Educational

conviction

[val-i-deyt]

a fixed or firm belief

gawk

[gawk]

to stare stupidly; gape

excogitate

[eks-koj-i-teyt]

to think out; devise; invent

deleterious

[del-i-teer-ee-uhs]

injurious to health

peristyle

[per-uh-stahyl]

a colonnade surrounding a building or an open space

homonym

[hom-uh-nim]

each of two or more words having the same spelling or pronunciation but different meanings and origins

solder

[sod-er]

to join closely and intimately

equivocal

[ih-kwiv-uh-kuhl]

allowing the possibility of several different meanings, as a word or phrase, especially with intent to deceive or misguide; susceptible of double interpretation; deliberately ambiguous

abgesang

[ab-guh-zong]

the concluding section in musical and poetic bar form

apologia

[ap-uh-loh-jee-uh]

a defense especially of one's opinions, position, or actions

viscous

[vis-kuhs]

of a glutinous nature or consistency; sticky; thick; adhesive

halcyon

[hal-see-uhn]

calm; peaceful; tranquil

conflate

[kuhn-fleyt]

to fuse into one entity; merge

inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

settled or confirmed in a habit, practice, feeling, or the like

heuristic

[hyoo-ris-tik]

encouraging a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve problems on his or her own, as by experimenting, evaluating possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error

diegetic

[dahy-uh-jet-ik]

(of sound in a movie, television program, etc.) occurring within the context of the story and able to be heard by the characters

infinitesimal

[in-fin-i-tes-uh-muhl]

extremely small; an indefinitely small quantity

diatribe

[dahy-uh-trahyb]

a bitter, sharply abusive denunciation, attack, or criticism

eponym

[ep-uh-nim]

a person after whom a discovery, invention, place, etc., is named or thought to be named

impervious

[im-pur-vee-uhs]

not permitting penetration or passage; impenetrable

synecdoche

[si-nek-duh-kee]

a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part, the special for the general or the general for the special, as in Texas won by six runs (meaning “Texas's baseball team”)

disparate

[dis-per-it]

distinct in kind; essentially different; dissimilar

insouciant

[in-soo-see-uhnt]

free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant

precarious

[pri-kair-ee-uhs]

dependent on circumstances beyond one's control; uncertain; insecure