Applying to graduate school is a big step for many people. It’s a commitment of time, money, and dedication for several years. The requirement to make such a commitment might prevent someone who is more timorous from even beginning the application process. Timorous means timid, afraid, or fearful. The Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote a poem titled “To A Mouse” in which he calls the mouse a “wee, sleekit, cowrin’, tim’rous beastie” – that is, a small, quick, trembling, fearful animal.

Example: Some of the contestants in the spelling bee are so nervous that the judges can hardly hear their timorous voices, even with the microphone.

Aesop wrote a fable titled “The Country Mouse and the City Mouse” about a timorous mouse living in the quiet countryside who receives a visit from her city cousin and, impressed by his urbane manner and descriptions of easy living and fancy food in town, follows him home for a visit. The word urbane comes from the Latin root urbs, meaning “city.” You can also see this root in the words suburb (“part of the city”) and urban (“of the city”). Urbane means polished, gentrified, polite, courteous – in other words, the sixteenth-century idealized version of a “civilized” city dweller, as opposed to the rough, crude peasants living on the farms. These days, the word is generally used to describe someone who is courteous, self-confident and worldly.

Example: Felicia spent her childhood traveling the world with her father, the diplomat, and although she is only sixteen years old, her urbane manner leads people to believe her to be much older.

Oh, did you want to hear the rest of the story of the country mouse and the city mouse? Although there was indeed a lot of delicious food – cheese left on the table, and crumbs of bread and cake on the floor – the cats and dogs in the house chase the mice away, scaring the country mouse back home to her simple, quiet life. “Better a crust in peace than a loaf in fear,” she says.

We know that after you’ve been studying these powerful vocabulary words you won’t be timorous about using them, and your urbane conversational style will impress even the most sophisticated city mouse!

The 17th-century Spanish novel Don Quixote (originally titled El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha) relates the story of a would-be knight and his companion Sancho Panza as they travel around on a quest for rights to wrong, giants to slay, and maidens to save. Although he’s only an old and slightly crazy retired gentleman, Don Quixote sees it as his duty to fight the forces of evil and to rescue those he thinks are in danger. Unfortunately, he’s usually mistaken about exactly what it is he needs to fight, and thinks that a field of windmills is an army of giants. We get the English idiom “tilting at windmills” from this book; this phrase describes the act of going up against forces that are so much larger than you are that you won’t have any effect on them, but doing it nonetheless in a spirit of chivalry and nobility, hoping to protect the weak from the powerful. The word quixotic also comes from this novel, an adjective meaning impractically romantic, given to impulsive gestures and impossible goals.

Example: Brian bought thousands of red roses on February 14th, with the quixotic desire to give one to every woman he saw, so that no one would go without flowers on Valentine’s Day.

If you were walking down the street and a stranger came up to you and tried to give you a flower, would you accept it, or would you repudiate his gesture and walk away? Repudiate means to reject or deny, to refuse to have anything to do with a person or a situation, a statement or a philosophy.

Example 1: The head of the political party repudiated the rhetoric of the members who were calling for acts of violence against the opposition.

Example 2: A former devout parishioner, she repudiated the Catholic Church after all of the recent scandals, and is seeking a new spiritual home.

The Catholic Church has long been known for its stringent rules of conduct for members of the clergy and their congregations. Stringent means strict, severe, or rigid. Some rules, such as not eating meat on Fridays, are not always stringently observed. The breaking of other rules, however, can lead to excommunication – a repudiation by the Church of the one who has broken the rules.

Example 1: The hospital established a stringent policy that all visitors had to follow when visiting patients, including a complete change of clothes and hourly hand-washing.

Example 2: The graduate program at that university has a stringent set of requirements that must be met before a student is admitted.

Your vocabulary study will help you meet any requirements of a graduate degree program. Keep up the good work!

This week we’re reviewing essential GRE vocabulary words. In the last post, we discussed the word mendacity, and talked about how difficult it can be for someone who has the reputation of being dishonest to regain the trust of friends and family. If they have a history of lying that has caused significant problems, it might even lead to their being ostracized from the community. Ostracize is a verb meaning to exclude or shun. Someone who has been ostracized has been cast out of a group they were formerly in.

Example 1: Feelings about the recent political elections were so strong that I was afraid my friends would ostracize me if they found out that I had voted for the other party.

Example 2: Ever since her son was arrested for murder, Alice has been ostracized by her neighbors.

Many clubs and organizations have strict rules, and members who break them can be ostracized – cast out of the group – because they did not follow those rules to the letter. For example, if the rules state that a man must wear a suit and tie at formal events, one without a tie might not make it through the doors. If the event organizer is flexible, the man might be granted a one-time exemption, but if the person taking tickets is a pedantic type, no tie-less man will be allowed in. Pedantic means strict or literal, having a “by the books” attitude without deviation from the guidelines. A pedantic person is often boring and uncreative in their actions and speech.

Example: Most of the security guards at the embassy know me and let me through after I scan my badge, but the new guard this morning required such a pedantic review of each one of my identity cards and security clearances that I was late for the first meeting of the day.

Ten more words to go in this series! In the next post, we’ll focus on the words quixotic and repudiate.

The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is the standard test that many colleges and universities require students to take before they are accepted in a graduate degree program. Although any such degree program is in a specific field of study, the schools want to make sure that incoming students have a good background in multiple areas of knowledge. The vocabulary section of the GRE contains words taken from literature, the sciences, art and architecture, linguistics, and philosophy. Many students find that because their previous studies focused on only one or two fields during their first university degree program, they’re unfamiliar with terms and concepts from other areas.

A well-rounded education is important, and not just for the richness of vocabulary that you gain. If you’re working towards a degree in science, make your reading choices in your spare time from the world literature section of the library. Conversely, if you’re pursuing a degree in art history, try reading one of the many books available these days written for the general public on the latest discoveries and research in astronomy or physics.

One word you’ll come across in scientific literature is kinetic. This word means “relating to motion” – specifically, the motion of solid objects. Kinetic energy is the energy that such an object possesses by virtue of its being in motion. Kinetic is also used as an adjective to describe things that have movement, or are composed of moving elements.

Example: The new exhibit at the museum is a display of kinetic sculptures, including large and small mobiles designed by Alexander Calder.

Many scientific concepts are difficult to understand until they’re explained in just the right way. If you are responsible for communicating scientific or technical knowledge, be sure that your explanation is as lucid as possible. Lucid means clear and coherent. The word comes from the Latin root lux, meaning “light.” Have you ever heard the expression “a lightbulb went off in my head” or some similar phrase? The metaphor of sudden light, or illumination, is used for understanding. Lucid can refer to the words being spoken, or to the speaker. Someone who is lucid is coherent, mentally organized, and aware.

Example 1: The laboratory procedure was extremely complicated, but the instructions left by the supervisor were so lucid that the technician had no problems completing the tests successfully.

Example 2: Alan’s stepson tried to contest the will after his father died, but the lawyers swore that Alan was completely lucid when he signed it, and his widow inherited his entire estate.

Keep a clear head when you’re studying these words, and a rich and powerful vocabulary will reward you in the end.

The words you’re learning will help you expand your conversational abilities, and you’ll be able to speak intelligently and concisely on a variety of topics. Many people who aren’t that confident in their ability to hold a conversation tend to talk too much to cover up their nervousness. Other people are just naturally garrulous. The word garrulous means talkative or chatty – often too talkative or chatty, in fact. A garrulous person is one who talks a lot, but doesn’t always have anything of importance to say.

Example 1: Audrey only had a five-minute break to run to the post office to mail her package, but the man in front of her was so garrulous it took her fifteen minutes to get everything signed, and she was late for the meeting.

Example 2: When Brian is nervous around people he doesn’t know, he tends to be very garrulous, but when he’s with his friends, he’s content to sit back and listen to everyone else.

Example 3: The first speaker on the panel was so garrulous that later presentations had to be limited to half an hour each.

Your good score on the GRE will be a harbinger of your future success. Harbinger means a sign of things to come. Some synonyms for harbinger are “portent” and “omen.” A harbinger is not always negative – the things to come can be good as well as bad.

Example 1: Though nearly covered by the two inches of snow that had fallen overnight, the early blossoms of the crocuses were a harbinger of spring.

Example 2: Having the supervisor invite an employee to lunch was usually a harbinger of doom, but Brendan was pleased that instead of being laid off, he was congratulated for the success of his latest project.

Be patient and take the time to study, and don’t get depressed if your progress is slow but steady. In the next post, we’ll discuss the words “impetuous” and “jocund.”

This week we’re looking at some difficult but useful words that often appear on GRE exams. Learn these words well, and you’ll be that much closer to success.

The competition can be fierce to get into a good graduate school. If you started your vocabulary study program because you’re hoping to advance in your career, you might also be facing competition from your co-workers. It’s important to behave in a circumspect manner during this time, so that you don’t get any marks against you from your supervisors and managers. To be circumspect means to be careful and cautious, especially regarding the situation or environment around you. Someone who is behaving circumspectly is always aware of the effect their words and actions will have, and thinks carefully before speaking.

Example: The manager at that company has strong political views, and Helen is careful to be very circumspect when discussing the latest news about the government when they’re attending the monthly planning sessions together.

Someone who acts circumspectly will be better able to avoid accidentally violating a rule or tradition, because they will be more aware of the reactions of the people around them. Unfortunately, many people – especially tourists in other countries – often inadvertently desecrate a shrine or other important local site by breaking rules they aren’t aware of. The word desecrate means to defile, or to violate the sanctity of a holy place. For example, some cultures require you to remove your shoes before you enter areas that have spiritual or religious significance, and failure to do so may require the priest or official to reconsecrate the place to remove any intangible stain left by your shoes. In addition, your actions may be considered a very grave offense to the local population. It’s important to know the rules of a culture before visiting to avoid such difficulties.

Example 1: The Native American tribal leaders are protesting against oil drilling in that area, saying that it is desecrating their traditional burial grounds.

Example 2: The chapel’s security alarm did not go off, and the vandals had time to desecrate the altar with spray paint and graffiti before the police arrived.

Use your daily vocabulary study to increase your knowledge of cultures and traditions around the world by reading international news reports and on-line journals. You’ll learn useful words while becoming more involved in the global community we all share.