CHAPTER 3 / BUILDING AN IMPRESSIVE VOCABULARY 95
Vocabulary Lesson 9: Time Is of the Essence
Today’s roots: trans across, through fluere to flow
chronos time tempus time❑ transient(adj) fleeting; short-lived (transireto go across)
We never understand the transientnature of childhood until we wake up one day and realize we’re all grown up.
Synonyms:ephemeral, evanescent, deciduous, transitory Antonyms:permanent, interminable❑ ephemeral(adj) short-lived (hemeraday)
Critics wrote off the band as a fad, their success as an ephemeralphenomenon.
Synonyms:transient, evanescent, fleeting Antonyms:permanent, everlasting, interminable❑ sporadic(adj) irregular or unpredictable; infrequent (sporasscattered)
He has experienced sporadicsuccess as an actor, with occasional big roles amid many unmemorable parts.
Synonyms:intermittent, episodic, mercurial Antonyms:frequent, regular, permanent❑ capricious(adj) whimsical; impulsive
My English teacher runs her class capriciously,flitting from idea to idea with no reason or direction.
Synonyms:fickle, volatile, mercurial, erratic❑ evanescent(adj) likely to vanish (vanescereto disappear)
The aurora borealis is beautiful but evanescent,a curtain of cascading light that can disappear in a heartbeat.
Synonyms:transient, ephemeral, transitory Antonyms:perpetual, enduring❑ extemporaneous(adj) done with little or no practice (ex temporeof time)
The speech was all the more remarkable because Dr. Sherman gave it extemporaneously,filling in for the scheduled
speaker at the last moment.
Synonym:impromptu❑ anachronism(n) something out of place in time (ana-backward+chronostime)
Her old-fashioned perspective on motherhood makes her an anachronismamong her friends.
Synonyms:archaism, incongruity, asynchronism❑ transitory(adj) lasting for a short time (transitusgone across)
Synonyms:transient, fleeting❑ expedite(v) to speed up (ex-out+pedisfoot)
Synonyms:hasten, quicken, facilitate❑ influx(n) a flowing in (in-in+fluereto flow)
The country of Chad has seen a massive influxof refugees from the fighting in neighboring Sudan.❑ superfluous(adj) beyond what is necessary or sufficient (super-over+fluereto flow)
❑ contemporaneous(adj) existing or occurring at about the same time (con-together+temporetime)
❑ interminable(adj) never ending (in-not+termend)
Synonyms:incessant, unremitting❑ protracted(adj) prolonged; extended in time (pro-forward+tractpull)
Synonym:drawn out