1. enucleate — to remove the nucleus; to remove (kernel, tumor, eyeball) from its surrounding cover
Nebuchadnezzar famously enucleated King Zedekiah before taking him off to captivity in Babylon.
2. afferent — [biology] leading inward or conducting towards, as of nerves or other physiological pathways to organs
One theory of tinnitus holds that the sufferer’s hearing is confused by excessive information from the afferent pathways leading towards the eardrum, that the sounds of the very air in the ear canal are perceived to be excessively loud.
3. eurhythmic — harmoniously proportioned; of or related to system of exercises and body movements developed in early 20th Century
Le Corbusier created buildings based upon eurhythmic dance exercises.
4. glacis — gentle slope; sloping bank before the counterscarp of a fortress
We surveyed the acclivity leading up to their fortified position, which continual machine gun and mortar fire had denuded, leaving an effective glacis we would have to ascend, but which a few men with a single machine gun could defend with ease.
5. complaisant — willing to please, obliging
Do not be fooled by the benignant and complaisant appearance of that old man, for he is a treacherous and possibly murderous rogue.
6. dado — lower part of interior wall when finished differently than upper portion; grooved slot in board into which another board is fixed
The once luxurious dado of red and gold brocade was worn by the years of heat, compounded by the dampness infesting the mouldering house.
7. phiz — [British slang] face
I slowly raised my eyes from my beer, to look into the ugliest phiz it was ever my misfortune to see.
8. umbelliferous — belonging to the parsley family; having umbels
The umbelliferous nature of the soup’s ingredients made the dish look as if a tiny forest were emerging from a lake of broth.
9. moiety — half; part; [anthropology] either of two parts into which a tribe is divided
But rather than using this forum to advance his ideas, Clerkenwell devoted a moiety of his speech to repeating the same base attacks upon his rival, attacks which were known to be false even as he repeated them once more.
10. erythema — redness of the skin caused by increased capillary flow
Bjorn didn’t recognize the bull’s eye erythema as a symptom of Lyme’s disease, and didn’t seek treatment as soon as he should have.
Bonus Vocabulary
(idiom)
in pig — (of a sow) pregnant
“Billy, you’ve got to keep that dog away from Mindy while she’s in pig.”