betrothal [ bi-TROH-th uh’ l, -TRAW-thuh’ l ]
[noun]
MEANING:
1. the act or state of being betrothed; engagement
2. a mutual promise to marry
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
Their betrothal was announced in all the leading newspapers.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Raven Queen tells the story of Lady Jane Grey, from her parents’ plans for her betrothal to Edward VI, to her execution in 1554.
cipher [ SAHY-fer ]
[noun,intransitive verb,transitive verb]
MEANING:
1. (n.) zero
2. (n.) a coded or coded message
3. (n.) a nonentity or one having no importance or value
4. (n.) a number or figure in Arabic
5. (intr.v.) to encode
6. (intr.v.) to calculate arithmetically
7. (tr.v.) to encipher or encode
8. (tr.v.) to compute or calculate arithmetically
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
Analysts stayed up the entire night trying to unravel the cipher.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Three German ciphers unsolved since World War II are finally being cracked, helped by thousands of home computers.
garrulity [ guh’-ROO-li-tee ]
[noun]
MEANING:
talkativeness, communicative or loquacity
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
Even a sensible person tends to bore everyone with garrulity after he gets drunk.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Garrulity and aggression from others are often the price of celebrity.
bugaboo [ buh’g-uh’-BOO ]
[noun]
MEANING:
1. an object of fear, worry or anxiety
2. a persistent problem
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The little girl kept awake long past her bedtime because for her darkness was a bugaboo.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Put bedtime bugaboos — and your kids — to rest with these expert solutions.
generic [ juh’-NER-ik ]
[noun,adjective]
MEANING:
1. (adj.) general or pertaining to all the numbers of a genus
2. (adj.) referring or applicable to both male and female
3. (adj.) not having trademark registration
4. (n.) a term that is general in nature
5. (n.) a wine made from two or more varieties of grapes and does not carry the name of any specific grape.
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
Basmati has become a generic name for long grained aromatic rice after the declaration of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
The Department of Health is keen to use more generic medicines as they are less costly than the branded equivalent.
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