Page 73 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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Essential Vocabulary
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contentment (kuhn TENT mint) n. a feeling of being satisfied; a feeling of
well-being
• Dinner having been finished, Gerald felt total contentment.
• Her life being one of complete contentment, Susan had no desire for any-
thing she did not already have.
context (KON tekst) n. 1. the spoken or written information immediately
around a certain word or passage that helps to determine its meaning; 2. the entire-
ty of the situation in which an event occurs
• Quoting her out of context, one might believe that Margaret had found a
dress to be particularly lovely, while what she had actually said was “I
don’t find that dress to be particularly lovely.”
• To appreciate the significance of the latest explorations of Mars, we must
look at it in the context of our exploration of the entire solar system.
[-ual adj., -ually adv.]
contract (KON trakt for n. and sometimes v., kuhn TRAKT for most v.) n. 1. an
agreement between two or more parties to do something in exchange for some-
thing else; 2. a formal agreement of marriage or engagement; 3. the document
detailing the terms of the agreement —vt. 1. to arrange or agree to do something; 2.
to get or incur (a debt, an illness, etc.); 3. to get or make smaller; to shorten; to nar-
row; to shrink; 4. to restrict
• I just made a contract with a flooring company to replace that seedy look-
ing living-room floor.
• Wedding contracts are really obsolete in the twenty-first century.
• Keep a copy of the contract in your desk or filing cabinet.
• Lynn’s going to contract for new kitchen cabinets.
• Olga seems to have contracted a nasty case of the flu.
• It would be good to contract the size of your debt.
• Regulations have contracted the number of people allowed to be in airline
waiting rooms.
[Syn. shrink, deflate, reduce]
contrary (KON tre ree) adj. 1. opposed to; against; 2. opposite in nature, order,
direction, etc.; completely different; 3. posturing oneself to consistently disagree;
perverse —n. the opposite
• Democrats and Republicans have contrary positions on many issues.
• Contrary to popular opinion, Calbert can dance quite well.
• Carla is disagreeing with everything just to be contrary.
• George often says one thing and then does the contrary.
contrast (KON trast for n., kun TRAST for v.) vt. to compare so as to notice or
point out the differences; to make a side-by-side comparison —vi. to show differ-
ences when compared —n. 1. a difference, especially a striking one, between two
things; 2. showing a striking difference, in color or tone, between different parts of
a painting, photograph, or video image
• It’s easy to contrast Hal’s easygoing mannerisms with R. Lee’s drill-sergeant
demeanor.
• Contrast the appearance of a 10-karat-yellow gold ring to a 14-karat one,
and the difference is immediately obvious.