VOCABULARY Week Oct. 13-17

TONE VOCABULARY
Feeling Good Attitude Words
EFFUSIVE ef•fu•sive [ i fyssiv ] adjective
Definition: unrestrained in expressing feelings: giving or involving an extravagant and sometimes excessive expression of feelings in speech or writing (effusive thanks)
WHIMSICAL whim•si•cal [ wímzik'l, hwímzik'l ] adjective
Definition: 1. fanciful: imaginative and impulsive. 2. amusing: slightly odd or playfully humorous, especially in an endearing way. (He gave me that whimsical smile of his.)3. erratic or unpredictable: behaving in a way that is impossible to predict (She distrusted his whimsical nature.)
Feeling Bad/Angry Attitude Words
EXACERBATED ex•ac•er•bate [ ig zássər bàyt ] (past and past participle ex•ac•er•bat•ed, present participle ex•ac•er•bat•ing, 3rd person present singular ex•ac•er•bates) transitive verb
Definition: make worse: to make an already bad or problematic situation worse. (Her silence merely exacerbated the problem.)
INFLAMMATORY in•flam•ma•to•ry [ in flámmə tàwree ] adjective
Definition: 1. provocative: liable to arouse strong emotions, especially anger. 2. relating to inflammation: caused or characterized by inflammation. (Inflammatory language is one of the most common causes of conflict escalation.)
Feeling Sad/Worried Attitude Words
SOMBER som•ber [ sómbər ] adjective
Definition: 1. dark and gloomy: lacking light or brightness and producing a dull, dark, or melancholy atmosphere. 2. dark in color: having a color or tone that is dark, dull, or suitable for a serious mood or occasion. 3. serious and melancholy: marked by or conveying strict seriousness combined with sadness or a troubled state of mind. (A somber gathering at scene of cop-killing.)
STAID staid [ stayd ] (comparative staid•er, superlative staid•est) adjective
Definition: sober and steady: sedate and settled in habits or temperament, sometimes to the point of dullness. (This is a conundrum for the writer. On the one hand, you must establish a certain style and maintain it, which means that if writing long sentences you must continue to write long sentences, and if writing short sentences you must continue to write short sentences; on the other hand, long sentence after long sentence (or short sentence after short sentence) quickly becomes staid, lifeless.)
Feeling Humorous, Ironic, and Sarcastic Attitude Words
BANTER ban•ter [ bántər ] noun
Definition: light teasing remarks: lighthearted teasing or amusing remarks that are exchanged between people. (intransitive verb-past and past participle ban•tered, present participle ban•ter•ing, 3rd person present singular ban•ters)
Definition: exchange teasing remarks: to exchange lighthearted teasing remarks. (We saw Mr. Altig out in the hallway outside the courtroom bantering with the assistant DA assigned to K’s case and having a grand old back-slapping, horse-laughing time.)
SCATHING scath•ing [ skáying ] adjective (scath•ing•ly adverb)
Definition: highly critical: severely critical and scornful. (Judge Rosalsky delivered a scathing rebuke in General Sessions yesterday to a jury which had attempted to bargain with him over the sentence to be imposed on a prisoner.)
Feeling Neutral Attitude Words
PROSAIC pro•sa•ic [ prō záy ik ] adjective
Definition: 1. lacking imagination: not having any features that are interesting or imaginative.2. resembling prose: characteristic of, resembling, or consisting of prose. 3. U.S. straightforward: lacking complications or subtleties. (Because his writings are so prosaic, I find them dull and unimaginative.)
PLACID plac•id [ plássid ] adjective
Definition: 1. calm in nature or appearance: tending or appearing to be calm and not easily excited, upset, or disturbed. 2. U.S. complacent: too easily satisfied. (His placid exterior masks a quick and active mind.)