The Words You Should Know to Sound Smart (5 page)

earmark
(EER-mark), verb

To set aside money to be used for a specific purpose.

Milly’s earnings from her job were EARMARKED for her son’s college tuition.

ebullient
(EB-you-lent), adjective

Feeling joy and positive emotions at an extreme level; the state of being wildly enthusiastic about something.

Lorne was EBULLIENT when he found that his mother had given the college enough money to overturn his rejection.

echelon
(ESH-uh-lonn), noun

A level of command or authority.

Family connections helped Michael ascend quickly to the upper ECHELON of his brokerage firm.

éclat
(ay-KLAH), noun

Great public acclaim; or, great public notoriety.

Although they are the height of Paris fashion, Martina’s five-inch heels earned her much ÉCLAT in the society pages.

edacious
(ih-DAY-shuss), adjective

Greedy, eager, and consumed with consumption.

It’s not fair to label Rosella EDACIOUS because she only wants the same luxury items the rest of us desire.

educe
(ee-DYOOCE), verb

To come to a conclusion or solve a problem through reasoning based on thoughtful consideration of the facts.

After Roger’s family purchased a Mercedes C class, rather than its usual Mercedes E class, we EDUCED the Wallertons were enduring financial difficulties.

efface
(ih-FAYSS), verb

To erase, obliterate, make inconspicuous.

effervescent
(
ef-ur-VES-ent), adjective

Bubbly; upbeat; cheerful; possessing a positive attitude and joyful personality.

After getting the acceptance letter from Cornell, Sabrina was positively EFFERVESCENT and celebrated with a trip to Neiman Marcus.

effete
(eh-FEET), adjective

Decadent and lacking in vigor due to decadence or self-indulgence.

The Eddingtons donated one of their serving sets to charity, so only the truly EFFETE would deign to label the family as snobs.

efficacious
(eff-ih-KAY-shuss), adjective

Capable of having a desired effect.

“Example is always more EFFICACIOUS than precept.” – Samuel Johnson, British moralist and poet

efflorescent
(ef-luh-RES-uhnt), adjective

Describes something that has reached the final stage of its development or is at the peak of perfection.

Thomas is convinced that the Bugati Veyron Fbg represents the EFFLORESCENT automobile.

effrontery
(eh-FRON-ter-ee), noun

To have offended someone through inappropriate or aggressive behavior or audacious requests; audacity.

After doing a terrible job on the project, he had the EFFRONTERY to ask me, “Can I do extra credit?”

effulgent
(ih-FULL-junt), adjective

Shining brightly; glowing; radiant.

The lightning storm made the evening sky positively EFFULGENT.

effusive
(eh-FEW-siv), adjective

Profuse and overflowing, without reservation.

In an effort to butter up the senator, the lobbyist was transparently EFFUSIVE in his praise of the new bill.

egalitarian
(ih-gal-uh-TARE-ee-uhn), adjective

To be fair and balanced in the extreme; to act in the belief that all men are created equal and should be treated so.

“Chinks in America’s EGALITARIAN armor are not hard to find. Democracy is the fig leaf of elitism.” – Florence King, American author

egregious
(E-GREE-jus), adjective

A serious mistake or offense, often with dire consequences.

Pauline made the EGREGIOUS mistake of asking the price of a piece of jewelry that caught her eye, rather than simply asking to purchase the necklace.

eidetic
(aye-DETT-ick), adjective

Of visual imagery that is nearly photographic in detail.

We were displeased with the Howlands’ recent art purchase because the so-called artist harkens back to the tired old school of EIDETIC representation.

eidolon
(eye-DOH-luhn), noun

A phantom or apparition; or, the image of an ideal.

élan,
(ey-LAN), noun

Enthusiasm, energy, flair, zest.

Bryanna reacted with ÉLAN when she was tapped to be part of a feature for
Elite Travel Magazine
.

elegy
(EL-eh-gee), noun

A lament for the dead.

“Modern ELEGIES tend to be unconvincing because the poet so clearly believes in the immortality that an ELEGY traditionally claims for its subject.” – Edward Mendelson, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Colombia University

elide
(ee-LIDE), verb

To leave out a sound or syllable when speaking; to eliminate the distinctive barrier separating levels.

When Catherine ELIDES the “g’s” at the end of certain words, she betrays her Southern origins.

elocution
(el-oh-CUE-shun), noun

The ability to deliver a public speech in a clear and persuasive manner.

He’s a brilliant man, but he needs to work on his ELOCUTION.

elucidate
(ee-LOO-sih-date), verb

To lecture, explain, or pontificate about a subject in great detail so as to make it exceeding clear.

“It [was] the mission of the twentieth century to ELUCIDATE the irrational.” – Maurice Merleau -Ponty, French philosopher

elucubrate
(ih-LOO-kyoo-brait), verb

To produce a written work through lengthy, intensive effort.

Thanks to a few hundred bucks passed along to a classmate, Miles did not have to ELUCUBRATE his term paper and could, instead, attend parties with us.

emend
(ih-MEND), verb

To correct or remove faults, as from a text.

Blanche EMENDED her holiday wish list, removing the Ferrari watch and replacing it with a Versace dinner plate.

empressement
(ahn-press-MAH), noun

A display of effusive cordiality.

Those at the party who belonged to the nouveau riche set were easy to recognize, due to their constant and distasteful EMPRESSEMENT.

empyreal
(em-PEER-ee-uhl), adjective

Elevated and sublime; or, of the sky

The beautiful three-carat sapphire her fiancé gave her shone with an EMPYREAL, almost celestial, light.

encipher
(en-SY-fur), verb

To scramble or convert data into a secret code, prior to transmission, thereby making it impossible for unauthorized users to understand or decipher.

Mathematicians were employed by the Army to crack ENCIPHERED messages during the war.

encomium
(en-KO-me-um), noun

Effusive praise given in a public forum.

The CEO’s ENCOMIUM at Phil’s retirement dinner caused his eyes to mist over.

endemic
(en-DEM-ik), adjective

A widespread condition or characteristic found in a certain region, area, or group.

Affluence and influence seem to be just ENDEMIC to our group.

enervate
(EN-er-vayt), transitive verb

To rob a person, organization, place, or thing of its energy, strength, and vitality.

Greenhouse gases ENERVATE the protective ozone layer surrounding the Earth.

enigmatic
(en-ig-MATT-ik), adjective

Mysterious, puzzling, and difficult to figure out.

“The interest in life does not lie in what people do, nor even in their relations to each other, but largely in the power to communicate with a third party, antagonistic, ENIGMATIC, yet perhaps persuadable, which one may call life in general.” – Virginia Woolf, British essayist and novelist

enjoin
(ehn-JOYN), verb

To direct or order someone to do something.

After purchasing one too many Bentleys, Alex’s father ENJOINED him to be more frugal.

enmity
(EN-mih-tee), noun

Mutual dislike, animosity, hatred, antagonism, or disagreement between two groups or parties.

Was the ENMITY between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frasier an act, genuine, or a combination of both?

ennui
(on-WEE), noun

Apathy and lack of energy caused by boredom and disinterest.

“And he spoke of ENNUI, of jaded appetites, of nights and days aboard a moonstone vessel as large as a city.” – Harlan Ellison, American author

ensconce
(en-SKONTS), verb

To settle oneself warmly or snugly; or, to hide something in a secure place.

Julia ENSCONSED herself in a leather chair in the family’s library and perused recent catalogues.

entropy
(EN-troh-pee), noun

The tendency of any system to run down and revert to total chaos.

enumerate
(eh-NOO-muh-rate), verb

To list or to count off individually, one by one.

“One might ENUMERATE the items of high civilization, as it exists in other countries, which are absent from the texture of American life, until it should become a wonder to know what was left.” – Henry James, American-born British author

enunciate
(ee-NUN-see-ate), verb

To pronounce words carefully and clearly; to speak in a manner that makes you easily understood.

No one will listen to him until he stops mumbling and learns to ENUNCIATE.

envisage
(en-VIZ-ij), verb

To envision, imagine, or create a mental picture.

“I don’t ENVISAGE collectivism. There is no such animal, it is always individualism.” – Gertrude Stein, American author

ephemeral
(eh-FEM-er-uhl), adjective

Describes a short-lived condition, temporary event, or fleeting moment.

epicurean
(eh-pih-CURE-ee-an), noun

Devoted to the enjoyment of good food and comfort.

Mother’s Thanksgiving meal at the Cape Cod compound was an annual EPICUREAN delight.

epigraph
(EH-pih-graf), noun

A short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or book chapter, or a brief inscription on a coin, statue, or building.

“Benfey begins his book with a curious EPIGRAPH from John Ruskin.” – Joyce Carol Oates, American author

epiphany
(eh-PIH-fan-see), noun

A sudden, unexpected insight that seems to come from nowhere and throws great illumination on a subject previously not well understood.

One day Marcus had an EPIPHANY and realized that, to find true happiness, he should become a philanthropist.

epistolary
(eh-PISS-toe-lar-ee), adjective

Having to do with writing or letters or other literary works.

Madeline continues the EPISTOLARY tradition by eschewing e-mail, opting for fine parchment and her great-grandfather’s diamond-encrusted quill pen for her correspondence.

eponymous
(eh-PON-eh-muss), adjective

To be named after something, such as a child being named after his grandfather or the mythical Romulus giving his name to Rome.

Josephine spends as much time as possible sailing in her EPONYMOUS yacht.

equable
(ECK-wuh-bull), adjective

Unvarying, steady, and free from extremes.

“He spake of love, such love as spirits feel / In worlds whose course is EQUABLE and pure.” – William Wordsworth, British Romantic poet

equanimity
(ee-kwa-NIM-ih-tee), noun

The ability to keep one’s cool during times of stress, conflict, or trouble.

When his mother locked her keys in the car, her young son responded with surprising EQUANIMITY.

equivocate
(ee-KWIV-uh-kate), verb

To change one’s mind or be unable to stick with a decision or resolution; to vacillate in one’s opinion or position.

The candidate seemed to EQUIVOCATE on the energy crisis with each speech he made.

ersatz
(Er-ZATS), adjective

A phony, a fake, a counterfeit, an inferior copy, a pale imitation of an original.