JUNE VERBAL

(Till June 20th)




Today's Words:

1. Transient

2. Cission

3. Ambivalence

4. Pinnacle

5. Puissant

6. Erudition

7. Paean

8. Taciturn

9. Volubility

10. Ponderous

11. Cacophonous

12. Hoary


Analogies:

1. Down pouring: flooding

2. Chip: stone

3. Cacophonous: harmony

4. Chatter: speaking

5. Mine: ore

6. Hoary: Old

7. Convoluted: Complexity


Issue topic:

1. Humanity is making no progress eventhough there is advancement in technology, still war, violence and poverty are existing.

2. "No matter what the situation, it is more harmful to compromise one's beliefs than to adhere to them."


Argument Topic:

1. The vice president for human resources at Climpson Industries sent the following recommendation to the company's president. "In an effort to improve our employees' productivity, we should implement electronic monitoring of employees' Internet use from their workstations. Employees who use the Internet from their workstations need to be identified and punished if we are to reduce the number of work hours spent on personal or recreational activities, such as shopping or playing games. By installing software to detect employees' Internet use on company computers, we can prevent employees from wasting time, foster a better work ethic at Climpson, and improve our overall profits."


(Till June 19th)


Today's Words:

1. Irk

2. Waffle

3. Fulminate

4. Exalt

5. Roil

6. Transient

7. Emancipate

8. Dissipate

9. Extant

10. Abject

11. Vicissitude

12. Pliant

13. Recalcitrant

14. Unrelenting

15. Precarious

16. Nuance

17. Prevaricator


Analogies:

1. Impervious: Susceptible


2. Brake: Decelerate

3. Dehydrate: Water

4. Dishonesty: Integrity

5. Philanthropist: Endow

6. Prevaricator: Mislead


Antonyms:

1. Paean x Lampoon

2. Taciturn x Volubility

3. Ponderous x Lively


Issue Topic:

1. "Students should memorize facts only after they have studied the ideas, trends, and concepts that help explain those facts. Students who have learned only facts have learned very little."

2."The primary goal of technological advancement should be to increase people's efficiency so that everyone has more leisure time."

Argument Topic:

1. The following appeared in a newsletter about health published in the country of Sauria. "According to Sauria's leading nutritional experts, a diet high in complex carbohydrates, and low in fat is optimal for good health and longevity. Because this was the diet of the people who lived in ancient Sauria, one would expect them to have had long and healthy lives. Yet the mummified remains of Sauria's ruling classes from two to three thousand years ago show the existence of many medical problems among the ancient Saurians, including dental problems, elevated blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, and early mortality. Clearly, the diet of the ancient Saurians was responsible for these problems. The high incidence of high blood pressure, obesity, and heart disease in Sauria today even among those who have tried low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets further proves that Sauria's leading nutritional experts are wrong."


ORKUT VERBAL DATABASE (Till June 17th)


Today's Words:
1. Iniquity(n): a violation of right or duty; wicked act; sin; morally objectionable behavior, absence of moral or spiritual values.
Synonyms: infamy, depravity, knavery, evil, immorality, miscreancy, offense, vice.

2. Ponderous(adj): Having great weight; unwieldy from weight or bulk; lacking grace or fluency.
Synonyms: heavy, boring, dreary, plodding, tedious, awkward, bulky, cumbersome, dull, hefty, humdrum, massive, monotonous.
Antonyms: lively, exciting.

3. Liken(v): to represent as similar or like; compare.
Synonyms: analogize, assimilate, compare, equate, identify, match, parallel.

4. Omnipotent(adj): having very great or unlimited authority or power, almighty or infinite in power, as God.
Synonyms: powerful, mighty, supreme, all-powerful, almighty, deity, unequaled, unlimited
Antonyms: impotent, powerless, helpless.

5. Dissipated(adj): indulging in or characterized by excessive devotion to pleasure; intemperate; dissolute.
Dissipated(v): to scatter in various directions; disperse; dispel; to spend or use wastefully or extravagantly; squander; deplete; To drive away.

6. Rile(v): to irritate or vex; To stir to anger; to roil.
Synonyms: irk, annoy, provoke, chafe, nettle, agitate, anger, bother, bug, gall, needle, nettle, peeve.

7. Addendum(n): a thing to be added; an addition; an appendix to a book; Something added or to be added, especially a supplement to a book.

8. Glimmer(n): a faint or unsteady light; a dim perception; inkling; To appear faintly or indistinctly; a slight suggestion or vague understanding; to shine faintly or unsteadily; twinkle, shimmer, or flicker.


Analogies:

1. Glimmer: light

2. Addendum:document


Issue Topic:
1. Technologies not only influence but actually determine social customs and ethics.


Argument Topic:

1. The following appeared in a medical newsletter. "Doctors have long suspected that secondary infections may keep some patients from healing quickly after severe muscle strain. This hypothesis has now been proved by preliminary results of a study of two groups of patients. The first group of patients, all being treated for muscle injuries by Dr. Newland, a doctor who specializes in sports medicine, took antibiotics regularly throughout their treatment. Their recuperation time was, on average, 40 percent quicker than typically expected. Patients in the second group, all being treated by Dr. Alton, a general physician, were given sugar pills, although the patients believed they were taking antibiotics. Their average recuperation time was not significantly reduced. Therefore, all patients who are diagnosed with muscle strain would be well advised to take antibiotics as part of their treatment. "

(Till June 12th)


Today's Words:

1. Affable(adj): pleasantly easy to approach and to talk to; friendly; showing warmth and friendliness
Synonyms: accessible, agreeable, amiable, benign, charming, complacent, complaisant, conversable, cordial, courteous, gallant, genial, gracious, hospitable, ingratiating, urbane.

2. Indomitable(adj): Incapable of being overcome, subdued, or vanquished; unconquerable; that cannot be subdued or overcome, as persons, will, or courage; unconquerable.
Synonyms: courageous, dogged, intrepid, invincible, invulnerable, persevering, spunky, stalwart, staunch, undaunted, undefeatable, unyielding.
Antonyms: yielding

3. Sedulous(adj):Persevering and constant in effort or application; diligent in application or attention; persevering
Synonyms: constant, untiring, tireless, active, assiduous, diligent, industrious, laborious, painstaking, persevering, persistent, untiring, vivacious.

4. Rant(v): To speak or write in an angry or violent manner; Violent or extravagant speech or writing; talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner
Synonyms: bombast, extravagance, declaim, harangue, mouth, perorate, rave.

5. Agrarian(adj): relating to land, land tenure, or the division of landed property; pertaining to the advancement of agricultural groups
Synonyms: agricultural, campestral, natural, pastoral.

6. Gregarious(adj): fond of the company of others; sociable; living in flocks or herds, as animals
Synonyms: social, genial, outgoing, convivial, companionable, friendly, extroverted.

7. Absolute(adj): Perfect in quality or nature; complete; free from restriction or limitation; not limited in any way; viewed independently; not comparative or relative; ultimate; intrinsic; positive; certain.
Synonyms: unadulterated, sheer, unqualified, undiluted, uncontaminated; total, unconditional; autocratic, dictatorial, totalitarian, categorical; unequivocal, definite, sure.
Antonyms: imperfect, flawed, mixed, diluted, contaminated, qualified, relative.

8. Pugnacious(adj): inclined to quarrel or fight readily; quarrelsome; Combative in nature; ready and able to resort to force or violence
Synonyms: argumentative, contentious, bellicose, aggressive, antagonistic, belligerent, cantankerous, combative, defiant, militant, quarrelsome, rebellious, truculent.
Antonyms: agreeable.


ARGUMENT TOPIC:

1. The following appeared in a proposal from the economic minister of the country of Paraterra.
"In order to strengthen its lagging economy, last year the government of the nearby country of Bellegea began an advertising campaign to promote ecologically sound tourism (ecotourism). This year, the number of foreign visitors arriving at Bellegea's main airport doubled, and per capita income in Bellegea increased by ten percent. To provide more income for the population of Paraterra and also preserve the natural environment of our tiny country, we too should begin to promote ecotourism. To ensure that our advertising campaign is successful, we should hire the current director of Bellegea's National Tourism Office as a consultant for the campaign."

(Till June 11th)


Today's Words:

1. Pulchritude(n): Great physical beauty and appeal; that quality of appearance which pleases the eye; attractive moral excellence; moral beauty.
Synonyms: appeal, beauty, comeliness, grace, handsomeness, loveliness.

2.Exculpate(v): to clear from a charge of guilt or fault; free from blame;
Synonyms: absolve, acquit, amnesty, dismiss, excuse, exonerate, forgive, pardon, vindicate.

3. Absolve(v): to free from guilt or blame or their consequences; to set free or release, as from some duty, obligation, or responsibility; to grant pardon for.
Synonyms: exculpate, absolve, acquit, exonerate, acquit, discharge, excuse, exempt, liberate, overlook, pardon, remit, vindicate.
Antonyms: blame.

4. Scission(n): the act of cutting or severing; division or fission; a cutting, dividing, or splitting; division; separation.

5. Recommit(v): to commit again; to refer again to a committee.

6. pulsatile(adj): Undergoing pulsation; vibrating; Capable of being struck or beaten; played by beating or by percussion; as, a tambourine is a pulsatile musical instrument.

7. Arabesque(n): A ballet position in which the dancer bends forward while standing on one straight leg with the arm extended forward and the other arm and leg extended backward; a short, fanciful musical piece, typically for piano; A complex, ornate design of intertwined floral, foliate, and geometric figures.


Analogies:

1. Crutch: Walk

2. Chip : Stone

3. Exculpate: Absolve


Issue Topic:

1. Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

2. Colleges and universities should offer more courses on popular music, film, advertising, and television because contemporary culture has much greater relevance for students than do arts and literature of the past.


Argument Topic:

1. The following appeared in the editorial section of a health and fitness magazine. "In a study of the effects of exercise on longevity, medical researchers tracked 500 middle-aged men over a 20-year period. The subjects represented a variety of occupations in several different parts of the country and responded to an annual survey in which they were asked: How often and how strenuously do you exercise? Of those who responded, the men who reported that they engaged in vigorous outdoor exercise nearly every day lived longer than the men who reported that they exercised mildly only once or twice a week. Given the clear link that this study establishes between longevity and exercise, doctors should not recommend moderate exercise to their patients but should instead encourage vigorous outdoor exercise on a daily basis."


(Till June 10th)


Today's Words:

1. Laconic(adj): Using or marked by the use of few words; expressing much in few words; concise
Synonyms: brief, pithy, terse; succinct, blunt, compact, concise, condensed, crisp, curt, pointed, succinct
Antonyms: voluble

2. Abrogate(v): to abolish by formal or official means; annul by an authoritative act; repeal; to put aside; put an end to.
Synonyms: annul, cancel, dissolve, negate, nullify, overrule, quash, remit, repeal, repudiate, rescind, revoke, void, rescind, invalidate.
Antonyms: ratify, establish; preserve.

3. Bilious(adj): extremely unpleasant or distasteful; peevish; irritable; cranky; Characterized by an excess secretion of bile; irritable as if suffering from indigestion
Synonyms: grumpy, crabby, cross, grouchy, dyspeptic

4. Refractory(adj): hard or impossible to manage; stubbornly disobedient, difficult to fuse, reduce, or work, as an ore or metal.
Synonyms: bullheaded, cantankerous, contrary, difficult, disobedient, headstrong, incorrigible, intractable, obstinate, opinionated, perverse, rebellious, stubborn, ungovernable, unmanageable, unresponsive, unruly, unyielding, willful, mulish, recalcitrant, ernable.
Antonyms: obedient, tractable.

5. Taciturn(adj): inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation; habitually reserved and uncommunicative
Synonyms: close-mouthed, reticent, tightlipped.

6. Voluble(adj): characterized by a ready and continuous flow of words; fluent; glib; talkative; Turning easily on an axis; rotating.
Synonyms: fluent, glib, loquacious, revolving, rotating, talkative, twining, twisting, vocal, wordy; articulate, garrulous.
Antonyms: taciturn.

7. Decentralized(v): to disperse (something) from an area of concentration; To distribute the administrative functions or powers of (a central authority) among several local authorities.

8. Suspend(v): to hang by attachment to something above; to hold or keep undetermined; to defer or postpone
Synonyms: hold up, intermit, adjourn, cease, dangle, debar, defer, delay, expel, halt, hover, interrupt, pretermit, refrain, swing, waive.

9. Obscure(adj): not clear to the understanding; hard to perceive; not clear or plain; indistinct to the sight or any other sense; not readily seen, heard, etc.;
Synonyms: abstruse, ambiguous, ambivalent, arcane, cabalistic, crepuscular, cryptic, enigmatic, equivocal, esoteric, fuliginous, incomprehensible, inscrutable, obfuscatory, recondite, transcendent, unfathomable, vague; dubious; blurred, veiled; undistinguished; secluded, inconspicuous, dusky, somber.
Antonyms: certain; clear; noted; conspicuous; bright.

10. Debauchee(n): a person addicted to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures; one given to debauchery; a dissolute person; usually a man who is morally unrestrained

11. Puckish(adj): mischievous; impish; naughtily or annoyingly playful
Synonyms: impish, mischievous, mysterious, naughty, playful, wicked.


Issue Topic:

1. High-speed electronic communications media, such as electronic mail and television, tend to prevent meaningful and thoughtful communication.

2. In this age of intensive media coverage, it is no longer possible for a society to regard any woman or man as a hero. The reputation of anyone who is subjected to media scrutiny will eventually be diminished.



(Till June 9th)


Today's Words:

1. Flounder(v): to struggle clumsily or helplessly; walk with great difficulty; behave awkwardly; have difficulties.
Synonyms: blunder, falter, flounce, fluke, fumble, grovel, muddle, struggle, stumble, toss, trip, wallow

2. Prolong(v): to lengthen out in time; extend the duration of; cause to continue longer
Synonyms: profuse, prolix, protractive, repetitious, sostenuto, sustaining
Antonyms 1. abbreviate

3. Insalubrious(adj): unfavorable to health; unwholesome; detrimental to health; unhealthy, unsalutary

4. Prate(v): to talk excessively and pointlessly; babble, to utter in empty or foolish talk
Synonyms: babble, blab, boast, brag, chatter, clash, drivel, gab, jabber, prattle, runon, utter, yack.

5. Dissolute(adj): indifferent to moral restraints; given to immoral or improper conduct; Lacking moral restraint; indulging in sensual pleasures or vices.
Synonyms: corrupt, loose, debauched, wanton, abandoned, lax, lustful, profligate, rakish, slack, unprincipled, unrestrained

6. Panorama(n): An unbroken view of an entire surrounding area; a comprehensive presentation; a mental vision of a series of events; A picture or series of pictures representing a continuous scene, often exhibited a part at a time by being unrolled and passed before the spectator.
Synonyms: scene, vista, prospect, compass, horizon, overview, perspective, sweep.

7. Pedestrian(adj): going or performed on foot; walking; of or pertaining to walking; lacking in vitality, imagination, distinction, etc.; commonplace.

8. Invigorating(adj): fill with life and energy; energize; imparting strength and vitality.
Synonyms: animating, bracing, brisk, crisp, exhilarative, roborant, spurring, stimulating, zestful.

9. Aggrievance(n): Oppression; hardship; injury; grievance

10. Inexplicable(adj): not explicable; incapable of being accounted for or explained; Difficult or impossible to explain or account for.
Synonyms: abstruse, ambiguous, enigmatic, inexplainable, mysterious, obscure, peculiar, preternatural, strange, supermundane, unaccountable, unfathomable.

11. Placebo(n): A substance containing no medication and prescribed or given to reinforce a patient's expectation to get well; An inactive substance or preparation used as a control in an experiment or test to determine the effectiveness of a medicinal drug.

12. Excoriate(v): express strong disapproval of; ear or wear off the skin or make sore by abrading; to censure strongly; denounce
Synonyms: abrade, assail, chafe, chastise, condemn, criticize, denounce, flay, gall, lambaste, scold, strip.

13. Burgeoning(v): To grow or develop rapidly; to begin to grow or blossom; To put forth new buds, leaves, or greenery; sprout.

14. Extol(v): to praise highly; laud;
Synonyms: glorify, exalt, applaud, approbate, commend, compliment, deify, enhance, enshrine, eulogize, magnify, panegyrize, spiritualize, eulogistic, panegyric.
Antonyms: disparage.

15. Resilience(n): the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity; ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy.
Synonyms: bounce, buoyancy, elasticity, resiliency.


Issue Topic:

1. In order to improve the quality of instruction at the college and university level, all faculty should be required to spend time working outside the academic world in professions relevant to the courses they teach.

2. Creating an appealing image has become more important in contemporary society than is the reality or truth behind that image


E (Till June 5th)


Today's Words:

1. Belie(v): to show to be false; contradict; to misrepresent.
Synonyms: refute, disprove, controvert, repudiate, confute, gainsay, besiege, betray, camouflage, contradict, counterfeit, deceive, defame, deny, disguise, disprove, distort, slander.
Antonyms: prove, verify, support

2. Repugnant(adj): distasteful, objectionable, or offensive; making opposition; opposed or contrary, as in nature or character.
Synonyms: antagonistic, adverse, hostile, abominable, despicable, disgusting, horrid, incompatible, loathsome, nasty, obnoxious, odious, revolting, sordid, squalid, unsavory, vile.

3. Succinct(adj): expressed in few words; characterized by conciseness or verbal brevity.
Synonyms: concise; terse; pithy, compendious, laconic

4. Invigorating(adj): fill with life and energy; energize
Synonyms: strengthen, vitalize, animating, bracing, brisk, crisp, exhilarative, roborant, spurring, stimulating, zestful.

5. Proffer(n): an offer or proposal; a proposal offered for acceptance or rejection.
Synonyms: volunteer, propose, suggest; bid, proposal, tender

6. Countenance(n): Appearance, especially the expression of the face; a look or expression indicative of encouragement or of moral support.
Synonyms: appearance, comportment, lineament, mien, physiognomy, sanction, visage

7. Callous(adj): made hard; hardened; insensitive; indifferent; unsympathetic, Emotionally hardened; unfeeling.
Synonyms: adamant, anesthetic, apathetic, brawny, horny, impertinent, indurative, inexorable, obdurate, stubborn, torpid.

8. Fastidious(adj): excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please.
Synonyms: captious, dainty, discriminating, finicky, fussy, hypercritical, meticulous, nitpicky, punctilious, queasy, squeamish, stickling.
Antonyms: indifferent, sloppy, uncouth, uncritical, undemanding.


Issue Topic

1. "People have been so encouraged by society to focus on apparent differences that they fail to see meaningful similarities among ideas, individuals, and groups.


Argument Topic:

1."In the last decade, the dairy production in Batavia County increased by 25%. There was a corresponding increase in the milk prices from $1.50 to $3 being sold at the Excello Food Market. The government must regulate the prices so that the farmers dont make excessive profits."


(Till June 3rd)


Today's Words:

1. Overhaul(v): To examine or go over carefully for needed repairs; to dismantle in order to make repairs, to gain upon, catch up with, or overtake, as in a race.

2. Oblivious(adj): unmindful; unconscious; unaware; forgetful; Lacking all memory
Synonyms: withdrawn, musing, daydreaming, dreamy, forgetful, distracted, abstracted.

3. Legerdemain(n): A show of skill or deceitful cleverness; sleight of hand.
Synonyms: artfulness, conjuring, deceit, deception, magic, trickery.

4. Martinet(n): a strict disciplinarian, esp. a military one; a rigid military disciplinarian; One who demands absolute adherence to forms and rules.
Synonyms: authoritarian, dictator, disciplinarian, ramrod, tyrant.

5. Pelf(n): money or wealth, esp. when regarded with contempt or acquired by reprehensible means; Wealth or riches, especially when dishonestly acquired.
Synonyms: loot, lucre.

6. Impecunious(adj): having little or no money; penniless; poor, not having enough money to pay for necessities
Synonyms: broke, destitute, impoverished, indigent, needy, penniless, poverty-stricken.

7. Eulogy(n): a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing; high praise or commendation; A laudatory speech or written tribute, especially one praising someone who has died.
Synonyms: acclaim, address, commendation, encomium, eulogium, homage, laudation, oration, paean, panegyric, praise, salutation, tribute.

8. Saga(n): a long, detailed story; any narrative or legend of heroic exploits.
Synonyms: adventure, edda, epic, history, legend, myth, narrative, tale, yarn.

9. Ladle(n): a long-handled utensil with a cup-shaped bowl for dipping or conveying liquids.
Synonyms: bail, calabash, cyathus, dipper, pour, scoop, serve, spoon.


ANALOGIES:

1. Soup: Ladle

2. Saga:poem

3. Date:calender


Issue topic:

1. The surest indicator of the greatness of a nation is not the achievements of its scientists, rulers or artists but the general welfare of the people.