Educational
precarious
[pri-kair-ee-uhs]
dependent on circumstances beyond one's control; uncertain; insecure
emit
[ih-mit]
to give forth or release
finesse
[fi-ness]
extreme delicacy or subtlety in action, performance, skill, discrimination, taste, etc.
careen
[kuh-reen]
to lean, sway, or tip to one side while in motion (of a vehicle)
chiaroscuro
[kee-ahr-uh-skyoor-oh]
the treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting
substantiate
[suhb-stan-shee-eyt ]
to establish by proof or competent evidence
nonsensical
[non-sen-si-kuhl]
having little or no meaning; making little or no sense
moot
[moot]
of little or no practical value, meaning, or relevance; purely academic
eidetic
[ahy-det-ik]
of, relating to, or constituting visual imagery vividly experienced and readily reproducible with great accuracy and in great detail
yarmulke
[yah-muh-kuh]
a cap worn by Orthodox and Conservative Jewish males
purport
[per-pawrt]
to present, especially deliberately, the appearance of being; profess or claim, often falsely
coulee
[koo-lee]
a lava flow
ptarmigan
[tahr-mi-guhn]
any of the several birds from the genus Lagopus
swathe
[swoth]
to wrap, bind, or swaddle with bands of some material; wrap up closely or fully
disquieting
[dis-kwahy-i-ting]
causing anxiety or uneasiness; disturbing
adjudicate
[uh-joo-di-keyt]
to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence
julienne
[joo-lee-en]
cut into thin strips, particularly vegetables
derail
[dee-reyl]
to cause (a train, streetcar, etc.) to run off the rails of a track
exacerbation
[ig-zas-er-bey-shuhn]
the act of making a negative situation feel worse than it is
pontificate
[pon-tif-i-keyt]
express one's opinions in a way considered annoyingly pompous and dogmatic
bereave
[bih-reev]
to deprive and make desolate, especially by death (usually followed by of)
zwetschenwasser
[zwet-shun-waz-er]
a colorless plum brandy with a bitter almond taste
zeitgeber
[tsahyt-gey-ber]
an environmental cue, as the length of daylight or the degree of temperature, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism's biological clock
incandescent
[in-kuhn-des-uhnt]
glowing or white with heat