Page 285 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

27_571656 ch22.qxd 11/10/04 12:43 PM Page 276
E – F

edify (ED i FY) vt. to instruct so as to enlighten or improve morally, intellectually,
or spiritually
• It might edify you to know that by the time Mozart was 13, he had been
appointed honorary concertmaster at the Court of Salzburg.
• Watching how a building is constructed can be a very edifying experience
(no pun intended).
• Edify means to build, but that usage is pretty much obsolete by now.
[edified, -ing, edification n.]
egalitarian (ee GAL i TER ee in) adj. advocating that people should all have
equal social, economic, and political rights —n. one who so advocates
• The so-called ERA, or Equal Rights Amendment, for women was supported
by egalitarian groups.
• Egalitarians supported the civil rights movement of the late 1960s.
elegy (EL i gee) n. 1. a song or poem of praise for the dead; 2. any mournful
song or poem
• Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is an elegy that laments
the loss of ordinary people.
• Shelly’s “Adonais” is an elegy mourning the death of John Keats.
elemental (EL im EN til) adj. 1. of or like natural forces; typical of the physical
universe; 2. basic and powerful rather than subtle or refined; 3. of any of the four
traditional elements (earth, air, fire, and water) traditionally thought to comprise
all things
• It is elemental that satellites orbit their planets.
• The force of an erupting volcano is elemental in its power.
• Hunger is an elemental drive; the urge to be entertained is not.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. basic]
elucidate (il OO si DAYT) vt. to clear up (especially something abstract); to
explain
• Please elucidate on the subject of why you did not come home last night
until after midnight.
• Mrs. Jones would appreciate your elucidating on Einstein’s theory of relativ-
ity so that it is clear to her whether you understand it.
[-ed, -ing] [Syn. explain]
emaciate (im AY shee AYT) vt. to cause to grow excessively thin; to cause to
waste away
• Starvation emaciates the body.
• People suffering from anorexia emaciate.
[-d, emaciating, emaciation n.] [Syn. thin, waste away]

276