Review Again and the P's

Let's see if I can remember them all without looking.

Ameliorate - to make better
Elocution - manner of speaking
Trite - Overused saying
Hapless - Unfortunate
Vignette - Short literary sketch; description
Rapport - A harmonious relationship that is not intimate
Scintillate - Lively, gleaming, sparkling; to sparkle

and... haha.

Verisimilitude - the appearance of truth; how real something is
____________________________________________________________________

And now for the new words!

pre⋅var⋅i⋅cate

–verb (used without object), -cat⋅ed, -cat⋅ing. to speak falsely or misleadingly; deliberately misstate or create an incorrect impression; lie.

prevarication - noun
1.		a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth [syn: lie]
2.		intentionally vague or ambiguous [syn: equivocation]
3.		the deliberate act of deviating from the truth [syn: lying]

Sentence: The politicians tremulous reaction and string of prevarications only further proved his inability to be honest and straightforward about the financial scandal.

Prevaricate.

Pants on fire, film at 11.

Dear Word Detective: I was reading your column on “ruckus,” and in that description you used the word “prevaricate.” I have never heard it before and I was wondering if you could expand on where it comes from and its history. I’m surprised that it isn’t used more often, it seems to me to be a more intelligent-sounding alternative to calling someone a “liar” (plus you get to use a big word while accusing them, adding salt to the injury). — Diana T.

Very good article about the word!!!!

http://www.word-detective.com/2008/12/17/prevaricate/

Pragmatic
prag·mat·ic

adj. Dealing or concerned with facts or actual occurrences; practical. Philosophy Of or relating to pragmatism. Relating to or being the study of cause and effect in historical or political events with emphasis on the practical lessons to be learned from them. Archaic Active; busy. Active in an officious or meddlesome way. Dogmatic; dictatorial. n. A pragmatic sanction. Archaic A meddler; a busybody.

Sentence: Although we would love to discuss additional extensions to the house, for now we are only concerned with pragmatic and essential renovations.

Pragmatic Politics, Forged on the South Side

By JO BECKER and CHRISTOPHER DREW

Published: May 11, 2008

The Long Run

"An untraditional politician who at times uses traditional political tactics, Mr. Obama, 46, was portrayed in dozens of interviews with political leaders and longtime associates in Chicago as the ultimate pragmatist, a deliberate thinker who fashions carefully nuanced positions that manage to win him support from people with divergent views."

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/us/politics/11chicago.html