Ameliorate /əˈmēlyəˌrāt/ verb to improve a deplorable condition The good seeds must be planted in the minds of the citizens in order to ameliorate their lives. – Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996 – )

Rigorous /ˈriɡ(ə)rəs/ adjective strict, thorough or exhaustive, disciplined I believe that the pursuit of truth and right ideas through honest debate and rigorous argument is a noble undertaking. – Charles Krauthammer (1950 – 2018)

Jellyfish /ˈjelēˌfiSH/ noun a soft, gelatinous sea creature with stinging tentacles I’m a jellyfish glowing in the dark sea, bright and brilliant, just waiting to be discovered. – Jennifer L. Holm (1968 – )

Coalesce /ˌkōəˈles/ verb to combine, to fuse, to join together After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved science and art tend to coalesce in aesthetics, plasticity, and form…the greatest scientists are artists as well. – Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955)

Verify /ˈverəˌfī/ verb to prove to be true, to confirm, to ascertain One must verify or expel his doubts, and convert them into the certainty of ‘yes’ or ‘no’. – Thomas Carlyle (1795 – 1881)

Albatross /ˈalbəˌtrôs/ noun a large bird with long, narrow wings found near the ocean, especially in the South Seas At first it looked like a cross, then it looked like an aeroplane, then it looked like a kite, and at last with a whirring of wings it was right overhead and was an albatross. – from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S.... Read More

Furor /ˈfyo͝oˌrôr,ˈfyo͞oˌrôr/ noun frenzy, a state of great public excitement It is to this ardor for making oneself the topic of conversation, to this furor to distinguish oneself which nearly always keeps us outside ourselves, that we owe what is best and worst among men, our virtues and vices, our sciences and our errors, our conquerors and our philosophers, that is to say, a... Read More

Royalty /ˈroi(ə)ltē/ noun 1. a member of the monarchy There’s no royalty in America, so people deify actors. – Joseph Gordon-Levitt (1981 – ) 2. a payment to the owner for the use of copyrighted material Now my only income is a few royalty cheques from my books. – Bobby Fischer (1943 – 2008)

Furtive /ˈfərdiv/ adjective secretive, attempting to avoid being noticed, usually due to guilt So swift, silent and furtive were his movements like those of a trained bloodhound picking out a scent, that I could not but think what a terrible criminal he would have made had he turned his energy and sagacity against the law instead of exerting them in its defense. – from... Read More

Microcosm /ˈmīkrōˌkäzəm/ noun a small world, a community or situation seen as possessing the characteristic features of something much larger I have found that each garden is just what Voltaire proposed in ‘Candide’: a microcosm of a just and beautiful society. – Andrew Weil (1942 – )