Category Archives: Glossary

Antithetical

Student Posts, ENG1101, Glossary

Antithetical- Adjective

Definition: directly opposite or opposed

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antithetical

The word was found in the newspaper on Monday November 3, 2014. The word is located in the middle of the article http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/nyregion/flickering-lights-strange-music-and-a-ghost-at-a-brooklyn-restaurant-maybe.html. The sentence began “Antithetical to the neighborhood today, the working classes pushed out the wealthy, knocking down mansions to build tenements, according to John B. Manbeck, a former Brooklyn borough historian.”

At first I didn’t understand the word, however I looked up the word and put together the with the sentence.  The word is being used to describe the people in the neighborhood, they oppose the idea.

 

Translucent

Student Posts, ENG1101, Glossary

Translucent- Adjective

Definition: not completely clear or transparent but clear enough to allow light to pass through

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/translucent

The word was found in the New Times online Newspaper on Monday November 3,2014. The word was found in the beginning of the article http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/nyregion/flickering-lights-strange-music-and-a-ghost-at-a-brooklyn-restaurant-maybe.html. The sentence started “She was middle-aged with gray hair and dressed in white, like a wedding dress, he said, but not one from this century. And she appeared corporeal, “normal,” Mr. Vargas said, not nebulous or translucent like on television”

While reading the article, I came upon a familiar word however I wanted to make sure the definition. The word was used to describe the ghostly appearance, she was clearly see through.

Glossary: Squishy

Student Posts, ENG1101, Glossary,

Squishy( adjective): 1 being soft, yielding, damp

2 not firm, steady, or fixed ( Definition comes from merriam-webster)

From: “Some people might not be charmed by an experiment that relies on squishy concepts like beauty and happiness.” In this sentence, squishy should mean not steady because it says that people might not be attracted by this results of an experiment which means the result is not steady. People might have different ideas.

In addition, I’ve found another meaning of squishy, to describe a really cute old people, typically little old man, or someone of a huggable nature. From Urban Dictionary. Obviously, those are not best explanations in this condition.

 

Beguile

Glossary, Student Posts

Beguile - Verb

Definition: to influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude ; to charm or divert

Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Beguile?s=t

Encounter: I encountered this word when I reading “What If You Could Choose Between the Fastest Route and the Most Beautiful”

Understand: Beguile is appearing in the article “What If You Could Choose Between the Fastest Route and the Most Beautiful” from Atlantic CityLab. The word beguiles is being used when the article said “tweak this experiment to focus on whatever aspect of a city beguiles you most by crowdsourcing locations that fit your chosen variable” which carrying its second meaning. In this quote, the word beguile can be interpreted to charm which is a neutral meaning instead using beguile as a negative meaning. The sentence guided me that I can use the word beguile in different ways instead remember it as a negative word.

Asphalt

Student Posts, ENG1101, Glossary

Asphalt- Noun

Definition:a black substance that is used for making roads

a dark bituminous substance that is found in natural beds and is also obtained as a residue in petroleum refining and that consists chiefly of hydrocarbons

an asphaltic composition used for pavements and as a waterproof cement

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/asphalt

The word was found on Saturday November 1,2014. The word is located in the middle of the newspaper http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/13/us/its-alive-and-it-grows-into-a-jack-o-lantern.html. The word is found in this sentence “Mr. Dighera, 53, worked as a tractor operator for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for more than three decades, but he always harbored dreams of tilling land instead of asphalt, as his grandparents had done on their farm in San Diego.”

While reading the article, I was unclear of how the word was being used as. However, the word was used to described the man’s land,asphalt is something that defines a street. A place where it can’t be farmed at.

Myopic

Student Posts, Glossary

Myopic (adj.):  a condition in which the visual images come to a focus in front of the retina of the eye resulting especially in defective vision of distant objects, or a narrow view of something.

I encountered this word in the article “What If You Could Choose Between the Fastest Route and the Most Beautiful?” by Lex Berko. It says “Your commute to work and your walk to the shop don’t have to be so myopic and destination-driven.” I can translate the sentence into meaning the commute to work and walk to the shop doesn’t have to have a main focus or main point.

Nebulous

Student Posts, Glossary

Source: Merriam-Webster.com

Nebulous- unclear, vague or ill defined

When I came across this word in the text in class( What if you could choose between the fastest route and the most beautiful). My lack of knowledge of what this word meant made it confusing to understand what the text meant. Using context clues did not help the situation as much either. The sentence this word was found in states, ” But how do you quantify concepts as nebulous as beauty or happiness”. Finding the definition made the text simpler to understand as usual. But in this case I can know the specific question they’re trying to involved.

Morbidly

Student Posts, Glossary

Morbidly: Adjective

Definition: abnormally susceptible to or characterized by gloomy or unwholesome feelings.

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morbidly

I found this word from a article “ The Boston Photographs ” this word in the article means that a bad mood in a place. It used personification to describe the social negativity phenomenon.

Now, I understood this word: It can use in two different situations. One is description a person is sick. On the other side it describe the social spirit.

 

 

 

Glossary Entry – From “City Limits”

Student Posts, Glossary

Drab

Definition- (noun) a dull, lifeless, or faded appearance or quality

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drab

I came across this word in the last line of the first paragraph of the reading.

As i reread the sentence that the word is located, I sort of guessed what it probably meant. But now that i understand what it really means, i can use this word in my vocabulary and in my other projects/essays.

Resoled

Def: (prefix) again, anew

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resoled

I found this word in the middle of the second paragraph.

When i first saw this word, i was thinking about shoes. Like the soles of the shoes. (i hope i spelled that right) Anyway, i went to reread the sentence and looked up the word, it made more sense to me.

Palsied

Def: (adjective)affect with

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/palsied?show=0&t=1414006036

Found the word in the 4th paragraph.

This word confused me more as i tried to reread the sentence, but i knew what it meant when i look it up. I’ll have to keep finding the perfect definition to help me understand it more clearly.

Hokum

Def: (noun)foolish, or untrue words or ideas; Nonsense, unrealistic situations

Sources: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hokum ,and

From Prof. Rosen as we went over the reading together

Found this word near the beginning in the 6th paragraph.

Honestly, I guess that it meant nonsense because of the short sentence and the other sentences after made sense to me. It’s just a “fancy” way of saying that is all untrue. Might as well use this in my vocabulary.

Unheralded (opposite of the word : herald)

Def: (adjective)without warning; not previously announced, expected or recognized

Sources: From Prof. Rosen in-class, and

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=unheralded

Found this word the middle of the 10th paragraph.

This was new to me like any other words i found in this reading, but this one had a clear meaning to it that even helped me to use it in my Project#2 essay. I sort of understood it when Pro. Rosen explained it in class and as i found the definition online.

Impediments

Def: (noun)Road block; a hindrance or obstruction in doing something.

Sources: From Pro. Rosen, and https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=impediments

Found this in the middle of the 11th paragraph

This word was familiar to me because i’ve seen this in previous readings/books in my life and i’ve been using it mostly. Also, as you reread the sentence , you can understand the word without looking up the true meaning.

Incredulous

Def: (adjective) not able or willing to believe something : feeling or showing a lack of belief

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incredulous

Found this in the 11th paragraph.

I didn’t understand this word at all as i read the sentence over and over.But when i finally gave in and looked it up, i totally understand now.