crusade
noun A prolonged, impassioned struggle for what is believed to be a just cause. The students’ crusade against the unfair administration was an admirable one. verb To engage in such a struggle. Throughout much of his life, Ralph Nader has crusaded energetically to remove dangerous products from the marketplace. |
induct
verb 1. To install in office, sometimes with a formal ceremony. On the day Barack Obama was inducted as President, many students skipped class in order to watch the inauguration ceremony. 2. To admit to a society or to military service. Each year the National Academy of Science inducts a few celebrated researchers. |
lapse
verb 1. To fall or slip from a certain level of conduct or accomplishment. After a month of regular exercise, we lapsed into inactivity. 2. To come to an end; to expire. When the state trooper stopped me for speeding, he also discovered that my driver’s license had lapsed and I got arrested. noun 1. A minor mistake; a slip. A lapse in memory caused me to forget that I had a child. 2. A pause or interval. With such voluble students, there was never a lapse in class discussion. |
militant
adjective Ready to fight, especially for a cause. My parents, militant supporters of public education, worked with other parents and the teachers to improve the elementary schools in our town. noun One who is ready to fight for a cause. Militants occupied the president’s office, demanding changes in the college curriculum. |
pariah
noun A social outcast. Sadly, many of my transgender friends are pariahs to their families and haven’t spoken to them in years. |