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March 22 & 23, 2003 decapitate (da KAP a teit) The verb decapitate means to cut someone's head off or to destroy the most essential part of something. The noun form is decapitation (de kap a TEY shun). One US official said the attack was not the promised massive bombardment but an opportunistic "decapitation" strike aimed at the Iraqi leadership. They decapitated the dead rebels and took the heads back to claim their reward from government forces. The coal industry had decapitated scores of mountain tops in West Virginia. The head of his specially built putter was decapitated when it was run over by a golf cart. March 21, 2003 lacklustre (LAEK lus ta/ter) The adjective lacklustre means to lack energy or excitement. The United States is considering downgrading Thailand's status due to the kingdom's lacklustre efforts to stamp out human trafficking. All the goals came in the first half against a lucklustre Estonian team. The company warned of lacklustre earnings due to a slowdown in the telecom industry. Star performers get large salaries while lacklustre employees get much less. March 20, 2003 turbulent (TURB ya lunt) The adjective turbulent refers to strong sudden bursts of wind which change direction frequently. It also can refer to a situation where there is a lot of change, confusion and disorder. The noun form is turbulence. Jupiter's turbulent, cloud-filled atmosphere is extremely cold. It was a dramatic yet surprisingly peaceful end to a turbulent day. Britain's royal family is braced for a fresh wave of turbulence with the release of a potentially damaging report into allegations of gay rape, fraud and impropriety among its servants. As the plane descended below the storm, the turbulence grew less. March 19, 2003 fatal (FAY tul) The adjective fatal means to cause death or to cause very undesirable results. The noun fatality (fa TAEL a ti) refers to a person who has died from an illness, accident or crime. It was the airline's first fatal accident since 1995. Inhalation anthrax is usually fatal. He outplayed the champion through much of the game before making a fatal mistake near the end. In China, about 305 cases of severe pneumonia have been reported with five fatalities. March 18, 2003 tally (TAE li) The verb tally means to count or add up numbers. Tally can also mean for two numbers or totals to agree with each other. The noun form is tally and it refers to a total. Thailand finished tallying damages to their diplomatic compound in the Cambodian capital this week and delivered a bill for 252 million baht. All votes were still being tallied Wednesday morning, although the election result was not in doubt. In the latest tally, government parties were narrowly in the lead. The Olympic committee said they expected a tally of at least 68 medals. March 17, 2003 instigate (IN sta gate) The verb instigate means to start something happening or to be responsible for starting something. The noun form is instigation (in sta GAY shun). A person who instigates is an instigator. Thailand insists the instigators of the Cambodian riots be caught and a full and satisfactory explanation given before normal relations can resume. The minister said the union was trying to instigate trouble to prevent a new management team from taking over at the state enterprise. The mediators worked around the clock trying to instigate a new round of negotiations. Everything that took place happened at the instigation of the management. Click here to see our words in the news for the previous week. Return to our home page | Comments to Terry F. at terryfrd@ksc15.th.com | |© The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. All rights reserved 2003 | Last modified: March 24, 2003