empathy /EM-puh-thee/ Listen The ability to imagine and share another person’s feelings, as if they were your own. Quick Answer Empathy means feeling WITH someone — you imagine yourself in their place and share the feeling. “Good nurses have great empathy with their patients.” Example: Her empathy helped her understand exactly how I felt. Empathy…
sympathy /SIM-puh-thee/ Listen The feeling of being sorry for someone who is in a bad situation. You care about their pain from the outside. Quick Answer Sympathy means feeling sorry FOR someone. You see their pain from the outside and you care. “We sent flowers to show our sympathy.” Example: Everyone expressed their sympathy after…
? elicit /ih-LIS-it/ Listen To draw out a reaction, answer or emotion from someone. A verb — it does things. Quick Answer Elicit means to draw out a response — an answer, a laugh, a memory. It is a verb: teachers elicit answers; jokes elicit laughter. Think: Elicit Extracts. Example: Her joke elicited a big…
illicit /ih-LIS-it/ Listen Not allowed by law or by rules; forbidden. An adjective — it describes things. Quick Answer Illicit means illegal or against the rules. It is an adjective: illicit trade, illicit copies, an illicit deal. Think: iLLicit starts like iLLegal. Example: Customs officers found illicit goods in the container. Illicit in 3 Sentences…
dessert /dih-ZERT/ Listen Sweet food eaten at the end of a meal — cake, ice cream, fruit salad. Quick Answer A dessert (double s) is the sweet dish you eat after your main meal. Say it dih-ZERT, with the stress at the end. Want more sweet? Add more s! Example: We had chocolate cake for…
desert /DEH-zert/ Listen A large, dry area of land with very little rain, often covered in sand — like the Sahara. Quick Answer A desert (one s) is a dry, sandy place where almost no rain falls. Say it DEH-zert, with the stress at the front. Think: sand, sun, camels. Example: The Sahara is the…
§ flout /FLOWT/ Listen To break or ignore a rule, law, or custom openly and deliberately. Quick Answer Flout means to break a rule openly. You flout the law, the rules, or convention. Think: to flout is to defy on purpose. Example: They openly flout the parking rules. Flout in 3 Sentences Read these three…
flaunt /FLAWNT/ Listen To show something off proudly, to get attention or admiration. Quick Answer Flaunt means to show off. You flaunt your wealth, your talent, or your new car. Think: to flaunt is to display with pride. Example: She loves to flaunt her designer clothes. Flaunt in 3 Sentences Read these three sentences. Notice…
infer /in-FUR/ Listen To work something out from clues or evidence. The listener or reader does the inferring. Quick Answer Infer means to work something out from clues. The listener infers. Think: to infer is to read between the lines. Example: We can infer from the data that sales are rising. Infer in 3 Sentences…
imply /im-PLY/ Listen To suggest or hint at something without saying it directly. The speaker or writer does the implying. Quick Answer Imply means to hint at something without saying it directly. The speaker implies. Think: to imply is to send a hidden message. Example: Her silence seemed to imply that she disagreed. Imply in…
