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Dec 23, 2012

Disown

cast off,prevent deliberately (as by making a will) from inheriting.



refrain

resist doing something,It's usually hard to refrain from doing something, because this word is used to describe habits, like smoking, or uncontrollable urges, like laughing.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Discord


 
 
Discord is the strife and tension that arises when two sides disagree on something, like the high pitched screaming of two kids fighting over the front seat of the car.

Discord can be broken down into the prefix dis, meaning "different," and cord, which stems from an old word for "heart." So that leaves us with "different hearts." So if we're talking about music, discord means a lack of harmony — tones that clash so badly your ears bleed. But when there's discord between people, their hearts are in different places — which usually results in more than a few raised voices clashing disharmoniously.







 

Persevere

persevere 
Use the verb persevere when you want to persist in anything and continue despite difficulties or obstacles.

 persevereus which means "continue steadfastly, persist" and that word comes from two others, per- for "very" and severus for "strict." So, today, the connotation of the word is to persist in a methodical way despite obstacles or distractions. You can see the relationship between persevere and perseverate, which means "to persistently repeat something," and that word is a medical term used to describe stuttering.











Dec 16, 2012

Figment

When something is a figment of your imagination, it means that you made it up. It's something that might seem real, but is really not.





cardinal

In Catholicism, a cardinal is a high-ranking bishop. In math, you use cardinal numbers to count. A cardinal rule is one that is central and should not be broken.

Okay, that's a lot of definitions. How exactly are they related? In all cases, cardinal means central or essential. It's a cardinal principle that you use it to describe words of behavior like rule or sin. In the Church, cardinals form the central governing body, and in math the cardinal numbers (one, two, three) are the numbers you learn and use first.