desolate • DESS-uh-lut • adjective 1 : devoid of inhabitants and visitors : deserted 2 : joyless, disconsolate, and sorrowful through or as if through separation from a loved one 3 a : showing the effects of abandonment and neglect : dilapidated * b : barren, lifeless c :devoid of warmth, comfort, or hope : gloomy Example: The landscape looks… Continue reading ELTWeekly Issue #25, Word of the week: desolate
Tag: ELT Vocabulary
ELTWeekly Issue #24, Word of the week: melee
melee • MAY-lay • noun Meaning: a confused struggle; especially : a hand-to-hand fight among several people Example: The shoppers’ voices grew tense as they argued over the last Cool Sally doll, and for a moment I feared that a melee might erupt. To know more about the word ‘melee’, please visit: http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Jun.02.2009
ELTWeekly Issue #23, Word of the week: gadzookery
gadzookery • gad-ZOO-kuh-ree • noun British : the use of archaisms (as in a historical novel) Example Sentence: Bridget’s novel, set in colonial Virginia, features an engaging and cohesive plot, but the dialogue contains so much gadzookery that it doesn’t sound realistic. To know more about the word ‘gadzookery’, please visit: http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?May.02.2009
ELTWeekly Issue #22, Word of the week: gravitate
gravitate • GRAV-uh-tayt • verb 1 : to move under the influence of gravitation 2 a : to move toward something * b : to be drawn or attracted especially by natural inclination Example: Left to their own devices in a department store, children will naturally gravitate toward the toy aisle. To know more about the… Continue reading ELTWeekly Issue #22, Word of the week: gravitate
ELTWeekly Issue #21, Word of the week: gadzookery
gadzookery • gad-ZOO-kuh-ree • noun British : the use of archaisms (as in a historical novel) Example: Bridget’s novel, set in colonial Virginia, features an engaging and cohesive plot, but the dialogue contains so much gadzookery that it doesn’t sound realistic. To know more about the word ‘gadzookery’, please visit: http://www.merriam-webster.com
ELTWeekly Issue #20, Word of the week: otiose
otiose • OH-shee-ohss 1 : producing no useful result : futile 2 : being at leisure : idle 3 : lacking use or effect : functionless Example Sentence: “Half the streets are cobbled and half wide, empty, modern highways at whose pretentious crossings an occasional rickshaw waits for the otiose traffic lights to change to green.” To know… Continue reading ELTWeekly Issue #20, Word of the week: otiose