Page 237 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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Essential Vocabulary
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transient (TRAN see int) adj. 1. temporary; passing with time; 2. passing in a
short time; fleeting —n. 1. a transient person; 2. a brief electrical surge
• Don’t worry, your in-laws’ visit is a transient one.
• Weather in Texas is very transient; if you don’t care for it at the moment,
just wait five minutes.
• Motels rent their rooms mostly to transients.
[-ly adv., transience n.]
transparent* (trans PAR int) adj. 1. capable of being seen through; passing light
through so as to be able to distinctly see what is on the other side; neither translu-
cent nor opaque; 2. easily understood; very clear; obvious; 3. frank; without guile
• “I wouldn’t want to call you transparent,” Mabel told Todd, “but I can see
your car right behind your belly.”
• Will’s directions to Doris’s place were transparent.
• When a child admires a particular toy in the store, his or her motives are
usualy transparent.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. clear]
trauma (TROW muh or TRAW muh) n. 1. a bodily shock, wound, or injury; 2. a
mental shock or painful emotional experience
• Any cut can be called a trauma, but it is the more severe ones that get
immediate attention in the emergency room of a hospital.
• Scalding with nearly boiling hot water is one of the most painful forms of
physical trauma.
[-tic adj., -tically adv.]
travesty (TRA vis tee) n. 1. a burlesque or grotesque imitation for purposes of
ridicule; 2. a crude, distorted, absurd representation of something
• Political cartoonists love to make a travesty of politicians by emphasizing
some facial characteristic to a ridiculous extreme.
•A travesty was made of Richard Nixon’s jowls, for instance.
• Teddy Roosevelt was often portrayed with a monacle, a cigar, and a
grotesque shotgun and/or riding crop, making a travesty of his avocations.
• The pop diva’s remake of a popular 1960s ballad was considered a travesty
by those who knew and loved the original song.
[Syn. caricature]
treachery (TRECH ir ee) n. 1. a betrayal of trust or faith; treason; 2. an act of
disloyalty or treason; perfidy
• Benedict Arnold was known for his treachery in delivering the plans of West
Point to the redcoats.
• Less well known in the United States is the treachery of Vidkund Quisling,
whose so-called Fifth Column led to the taking of Norway by Nazi Germany.
tremulous (TREM yoo lis) adj. 1. trembling or quivering; 2. marked by trem-
bling or shaking; 3. timid; fearful; timorous
• Maricella’s tremulous hand made brain surgery an unsuitable occupation
for her.
• A good singer often has a tremulous voice on a sustained note, known as
“tremolo”; bad singers let this tremulousness get out of hand.