Vocabulary English-English With X, Y, And Z
Wandering (adjective)
leading the life of a person or animal without a fixed home; moving from place to place
- To survive the ice ages, man learned to anticipate and to adapt to the habits of animals, including their wandering migrations.
Wanton (adjective)
merciless, inhumane
- There are reports that several hundred innocent civilians have been killed in fighting in and around Monrovia and of wanton destruction of property and widespread looting.
Wares (noun)
manufactured articles; goods
- Because there was a colonial preference for imported wares and because there were bad economic conditions, the glass business of Caspar Wistar failed in 1774.
Warrant (verb)
to be proper or sufficient occasion for
- When conditions warranted, gold and silver miners arrived in California.
Wary (adjective)
trying attentively to avoid danger, risk, or error
- People wary of aggressive drivers make good defensive drivers who are less likely to have an accident.
Watery (adjective)
lower than normal in strength or concentration due to a mixture
- Once all the "good stuff" is removed from the small intestine, our gut passes the indigestible watery gruel that is left to the colon.
Waver (verb)
to become unsure or begin to change from a previous opinion
- Although he never wavered in his devotion to colonial rights and early committed himself to independence as an unwelcome last resort, Adams's innate conservatism made him determined in 1770 that the British soldiers accused of the Boston Massacre receive a fair hearing.
Webcast (noun)
a transmission of sound and images (as of an event) via the World Wide Web
- She also answered questions during a live webcast from children around the world.
White-collar (adjective)
of, relating to, or constituting the class of salaried employees whose duties do not call for the wearing of work clothes or protective clothing
- More white-collar workers would lose eligibility due to new language that redefines what qualifies as professional, executive and administrative work.
Wholesale (adjective)
- without discrimination; having no particular pattern, purpose, organization, or structure The wholesale evolutionary restructuring of some reptiles over a period of thousand of years equipped the new animals to escape their predators and to find food more easily.
Widespread (adjective)
existing or happening in many places, or affecting many people
- Earlier studies of firefighter mortality that did not identify brain cancer as a cause of death were done before the widespread introduction of plastics in the 1950s.
Wield (verb)
to exert one's authority
- Yet he wielded political power virtually to the end, prevailing upon President Bush to appoint his 29 year old son, Strom Jr., as U.S. Attorney in South Carolina in 2001.
Windmill (noun)
a building with a set of wind driven revolving sails or blades attached to the site of its roof that drive a grinding machine inside
- In more modern times in the United States, windmills were erected as the West was developed during the late 19th century.
Wipe out (verb)
to destroy completely: annihilate
- On the other hand, the general public in developing countries has a host of other problems than the possibility that a large bolides could wipe out mankind
Withdrawal (noun)
the act of taking money from a bank account, or the amount of money taken out
- That a withdrawal of $35,000 was made after his wife’s murder is evidence that the suspect is a flight risk.
Wizardry (noun)
the use of supernatural powers to influence or predict events
- It was once believed that witchcraft and wizardry was practiced among some of the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts.
Wobbly (adjective) lacking stability
- Home buying has jumped as borrowing costs plummet, providing support to a wobbly economy.
Woe (noun)
a condition of deep suffering from misfortune, affliction, or grief
- An economist at Fannie Mae, the top source of U.S. housing finance, said accounting woes at the second largest such financing source, Freddie Mac, had little impact on mortgage lending over the last week.
Wound (verb)
to cause or inflict an injury to the body (as from violence, accident, or surgery) that involves laceration or breaking of a membrane (as the skin) and usually damage to underlying tissues
- In a surprise attack, Little Turtle's forces killed or wounded about 900 American soldiers.
Wreath (noun)
something–usually made of some type of plant–intertwined into a circular shape
- The Russian president also visited Westminster Abbey where he laid a wreath on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
Wreckage (noun)
broken and disordered parts or material from something
- One man died in the wreckage of a flattened workshop and seven other people were injured in Deshler, about 75 miles southwest of Lincoln near the Kansas line
Wretchedness (noun)
a state of prolonged anguish and privation
- That many poets such as Edgar Allen Poe suffered wretchedness beyond anyone’s imagination served as inspiration for their verses.
Wring (verb)
to squeeze or twist especially so as to make dry or to extract moisture or liquid; to extract or obtain by or as if by twisting and compressing
- The rule would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which were the first law preventing employers from wringing 60-hour work weeks from their rank-and-file without compensation.
Yield (noun)
a product; especially: the amount or quantity produced or returned
- The introduction of machinery to farming vastly improved crop yields.
Zone (noun)
an area regarded as separate or kept separate, especially one with a particular use or function
- It is learned that a city-state is a region consisting of one or more historic central cities surrounded by cities and towns which have a shared identification, function as a single zone for trade, commerce and communication, and are characterized by social, economic and environmental interdependence.