Q – R
quaff(KWAHF) vt. to drink deeply with gusto —n. 1. the act of quaffing; 2. the
drink that is quaffed
- Quaffingbeer while eating pizza is a well-established sport in some
households. - Harry quaffedhis brew from a frozen mug.
- Sally stopped into the tavern for a pint of quaff.
[-ed, -ing]
quiescent(kwee ES int) adj. quiet and still; inactive - After hours of standing uncovered, a carbonated drink loses its fizz and
becomes quiescent.
•A quiescentpond is a good place to look for tadpoles.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. latent]
quixotic(kwik SOT ik) adj. foolishly idealistic; visionary; impractical - Tilting at windmills is the ultimate in quixoticbehavior.
- Some say that draft-card burning is a quixoticact, while others call it heroic.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. impractical]
raconteur(RAK ahn TUR) n. a person who is very skilled at telling stories - Aesop was a raconteurwhose fables always ended in a moral.
- Hans Christian Anderson was a Danish raconteurof great skill.
radiate(RAY dee ayt) vt. 1. to send out rays of heat, light, and so on; 2. to
spread out in rays; 3. to branch out from a center as spokes; 4. to spread happiness
and good fortune - In a hot-water or steam heating system, heat radiatesoutward from a (what
else?) radiator. - As lightradiatesoutward from its source, its intensity diminishes.
- Spokes radiateoutward from the hub of a bicycle wheel.
- It’s the job of grandparents to radiatelove and presents and to shower
them on their grandchildren.
[-d, radiating]
rapacious(ruh PAY shis) adj. 1. using force to conquer; looting; 2. taking all
one can get; voracious; 3. predacious - Genghis Khan’s Golden Horde had a reputation, well deserved or not, for
being rapacious. - Lumbermen have been rapaciouswith the tropical rain forests of South
America. - The cross-country railroad builders were rapacioustoward the herds of
American bison.
[-ly adv.]
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