Grammar Clinic

Meaning: Not completely reputable or decent. Synonyms: Discreditable, disgraceful, dishonorable, disreputable. Example: Helen felt like a louche when everyone in her class accused her of stealing their money.

An indication or warning of a future event, an omen. Synonyms: Portend, augur, foreshadow, foretell, prophesy. Example: I have a nagging presage that my medical tests result will not be good.

Meaning: Causing excitement and pleasure. Excite, stimulate, inspire, exhilarate, intoxicate. Example: A thrilling adventure.

  Meaning: To bring together two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, etc. Synonyms: Consolidate, converge, fuse, meld, unify. Example: She conflated the three plays to produce a new one entirely.

To stray from a course. Synonyms: Diverge, digress. Example: I do not wish to divagate to far from the subject in hand.

Meaning: Invented and not true or existing Synonyms: False, fake, counterfeit, fabricated, sham. Example: The characters in the book are all fictitious.

Meaning: Bring (swallowed food) up again to the mouth. Synonyms: Vomit, bring up, disgorge, regorge. Example: The bird regurgitates food to feed its young.

Meaning: Thin and able to move quickly. Synonyms: Supple, lithe, limber, graceful, elegant, spry. Example: She was of medium stature, slender and lissome.

Meaning : Someone or something that is subject to sudden, unpredictable changes. Synonyms: Fickle, inconstant, changeable, variable, unstable, mercurial, volatile Example: You need to settle down and stop being so capricious.

Meaning: A performance or interpretation, especially of a dramatic role or piece of music. Synonyms: Performance, rendering, interpretation, presentation. Example: The singer praised the fan’s rendition of his song.