Vocabulary Mnemonics

September 21, 2024

Matt’s words

Redoubtable (adj): formidable; worthy of respect; causes alarm

The Cardinals are always a redoubtable opponent.

The star of the redoubtable team…

Mnemonic: A good opponent makes you doubt yourself. A redoubtable opponent makes you re-doubt yourself.

Mawkish (adj): Sentimental in a feeble or sickly way; excessively sentimental

The mawkish tone of the movie made you want to gag.

The director wanted emotion but instead the scene came off mawkish.

Mnemonic: Same as maudlin, mawkish makes you think of “mama”

Prurient (adj): appealing to sexual desire in an excessive way; having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters; creating excessive interest in sexual matters

The Marylin Monroe biopic appealed to the prurient interest in her private life.

Women’s volleyball appears to take a prurient approach to its uniform standards.

Mnemonic: Think of the “prrrr” at the beginning, like a catcall.

Mnemonic 2: Prurient sort of sounds like Puritan, who are known for not indulging in sexual appetites. Just remember that it’s the opposite.

Estivation (n): hibernation during the summer; prolonged period of torpor or dormancy of an animal during a hot or dry period; verb form: estivate

The animals entered a state of estivation.

It spent the summer estivating.

Mnemonic: Snakes are known to estivate. Think of the “sssssss” sound at the beginning (for snake)

Equipoise (n/v): balance of forces or interests; situation where things are perfectly balanced

Equipoise between: Steve discovered a delicate equipoise between fun and work.

Steve’s work/play ratio was in equipoise.

Trade between the two nations was in equipoise.

Mnemonic: “Equi” comes from “equal.” A poised person is standing balanced.

Dr. Mom’s words

Dastardly (adj): a cowardly villain; a scoundrel who shows a shameful lack of courage

In the moment, the 9/11 attacks that came from a blue sky on a crisp, clear morning stretched credulity in their horror and dastardly conception and proved that vast oceans could no longer shield the US from the terror of the outside world.  –Stephen Collinson, CNN, 11 Sept. 2021

Mnemonic: Put a twist on the off-color word that rhymes with the first two syllables. “That person is such a dastard!”

Plebiscite (n):a direct vote of all members of an electorate on an important public question; the result of a plebiscite is often viewed as a mandate by the people

They are going to hold a plebiscite on the question of national independence.

Mnemonic: “Pleb” is short for plebeian and means the common people (Latin). Freshmen at military or naval academies are called “plebes.” These are the supposedly lower, coarser, cruder folks; the hoi polloi. So a plebiscite is a vote of, or the prevailing sentiment of, these people.

Torus (n): geometric solid (i.e., a 3-D shape) formed by rotating a closed curve (especially a circle); donut-shaped object or figure; used in architecture; e.g., a “convex molding” at the base of a column

A popular shape for space stations is a torus.

Some kids prefer sliding into a torus-shaped blow-up ring in the lake instead of wearing a life jacket.

Mnemonic: As a tourist, you might go on a tour and see historical architecture with columns. Often those columns—maybe Doric columns—with decorative tori around them.

Apocryphal (adj):in a religious context, these would be works outside an accepted canon of scripture (specifically, The Apocrypha is a collection of books written in the four centuries between the Old and New Testaments); also,anything of doubtful authenticity, as in a dubious or unverifiable story.

Urban legends about phantom hitchhikers and razor blades in Halloween apples are classic examples of apocryphal tales.

Mnemonic: Think of the end of the word as “cry foul.” This is how you would behave if you believed something to be inauthentic or false. (That said, it wouldn’t be the apocalypse if that were to happen.)

Aplomb (adj): evenness of emotions or temperament; composure, self-assurance

It’s comforting being around someone who handles a tense situation with aplomb.

Mnemonic: Think of “plumb” line. This weighted tool is used to determine perpendicularity and vertical direction or reference. It implies steadiness. You can be sure your wall/behavior is straight, on track.

BIG sentence:

Some humans want a plebiscite on the validity of an apocryphal legend that contends that animals which cling to tori during periods of estivation are able to overcome mawkishness, eschew dastardly ventures, regain equipoise with nature, act with aplomb, become redoubtable, and free their minds of prurient thoughts.