pedant [ PED-nt ]
[noun]
MEANING:
1. a person who makes an excessive or inappropriate display of learning.
2. a person who overemphasizes rules or minor details.
3. a person who adheres rigidly to book knowledge without regard to common sense.
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The conference for Chemical engineers held recently in New Delhi was attended by world renowned pedants.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
His decision sparked an ongoing squabble — often cast as a battle between number-crunching pedants and free-spirited pragmatists — over when centuries and millennia begin and end.
forage [ FAWR-ij, FOR- ]
[noun,intransitive verb,transitive verb]
MEANING:
1. (n.) the act or instance of searching for fodder or food
2. (n.) provender or fodder for cattle
3. (intr.v.) to wander in search of provisions or food
4. (tr.v.) to collect supplies or provisions
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
Their forage for food was a failure as they returned empty-handed.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
The chicks will then enter a 12-week school where they will learn how to forage for food, to avoid predators and to interact with other cranes.
gull [ guhl ]
[noun,transitive verb]
MEANING:
1. (n.) a long-winged, web-toed, aquatic bird
2. (n.) a person who is easily deceived
3. (tr. v.) to deceive or dupe
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The birdwatcher went out onto the rocks to get a better view of the gulls diving for fish.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Their love of gulls is shown in the delightful books for children, written and illustrated by Helena.
peruse [ puh-ROOZ ]
[transitive verb]
MEANING:
1. to read with care
2. to examine minutely
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The lawyer asked the witness whether he had perused the auditor’s report before he invested his money with the company.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Peruse this page and marvel at my classic films , which can be purchased on DVD from certain specialist websites.
repose [ ree-POHZ ]
[noun,intransitive verb,transitive verb]
MEANING:
1. (n.) the act of sleep or the state of being at rest
2. (n.) tranquillity or composure
3.(tr. v.) to rest or lay to rest
4. (tr. v.) to place in a person or thing as trust or confidence
5. (intr. v.) to lie at rest; to lie dead
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The manager told the peon that the office was a place of work and not a place of repose.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Cardinal Keith O’Brien, leader of Scotland’s Roman Catholics, said: “I pray for the repose of the soul of Roddy Wright and extend my sympathy to all those who mourn his loss.”
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