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Jan 11, 2016
This week’s themeVocab words This week’s words onerous torpor welter invective reticence 
Photo: Xavier J. Peg
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu GargSAT, LSAT, CAT, MCAT, GMAT, GRE, ACT, ... this jumble of alphabet may not mean much to you, but for millions of high school and college students these abbreviations want their pound of flesh. The T at the end of each of them is the hint (or E for exam). These are all standardized tests and students have to take one of them to reach the next stage in their academic life: college, graduate school, or a professional school. To a student, it may appear that a test like this may decide the rest of their lives (it doesn't). Among other things, these tests test for vocabulary in various forms. For a test taker, a word like sitzmark might be good to know, but chances are they are not going to see it on the test. This week we pick five words that are more likely to show up in these tests. Sharpen your pencils and look out for these words. Good luck! onerous
PRONUNCIATION:
(ON-uh-ruhs, OH-nuhr-)
MEANING:
adjective: 1. Oppressively burdensome. 2. Having obligations or responsibilities that outweigh the benefits. ETYMOLOGY:
From Old French onereus, from Latin onerosus, from onus (burden). Earliest
documented use: 1395.
USAGE:
“Some would say the safety standards now are too onerous, he added. I don’t
believe that. The only reticence I have is that they are taking the sport
of ocean racing further from the average person.” Christopher Clarey; The Enduring Thrills and Chills of an Iconic Race; International Herald Tribune (Paris, France); Dec 20, 2008. See more usage examples of onerous in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. -Abraham Joshua Heschel, rabbi and professor (11 Jan 1907-1972)
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