Laconic

Laconic

<lah-kon-nik>

short; brief; snippy;

getting right to the point with few words.

The book was laconic and I read it in an hour. It was short and to the point.

Memory trick:
laconic reminds of "lac" or lack.
lacking words.

At work:
Please keep your reports laconic because my time is limited.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
  

Ambivalent

Ambivalent

<ahm-biv-al-lent>

doubtful; unsure; iffy;

being conflicted about what to do.

The child was ambivalent. She could not decide between vanilla and chocolate.

Memory trick:
am bi.
bi means two or two choices.

At work:
We are ambivalent about the product colors. We want red and they want blue.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers 

Blather

Blather

<blah-thur>

chatter; yap; ramble;

to talk a lot without making sense.

The blather bored me to tears. I feel asleep not understanding a word they said.

Memory trick:
blather reminds of blab or blabber.

At work:
Our advertisement is blather. No one will watch it or understand our message:


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
  

Arbitrator

Arbitrator

<arr-bih-tray-tor>

judge; referee; umpire;

someone who settles disagreements.

I will be the arbitrator. I will flip a coin to see who gets the last piece of cake.

Memory trick:
arbitrator reminds of traitor.
a traitor may not take our side.

At work:
An arbitrator will be brought in to settle disputes. There will be no favoritism.


(c)  2015 E. Carruthers
 

Sentient

Sentient

<sent-shint>

alive; alert; aware;

being responsive and able to understand things.

The robot became sentient when I put in the new batteries. It greeted me.

Memory trick:
sentient reminds of sent.
messages are sent from something living.

At work:
The presentation had a sentient air because of the music and animation. It was lively.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
 

Convoke

 Convoke

<kon-volk>

assemble; convene; call;

to summon someone to a gathering.

I use a dog whistle to convoke an excited group of happy dogs. They come from miles around.

Memory trick:
convoke reminds of convene.
we convene or call a meeting.

At work:
Let's convoke with the sales department and work out the details. We are ready to ship.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Raucous

Raucous

<rawk-kus>

loud; unruly; wild;

a noisy uncontrolled disturbance.

The children made a raucous in the house. You could not hear yourself think.

Memory trick:
raucous reminds of "rock us".
loud noise rocks us.

At work:
The raucous from the construction will make it impossible to work. It will be too noisy.

(c) 2015 E.  Carruthers