1. Vocabulary Week 1 Gold

2. Word 1: Dubious Def: Having a doubtful, questionable outcome "The life of man is a dubious experiment. It is a tremendous phenomenon only in numerical terms.” Carl Jung

3. Word 2: Dappled Def: Contrasting patches of color caused by light shining making shadows Sent: “…and the earth beneath was dappled with the shadows of his fluttering leaves.” J.R.R.Tolkien

4. Word 3: Cacophony Def: A mixture of loud unpleasant sounds Sent: Just as the strength of the Internet is chaos, so the strength of our liberty depends upon the chaos and cacophony of the unfettered speech the First Amendment protects. Judge Dalzell Judge Dalzell

5. Word 4: Subservient Def: Too willing to obey others, submissive Sent: Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart. Mahatma Gandhi

6. Word 5: Excruciating Def: Very painful and agonizing Sent: “..the change is excruciating. Learning a new language and dealing with strange customs make the first years of life in the new land painful…” John Lachs

7. Word 6: Obstinate Def: Not willing to change ideas or behavior Sent: “The fool is obstinate, and doubteth not; he knoweth all things but his own ignorance.” -AkhenatonAkhenaton

8. Word 7: Plethora Def: A great amount or variety Sent: The plethora of special effects --- some dazzling, some clumsy --- make “Harry Potter” at times resemble a generic Hollywood horror movie. David Ansen

9. Word 8: Malicious / Malice Def: Strong desire to hurt others Sent: Malice can always find a mark to shoot at, and a pretence to fire.” Charles Simmon

10. Word 9: Vile Def: Shockingly and morally bad Sent: If you can’t answer a man’s arguments, all is not lost; you can still call him vile names.

11. Word 10: Malevolent / Malevolence Def: Wishing to do evil to others Sent: … good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if lacking understanding. Mason Cooley

12. Word 11: Ardent Def: Feeling strong emotions towards something Sent: Objects we ardently pursue bring little happiness when gained; most of our pleasures come from unexpected sources. Herbert Spencer

13. Word 12: Verbose Def: Using more words than necessary Sent: Don’t let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. Mark Twain

14. Word 13: Aspire Def: Desire to achieve great things Sent: Only human beings can feel affection for each other, and this is the highest achievement they can aspire to. -Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

15. Word 14: Enigma Def: Something very difficult to understand Sent: Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Winston Churchill

16. Word 15: Unprecedented Def: Something that has never happened before in size, degree or amount Sent: We will not have great individuals or great leaders, but a great average bulk, unprecedentedly great. Walt Whitman

17. Word 16: Cantankerous Def: Ill-tempered, irritating to deal with Sent: “Great speech is impassioned, small speech cantankerous.” Zhuang Zi

18. Word 17: Doting / Dote Def: To give excessive fondness and attention Sent: I dote on his very absence. William Shakespeare

19. Word 18: Inconspicuous Def: Not noticed Sent: He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food. - Raymond Chandler Raymond Chandler

20. Word 19: Ubiquitous Def: Present everywhere Sent: Technology has become as ubiquitous as the air we breathe, so we are no longer conscious of its presence. Godfrey Riggio

21. Word 20: Austere Def: Plain and simple in style. Sent: Americans have always been able to handle austerity and even adversity. Prosperity is what is doing us in. James Reston