Allusion / əˈlo͞oZHən /, noun: an indirect reference or comment made in passing “Life has been compared to a race, but the allusion improves by observing, that the most swift are usually the least manageable and the most likely to stray from the course. Great abilities have always been less serviceable to the possessors than moderate ones.” Oliver Goldsmith Illusion / iˈlo͞oZHən /, noun:... Read More

/ dīˈkädəmē /, noun: 1. a division or contrast between two things; opposing or contradictory qualities “Never permit a dichotomy to rule your life, a dichotomy in which you hate what you do so you can have pleasure in your spare time. Look for a situation in which your work will give you as much happiness as your spare time.” Pablo Picasso 2. Botany:... Read More

/’altro͞oˌizəm/, noun: 1. unselfish regard for others “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” Martin Luther King, Jr. 2. behavior of an animal that benefits another at its own expense “Animals have genes for altruism, and those genes have been selected in the evolution of many creatures because of the... Read More

/kwer-yə-ləs/, adjective: 1.complaining in a petulant or whining manner “Politics is the process of getting along with the querulous, the garrulous and the congenitally unlovable.” Marilyn Moats Kennedy 2. characterized by or uttered in complaint; peevish “Criticism should not be querulous and wasting, all knife and root-puller, but guiding, instructive, inspiring.” Ralph Waldo Emerson   pictured: The Rotary Club of Webster, NY

Stationary: /stāSHə-nerē/, adjective: unchanging in condition, static; fixed in a place, immobile “There are three classes of men; the retrograde, the stationary and the progressive.” Johann Kaspar Lavater, Swiss poet and philosopher Stationery: /stāSHə-nerē/, noun: paper used to write letters usually accompanied with matching envelopes “Whatever you choose for your stationery is your favorite color because it’s where you pour your heart out.” Mary... Read More

/bamˈbo͞ozəl/, transitive verb: 1. to cheat, trick or fool If you ever lure me with your lying flatteries, and I find satisfaction in myself, if you bamboozle me with pleasure, then let this be my final day! (lines 133 -136) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust 2. to deceive, bewilder, mystify “…If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the... Read More

/bəˈnevələnt/, adjective: 1. wishing to do good, actively helpful; kind hearted, good natured “But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine.” Thomas Jefferson 2. serving a charitable rather than profit-making purpose; philanthropic, humanitarian “Think of the universe as a benevolent parent. A child may... Read More

/klair voy iəns/, noun: 1. the supposed faculty of perceiving things or events in the future or beyond normal sensory contact “Intuition comes very close to clairvoyance; it appears to be the extrasensory perception of reality.” Alexis Carrel 2. exceptional insight “With that strange knowing that comes over me, like a clairvoyance, I know that I am sure of myself and my enormous and... Read More

/efərˈvesəns/, noun: 1. bubbles in a liquid; fizz “The wild gas, the fixed air is plainly broke loose: but we ought to suspend our judgments until the first effervescence is a little subsided, till the liquor is cleared, and until we see something deeper than the agitation of the troubled and frothy surface.” Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France 2. showing high... Read More

/dəˈmäkrəsē/, noun: 1. a system of government by the whole population, usually through elected representatives “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” Franklin D. Roosevelt 2. any organization governed on democratic principles “In a democracy, the well-being, individuality and happiness of every citizen is important for the overall prosperity,... Read More