Peccadillo

Peccadillo

<pek-kah-dil-low>

small offense; misdeed; indiscretion;

a small and unimportant misdeed;

Don't worry. Your traffic ticket is a pecadillo. It will be a tiny fine.

Memory trick:
Peccadillo reminds of armadillo
an armadillo is a small animal

At work:
Being late for the meeting is only a peccadillo because your presentation was awesome.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Contrition

Contrition

<kon-trich-shun>

guilt; remorse; sorrow;

feeling shame and sadness about something bad you did.

The contrition of the boy made everyone want to forgive him.

Memory trick
contrition reminds of condition
we are in a sad contrition when we feel guilt

At work:
He never showed contrition about accidently deleting the file.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Pilfer

Pilfer

<pil-fur>

steal; loot; swipe;

to take something that does not belong to you.

The dog will pilfer the steak if you leave it on the table.

Memory trick:
A pill hides something

At work:
You have to hide your stapler or someone will pilfer it.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Furtive

Furtive

<fur-tiv>

secret; hidden; covert;

doing something in a sneaky way so you don't get caught.

She gave him a furtive glance and he knew what she was thinking.

Remember:
Furtive reminds of secretive

At work:
He took furtive notes so I know he is interested in the deal.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Consummate

Consummate

<kon-soom-mayte>

gifted; talented; skilled;

having the ability of an expert or a master.

She was a consummate pianst and played each note perfectly.

Remember:
Consummate reminds of consume
We are consumed when we get good at something

At work:
Let's give the project to her. She is a consummate project manager.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Discern

Discern

<dis-sern>

observe; identify; detect;

too see something or someone standing out from others.

I was able to discern the gold coin among the pebbles.

Memory trick:
disc reminds of discriminate

At work:
We want them to discern the important points by making them yellow.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Genre

Genre

<jon-rah>

category; class; style;

a form of artistic work belonging to a classification.

I like the comedy genre because it's fun to laugh.

Remember:
genre reminds of gene
a gene is a building block of living things

At work:
Our product is in the wrong genre. We will sell more if we market it differently.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers