Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 38 - Day 4

Word List
  • retort [ri tôrt´]
    to answer, reply
    → “There is no need to retort to an employee who has written a critique of your original warning letter.” NYC Board of Education’s Food Service Division, Guide for Managers
  • reticent [ret´ ə sənt]
    silent or reserved
    → “He was as inquisitive about the country as he was reticent about his business there.” Frances Gilchrist Woods, “Turkey Red”
  • tacit [tas´ it]
    understood, implied, not stated
    → “There is a tacit agreement in a civil conversation that each avoid making of it a monologue.” Rebecca West, “There Is No Conversation”
  • chicanery [shi kā´ nə r ē]
    trickery, underhandedness
    → “As a profession, lawyers have become associated with chicanery and confusion.” People, 2/4/99
  • docile [dos´ əl]
    easy to manage
    → “How long can they remain docile, living under such terrible oppression?” Business Week, 6/16/98

To the derogatory* comments from the older generation the teenagers might retort that new fashions and styles are adopted by the elders with alacrity.* Though they complain, women emulate* their daughters by shortening or lengthening their hems. They may appear reticent about the bother and expense of altering their wardrobe, but they give tacit approval to the change by rushing to the department stores where they jostle* each other to buy copies of the more expensive dresses. The conclusion one might reach after observing how women countenance* the arbitrary* changes year after year is that they are naïve* or victims of some chicanery practiced by the clothing industry. Women may appear hapless* before the intimidation* of “style,” but the real truth may lie in the fact that they are so docile because they secretly enjoy the yearly excitement around the latest fashions.

There’s another familiar word reintroduced today. Did you recognize reticent?

Sample Sentences Use the new words in these sentences.

  1. The reporter divulged* the blatant* __________ involved in the awarding of the contract.
  2. Even the most __________ person may become fractious* when he gets only a pittance* for his hard labor.
  3. His egregious* behavior brought a __________ reproach* to his mother’s eyes.
  4. Most politicians are __________ when asked to divulge* their ambitions.
  5. He refused to __________ to the rash* question about his propensity* for imbibing.*

Definitions Match the new words with their definitions.

  1. a. understood, implied, not stated
  2. b. easy to manage
  3. c. to answer, reply
  4. d. silent or reserved
  5. e. trickery, underhandedness
  1. retort (v.) __________
  2. reticent __________
  3. tacit __________
  4. chicanery __________
  5. docile __________

Answer Key
to maintain the status quo—to keep things as they are
You hit the nail on the head* when you said we ought to maintain the status quo and not change horses in midstream.*

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