
Explanation of doggerel (noun) verse characterized by forced rhyme and meter; poorly written poetry
Sample of doggerel Contrary to its appearance, doggerel can contain some weighty messages.
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Explanation of tenuous (adjective) thin; slim; delicate; weak; sparse
Sample of tenuous The hurricane force winds ripped the tenuous branches from the tree. The spectators panicked as they watched the cement block dangle from one tenuous piece of twine.
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Explanation of strident (adjective) creaking; harsh; grating
Sample of strident Her strident voice hampered her chances of getting the announcer position.
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Explanation of sequester (verb) to separate; to segregate; to seclude; to set apart
Sample of sequester The jury was sequestered at the local inn.
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Explanation of unpretentious (adjective) simple; plain; modest
Sample of unpretentious He was an unpretentious farmer: An old John Deere and a beat-up Ford pick-up were all he needed to get the job done.
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Explanation of execute (verb) to put to death; to kill; to carry out; to fulfill
Sample of execute The evil, murderous man was executed for killing several innocent children. I expected him to execute my orders immediately.
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Explanation of revile (verb) to be abusive in speech; to disparage; to deride
Sample of revile It is not appropriate for a teacher to revile a student.
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Explanation of authoritarian (adjective) acting as a dictator; demanding obedience
Sample of authoritarian Fidel Castro is reluctant to give up his authoritarian rule.
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Explanation of analogy (noun) similarity; correlation; parallelism; comparability
Sample of analogy The teacher used an analogy to describe the similarities between the two books. Comparing the newly discovered virus with one found long ago, the scientist made an analogy between the two organisms.
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Explanation of dither (verb) to act indecisively; to tremble; to vacillate
Sample of dither She dithered every time she had to make a decision.
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