mendicant [ MEN-di-kuh' nt ] | | [ noun, adjective ] | | MEANING : | | 1. (n.) a beggar; pauper 2.(n.) a member of a religious order who collects alms for a living and is forbidden to own any property or wealth 3. (adj.) begging; subsisting on alms | | USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : | | The sheer number of mendicants in the city was depressing.
| | USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : | | To delay its repayments may send the wrong signal to the capital markets, it fears, suggesting that Thailand is a mendicant country unable to carry its debts. The Economist, Debt freeze for the tsunami-hit countries, Jan 12th 2005 | | raze [ reyz ] | | [ transitive verb ] | | MEANING : | | 1. destroy, demolish or tear down 2. (archaic) to erase, scrape off or shave off | | USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : | | The illegal constructions were razed to the ground.
| | USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : | | New York's original Pennsylvania Station, a similarly grand, classically-inspired structure, was razed in 1964. CNN, Washington's Union Station celebrates 100 years, October 2, 2008 | | jujitsu [ joo-JIT-soo ] | | [ noun ] | | MEANING : | | a form of martial arts that makes use of blows, throws, etc. but not weapons to fight and makes use of the opponent's weight and strength against them | | USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : | | The ancient martial arts form of Jujitsu was first developed by the Samurai in Japan and today can boast of many derived forms.
| | USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : | | The churches did roaring business on the back of "The Passion of the Christ" and "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"; they hope to do the same, with the aid of a bit of jujitsu, with Mr Brown's offering. Economist, Love thine enemy, May 18th 2006 | | miasma [ mahy-AZ-muh', mee- ] | | [ noun ] | | MEANING : | | 1. unhealthy, often hazardous fumes that cause disease and were formerly believed to emanate from bogs or swamps 2. a thick, vaporous emission or atmosphere 3. a bad, unhealthy or noxious influence or environment | | USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : | | It is mandatory for workers in coal fields to wear chemical masks to protect them from the lethal miasma of ammonia gas.
| | USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : | | Forget about the murky miasma of an election year for a minute. Look at the rungs up the document ladder of what we are pleased to call democracy: the Bill of Rights; the Constitution; the Declaration of Independence. CNN, A cornerstone of the world, By Adam Dunn, July 8, 2004 | | scurrilous [ SKUR-uh-luh s, SKUHR- ] | | [ adjective ] | | MEANING : | | foul, vulgar, indecent or obscene | | USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : | | The scurrilous behaviour displayed by the teenagers caused them to be arrested.
| | USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : | | Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said Ms Lewsley had made "scurrilous and ill-informed allegations against the NASUWT". BBC, Union in legal threat to Lewsley, 20 October 2008 | |
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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