Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 8 - Day 3

Word List
  • ubiquitous [yü bik´ wə təs]
    being everywhere at the same time
    → “Che Guevera has become ubiquitous; his figure stares out at us from coffee mugs and posters, pops up in rock songs and operas.” Ariel Dorfman, “Che,” TIME, 6/14/99
  • remote [ri mōt´]
    distant, hidden away
    → “The pull of the remote stars is so slight as to be obliterated in the vaster moments by which the ocean yields to the moon and sun.” Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us
  • thwart [thwôrt]
    to hinder, defeat
    → “The man who made up the name for flies must have been thwarted in a life-long desire to have children, and at last found that outlet for his suppressed baby-talk.” Robert Benchley, “The Lure of the Road”
  • harbinger [här´ bən jər]
    a forerunner, advance notice
    → “It is easy enough to find harbingers of the episode in the early coverage of Mrs. Dole’s candidacy.” TIME, 5/24/99
  • malignant [mə lig´ nənt]
    likely to cause death
    → “The wailing chorus turned into a malignant clamor that swirled into my ears like an icy breeze.” Kenneth Roberts, Oliver Wiswell

After an extensive lecture tour in 1956, Dr. Dooley returned to Laos to set up a mobile medical unit. Because the Geneva Agreement barred the entrance of military personnel to the country, he resigned from the Navy and went to work as a civilian. That story is told in The Edge of Tomorrow. Next year, despite a growing illness, the ubiquitous Dooley turned up in the remote village of Muong Sing, attempting to thwart his traditional enemies—disease, dirt, ignorance, starvation—and hoping to quell* the spread of communism. But his trained medical eye soon told him that the pain in his chest and back was a harbinger of a malignant cancer.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in the following sentences.

  1. Sprinting all over the court, the __________ referee called one foul after another.
  2. Ben’s reprehensible* table manners led his fraternity brothers to seat him in a __________ corner of the dining room.
  3. The excellent soup was a __________ of the delicious meal to follow.
  4. In an attempt to __________ the voracious* ants, he surrounded his house with a moat of burning oil.
  5. The surgeon finally located the __________ tumor that had afflicted* his patient for many months.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

  1. a. distant, hidden away
  2. b. being everywhere at the same time
  3. c. likely to cause death
  4. d. to hinder, defeat
  5. e. a forerunner, advance notice
  1. avid __________
  2. cajole __________
  3. rudimentary __________
  4. enhance __________
  5. nuance __________

Answer Key
to cool one’s heels—to be kept waiting
The shrewd mayor made the angry delegates cool their heels in his outer office.

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