Some Vocabulary
Some Vocabulary in My Website
(listed in alphabetical order, with the stressed syllable underlined)
| attribute | (n) | a quality belonging to a person, thing, or group |
| credentials | (n) | evidence of authority, status, rights, usually in written form |
| conjunction | (n) | the act of joining or combining things together |
| contemporary | (adj) | relating to the present time [See note at end] |
| context | (n) | the set of circumstances or facts around an event |
| correlation | (n) | the tendency for two things to affect each other |
| conventional | (adj) | following accepted or usual standards or advice |
| effusive | (adj) | pouring out; overflowing |
| fabrication | (n) | something fabricated, or constructed, esp. an untruthful statement |
| to flatter | (v) | to try to please by making nice remarks or giving insincere attention |
| gimmicks | (n) | a new or tricky device or idea, esp. one designed to attract attention |
| paraphrasing | (n) | a re-statement or re-wording of a passage or word |
| to proclaim | (v) | to announce in a showy or flashy way |
| reputable | (adj) | held in high regard, and respected as of high standard |
| skeptical | (adj) | doubtful about something |
| speculation | (n) | thoughts, thinking, or consideration about a matter |
| spiel | (n) | a usually insincere flow of talk or speech to encourage people |
| to surpass | (v) | to go beyond in amount, number, or degree |
| suspect | (adj) | open to doubt or suspicion |
| tabular | (adj) | relating to a table (of rows and columns) |
| testimony | (n) | evidence in support of a fact, often written down by people |
| transition | (n) | movement, passage, or change from one state to another |
‘Contemporary’ is often used wrongly. ‘Con’ means ‘together’; ‘temp’ means ‘time’, giving ‘at the same time’. This word can be a noun, in which case it refers to a person living at the same time as another. ‘Robert Hooke was a contemporary of Isaac Newton.’ It can be an adjective, meaning ‘modern’, only when contrasted with another time. Thus, ‘The prophet Mohammed formulated many laws in the 7th century AD, which present a challenge in contemporary Islam.’