Vocab

Standing Out From the Crowd
(Wow, okay, so you caught my attention!)

You're often asked to write about things that are a little outside the normal: the person who is better or worse than others, the battle that was more important than others, the discovery that changed the world. So, knowing words that describe these "stand-outs" will always allow you to show off your vocabulary.

1. Anomaly	n: 1. a deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or form. 2. an odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc. 3. an incongruity or inconsistency. The weird one out. The one that doesn't fit into the pattern or situation.	Don is something of an anomaly in the world of top management in that he works 9-5 and spends evenings with his family. His anomalous behavior made people wonder how in the world he managed to still become so successful while still focusing on his family.
2. Atypical	adj: not typical; not conforming to the type; irregular; abnormal: Odd, not the normal	When the tiger attacked the young child, everyone at the zoo said that the animal's behavior was atypical, but they weren't telling the truth. Tigers typically do see small humans as food.
3. Audacious	adj: 1. extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless. 2. extremely original; without restriction to prior ideas Something that stands out, usually in a positive way	The audacious explorer discovered previously unknown caves deep in the jungle. He came up with the audacious idea that the jungle natives had once had a thriving city.
4. Captivate	v.t: to attract and hold the attention or interest of, as by beauty or excellence; enchant. To capture your attention	Her beauty and humor captivated the young man. He only hoped that he could captivate her equally well, but he feared that he didn't have anything worthy of her notice.
5. Copious	adj: 1. large in quantity or number; abundant; plentiful 2. having or yielding an abundant supply. Lots. Lots and lots.	The tribe prayed for a copious harvest that would help them survive the coming winter. The anthropologist took copious notes on the ceremony, hoping to publish an article on it when he got home.
6. Daunting	adj: tending to overwhelm or intimidate Something that makes you step back and say dang! Extremely impressive in an OMG way.	The pile of laundry the college student brought home was daunting to say the least. Of course, it wasn't half as daunting as his mother's expression when he asked her to do it for him.
7. Egregious	adj. 1. extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant. Stands out in a very bad way	"You," the young girl said, "are an egregious liar. I can't believe you would try to pass off such an egregious story as the truth."
8. Epitome	n. a person or thing that is typical of or possesses to a high degree the features of a whole class. The perfect example	Rose is the epitome of truthfulness; I can't believe that she admitted to hitting that parked car. Of course now her parents think she's the epitome of recklessness for getting into an accident.
9. Exacerbate	v.t.: to increase the severity, bitterness, or violence of (disease, ill feeling, etc.); aggravate. To make something worse	Research shows that nervousness can exacerbate a stutter. In Richard's case, having to speak in front of the class exacerbated his stutter so bad that the class couldn't understand him.
10. Exigent	adj. requiring immediate action or aid; urgent; pressing. Requires immediate attention	The screams of a woman gave the police the exigent circumstances they needed to break the door down without a warrant. The politician's vote was motivated by political exigency rather than any beliefs he truly held.
11. Exorbitant	adj. exceeding the bounds of custom, propriety, or reason, esp. in amount or extent; highly excessive: to charge an exorbitant price. Way, way too much	The hotel charged an exorbitant rate for the rooms, but Kelly was willing to pay the exorbitant price because the hotel also offered exorbitant luxury.
12. Flagrant	adj. 1. shockingly noticeable or evident; obvious; glaring 2. notorious; scandalous: a flagrant crime Standing out from the crowd in an outrageous way	The flagrant disrespect shocked the teacher, but the other students were used to Clark's flagrant disregard for school rules.
13. Grandiose	adj. 1. affectedly grand or important; pompous: grandiose words. 2. more complicated or elaborate than necessary; overblown More complicated or fancy than it needs to be	Her grandiose plan included stealing a teacher's car and disassembingly it in order to reassemble it in the middle of the office.
14. Grievous	adj. 1. causing grief or great sorrow. 2. flagrant; outrageous; atrocious. 3. causing great pain or suffering Huge enough to cause negative emotions like sorrow or pain.	The grievous news of the soldier's death left Mr. and Mrs. Williams devestated. Their son's death came at the hands of a grievious enemy--a suicide bomber.
15. Heinous	adj. hateful; odious; abominable; totally reprehensible: a heinous offense. Horrible. Really, REALLY horrible	The heinous crime left fifteen people dead, and the heinous, racist beliefs that had led to the shooting left the entire nation shocked.
16. Paramount	adj. chief in importance or impact; supreme; preeminent Most important	It's of paramount importance that you give me that money. The money is paramount for the success of my plans.
17. Penultimate	next to the last: the penultimate scene of the play. Used when the second to the last item is the important one.	The penultimate obstacle offered the most daunting challenge. The heroes had to climb a glass mountain.
18. Salient	adj. 1. prominent or conspicuous: salient traits. 2. Heraldry. (of a beast) represented as leaping: a lion salient. The one that stands out as important.	The most salient point here is that you lied. Nothing else is as important as that fact. And now, the most salient feature of our relationship is distrust.
19. Seminal	adj. highly original and influencing the development of future events: a seminal artist; seminal ideas. Starting a whole new line (of thought, of research, etc)	Picasso's work is often cited as seminal to the development of cubism in the art world. Without his seminal ideas about representing objects in an abstract form, the art world would be very different today.
20. Tantamount	adj. equivalent, as in value, force, effect, or signification. Just about the same thing	The president's angry speech was tantamount to a declaration of war. When the other country scrambled all their armed forces, it was tantamount to them declaring war in return.

Last Updated 1-1-08