n. a piece of land almost completely surrounded by water but joined to a larger mass of land
E.g. The ferocity of these outbreaks across the Eyre peninsula has taken the most hardened fire fighters by surprise.
a. deeply, often dreamily thoughtful; engaged in serious thought or reflection; contemplative
E.g. The pensive lover gazed at the portrait of his beloved and deeply sighed.
v. become aware of through the senses; detect
E.g. And though I don't comprehend how it is, I perceive you have acquired a degree of regard for that foolish little child Adele, too; and even for simple dame Fairfax?
n. a place high up; an elevated place serving as a seat
E.g. Repeated attempts to rescue him failed because of snow storms and avalanches but on Wednesday two Pakistani military helicopters managed to fly close enough to his perch for one of them to dangle a line to him.
a. completed; not defective nor redundant; having all the properties or qualities; without flaw, fault, or blemish; without error
E.g. Everybody clapped their hands and stomped on the floor like a perfect storm, whilst the king held up his head and smiled proud.
v. carry through; bring to completion; achieve; accomplish; execute
E.g. Most of the characters that perform in this book still live, and are prosperous and happy.
n. act of performing; dramatic or musical entertainment; process or manner
E.g. However, the G14 group also announced a commitment to link pay more closely to performance on the field.
n. an amount of time
E.g. The Clinton campaign has raised more money in the first three months of this year than all nine Democratic candidates combined in the equivalent period for the 2004 election.
n. consent; approval to do something
E.g. This is the political justification that now overrides the old cry - that any action without the permission of a member state would be interference in its internal affairs.
a. approving; tolerant; granting; not strict in discipline
E.g. Direct primary legislation is largely permissive rather than prescriptive.
v. baffle; confuse
E.g. You puzzle me, Jane: your look and tone of sorrowful audacity perplex and pain me.
v. continue; insist; persevere
E.g. Why, when studies show that cell phone use, and especially texting, while driving impairs drivers more than drinking, do so many people persist in combining these lethal behaviors?
a. constant; never-ceasing
E.g. Filipinos are also angry about rising prices and persistent corruption.
n. complex of all the attributes of a person; totality of qualities and traits of a person
E.g. The judge said Moura showed a violent personality, unsuited to living in society and that the killing was carried out in a violent and cowardly manner.
n. appearance of things; view, outlook, or vista
E.g. An essential fact that should put the debate in perspective is that Mary was released after less than four months.
v. advise; counsel; urge the acceptance or practice of; convince
E.g. Such civil conscripts could well be subjected to the kind of bullying which may have helped persuade them to avoid the army in the first place.
a. capable of convincing; having the power to induce action or belief
E.g. He shows a persuasive argument at that meeting.
n. a chemical used to kill pests
E.g. The most significant advantages of genetically modified crops for the developing world are that farmers would have higher yields: they would be able to produce food using fewer inputs: less pesticide, less fertilizer.
n. any epidemic disease with a high death rate
E.g. That forest-dell, where Lowood lay, was the cradle of fog and fog-bred pestilence.
n. dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons
E.g. The petroleum product's pricing regulatory agency said in a statement it welcomed the high court's decision, and added that marketers were now free to procure products and release them to the public subject to guidelines.
n. any distinct time period in a sequence of events; stage
E.g. But there's far less consensus on how much the EU might be willing to pay towards reconstruction in a post-war phase, now that it's clear that a conflict will not have United Nations approval.
n. appearance; anything visible, in matter or spirit; extraordinary or very remarkable person, thing, or occurrence
E.g. International terrorism is not just a recent phenomenon.
n. devoted to or appreciative of music
E.g. The most philharmonic ear is at times deeply affected by a simple air.
n. body of highest truth; investigation of nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning
E.g. He holds a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia and served as press secretary for Kucinich for President in 2004.
n. branch of acoustics concerned with speech processes including its production and perception and acoustic analysis
E.g. The study of phonetics is the study of the acoustic and articulator properties of speech sounds.
n. branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms
E.g. Human physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells.
n. a dose of medicine in the form of a small pellet; something that is unpleasant or offensive
E.g. But for those areas rich in natural resources and industry, the prospect of handing power back to Moscow is a bitter pill to swallow.
n. column; post
E.g. I leant against a pillar of the verandah, drew my grey mantle close about me, and, trying to forget the cold which nipped me without, and the unsatisfied hunger which gnawed me within.
n. a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person
E.g. For herself, she did nothing but caper about in the front chambers, jump on and off the bedsteads, and lie on the mattresses and piled-up bolsters and pillow before the enormous fires roaring in the chimneys.
v. clutch; squeeze between the thumb and a finger, the jaws of a tool, or other edges
E.g. He went on so long that they had to pinch it to make it stop.
v. confront; set into opposition or rivalry
E.g. You have to pit a chess player against the Russian champion.
n. action or manner of throwing something
E.g. His pitch fell short and his hat landed on the floor.
n. container for liquids, having a handle and a lip or spout for pouring; player who throws the ball from the mound to the batter
E.g. The tall girls went out and returned presently, each bearing a tray, and a pitcher of water and mug in the middle of each tray.
n. axis; focus; center
E.g. Throw stiff-armed from the shoulder, like there was a pivot there for it to turn on, like a girl; not from the wrist and elbow, with your arm out to one side, like a boy.
a. being of vital or central importance; crucial
E.g. Its pivotal location has also exposed it to periodic invasions.
ad. clearly; expressly
E.g. she could see it quite plainly through the glass, and she tried her best to climb up one of the legs of the table.
n. celestial bodies that revolve around the sun
E.g. A spacecraft orbiting Mars has detected large quantities of water-ice just below the surface of the planet.
n. board; lumber
E.g. By and by she comes along, and she drifted in so close that they could a run out a plank and walked ashore.
n. a fourth state of matter distinct from solid or liquid or gas and present in stars and fusion reactors
E.g. Particles in space exist in the form of plasma.
n. cover conspicuously, as by pasting something on; adhesive tape used in dressing wounds; a hardened surface as on a wall or ceiling
E.g. The plaster is mostly removed now and we get to see the paintings in their full glory.