The Century Vocabulary Builder Part 24

To _disgrace_ is to bring actual shame upon.

_Sentences_: They ____ the guilty officer from captain to lieutenant.

A man should ____ himself before G.o.d. He had so ____ himself that I no longer expected good of him. His detection at cheating had ____ him before the students. By successive overlords they had been ____ into a condition of serfdom. The aristocratic old lady was ____ by her loss of social position. The conversion of so much bullion into money had ____ the coinage.

An interesting thing about the _answer_ group is that the generic term has a somewhat strong rival in _reply_, itself fairly inclusive.

We must therefore discriminate rather fully between _answer_ and _reply_. The former is a return in words to a question, a communication, or an argument. The latter suggests a more or less formal answer, as one carefully prepared or intelligently thought out. We might give an _answer_ offhand, but are less likely to give a _reply_ so. We may give any kind of _answer_ to a question, but if we give a _reply_, the implication is that we have answered it definitely, perhaps satisfactorily. On the other hand, in controversial matters we may, though we by no means always do, imply a more conclusive meeting of objections through _answer_ than through _reply_. A _response_ is an expected answer, one in harmony with the question or a.s.sertion, or in some way carrying the thought farther. A _rejoinder_ is a quick reply to something controversial or calling forth opposition.

A _retort_ is a short, sharp reply, such as turns back censure or derision, or as springs from anger. A _repartee_ is an immediate and witty reply, perhaps to a remark of similar character which it is intended to surpa.s.s in cleverness.

_Sentences_: The detailed ____ to our letter should reach us within a week. The plays of Oscar Wilde abound in brilliant ____. The speaker's ____ to the heckler was incisive and scathing. My ____ to that third question in the examination in history was incorrect. The congregation read the ____ in unison. You have enumerated objections to my course; here is their ____. "This is no ____, thou unfeeling man. To excuse the current of thy cruelty." There was silence throughout the chamber as the old statesman rose to make his ____. To the tenderfoot's remark the guide mumbled an indifferent ____. Our appeal for the sufferers elicited but a poor ____.

From the general tree of asking grow many branches, different in size, in the direction they take, in the shades of meaning they cast. What can we learn from a rapid scrutiny of each? That to _inquire_ is to ask for specific information. That to _question_ is to keep asking in order to obtain detailed or reluctantly given information. That to _interrogate_ is to question formally, systematically, or thoroughly.

That to _interpellate_ is to question as of unchallenged right, as in a deliberative body. That to _query_ is to bring a thing into question because of doubt as to its correctness or truth. That to _quiz_is to question closely and persistently, as from meddlesomeness, opposition, or curiosity. That to _catechize is_ to question in a minute, perhaps impertinent, manner in order to ascertain one's secrets or the amount of his knowledge or information. That to _request_ is to ask formally and politely. That to _beg_ is to ask for deferentially or humbly, especially on the ground of pity. That to _solicit_ is to ask with urgency. That to _entreat_ is to ask with strong desire and moving appeal. That to _beseech_ is to ask earnestly as a boon or favor. That to _crave_ is to ask humbly and abjectly, as though unworthy of receiving. That to _implore_ is to ask with fervor and intense earnestness. That to _supplicate_ is to ask with urgent or even desperate appeal. (Both _implore_ and _supplicate_ imply humility, as of a prayer to a superior being.) That to _importune_ is to ask for persistently, even wearyingly. That to _pet.i.tion_ is to ask a superior, usually in writing, for some favor, grant, or right.

_a.s.signment for further discrimination_:

.

_Sentences_: The leader of the minority ____ the upholders of the measure sharply as to a secret understanding. I ____ you to keep your promise. I shall ____ that solution for the present. The colonists ____ Great Britain for a redress of grievances. She ____ the governor to grant her husband a pardon. A child is naturally inquisitive and ____ many questions. I ____ you to show mercy. On bended knees he ____ G.o.d's forgiveness. "I'm stopp'd by all the fools I meet And ____ in every street." The policeman ____ the suspect closely. The prosecuting attorney ____ the witness. We are ____ funds to aid the famine-stricken people of India. He ____ me about your health. You should ____ at the office about the lost package. She ____ your presence at the party. Every one resents being ____. I ____ you to care for the child after I am gone. A fool can ____ questions a wise man can't answer. She annoyed them by constantly ____ them for favors. The reporter ____ into the causes of the riot. "____ and it shall be given you." I ____ your pardon, though I well know I do not deserve it. The man ____ me to give him some money for food.

If you consume or injure something by bringing it in contact with fire or heat, you _burn_ it. If you do not consume it but burn it superficially so as to change the texture or color of its surface, you _scorch_ it. If you burn off ends or projections of it, you _singe_ it. If you burn its surface to dryness or hardness, you _sear_ it. If you dry or shrivel it with heat, you _parch_ it.

If through heat you reduce it to a state of charcoal, or cinders, you _char_ it. If you burn it to ashes, you _incinerate_ it. (This word is learned and but little used in ordinary discourse.) If you burn a dead body to ashes, you _cremate_ it. If you burn or sear anything with a hot iron or a corrosive substance, you _cauterize_ it.

_Sentences:_ The hired girl ____ the cloth in ironing it. By getting too close to the fire he ____ the nap of his flannels. The doctor at once ____ the wound. The cook had picked the chicken and now ____ its down over the coals. I used to ____ grains of field corn on the cookstove, while my mother prepared dinner. Sh.e.l.ley's body was ____ on a funeral pyre. The lecturer spoke of the time when the whole earth might be ____. The earth was ____ and all growing things were ____ by the intense summer heat.

From much of the talk that we hear nowadays it might be supposed that the earnest devotion of one's self to a task is a thing that has disappeared from the earth. But a good many people are exhibiting this very devotion.

Let us see in what different degrees. The man who actively applies himself to something, whether temporarily or habitually, is _busy_. The man who makes continued application to work a principle or habit of life, is _industrious_. The man who applies himself aggressively to the accomplishment of some specific undertaking or pursuit, is _diligent_. The man who quietly and determinedly sticks to a task until it is accomplished, no matter what its difficulties or length, is _a.s.siduous_. The man who makes steady and painstaking application to whatever he is about, is _sedulous_.

_Sentences_: Early in life he acquired ____ habits. By patient and ____ study you may overcome those defects of your early education. "How doth the ____ little bee improve each s.h.i.+ning hour." The manager gave such ____ attention to details that he made few mistakes. He is ____ at present. Oh, yes, he is always ____. "Nowher so ____ a man has he ther has, And yet he seemed ____ than he was."

Words descriptive of brief utterance are, in nearly every instance, in their origin figurative. The brevity is brought out by comparison with something that is noticeably short or small. Let us examine the words of our list for their figurative qualities. A _concise_ statement is one that is _cut down_ until a great deal is said in a few words. A _terse_ statement is _rubbed off_, rid of unessentials.

A _succinct_ statement has its important thoughts _bound_ into small compa.s.s, as by a girdle. A _compendious_ statement _weighs together_ the various thoughts and aspects of a subject; it shows by means of a few effective words just what these amount to, gives a summary of them. A _compact_ statement has its units of thought _fastened together_ into firmness of structure; its brevity is well-knit. A _sententious_ statement gives _feelings_ or opinions_ in a strikingly pointed or axiomatic way, so that they can be easily grasped and remembered; if _sententious_ is unfavorably used, the statement may be filled with paraded plat.i.tudes. A _pithy_ statement gives the very _pith_, the heart of a matter; it is sometimes slightly quaint, always effective and arresting. A _laconic_ statement is made in the manner of _the Spartans_, who hated talk and used as few words as possible. A _curt_ statement is _made short_; its abruptness is oftentimes more or less rude.

_Sentences_: "A tale should be judicious, clear, ____. The language plain, and incidents well link'd." "Charles Lamb made the most ____ criticism of Spenser when he called him the poet's poet." With a ____ disdainful answer she turned away. The sermon was filled with ____ sayings. By omitting all irrelevant details, he made his statement of the case ____. It requires great skill to give a ____ statement of what such a treatise contains. A proverb is a ____ statement of a truth.

Men are as mindful of rank and pretension in their terms for the cessation of life as in their choice of tombstones for the departed. _Death_ is the great, democratic, unspoilable word. It is not too good for a clown or too poor for an emperor. _Decease_ is a more formal word. Its employment is often legal--the death proves to be of sufficient importance for the law (and the lawyers) to take notice. _Demise_, however, is outwardly the most resplendent term of all. It implies that the victim cut a wide swath even in death. It is used of an ill.u.s.trious person, as a king, who transmits his t.i.tle to an heir. Ordinary people cannot afford a _demise_. If the term is applied to their shuffling off of this mortal coil, the use is euphemistic and likely to be stilted.

_Sentences_: "The crown at the moment of ____ must descend to the next heir." "____ is a fearful thing." "In their ____ they were not divided." At the ____ of his father he inherited the estate. "Each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of ____." "Many a time I have been half in love with easeful ____."

_Early_ is the simple word for that which was in, or toward, the beginning. That is _primitive_ which has the old-fas.h.i.+oned or simple qualities characteristic of the beginning. That is _primeval_ which is of the first or earliest ages. That is _primordial_ which is first in origin, formation, or development. That is _primal_ which is first or original. (The word is poetic.) That is _pristine_ which has not been corrupted from its original state.

_a.s.signment for further discrimination_:

_Sentences:_ It was a hardy mountain folk that preserved the ____ virtues. The ____ history of mankind is shrouded in uncertainty. "This is the forest ____." "It hath the ____ eldest curse upon 't, A brother's murder." "A ____ leaf is that which is immediately developed from the cotyledon." As the explorers penetrated farther into the country, they beheld all the ____ beauties of nature. Some countries still use the ____ method of plowing with a stick.

We hear some one say that he reads faces. How? Through long study of them and what they indicate. The human race as a whole has been reading faces through the centuries. It has felt such need to label certain recurring aspects of them that it has invented the designating terms. Of these terms the simple, inclusive one is of course _face_ itself. If, however, we are thinking of the face as its look or expression reveals thoughts, emotions, or state of mind, our term is _countenance_. If we are thinking of it as distinguished or individualized by the contour, lines, etc., we speak of the _features_. If we are thinking of its external appearance or aspect, we call it the _visage_. If, finally, we are thinking of it as indicative of mind, disposition, or fundamental character, we say _physiognomy._

_a.s.signment for further discrimination_: .

_Sentences_: His grotesque ____ reminded one of a gargoyle. It is said that the ____ of persons living constantly together tend to become alike. "Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling ____." The teacher told the students to wash their ____ every morning. "A ____ more in sorrow than in anger." The firm but kind ____ of the old statesman shone happily at this ovation. "For now we see through a gla.s.s, darkly; but then ____ to ____." She turned an eager ____ up to me as she spoke. One's ____ is moulded by one's thoughts. Cosmetics injure the ____. His clear-cut ____ impressed his employer.

_Financial_ is usually applied to money matters of considerable size or moment. _Monetary_ applies to money, coin, or currency as such.

_Pecuniary_ refers to practical matters in which money is involved, though not usually in large amounts. _Fiscal_ refers especially to the time when money, receipts, and accounts are balanced or reckoned.

_Sentences:_ A ____ reward has been offered. We gave the unfortunate man ____ a.s.sistance. The ____ system of the country was sound. It was Hamilton who more than any one else shaped the ____ policies of the new government. Experts audit the company's accounts at the end of the ____ year. The ____ interests of the country were behind the bill.

To _flee_ is to run away from what one would avoid, as danger, arrest, or the like. To _abscond_ is to steal off secretly and hide one's self, as from some disgraceful reason or to avoid arrest. To _decamp_ is to leave suddenly in great haste to get away; the word is often used humorously.

_Sentences_: They went to have their money refunded, but the swindler had ____. The bank teller ____ after having squandered most of the deposits. Yes, we were in proximity to a polecat, and without further parley we ____. "Resist the devil, and he will ____ from you." William Wallace, when pursued by the English, ____ into the Highlands.

_Foretell_ is the general word for stating or perceiving beforehand that which will happen. _Predict_ implies foretelling based on well-founded or precise knowledge. _Prophesy_ often implies supernatural inspiration to foretell correctly. The word is especially so used in connection with the Scriptures; but in the Scriptures themselves it frequently expresses insight and admonition without the element of foretelling. _Forecast_ involves a marked degree of conjecture.

_Presage_ usually means to give as a presentiment or warning.

_Forebode_ expresses an uncertain foreknowledge of vague impending evil. _Portend_ indicates the likelihood that something will befall which is threatening or evil in its consequences. _Augur_ means foretelling from omens. _Prognosticate_ means foretelling through the study of signs or symptoms.

_Sentences_: "For we know in part, and we ____ in part." (Insert in the blank, successively, the terms just distinguished. In each instance how is the meaning affected? Do any of the terms fail to make sense at all? Which term do you think the right one? Bearing in mind the distinctions we have made, frame sentences of your own to embody the terms.)