timorous(TIM er is) adj. 1. full of fear; subject to fear; timid; 2. caused by
timidity
- The most memorable use of the word timorousin English literature is in
Robert Burns’s To a Mouse,where he refers to it as a “wee timorousbeastie.” - It is quite fine for children to be timorousabout talking to strangers.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. afraid]
tolerate(TAH ler AYT) vt. 1. to allow; permit; 2. to respect the beliefs of others,
although they differ from one’s own; 3. to put up with things or persons who are
disliked - Julie’s parents would not tolerateher playing after school until her home-
work was done. - Though not a believer in the curative powers of chicken soup, Hal tolerated
a well-meant bowl or two when he was laid up with the flu. - Karen toleratedher in-laws’ presence at family gatherings, although she
really would have preferred not to see them.
[-d, tolerating] [Syn. bear]
tome(TOHM) n. a book, especially a large, ponderous, and/or scholarly one - You know Professor Corey; he’s the one who wrote the thick tomeon the
eating preferences of different species of termites. - The writings of J. D. Salinger are not really lengthy enough to call tomes,
while Leo Tolstoy’s works are a different story.
torpid(TAWR pid) adj. 1. temporarily having lost all sensation and the ability
to move (like a hibernating animal); sluggish; 2. slow and dull; apathetic - A bear, while torpidafter just having awakened from hibernation, soon
after becomes much livelier. - A sloth, on the other hand, is always torpid.
- Certain members of my family have a tendency to be torpidupon the com-
pletion of a Thanksgiving feast.
[-ly adv., -ity, torpor n.]
tourniquet(TOER ni kit) n. a pressure bandage whose purpose is to temporari-
ly clamp off the flow of blood through a part of the body - The most commonly seen tourniquetamong campers is made by tying
together two ends of a cloth square, slipping it over a limb, and then twist-
ing a stick through the loop to put pressure on the limb.
•A tourniquetis an emergency bandage to prevent excessive loss of blood by
a cut trauma subject.
tractable(TRAK ti bl) adj. 1. easily managed, controlled, or taught; docile;
compliant; 2. easily workable; malleable - A horse is most tractablewhen it is younger than two years of age.
- Silver is a very tractablemetal but not as much so as copper.
[tractability* n.] [Syn. obedient]
226 Essential Vocabulary