9/18/15

Nullify

Nullify

<nole-la-feye>

Void; undo; invalidate;

to cancel something or make it worthless.

I will nullify the bill and you won't have to pay anything.

Memory trick:
Nullify reminds of null or nothing.

At work:
Making deadlines ensures they won't nullify the contract.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

9/17/15

Sumptuous

Sumptuous

deluxe; elegant; grand;

<somp-chew-is>

something rich and splendid.

This cake is sumptuous. I will have another piece.

Memory trick:
sumptuous reminds of sum
It is worth a large sum

At work:
The hotel was sumptuous and the clients were impressed.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

9/16/15

Parlance

Parlance

<par-lants>

talk; speech; lingo;

a way of speaking among people with the same interests.

The kids spoke in a parlance foreign to their parents.

Memory trick:
parlance reminds of freelance
a language understood only by freelancers

At work:
The computer programmers talked in a parlance we did not understand.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

9/15/15

Pristine

Pristine

<priss-teen>

new; untouched; unused;

something in its original state.

The paper was pristine because she could not think of a thing to write.

Memory trick:
pristine reminds of pri or prior

At work:
I undid the changes and the program is pristine again. We can add the changes again until we find the problem.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

9/14/15

Proscribe

Proscribe

<pro-skrybe>

forbid; outlaw; prohibit;

to make a law banning something.

We proscribe the throwing of food in this cafe. Please be polite.

Memory trick:
proscribe reminds of prohibit scribe
scribe reminds of- to write a law
we write a law to prohibit something

At work:
We proscribe the excessive use of exclamation points in our advertisements. Three is too many!!!

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

9/13/15

Torpor

Torpor

<tore-per>

laziness; inactivity; idleness;

a lack of movement caused by weariness or fatigue.

I feel into a dreamy torpor after drinking the warm milk.

Memory trick:
torpor reminds of tour poor
we tour poorly when tired

At work:
We fell into a torpor after a big lunch. We all ran to the coffee machine.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers