FETID contents of the abandoned apartment’s refrigerator are best left undescribed.

  fetters (FET-urz), noun

  Literally, shackles or handcuffs; a restraint. Also, as a verb (FET-ur), to restrain or restrict movement.

  The prisoners were led to the bowels of the ship, where narrow wooden benches, FETTERS, and a thin scattering of straw awaited them.

  fiasco (fee-ASS-koe), noun

  An utter and pathetic failure. Fiasco derives from an Italian verb meaning “to fail.”

  The failure of the Administration to get the housing bill through Congress is only the latest in a series of legislative FIASCOS.

  filch (filch), verb

  To steal, especially to steal petty amounts or inexpensive goods.

  Brian is proud of how many motel towels he’s FILCHED over the years.

  filibuster (FILL-ih-buss-ter), noun

  A legislative tactic by which a member prevents or delays the passage of a law, typically by focusing on irrelevant issues during a long speech to prevent a vote from taking place; any similar technique that monopolizes the floor of a legislature by means of parliamentary maneuvers.

  Even an epic FILIBUSTER staged by Southern legislators could not stop President Johnson from guiding the Civil Rights Act through Congress.

  finagle (fih-NAY-gul), verb

  To wangle; to use clever, often underhanded methods to achieve one’s desires.

  Justin FINAGLED his way into the press conference by borrowing a pass from another reporter.

  flak (flak), noun

  The bursting shell fired from antiaircraft guns, or an antiaircraft gun itself; also, impediments, arguments, or opposition (to a course of action or situation).

  “If you give me any more FLAK about the time I set for your curfew,” my mom promised, “you won’t be going out at all.”

  flibbertigibbet (FLIB-er-tee-jibb-it), noun

  A chatty, scatterbrained person.

  Estelle liked Phil at first, but she quickly realized he was a FLIBBERTIGIBBET and not worth her time.

  flim-flam (FLIM-flam), noun and adjective

  A swindle. A flim-flam operation is a scam or confidence game.

  Vern may call himself an entrepreneur; it appears to me he’s nothing more than a FLIM-FLAM artist.

  flippant (FLIP-unt), adjective

  Disrespectful or harsh in tone; shallow or frivolous.

  Mario, still upset about the previous night’s quarrel greeted his wife’s cheery “Good morning” with a FLIPPANT “Who says it is?”

  foolhardy (FOOL-har-dee), adjective

  Rash; hasty; unthinking.

  Mack’s FOOLHARDLY decision to leave his job and visit Trinidad and Tobago for two years was apparently the result of a chance encounter with a palm reader he met in a Greyhound station in West Covina, California.

  fop (fop), noun

  A dandy. An extravagant (male) person who is uncommonly vain or pretentious is a fop.

  I was cornered by Charles, the biggest FOP on campus, who subjected me to a lecture about how wonderfully he was dressed.

  foreclosure (fore-CLOZH-er), noun

  The act of repossessing a mortgaged property due to a default on payments, resulting in the mortgagee losing all rights to the property.

  Neither Mrs. Walker nor her estranged husband could keep up the mortgage payments on the condo during their divorce proceedings, and the bank made a FORECLOSURE on the property.

  fratricide (FRAT-rih-side), noun

  The act of killing a brother. Fratricide refers to the murder of a male sibling; the word for killing a sister is sororicide.

  It is only when Hamlet is told of the king’s FRATRICIDE that a tragic chain of events is initiated.

  froufrou (FROO-froo), noun

  Excessive or unnecessary decoration; especially, an elaborate adornment in women’s fashion.

  Angela had never seen so many ill-fitting tuxedoes and self-conscious frills and FROUFROUS as she beheld the night of the senior prom.

  frowzy (FROW-zee), adjective

  Sloppy; unkept; stale.

  One would never know that beneath those FROWZY, oversized dresses and grungy cowboy hats was a model who had recently appeared on the cover of Vogue.

  fumigate (FYOO-mih-gate), verb

  To release fumes in order to get rid of insects or other pests.

  We had the place FUMIGATED, used sound-waves, and set dozens of traps, but our house continued to be plagued by cockroaches.

  fusty (FUHSS-tee), adjective

  Old-fashioned and out of date, or clinging to old-fashioned, conservative values.

  My father-in-law’s FUSTY opinions of “a woman’s place” make me want to sock him every time I have to see him!

  garish (GAIR-ish), adjective

  Showy in an excessive and over-the-top manner.

  I’ d always thought of Martha as refined, so I was surprised by the GARISH way she decorated her home.

  genocide (JENN-uh-side), noun

  The deliberate, systematic destruction of a culture, people, nation, etc.

  Attempts at tribal GENOCIDE have drawn attention to the African province of Darfur.

  gingivitis (jin-jih-VIE-tuss), noun

  A gum disease; the condition of having swollen gums.

&
nbsp; The rinse promised lifetime protection against GINGIVITIS, a claim Fred viewed with some skepticism.

  gruel (grool), noun

  A thin, soup-like dish made from cooked cereal or grain.

  In one of the most memorable scenes Dickens ever wrote, young Oliver Twist loses a lottery among the workhouse boys and must ask for an unprecedented second helping of GRUEL.

  gullible (GULL-ih-bull), adjective

  Easily cheated, tricked, or deceived.

  I’m afraid Terry is a little too GULLIBLE to survive for long as an aspiring actor in a city like New York.

  hackneyed (HAK-need), adjective

  Rendered less significant by common use. Literally, a hackney is a horse suited for routine riding or driving (and not a prime racehorse).

  The primitive construction and reliance on HACKNEYED expressions make it perfectly clear: this is not the work of Shakespeare.

  haggis (HAG-iss), noun

  A dish originating in Scotland made by removing the heart, liver, and lungs of a sheep or cow, dicing these, adding onions, suet, oatmeal, and seasonings, and placing the mixture into the animal’s stomach, and boiling it.

  Ivan had been enjoying the HAGGIS Mrs. MacIntyre had prepared for him until he asked her how it was made.

  haughty (HAUT-ee), adjective

  Snobbishly proud.

  I tried to apologize for bumping into the woman, but she only gave me a HAUGHTY glance and inspected her fur coat for damage.

  hedonist (HEE-duh-nist), noun

  One whose life is devoted solely or primarily to the pursuit of pleasure and gratification.

  I took offense at Jane’s implication that a glass of white wine during dinner made me some kind of HEDONIST.

  hemorrhoid, (HEM-er-oid), noun

  A condition where the mass of tissues at the base of the anus becomes swollen as a result of dilated veins.

  After enduring a thirty-hour labor and a severe case of post-partum HEMORRHOIDS, Meg doubted she’d ever have another child.

  hidebound (HIDE-bound), adjective

  Narrow and rigid in one’s beliefs or opinions . . . a somewhat nicer way to call someone stubborn.

  I wouldn’t mind Mary’s HIDEBOUND beliefs, if she just didn’t share them so freely!

  histrionic (hiss-tree-AHN-ick), adjective

  Describes the on-stage work of actors and actresses, but, more broadly, histrionic describes people who are given to acting theatrical, affected, and self-consciously emotional when NOT on a stage.

  Melinda’s HISTRIONIC behavior at the dinner party embarrassed everyone.

  hubris (HYOO-briss), noun

  Excessive pride. Hubris can refer to the “fatal flaw” of ancient Greek drama, or (more generally) to any disproportionate pride or self-love.

  Colin may have begun as a pleasant and unassuming clerk, but by the time he took over the company in 1987 he showed signs of the HUBRIS that would accompany his downfall.

  hypertension (hi-pur-TEN-shun), noun

  High blood pressure; the condition that occurs as a result of high blood pressure.

  Some over-the-counter cough, cold, and allergy medicines tend to cause elevated blood pressure, and include a warning that they may be hazardous to those suffering from HYPERTENSION.

  hypocrite (HIP-uh-krit), noun

  A person pretending to be something he or she is not, or pretending, for the sake of appearance, to have high moral beliefs; a person who does not act according to espoused beliefs.

  In Marilyn’s view, a marriage counselor who advised others to live up to the ideal of fidelity but who cheated on his own wife was the worst kind of HYPOCRITE.

  ignoble (ig-NO-bull), adjective

  Dishonorable in nature. In contrast with ignominious (see below), ignoble carries the sense of baseness or lowness.

  Peter’s IGNOBLE aims were well known to all in the room.

  illicit (ih-LISS-it), adjective

  Illegal or morally unjustifiable. Illicit refers to something not sanctioned by custom or law.

  We all know now that the money was acquired through ILLICIT means, don’t we?

  imbecility (im-buh-SILL-ih-tee), noun

  Foolishness; simplemindedness.

  Although he lamented the IMBECILITY of mainstream television, Arnie was not above an occasional viewing of American Gladiators or Geraldo.

  improvident (ihm-PRAHV-ih-dent), adjective

  Describes someone who does not plan well for the future or one who acts without thinking.

  It was cute when he was younger, but now Mike’s IMPROVIDENT behavior just makes him look like a total loser.

  inane (in-ANE), adjective

  Pointless or lacking in substance. Something that is inane is vacuous.

  Among other INANE suggestions, Jeff proposed painting the lunchroom in a polkadot pattern.

  indict (in-DITE), verb

  To charge formally with a crime or offense. (See, for comparison, the entry for indite.)

  Rumors that Mr. Brown would soon be INDICTED for his part in the scandal swept the city.

  indiscreet (in-dih-SKREET), adjective

  Lacking good judgment and prudence; apt to run one’s mouth about things that others would like left private.

  Don’t get alcohol near Melanie. It makes her go from prudent to INDISCREET in less than sixty seconds!

  infernal (in-FER-nul), adjective

  Fiendish; devilish. Infernal means, literally, “of or pertaining to hell.” It is often used as a mild expletive.

  This INFERNAL copier keeps breaking down!

  infidelity (in-fi-DEL-ih-tee) noun

  The quality or act of having been untrue or inconsistent with a (often implied) standard. Infidelity is often used to describe extramarital affairs.

  Although Gwen suspected her husband of INFIDELITY, she had not come across any tangible proof.

  influenza (in-floo-EN-zuh), noun

  A contagious respiratory virus characterized by inflammation of the mucous membrane, fever, prostration, aches, and pains.

  David was still weak from his bout with INFLUENZA.

  ingrate (IN-grate), noun

  An ungrateful person. A person who does not show the proper respect or gratitude toward someone who has provided help might be called an ingrate.

  He lived with us for six months, but that INGRATE Ralph hasn’t even written in over two years.

  iniquity (ih-NIK-wih-tee), noun

  Injustice or immoral action. Iniquity derives from the Latin for “unfairness.”

  The many INIQUITIES suffered by American Indians at the hands of government authorities is only now being widely acknowledged.

  insidious (in-SID-ee-uss), adjective

  Designed to entrap; happening or spreading harmfully but subtly; stealthily and seductively treacherous.

  Mark’s chess games were full of INSIDIOUS traps meant to lull his opponent into a sense of complacency.

  insipid (in-SIP-id), adjective

  Lacking in vigor; dull. Insipid (usually applied to bland ideas, personalities, or works of art) derives from the Latin for “without taste.”

  In Frank’s opinion, the novel’s plot was INSIPID and left much to be desired.

  insolent (IN-suh-lnt), adjective

  Rude and arrogant. That which is insulting or disrespectful (especially speech) could be considered insolent.

  Her INSOLENT retorts to Joan’s well-intentioned queries stunned the dinner party.

  insubordinate (in-suh-BOR-din-it), adjective

  Failing to accept or obey proper authority. In the military, an enlisted man who insults an officer could be accused of an insubordinate act.

  Frank, not eager to be branded INSUBORDINATE, did his best to carry out the colonel’s strange orders.

  irascible (ih-RASS-uh-bul), adjective

  Easily angered. Those who are prone to fits of temper are irascible.

  Sebastian, an IRASCIBLE man, did his best to put on a show of conviviality when he visited his in-
laws, most of whom irritated him.

  jaded (JAY-dud), adjective

  Worn out; dulled or satiated due to overindulgence.

  Her parents thought that providing Tracy with everything her heart desired as a child would make her a happy person, but she grew up to be a JADED and selfish woman.

  jaundice (JON-diss), noun

  A yellowish tint to the body’s skin, fluids, and tissues as a result of the buildup of excessive bile; also, a biased, hostile attitude.

  The cosmetics saleswoman tried to convince her that the makeover had given her a tanned appearance, but Shawna worried that she looked like she had JAUNDICE.

  lacerated (LASS-uh-ray-tud), adjective

  Cut, torn, ripped, or mangled.

  Because I LACERATED my finger with the scissors while I was on the job, I was eligible to file a workers’ compensation claim.

  lackadaisical (lack-uh-DAZE-ih-kul), adjective

  Lacking spirit or energy; languid.

  I was feeling rather LACKADAISICAL last Sunday, so I stayed in bed all day and watched football games instead of mowing the lawn.

  lackluster (LACK-lus-tur), adjective

  Dull; not shiny or brilliant.

  Wanda’s LACKLUSTER performance as Hedda Gabler led one critic to remark that she probably had a long career ahead of her in the theater—as a stage weight.

  libel (LIE-bull), noun

  A written, printed, or pictorial statement or assertion that is unjustly negative, defaming, or hurtful to one’s character and reputation.

  Several celebrities have sued the supermarket tabloid for LIBEL, but the parade of lurid and preposterous headlines has continued unabated.

  libertine (LIB-ur-teen), noun

  One who lives life unconcerned and unrestrained by popular convention or morality; a promiscuous person, especially a man.

  Presumably because he is divorced, my elderly grandmother refers to my fiance Eric as “that LIBERTINE,” but everyone else in my family thinks he’s wonderful.

  licentious (lie-SENN-shuss), adjective

  Having little or no moral restraint, especially with regard to sex.

  After months of watching Gary leave the nightclub with one woman after another, Paul finally decided to tell Maureen of her husband’s LICENTIOUS behavior.

  lip-sync (LIP-sink), verb

  To simulate a live singing performance by mouthing along to a record.

  It is common these days for recording artists to LIP-SYNC for the bulk of a “ live” concert.