Vie

Vie

<veye>

content; fight; compete;

to struggle against an opponent to win a victory.

They vie for the attention of the teacher because they are competitive.

Memory trick:
Vi reminds of victory

At work:
We vie with the other company for every contract and we usually win.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Transfigure

Transfigure

<tranz-fig-yer>

remodel; reorganize; alter;

to change something and make it more beautiful.

The flowers transfigured the lawn into a rainbow of colors.

Memory trick:
transfigure reminds of transfer figure
you transfer the figure into something pretty

At work:
The new pictures will transfigure the presentation into a work of art.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Spurious

Spurious

<spur-ree-us>

phony; fake; false;

something not authentic or not genuine.

Your diamond ring is not spurious. It is worth a fortune.

Memory trick:
it spurs your anger when you learn it is fake

At work:
Their claims were proven spurious and we won the lawsuit.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Rapt

Rapt

<wrapped>

enchanted; spellbound; captivated;

being fascinated in a hypnotic way.

His eyes grew large and his jaw dropped. He watch the movie with rapt attention.

Memory trick:
rapt reminds of rapture

At work:
All heads turned and the room fell silent. They sat in rapt admiration as the president spoke.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Rankle

Rankle

<ranc-kul>

annoy;  bother;  anger

to irritate someone.

We are going to rankle the guests by serving dinner late.

Memory trick:
rankle reminds of rank
something rank smells bad and annoys us

At work:
We have to get the bugs out of the program or we will rankle our users.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Ungainly

Ungainly

<uhn-gane-lee>

uncoordinated; clumsy; awkward;

moving in an ungraceful way.

The turtle was ungainly and I easily outran it.

Memory trick:
ungainly reminds of un gain
something clumsy does not gain

At work:
Your presentation is ungainly because of all the extra exclamation points.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Puerile

Puerile

<pur-ree-ill>

immature; trivial; foolish;

being childish and having bad judgment.

The puerile student frustrated the teacher and distracted the class.

Memory trick:
puerile reminds of pure rile
we are riled when someone acts silly

At work:
We need to be less puerile and get serious about this project.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers