inculcate [ in-KUHL-keyt, IN-kuhl-keyt ]
[transitive verb]
MEANING:
to instil, teach or impress by repeating frequently
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The Prime Minister exhorted the teaching community to inculcate virtue in the young.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Perhaps with reference to the Taiwan Strait crisis, Hu urged media and propaganda workers to inculcate among the public ideas and artistic work that “will be beneficial to the unity of the Chinese race, the unification of the motherland, and the cohesiveness of the people.”
bandy [ BAN-dee ]
[adjective,transitive verb]
MEANING:
1. (tr.v.) to trade, exchange, give and take or pass back and forth
2. (tr.v.) to hit, throw or pass back and forth
3. (adj.) bowed, bent or outwardly curved
4. (n.) a old game that resembled field hockey
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The debate was of an intense nature with repartees being bandied across the dais.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Yahoo’s search operations to Microsoft – an alternative deal that has been bandied about for the past eight months.
canine [ KEY-nahyn ]
[noun,adjective]
MEANING:
1. (adj.) pertaining to or characteristic of a dog
2. (n.) a dog
3. (n.) a cuspid or canine tooth
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The canine unit is invaluable in the drug enforcement agency.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Malaysia sought to form the world’s first permanent canine anti-piracy unit after borrowing two dogs — Lucky and Flo — from the U.S. Motion Picture Association.
urbane [ ur-BEYN ]
[adjective]
MEANING:
polite, refined and sophisticated in manner.
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
At the start of the new term the teacher addressed the children in an urbane tone so as to befriend rather than intimidate the class.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
In the welcoming lounge, contemporary art mingles with books and antiques, while guest rooms are done up in an urbane, neutral palette, with chunky reclaimed-wood headboards and slate bathroom floors.
incongruity [ in-kuh’n-GROO-i-tee ]
[noun]
MEANING:
1. the state of being out of keeping or place
2. the quality of being incompatible or inharmonious
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
He was asked to resign because of the incongruity in his performance at work.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Some Chinese dishes are remarkable for the sheer incongruity of their ingredients.
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