Thursday, November 29, 2012

English Vocabulary - 11/29

I missed two days in a row!  :(


1. emaciate: debilitate, make weak physically
~ The awarded photo features an emaciated child in Africa.
~ emaciated drug addicts
~ The dogs were starved for days in this deserted apartment and looked terribly emaciated when we found them.

2. dike/dyke: a thick wall built to stop water flooding onto very low-lying land from a river or from the sea 堤防 (dam: 水壩)
~ The Netherlands is famous for their dykes with which they have considerably expanded the territory.

3. ballast: [un] (C) heavy matter such as sand or stone that is used at the bottom of a ship or a balloon to make it heavier (to improve stability), or the small stones on which railways and roads are made
~ The ship was fitted for ballast before it sailed.
~ Ballast is usually in the form of sand, iron, or water. Ballast is required in gas balloons to control buoyancy.

4. magnanimity: (C) very kind and generous towards an enemy or someone you have defeated; (M) the quality of being magnanimous, loftiness of spirit enabling one to bear trouble calmly, to disdain meanness and pettiness, and to display a noble generosity vindictiveness
>~ Mr. Jiang Kai Shek was known for his magnanimity towards the Japanese after the WWII.
~ The mother made a difficult decision and showed magnanimity towards the killer of his son.
Economist, Sad South Africa

5. dither: [v] hesitate, (C) to be unable to make a decision about doing something; (W) to act nervously; be undecided; be uncertain, (M) to act nervously or indecisively
~ He has been dithering over whether he should take the offer or stay in his current position.
~ When the extremely cold air hits, Jack has no time to dither but to jump into the nearest window he can find.
[n]
~ His mom always gets in a dither if he does not give her a call after 9:00 pm.
~ She was in a dither about what to wear for the prom.

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