English Vocabulary from Books

This is the description for vocabulary for books

Besotted

vocabhunt-learn-english-vocabulary-besotted

 

... Until that “Sick Nazi Orgy” headline, the thing Max Mosley was most famous for—unless you were a Formula One racing fan—was his parents ... Max’s mother was the beautiful socialite Diana Mitford. She and her sister Unity were so besotted by Hitler—with whom they both became friendly.
(/bɪˈsɒt ɪd/)
Verb

1. To be strongly infatuated with someone or something
2. Intoxicated

From the post: Vocabulary Words from 'So You've Been Publicly Shamed'
Source: So You've Been Publicly Shamed, by Jon Ronson (amazon.com)

Simper

vocabhunt-learn-english-vocabulary-simper

 

... You have to go on the record.’ My arms were going crazy. I was so angry and so frustrated. All the time he was wasting. All his lies. And he was simpering.” Finally something in Jonah’s voice made Michael know that it was going to happen. “So I ran into Duane Reade, and I bought a fucking Hello Kitty notebook and a pen, and in twenty-five seconds, he said, ‘I panicked. And I’m deeply sorry for lying.’"
(/ˈsɪm pər/)
Verb

1. To smile in a foolish, frivolous, self-conscious, coy, or smug manner.

From the post: Vocabulary Words from 'So You've Been Publicly Shamed'
Source: So You've Been Publicly Shamed, by Jon Ronson (amazon.com)

Rakish

vocabhunt-learn-english-vocabulary-rakish

 

...Luke was the youngest of the three, handsome, in his twenties, a “researcher in technology and cyberculture and director of the Virtual Futures Conference,” according to his online CV. David Bausola looked like a rakish teacher, the sort of person who might speak at a conference on the literature of Aleister Crowley. He was a “creative technologist” and the CEO of the digital agency Philter Phactory.
(/ˈɹeɪkɪʃ/)
Adjective

1. Dashingly, carelessly, or sportingly unconventional or stylish; jaunty;
2. having a somewhat disreputable quality or appearance.

From the post: Vocabulary Words from 'So You've Been Publicly Shamed'
Source: So You've Been Publicly Shamed, by Jon Ronson (amazon.com)

Mary Celeste

vocabhunt-learn-english-vocabulary-mary-celeste

 

... Jonah vanished, leaving a final, innocent prehumiliation tweet like a plate of congealing food on the Mary Celeste . Fiona Apple’s new album is “astonishing,” rhapsodizes @sfj.
(/ˈmɛər i səˈlɛst/)
Noun

1. An American cargo ship that was found afloat in the North Atlantic in December 1872 in perfect condition but abandoned. The fate of the crew and the reason for the abandonment of the ship remain a mystery.

From the post: Vocabulary Words from 'So You've Been Publicly Shamed'
Source: So You've Been Publicly Shamed, by Jon Ronson (amazon.com)

Illusory

vocabhunt-learn-english-vocabulary-illusory

 

... "In psychology it’s known as cognitive dissonance. It’s the idea that it feels stressful and painful for us to hold two contradictory ideas at the same time (like the idea that we’re kind people and the idea that we’ve just destroyed someone). And so to ease the pain we create illusory ways to justify our contradictory behavior. It’s like when I used to smoke and I’d hope the tobacconist would hand me the pack that read SMOKING CAUSES AGING OF THE SKIN instead of the pack that read SMOKING KILLS—because aging of the skin? I didn’t mind that."
(/ɪˈluːz(ə)ɹi/)
Adjective

1. Resulting from an illusion; deceptive, imaginary, unreal

From the post: Vocabulary Words from 'So You've Been Publicly Shamed'
Source: So You've Been Publicly Shamed, by Jon Ronson (amazon.com)

Hoi Polloi

vocabhunt-learn-english-vocabulary-hoi-polloi

 

... Then Reicher told me a story about the only time he ever went to a tennis match. “It was a ‘people’s day’ at Wimbledon, and the hoi polloi were allowed into the show courts. So we were on the number-one court. Three sides were ordinary folk, on the fourth were the members. The game we were watching was fairly boring. So people in the crowd started a Mexican wave.
(/ˌhɔɪ pəˈlɔɪ/)
Noun

1. The common people; the masses.

From the post: Vocabulary Words from 'So You've Been Publicly Shamed'
Source: So You've Been Publicly Shamed, by Jon Ronson (amazon.com)

Encumbrance

vocabhunt-learn-english-vocabulary-encumbrance

 

... I suspect he saw Hitler as this other man who was in the same line of business as him but much more successful. And my mother liked him. I don’t think there was any affair but . . . well, you can see it. Anyway. To me the whole thing has been an enormous nuisance and encumbrance.
(/ɛnˈkʌm brəns/)
Noun

1. An obstruction that is burdensome

From the post: Vocabulary Words from 'So You've Been Publicly Shamed'
Source: So You've Been Publicly Shamed, by Jon Ronson (amazon.com)