condescend
verb 1. To lower oneself to a position one considers inferior. Once he became president of the company, Mr. Rose never condescended to travel in any way but first class. 2. To behave in an offensively superior manner. During rehearsals, the star of the show never condescended to join the rest of the cast for lunch; instead he ate alone in his dressing room. condescending adjective Showing an offensively superior manner. Lucinda's condescending attitude is not what we want in our elementary school tutors. |
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contingent
adjective 1. Conditional; depending on something else Tanya's plans for attending the university were contingent on receiving a scholarship. 2. Likely, if not certain to happen; possible. If it rains, our contingent plan is to move the strawberry festival from the school lawn to the auditorium. noun A group that is part of a larger one The Ethiopian contingent led the parade of Olympic athletes into the stadium. |
daunt
verb To discourage or intimidate. Learning that she needed a bone marrow transplant did not daunt Miranda, but instead gave her hope for her future. daunting adjective So difficult or dangerous as to discourage or intimidate. Expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony in the winter of 1636, Roger Williams began a daunting journey south to find a place to settle. |
deluge
noun 1. A downpour of rain; a flood. Opening the dam just north of the Grand Canyon sent a deluge to the dry river beds in the canyon. 2. A flood of anything. When the Millers advertised their new car for such a low price, they received a deluge of offers to buy. verb To flood or overwhelm. As she convalesced from her surgery, Delia's friends deluged her with cards, phone calls, and visits. |
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fanfare
noun 1. The sounding of trumpets or other brass instruments. The audience was alerted to the entrance on-stage of Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude, by a loud fanfare. 2. Any showy display. The props manager, working behind the scenes without fanfare, was essential to the overall effect of the play. |
fledgling
noun 1. A young bird just learning to fly. The fledgling swallows took short trial flights over the yard from their nest on the porch. 2. A young and inexperienced person. The reporter, a fledgling, forgot to get the eyewitness's name. adjective New and untested. My father's fledgling computer programming business has been very busy this month. |
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inane
adjective Empty; shallow or silly. Susan, bored of the inane chatter of her classmates, walked on down the hall. inanity noun Foolishness; a silly or pointless act. Hearing the inanity of his own response made Bruno understand how exhausted and in need of sleep he really was. |