Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Wondrous Words Wednesday-Oct. 6

Bermudaonion asks you to share new words that you have learned during your reading adventures in the last week. Feel free to join in the fun!

Here are some new words that I learned while reading Things I've Been Silent About by Azar Nafisi:

Recondite: dealing with very profound, difficult, or abstruse subject matter

Here is how recondite was used on page 49:
Haji Agha had no time for recondite knowledge and reserved his energy for frequent terse pronouncements:  There is to be no music at home.

Foment: to instigate or foster.

Here is how foment was used on page 99:
The Soviet-backed communist Tudeh Party, which had representatives in Parliament and had infiltrated the army ranks, took advantage of the crisis to foment unrest

Sycophant: a self-seeking, servile flatterer.

Here is how sycophant was used on page 134:
In the months and years ahead I would come to appreciate the loyalty of unlikely people like him and Zia, father's chief of staff, whom I marked as a mere sycophant.

Polemic: a controversial argument, as one against some opinion, doctrine, etc.

Here is how polemic was used on page 239:
I was in desperate need of conversations that did not end in ideological polemics.

So those were some new words that I learned while reading this fascinating book.  I can't wait to discuss this with my book club tonight to see what the ladies thought of it.  Although it started out a bit rough for me, I definitely found an appreciation for the author by the end of the book.

4 comments:

Margot said...

There are times when I don't feel like dealing with recondite knowledge either but I like that word. I'll try to remember that one.

Donna said...

I don't remember when or where; but my introduction to fomentinvolved the aspect of "boiling over" as in when you add vinegar to baking soda. I think that agrees with your author's use of it.

bermudaonion said...

I knew sycophant, but the other words were new to me. I'm with Margot, I don't like to deal with recondite knowledge much anymore. Thanks for playing along.

Blodeuedd said...

I really like the word sycophant, must use it :)