Page 149 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

12_571656 ch08.qxd 11/10/04 12:37 PM Page 140
Essential Vocabulary
140
intemperate (in TEM per uht) adj. 1. not moderate; lacking in restraint; exces-
sive or severe; violent; 2. consuming too large a quantity of beer, wine, liquor, etc.
• Lloyd was intemperate in his gambling, never missing an opportunity to
place a bet.
• Diane’s disposition was intemperate, being quick to anger at the slightest
perceived slight.
• Rocco is an intemperate drinker, often ending up sloshed.
[-ly adv.]
intense (in TENS) adj. 1. very strong; extreme; sharp; vivid; 2. strenuous;
fervent; strained very hard; 3. showing or having strong emotion; being very
serious
• The poet’s words created an intense image of warfare.
• The effort he put into pulling on the rope was intense.
• Paula had an intense desire to become a professional musician.
[-ly adv.]
interest (IN toer EST) n. 1. a claim to or share of something; 2. an involvement;
3. a concern
• Charlie had an interest in a bicycle repair shop on Elm St.
• Vicki’s calling Bob upset Anne, who had her own interest in him.
• A good teacher always takes an interest in the welfare of his or her students.
intermission (IN toer MISH in) n. 1. a time period between acts in a play or
half innings in a baseball game; 2. any pause between periods of activity
• The intermission between play acts, or entre acte, is a good time to stretch
one’s legs.
• In the intermission between halves of the seventh inning comes baseball’s
traditional seventh-inning stretch.
• An intermission between periods of fighting is always a welcome time dur-
ing any war.
interpretation (in TOER pri TAY shin) n. 1. the meaning, expression, or expla-
nation of something; 2. one person’s take on the meaning of some work (of art,
literature, etc.); artistic expression
• The interpretation of The Iliad from its ancient Greek has happened many
times over.
• Freud’s forte was the interpretation of the meanings of dreams.
• Two violinists’ interpretations of a Beethoven sonata might differ greatly.
intervention (IN toer VEN shin) n. 1. the act of coming between; 2. any inter-
ference in the affairs of others, whether people, companies, or countries
• It often takes the intervention of a third party to keep two boxers apart at
the weigh-in.
• The United States has gained a reputation for its frequent intervention in
the affairs of Central American countries.
• The confrontation of a drug user by his friends to get him into rehab is
known as an intervention.