Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 32 - Day 2

Word List
  • usurp [yü zėrp´]
    seize, annex, grab
    → “There is a constant struggle as one branch of government attempts to usurp some of the powers of the other.” Milton Konvitz, editor, Bill of Rights Reader
  • paltry [pôl´ trē]
    of little importance, insignificant
    → “Marvin was baffled by the paltry amount of money the widow was asking for her husband’s elegant Rolls Royce.” Barnett Lesser, “One Man’s Will”
  • condone [kən dōn´]
    excuse, pardon
    → “He does not condone the actions of any of the participants in the impeachment hearings.” New York Times Book Review, 9/26/99
  • trivial [triv´ ē əl]
    petty, worthless
    → “In the study of past civilizations, nothing is considered as a trivial discovery.” Brian Fagan, Time Detectives
  • bizarre [bə zär´]
    fantastic, odd
    → “The police claim they were responding to the bizarre behavior of the man when they were forced to shoot him.” New York Post, 9/27/99

Can anyone under the age of 20 remember a time when the dial telephone was the only method of voice communication over long distances? What a bizarre concept this must seem for today’s youth. It has become an antiquated* cultural form of personal contact. The instrument for the modern communicator is the cell phone, which has usurped the wireconnected stationary model. With cell phone companies competing for customers, they eschew* offering a paltry number of minutes of talking time. The cell phone user can take advantage of a plethora* of special deals and carry on with significant or trivial conversations for seemingly endless time, and in almost any location. Often, these personal talks are held in the most public places, and those within hearing find it difficult to condone the inconvenience caused by the indiscriminate* use of this ubiquitous* instrument.

Don’t look back at the “new words.” Did you spot bizarre as a reintroduced word?

Sample Sentences (note the similarity of trivial and paltry)

  1. Most of us scoff* at and belittle* __________ behavior.
  2. They exacerbated* a __________ difference of opinion into a prodigious* conflict.
  3. It is during a period of ferment* that a dictator can __________ power.
  4. Do you expect me to __________ that reprehensible* act with such celerity?*
  5. The most __________ defects may have a deleterious* effect upon the efficacy* of that new process.

Definitions Match the new words with their definitions.

  1. a. petty, worthless
  2. b. excuse, pardon
  3. c. seize, annex, grab
  4. d. of little importance, insignificant
  5. e. fantastic, odd
  1. usurp __________
  2. paltry __________
  3. condone __________
  4. trivial __________
  5. bizarre __________

Answer Key
to feather one’s nest—to enrich oneself on the sly or at every opportunity
He played up to his senile* aunt in the hope of feathering his nest when she made out her will.

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