Page 136 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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idiosyncrasy (ID ee yoh SEENK ruh see) n. 1. a personal, peculiar mannerism
or affectation; 2. an individual reaction to a food, drug, etc. that is different from
other peoples’ normal reaction to the same
• Robert’s idiosyncrasy is touching food to his chin before putting it into his
mouth.
• An idiosyncrasy of Aren’s was triggered by her eating strawberries, following
which blue smoke would issue forth from both her ears.
[idiosyncrasies pl., idiosyncratic adj., idiosyncratically adv.]
ignore (ig NAWR) vt. 1. to intentionally disregard; 2. to pay no attention to; 3.
to refuse to consider
• A sure way to cause an accident is to ignore a stop sign.
• Frieda often ignores the cat’s meowing by the front door.
• The judge ignored Jeff’s excuse that he hadn’t known his act was against
the law.
[-d, ignoring, ignorance n.] [Syn. neglect]
illusory (il YOO sir ee) adj. unreal or deceptive; having the characteristics of an
illusion
• Sue’s guitar-playing talent was illusory, her best work having been achieved
on air guitar.
• Custer’s superiority over the Sioux at the Little Bighorn proved to be purely
illusory.
illustrate (IL uhs TRAYT) vt. 1. to explain; to make clear; 2. to exemplify; 3. to
provide pictures, drawings, diagrams, etc. —vi. to offer an example for the purpose
of making something clear
• A schematic diagram can easily illustrate how an electrical circuit works.
• The story of Jackie Robinson’s career illustrates the ideal role model that
some major leaguers have been.
• Children’s books are often illustrated because a child can appreciate pictures
far more easily than written words.
• Accentuating the positive is illustrated by Jonah in the whale or Noah in
the ark, says the song.
[-d, illustrating, illustration n.]
imagine (im A jin) vt. 1. to conceive in the mind; form a mental picture; 2. to
guess; to think; to suppose —vi. to use the imagination
• From the sound of her voice on the phone, Jonathan could imagine what
Daphne looked like.
• Jerry could not even imagine how he’d have reacted had he been in
George’s shoes.
• Kareem imagined he was on a magic carpet ride.
[-d, imagining, imagination n.]

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