dour adj. (DOWR) gloomy, stern; sullen. My boss is a dour man who rarely smiles.
draconian adj. (dray KOHN ee un) extremely harsh. Originating from Draco, an Athenian lawmaker who, around 620 b.c., implemented laws in Greece that too frequently punished criminals and wrongdoers by death. The despot has implemented a draconian set of punishments for anyone who commits treason.
droll adj. (DROHL) oddly comical. The comic's droll delivery of a New England accent had audience members snickering.
dubious adj. (DOO be us) questionable; doubtful. The items we purchased through the mail were of dubious quality.
duplicity adj. (doo PLISS i tee) behavior that is two- faced or deceptive. Over time his duplicity became obvious because he too frequently said one thing but did another.
dyed-in-the-wool adj. (DYED in the WULL) to the very core; through and through. I am a dyed-in-the- wool-conservationist.
dynamic adj. (dye NAM ik) active; highly spirited and powerful. We're looking for a dynamic personality for our managerial position.
earnest adj. (UR nist) serious and genuine. We made an earnest attempt to clean the basement.
echelon n. (ESH uh lon) one level of a multilevel organization. We took our complaints to the company's highest echelon, the office of the CEO.
eclectic adj. (i KLEK tik) from diverse sources. His collection of CDs was highly eclectic and included everything from pop to New Age.
effeminate adj. (i FEM uh nit) feminine or unmanly.
Effeminate boys may be picked on unfairly.
efficacy n. (EF uh kuh see) effectiveness. The efficacy and safety of the new drug left much to be desired.
effusive adj. (i FYOO siv) pouring out great emotion; gushing. It's nice to be complimented, but Aunt Mary's effusive hugging and screaming over my little clay sculpture was a bit much.
egalitarian adj. (i GAL uh TAIR ee un) practicing or believing in equality for everyone. It's always wise to elect someone who has a strongly egalitarian philosophy.
egocentric adj. (ee go SEN trik) seeing oneself at the center of everything; selfish. He was so egocentric he actually believed the football players in the huddle were talking about him.
egregious adj. (i GREE jus) extremely conspicuous or outrageous. I'm sick of your egregious lies.
elicit vb. (i LIS it) to bring out. The comedian's clever pantomime was designed to elicit applause, and it did.
eloquent adj. (EL uh KWUNT) articulate; persuasive through speech. She was an eloquent speaker who could outrage or tickle with a single sentence.
emaciated adj. (i MAY shee ay tid) extremely lean, as from starvation. It had been an extremely difficult winter, and most of the deer were badly emaciated.
emancipate vb. (i MAN suh payt) to free. Lincoln's desire was to emancipate the nation's slaves.
emasculate vb. (i MASS kyuh layt) to weaken; to strip one of power. She liked to emasculate men by publicly humiliating them.
embargo n. (em BAR go) a government prohibition on a specific imported good or goods. As a punishment against inequitable trade practices, the president called for an embargo on all Japanese radios.
embellish vb. (em BELL ish) to exaggerate or embroider. It was difficult to distinguish fact from fiction because Uncle Joe tended to embellish his fishing stories.
embezzle adj. (em BEZ ul) to steal, especially when in a trusted position. The accountant tried to embezzle money from the charity but failed.
embroider vb. (em BROY dur) to exaggerate; to embellish. Uncle Joe liked to embroider his fish stories, and he could be counted on to add completely fictitious details.
eminent adj. (EM i nunt) distinguished, important, high-ranking. Mary Smith, an eminent authority on economics, is predicting a worldwide recession.
empathy n. (EM puh thee) understanding of another's feelings, especially through having similar experiences or circumstances. I've had many pets through the years, so I have great empathy for anyone who has lost one.
emphatic adj. (em FAT ik) with great emphasis. Her directive was emphatic: no more spitball fights during working hours.
empirical adj. (em PEER i kul) based on real-world experience or observation, not theory. A mountain of empirical evidence supports the existence of evolution.
empower vb. (em POW ur) to grant or invest with power. Empower people with a good education and they will accomplish great things.
emulate vb. (EM yoo layt) to copy or model oneself after. If you're going to play basketball, you'd do well to emulate the stars of the NBA.
enamored adj. (i NAM urd) in love; charmed. I'm
enamored of the farm country of Pennsylvania.
encroach vb. (en KROHCH) to trespass or intrude.
The sea continues to encroach on the beach, eroding more and more of the dunes with each passing year.
endemic adj. (en DEM ik) restricted to a particular area; indigenous. Lyme disease is not widespread throughout the country; rather it is endemic, especially to New England.
engender vb. (en JEN dur) to create or cause. We are active in the environmental movement in order to engender change.
enigma n. (en IG muh) a mystery or riddle. Astronomers can't yet explain everything in the universe; much of it remains an enigma.
enlighten vb. (en LITE un) to educate or inform. We took our students to the observatory to enlighten them about the universe.
ennui n. (An WEE) listless boredom. We were couped up in our log cabin all winter and suffered from terrible ennui.