by Dwane | Feb 23, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Acute Oh, man. There are so many definitions for this word. Here we go… 1. Sharp at the end. An acute angle in geometry, is one which is less than a right angle, or less than ninety degrees. An acute angled triangle is one whose three angles are all acute,...
by Dwane | Sep 8, 2014 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Exacerbate: to irritate; to exasperate; to inflame angry passions; to make a problem worse. Complaining about you problems rarely improves your plight. In fact, complaining usually exacerbates the problem. Exacerbate comes from the Latin verb exacerbare (to irritate,...
by Dwane | Sep 6, 2014 | Education, English, Vocabulary
Acerbic: sharp criticism; sarcasm; witty criticism, often funny, but always harsh. Acerbic once meant, sour tasting, or bitter. Over time, the word turned into an adjective attached to “wit”. When we describe someone with “Acerbic wit”, we are describing someone...
by Dwane | Sep 5, 2014 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Acrimonious: angry, bitter, acerbic; bitterness of expression proceeding from anger. From Latin acer, acris (bitter, pungent, sharp, sour) and the suffix monium (state, or condition). Acrimony, then, is the “condition of being sour.” Example: After the acrimonious...
by Dwane | Sep 4, 2014 | Education, English, Vocabulary
Acrimony: harsh, or biting sharpness; bitterness, ill will; severity From Latin acer, acris (bitter, pungent, sharp, sour) and the suffix monium (state, or condition). Acrimony, then, is the “condition of being sour.” Example: In his official letters he expressed,...
