Author: dayanaM05

Sinewy(Adjective)- Strong

The definition of the word Sinewy was found on the Merriam-Webster dictionary. I first stumbled upon this word on September 24, 2018, while reading “The Ride” by JL Williams from the novel Legacies. This word can be found on page 410 it says, ” However, as a teen, I grew several inches and looked thin with sinewy muscles like my father and brother before me.” When first encountering this word I had no idea what it meant, it genuinely confused me. After knowing the definition of this word I can now use it later on in life to replace the word strong. Doing this will help my writing sound more sophisticated and professional.

Disparate: markedly distinct in quality or character. (adjective)

The definition of disparate was found in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. I first stumbled onto this word on September 6, 2018, while reading “Brave We Are” by Tahira Naqvi. The word disparate can be found on page 362 and the sentence says, “Why does snow in February always remind me of February in Lahore? Incongruent, disparate, the seasons have so little in common.” When first encountering the word I thought it said desperate until I read the sentence over and then realized that made no sense. Now I know a more sophisticated word for different and that word is disparate. Learning this new word will now help me further improve my vocabulary in my writing.

Emulate: to strive to equal or excel (verb)

The definition of emulate was cited in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. The first time I heard this word was in my English class on Thursday, August 30th, 2018 when we were reading “Coming to an awareness of language Malcolm X”. The word can be found in paragraph 10, which says, “It had really begun back in Charlestown Prison when Bimbi first made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge. Bimbi had always taken charge of any conversation he was in, and I had tried to emulate him.” When first encountering the word I thought it meant imitate because when reading the sentence before it sounds like Malcolm X is trying to copy Bimbi. Although now I understand this section of this passage even clearer because I see how the word emulate can also mean imitate but after rereading the whole passage again I can see that Malcolm X just wanted to excel in conversations like Bimbi.