Daily Word List – 23rd April 2018 Meaning, Pronunciation | Free PDF

paroxysm [ PAR-uh’ k-siz-uh ’m ]

[noun]

MEANING:

1. a sudden fit, outburst or spasm of action or emotion
2. an attack, intensification or recurrence of a certain disease

USAGE EXAMPLE 1:

People thought him to be weird because of his fits of paroxysms.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2:

America was still reeling from the 1960s, a paroxysm of a decade that, among so many other things, had significantly diminished citizens’ faith that their government would be on the side of the angels.

picaresque [ pik-uh’-RESK ]

[noun]

MEANING:

1. characteristic of a form of prose related to the adventures of a fictional, rogue-like hero in Spain
2. rascally, devilish or pertaining to rogues.

USAGE EXAMPLE 1:

A picaresque is an intricate part of the plot of any romance novel.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2:

A heartwarming picaresque set in Mumbai, it is based on the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup and adapted by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty).

prophylactic [ proh-fuh’-LAK-tik, prof-uh’- ]

[noun,adjective]

MEANING:

1. (adj.) protective or preventive esp. against a disease
2. (n.) a vaccine, drug or preventive treatment
3. (n.) a contraceptive mechanism or device

USAGE EXAMPLE 1:

The prophylactic medication was ineffective as the virus spread to epidemic proportions.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2:

In premenopausal women taking steroids for SLE, the researchers conclude, bone mineral density can be preserved or increased with prophylactic therapy.

retaliate [ ri-TAL-ee-eyt ]

[intransitive verb,transitive verb]

MEANING:

1. (tr.v.) to return or repay esp. something evil with something evil
2. (intr.v.)to exact revenge or reciprocate evil with evil.

USAGE EXAMPLE 1:

The union leader retaliated by asking the mill workers to go on strike.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2:

The cross-border developments came as North Korea said it would retaliate if a “satellite” launch from its northeastern coast were intercepted, with the communist nation saying interference would “mean a war.”

amalgamate [ uh’-MAL-guh’-meyt ]

[intransitive verb,transitive verb]

MEANING:

1. (tr.v.) to mix, combine or blend together
2. (tr.v.) to mix with mercury
3. (intr.v.) to coalesce, merge or unite

USAGE EXAMPLE 1:

All data has to be amalgamated, then studied, to reach a valid conclusion.

USAGE EXAMPLE 2:

The Australian institute has just completed an atlas of sea temperatures over the past decade and amalgamated it with historical data to show 2002 was the warmest year for water temperatures off northeast Australia since 1870.

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