kowtow [ KOU-TOU, -tou, KOH- ] | | [ noun, intransitive verb ] | | MEANING : | | 1. (n.) the act of kneeling and touching the forehead to the floor to show deep respect, great deference etc. 2. (n.) an act exhibiting servile compliance 3. (intr. v.)to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground to show deep respect, great deference etc. as formerly done in china 4. (intr. v.) to show servile deference | | USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : | | One should always endeavour to maintain good relations with one's bosses but to kowtow to them could result in unforeseen consequences.
| | USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : | | The great property spiral may finally have to kowtow to the laws of nature. The Times of India, Bubble trouble, by Prabhakar Sinha, 4 Feb 2007, TNN | | inchoate [ IN-koh-yet; in-KOH-it, -eyt ] | | [ adjective ] | | MEANING : | | 1. not yet formed or developed completely 2. just begun; in a beginning stage 3. not organised; disorderly | | USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : | | His inchoate ideas on how to turn the company around did not impress the company's management.
| | USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : | | But even law schools were not totally immune from the trends that were pushing the nation's politics to the right, and a small group of students like Calabresi decided to turn these inchoate tendencies into something more enduring. CNN, Excerpt:How conservatives won the court back, Jeffrey Toobin, October 3 ,2007 | | avant-garde [ uh'-vahnt-GAHRD, uh'-vant-, av-ahnt-, ah-vahnt-; Fr. a-vahn*-GA*R*D ] | | [ noun, adjective ] | | MEANING : | | 1. (n.) a radical or advanced group esp. belonging to the art forms that come up with the most innovative and experimental ideas 2. (adj.) pertaining or belonging to the avant-garde | | USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : | | The avant-garde Burj Arab hotel with it's sky high helipad is a must-see sight if you happen to visit Dubai.
| | USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : | | The Royal Bank Plaza is the most eye-catching of the many avant-garde commercial buildings in the city - coated with real gold it provides wonderful reflections and is stunning at sunset. SKY News, Tribute To Toronto's Winning Sport, October 15, 2003 | | inveigle [ in-VEY-guh' l, -VEE- ] | | [ transitive verb ] | | MEANING : | | 1. to entice or win over by flattery or sweet talk 2. to obtain or acquire by slyness or beguiling talk | | USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : | | He managed to inveigle his friend into joining him for a walking tour.
| | USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : | | I hope the Oxford event might inveigle other contemporaries who came to the early concerts or who were studying music at the time and with whom I spent many hours in lectures and the library to renew their acquaintance with the group and me again. University of Oxford, Doing It Properly: On Oxford, Singing and the Music Profession, by Robert Hollingworth | | naïve [ nah-EEV ] | | [ noun, adjective ] | | MEANING : | | 1. (adj.) having an unaffected simplicity 2. (adj.) lacking sophistication and critical judgment 3. (n.) someone who is uncritical, innocent and trusting | | USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : | | We were naïve to have thought that we could give the Dalai Lama shelter in India without suffering the consequences.
| | USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : | | We were naive to let them back into the game. BBC, Halifax were naive, says Wilder, 3 October 2007 | |
Spelled Pronunciation Key Stress marks: [ CAPS ] indicates the primary stressed syllable, as in newspaper [NOOZ-pey-per ] and information [ in-fer-MEY-shuh' n ] CONSONANTS | [b] | boy, baby, rob | [d] | do, ladder, bed | [f] | food, offer, safe | [g] | get, bigger, dog | [h] | happy, ahead | [j] | jump, budget, age | [k] | can, speaker, stick | [l] | let, follow, still | [m] | make, summer, time | [n] | no, dinner, thin | [ng] | singer, think, long | [p] | put, apple, cup | [r] | run, marry, far, store | [s] | sit, city, passing, face | [sh] | she, station, push | [t] | top, better, cat | [ch] | church, watching, nature, witch | [th] | thirsty, nothing, math | [th'] | this, mother, breathe | [v] | very, seven, love | [w] | wear, away | [hw] | where, somewhat | [y] | yes, onion | [z] | zoo, easy, buzz | [zh] | measure, television, beige | | | VOWELS | [a] | apple, can, hat | [ey] | aid, hate, day | [ah] | arm, father, aha | [air] | air, careful, wear | [aw] | all, or, talk, lost, saw | [e] | ever, head, get | [ee] | eat, see, need | [eer] | ear, hero, beer | [er] | teacher, afterward, murderer | [i] | it, big, finishes | [ahy] | I, ice, hide, deny | [o] | odd, hot, woffle | [oh] | owe, road, below | [oo] | ooze, food, soup, sue | [oo'] | good, book, put | [oi] | oil, choice, toy | [ou] | out, loud, how | [uh] | up, mother, mud | [uh'] | about, animal, problem, circus | [ur] | early, bird, stirring | | | FOREIGN SOUNDS | [a*] | Fr. ami | [kh*] | Scot. loch, Ger. ach or ich | [œ] | Fr. feu, Ger. schön | [r*] | Fr. au revoir, Yiddish rebbe | [uh*] | Fr. oeuvre | [y*] | Fr. tu, Ger. über | | | SAMPLE NASALIZED VOWELS | [an*] | Fr. bien | [ahn*] | Fr. croissant | [awn*] | Fr. bon | [œn*] | Fr. parfum | [in*] | Port. Principe | | |
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