Verbal Advantage

Verbal AdvantageUnit 1.3

creed--noun

My personal creed forbids me from speaking negatively about people.

creed—noun

A statement of one’s beliefs, especially one’s religious beliefs

tawdry--adj

The singer had a large fan base until she wore tawdry apparel; it shouldn’t have made a difference, but the tight, see-though clothes turned many people off.

Many people thought the ring appeared tawdry because the diamond was oversized.

tawdry--adj

1. Tastelessly showy

2. Cheap and trashy

peevish--adjIn the comic strip, Dennis the Menace, the next

door neighbor, Mr. Wilson, is portrayed as peevish and is—more often than not—annoyed with the little boys.

peevish--adj

easily made angry; irritable; frequently complaining

Bringing the groceries upstairs is an arduous task; there is no elevator in the building and we live on the fifteenth floor!

arduous -- adj

arduous--adj

Difficult; requiring a lot of hard work and/or energy

personable--adjActress Audrey

Hepburn was famously personable; she was a lovely person on the outside and had a heart of gold.

personable--adj

Attractive in appearance or personality

resolute--adj

Abolitionists were resolute in their mission to free the slaves: nothing would stray them from the course of freedom and equality for all people.

resolute--adj

firmly resolved or determined; unwavering

supposition—noun

Glen’s supposition that I am ostensibly rich because I wear Gucci and Prada is incorrect; these clothes were a gift.

supposition--noun

an assumption or hypothesis

monotonous—adj The circus was a monotonous event

comprised of two hours of the same clown doing the same tricks over and over again.

I don’t like the monotonous piece of music we are playing in band. There is little range so the tone sounds dull.

monotonous—adj

1.Lacking in variety; dull

2.Sounded or spoken in a tone unvarying in pitch

arbitrary—adj

The arbitrary decision to stop at the local café -- instead of waiting to reach the heart of the city where restaurants are more reputable – was dictated by my ravenous hunger.

arbitrary—adj

not decided by rules or laws but by a person's own opinion or preference

legacy—noun

This ring was my great grandmother’s legacy to me when she died.

The legacy of freedom of speech is protected by our nation’s constitution.

legacy--noun

1. something left in a will by someone who has died

2. anything handed down from the past