English for Students

Difficult Words: Cacophony, Cadence, Cajole, Callow, Candor and Capitalism

Difficult Words ( Cacophony, Cadence, Cajole, Callow, Candor and Capitalism ) and their usages have been explained here in detail.

Cacophony (Koch KOF uh nee) n: harsh-sounding mixture of words, voices, or sounds

A cacophony isn't just a lot of noise. It's a lot of noise that doesn't sound good together. A Steam whistles blowing isn’t a cacophony. But a high school orchestra that had never rehearsed together might very well produce a cacophony. The roar of engines, horns and sirens arising from a busy city street would be a cacophony. A lot of people all shouting at once would produce a cacophony.

Euphony is the opposite of cacophony. Euphony is pleasing sound.

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Cadence (KADE uns) n: rhythm; the rise and fall of sounds

We wished the tone of Irwin's words would have a more pleasing cadence, but he spoke in a dull monotone.

Cajole (kuh JOHL) u: to persuade someone to do something he or she doesn't want to do

I didn't want to give the speech, but Joel cajoled me into doing it by telling me what a good speaker I am. As it turned out, he simply hadn't been able to find anyone else.

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Callow (KALoh) adj: immature

To be callow is to be youthfully native, inexperienced, and sophisticated.

A teenager might show callow disregard for the feelings of adults.

Driving fast cars and hanging out in the parking lot at the 7 are callow pursuits.

The patient was alarmed by the callowness of the medical staff. The doctors looked too young to have graduated from high school, much less from medical school.

Candor (KAN dur) n: truthfulness; sincere honesty

My best friend exhibited candor when he told me that for many years now he has believed me to be a jerk.

Teddy appreciated Ross's Candor; Teddy was glad to know that Ross thought Teddy's sideburns looked stupid.

To show candor is to be candid. What is candid about the camera on Candid Camera? The Camera is candid because it is truthful in showing what people do when they can't turn off the coffee machine in the office where they're applying for a job. Candid does not mean concealed or hidden. To be candid is to speak frankly.

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Capitalism (KAP I tuh LIZ um) n: free enterprise; an economic system in which businesses are owned by private citizens (not by the government) and in which the resulting products and services are sold with relatively little government control.

The American economy is capitalistic. IF you wanted to start a company to sell signed photographs of yourself, you could. You, not the government, would decide how much you would charge for the pictures. Your success or failure would depend on how many people decided to buy your pictures.

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