- Marcello’s tastes are cosmopolitan when it comes to cuisine; he eats only the finest French
foods. - A truly cosmopolitan traveler never feels like a foreigner in any country.
- New York City is very cosmopolitan; you can hear nearly every language spoken there.
EPITOME (i PIT uh mee) n a brief summary that captures the meaning of the whole; the
perfect example of something; a paradigm
- The first paragraph of the new novel is an epitome of the entire book; you can read it and
understand what the author is trying to get across. It epitomizes the entire work. - Luke’s freshman year was the epitome of a college experience; he made friends, joined a
fraternity, and ate too much pizza. - Eating corn dogs and drinking root beer is the epitome of the good life, as far as Wilson is
concerned.
EXORBITANT (ig ZOHR buh tent) adj excessively costly; excessive This word literally means
“out of orbit.”
- Prices are exorbitant when they get sky-high.
- Meals at the new restaurant were exorbitant; a garden salad cost seventy-five dollars.
- The Better Business Bureau cited the discount electronic store for putting an exorbitant
markup on portable tape recorders.
EXPATRIATE (eks PAY tree ayt) v to throw (someone) out of his or her native land; to move
away from one’s native land; to emigrate
- The rebels were expatriated by the nervous general, who feared that they would cause
trouble if they were allowed to remain in the country. - Hugo was fed up with his native country, so he expatriated to America. In doing so, Hugo
became an expatriate (eks PAY tree ut).
To repatriate (ree PAY tree ayt) is to return to one’s native citizenship, that is, to become a
repatriate (ree PAY tree it).
EXPEDIENT (ik SPEE dee ent) adj providing an immediate advantage; serving one’s
immediate self-interest; practical
- Since the basement had nearly filled with water, the plumber felt it would be expedient to
clear out the drain. - The candidate’s position in favor of higher pay for teachers was an expedient one adopted
for the national teachers’ convention but abandoned shortly afterward.
Expedient can also be used as a noun for something expedient.
- The car repairman did not have his tool kit handy, so he used chewing gum as an
expedient to patch a hole.