Few documents antedating the advent of papyrus are extant today.
Ephemeral (adj). – short-lived
YouTube has made fame truly ephemeral. Just ask Rebecca Black.
Capricious (adj.) – unpredictable, whimsical
Because Martha was so capricious her friends felt they could not rely on her.
Corroborate (v.) – to confirm, make stronger
Three witnesses were able to corroborate Lucy’s alibi that she had been at the bowling alley at the time of the murder.
Loquacious (adj.) – talkative
Nancy was so loquacious her friends usually didn't like to watch a movie with her.
Esoteric (adj) – known to a select few
Many jazz artists once deemed esoteric have emerged due to the greater access users have to avant-garde music on-line.
Erudite (adj.) – scholarly
A Rhodes Scholar, Max was a true erudite, and a formidable opponent on Jeopardy.
Pragmatic (adj.) – practical
Edna never cared for abstract thinking and preferred the pragmatic world of business, in which every action, ideally, has an intended consequence.
Ambivalent (adj.) – having contradictory feelings
Erin was ambivalent about her freshman year in college; her classes were fascinating but she missed her high school friends.
Soporific (adj.) – inducing sleep
Professor’s Moore’s lectures were soporific to the point that students, before they nodded off in class, would usually quip, “It’s time for Professor Bore.”
Prolific (adj.) – producing or creating abundantly
Irving Berlin had one of the most prolific careers in song-writing history; dozens of his hundreds of tunes are familiar to us. Anyone dreaming of a “White Christmas?”
Auspicious (adj.) – favorable
The team’s run for the pennant started auspiciously with 24 wins. Two starting pitchers snapped their elbows mid-season, clearly an inauspicious sign.
Sanguine (adj.) – cheerful; optimistic
A Yale graduate with a 4.0, she was sanguine about finding a job right out of college.
Enervate (v.) – to weaken; drain the energy from
Sitting in the windowless room, the tropical humidity soaking through the walls, I was enervated before noon.
Magnanimous (adj.) – big-hearted; generous
Upon receiving his first Wall Street paycheck, Jerry was so magnanimous he not only bought his Mom a car, he bought his Dad one too.
Mercurial(adj.) – 1. Changing one’s personality often and unpredictably. 2. Animated, sprightly
One never knew exactly what the professor’s class would be like; he was so mercurial that many of his students thought of him as two different people.
Belligerent (adj.) – Inclined to fighting
After a few drinks Stevie was convivial; after two six-packs he became belligerent, challenging anyone around him to a head-butting contest.
Fastidious (adj.) – liking few things: hard to please, wanting always to be clean, neat
A fastidious eater, Herman would only eat the center of anything he touched. As a result, his plate was strewn with the remnants of his dinner, an eyesore for the hapless dinner guest.
Reticent (adj.) – tight lipped, not prone to saying much, reluctant
Paul was reticent and preferred observing others mannerisms.
Inculpate (adj.) – to charge with wrong-doing; accuse
To inculpate Eddy with the murder was absurd; he’d been bowling with Lucy.
