Oxford Dictionary Difficult More than 10,000 words you really need to kno^ Clear and concise definitions make learning even the mOst difficult words easy Distinguishes between closely related and easily confused words Usage notes help users avoid common mistakes Valuable study aid for standardized tests World's Most Trusted Dictionaries JThe The Oxford Dictionary of Words Difficult WITHDRAW No longer the property of tf Boston Public LitM-ary. Sale of this material benefits the tjrai The Oxford Dictionary of Words Difficult Edited byArchie Hobson OXPORD UNIVERSITY PRESS OXPORD UNIVERSITYPRESS NewYork Oxford Auckland Bangkok BuenosAires CapeTown Chennai DaresSalaam Delhi HongKong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Mumbai Nairobi SaoPaulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto TheOxfordDictionaryofDifficultWordsisbasedontheNewOxford AmericanDictionary,publishedintheUnitedStatesin2001. ©OxfordUniversityPress2001 FirstpublishedbyOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.,2001 FirstissuedasanOxfordUniversityPresspaperback,2004 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NewYork10016 www.oup.com www.askoxford.com OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,or transmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,or otherwise,withoutthepriorpermissionofOxfordUniversityPress. LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationDataisavailable ISBN-13 978-0-19-514673-8;978-0-l9-517328-4(pbk.) ISBN0-19-514673-5;0-19-517328-7(pbk.) Thisbookincludessomewordsthatare,orareassertedtobe,proprietarynamesortrademarks. Theirinclusiondoesnotimplythattheyhaveacquiredforlegalpurposesanonproprietaryor generalsignificance,orisanyotherjudgmentimpliedconcerningtheirlegalstatus.Incaseswhere theeditorhassomeevidencethatawordisusedasaproprietarynameortrademark,thisis indicatedbythedesignationtrademark,butnojudgmentconcerningthelegalstatusofsuchwords ismadeorimpliedthereby. 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica Contents Preface vi How to Use the OxfordDictionaryofDifficultV^rds vii Staff ix Key to the Pronunciations x OxfordDictionary ofDifficultWords 1-472 Appendix HowWordsAre Built: Prefixes, Suffixes, 475 and Combining Forms Preface Everyday words we know as well as we know our own names, and we use them as naturally as breathing. But what about—those thousands of other words that we can't quite commit to memory but that come up all the time in reading, in meetings, or in the classroom? Words like lucubrate ('discourse learnedly in writing'), demesne ('land attached to a manor'), and cynosure ('a person or thing that is the center ofatten- tion or admiration') hover on the margins ofour vocabularies.We run across suchwords from time to time, andwhenwe do we maynot know quite what they mean, or we simply draw a blank. The Oxford Dictionary ofDifficultWords presents the words we really need to know,without the addedburden ofthosewe neverlookup.The definitions are concise and clear, and are enhanced by sentences and phrases that show the word, or a certain sense of it, used in context. Usage notes are there to help make your use ofwords more precise and powerful. This dictionary will help you understand words outside your every- day "working" vocabulary, words that are too learned, specialized, or highbrow for day-to-day usage. Abundant cross references help distin- guish words that are related ('deism' and 'theism') or opposite ('eso- teric' and 'exoteric').The OxfordDictionary ofDifficultWords is a handy reference that can be carried with you to enhance your reading and learning experience whereveryou go. -- ' How Use to the Oxford Dictionary ofDifficult Words The "entry map" below explains the different parts ofan entry. Syllabification Pronunciation Partsofspeech setoffwith initalic verticallines | | Boldface- -iMit*er*ate |i(l)'lit3rit| 'adj. unable to read .Crossreferences mainentry orwrite: hisparents were illiterate. Cf. INNU-' inSMALLCAPITALS MERATE. Grammar ^[withsubmodifier] ignorantinaparticularsub- informationin- ject or activity: the extent to which voters are •Examplesinitalic squarebrackets politicallyilliterate. unculturedorpoorlyed- [ ] ucated: an ignorant, illiterate Town Council. Subsenses- - (esp. ofa piece ofwriting) showing a lack signaledby ofeducation,esp.aninabilitytoreadorwrite well. •n. a person who is unable to read or Phrasesin write. _ boldface Phrasessection -phrases: functionally illiterate lacking the literacy necessary for coping with most jobsandmanyeverydaysituations. Derivativessection -derivatives: il»Ut»er»a»cy |-3se| n. il» lit«er*ate»lyadv. il»lit«er»ate»nessn. Derivativesin boldface Main entries and otherboldface forms Main entries appear in boldface type, as do inflected forms, idioms and phrases,and derivatives.Thewords phrases and derivatives introduce those elements. Main entries and derivatives oftwo ormore syllables show syllab- ificationwith centered dots. Parts ofspeech Eachnewpart ofspeech is introduced by a small centered dot. Senses and subsenses The main sense of each word follows the part ofspeech and any gram- maticalinformation (e.g., [trans.] before averb definition). Ifthere aretwo or more main senses for a word, these are numbered inboldface. Closelyrelat- ed subsenses ofeach main sense are introduced by a solid blackbox. In the entry forilliterate above, the main sense of"unable to read orwrite" is fol- lowedbyseveral relatedsenses,including"ignorantinaparticularsubjector activity" and "uncultured orpoorly educated." . viii Hovy to Use Example sentences Example sentences are shown in italic typeface; certain common expres- sions appearin bold italic typeface within examples (e.g., "immunity from" in the example the rebels weregiven immunityfromprosecution) Cross references Crossreferences to main entries appearinsmall capitals. Forexample,in the entry illiterate seen previously, a cross reference is given in small capi- tals to the entryforinnumerate. Usage notes Usage notes appearinboxes afterthe entryto which theyrefer: laMer I'laetarl 'adj. [attrib] 1 situated oroc- curringnearertotheendofsomethingthan tothebeginning:thelatterhalfof1989. belonging to the final stages ofsomething, esp.ofaperson'slife:heartdiseasedoggedhis latteryears. recent: theproject has had low cashflowsinlatteryears. 2(thelatter)denot- ing xhe second or second mentioned oftwo people or things: the Russians—could advance intoeitherGermanyorAustria theychosethe latteroption. usage: Latter means 'the second- mentionedoftwo.'Itsusetomean'thelast- mentioned of three or more' is common, butisconsideredincorrectbysomebecause lattermeans'later'ratherthan'latest.'Last orlast-mentionedispreferredwherethreeor morethingsareinvolved. Appendix A handy appendix at the back ofthe book features a list ofprefixes, suf- fixes, and combining forms with a briefgloss of each form's meaning and examples ofwords inwhich it appears.