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Difficult Words:
Apocalypse, Apocryphal, Apotheosis, Appease, Appreciate and Apprehensive
This is a list of Difficult Words: Apocalypse, Apocryphal, Apotheosis, Appease, Appreciate and Apprehensive
Apocalypse (uh POK uh lips) n: a prophetic revelation, especially one concerning the end of the world
• In strict usage, apocalypse refers to specific Judeo-Christian writings from ancient times, but most people use it more generally in connection with predictions of things like unclear war, the destruction of the ozone layer and the spread of fast-food restaurants to every corner of the universe. To make such predictions or to be deeply pessimistic is to be apocalyptic.
Apocryphal (uh POK ruh ful) n: of dubious authenticity, fictitious, spurious
• An apocryphal story is one whose truth is not proven or whose falsehood is strongly suspected. Luke apocalypse, this word has a religious origin. The Apocrypha are a number of "extra" books of the Old Testament. The Protestants and Jews don't include in their Bibles because they don't think they're authentic.
Apotheosis (uh POTH ee OH sis) n: elevation to divine status, the perfect example of something
• Some people think that the Corvette is the apotheosis of American car making. They think it's the ideal.
• Geoffrey is unbearable to be with. He thinks he's the apotheosis of masculinity.
Appease (uh PEEZ) v: to soothe, to pacify by giving in to
• Larry appeased his angry mother by promising to make his bed every morning without fail until the end of time.
• The trembling farmer handed over all his grain, but still the emperor was not appeased.
• We appeased the angry juvenile delinquents by permitting them to slash the tires of Jerry's father's car.
Appreciate (uh PREE shee ATE) u: to increase in value
• The Browns bought their house twenty years ago for a hundred dollars, but it has appreciated considerably since then. Today it's worth almost a million dollars.Harry bought Joe's collection of old chewing-tobacco tins as an investment. His hope was that the tins would appreciate over the next few years enabling him to turn a profit by selling them to someone else.
• The opposite of appreciate is depreciate. When a new car loses value over time, we say it has depreciated.
Apprehensive (AP ri HEN siv) adj: worried, anxious
• The apprehensive child clung to his father's leg as the two of them walked into the main circus tent to watch the lion tamer.
• Bill was apprehensive about the exam, because he had forgotten to go to class for several months. As it turned out, his apprehensions were justified. He couldn't answer a single question on the test.
• A misapprehension is a misunderstanding. Bill had no misapprehensions about his lack of preparation. He knew perfectly well he would fail abysmally.