Difficult Words : Choleric, Chimera, Chronic, Chronicle, Circuitous and Circumlocution



Difficult Words ( Choleric, Chimera, Chronic, Chronicle, Circuitous and Circumlocution) and their usages have been explained here in detail.

Chimera (kye MEER uh) n: an illusion; a foolish fancy

Susan's dream of becoming a movie star was just a chimera.

Could you take picture of a chimera with a camera? No, of course not. It wouldn't show up on the film.

Be careful not to mispronounce this word. Its apparent similarity to chimney is just a chimera.

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Choleric (KOL ur ik) adj: hot-tempered; quick to anger

The choleric watchdog would sink his teeth into anyone who came within biting distance of his doghouse.

When the grumpy old man was in one of his choleric moods, the children refused to go near him.

The choleric administrator kept all the secretaries in a state of terror.


Chronic (KRON ik) adj: constant; lasting a long time; inveterate

Someone who always comes in last could be called a chronic loser.

Chronic is usually associated with something negative or undesirable: chronic illness, chronic failure and chronic depression. You would be much less likely to encounter a reference or chronic success or chronic happiness, unless the writer or speaker was being ironic.

A chronic disease is one that lingers for a long time, doesn't go away, or keeps coming back. The opposite of a chronic disease is an acute disease. An acute disease is one that comes and goes very quickly. It may be severe, but it doesn’t last forever.

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Chronicle (KRON I kul) n: a record of events in order of time; a history

Sally's diary provided her mother with a detailed chronicle of her daughter's extracurricular activities. Chronicle can also be used as a verb. The reporter chronicled all the events of the revolution. Chronology and chronicle are nearly synonyms: Both provide a chronological list of events. Chronological means in order of time.

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Circuitous (sur KYOO I tus) adj: roundabout; not following a direct path

The circuitous bus route between the two cities went here, there, and everywhere and it took an extremely long time to get anywhere.

The salesman's route was circuitous. It would go aimlessly through many small towns.

A circuitous argument is one that rambles around for quite a while before making its point.

A circuitous argument is very similar to a circular argument, which is one that ends up where it begins or attempts to prove something without offering any new information. To say, A majority is that which exists when there is a majority, is to give a circular, or tautological, definition of the word majority.

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Circumlocution (SUR kum loh KYOO shun) n: an indirect expression; use of wordy or evasive language

The lawyer's circumlocution left everyone in the courtroom wondering what had been said.

The indicted executive evaded the reporters' questions by resorting to circumlocution.

To use a lot of big, vague words and to speak in a disorganized way is to be circumlocutory.

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