The youngster who reads voraciously, though indiscriminately, does not necessarily gain in
wisdom over the teenager who is more selective in his reading choices. A student who has read
the life story of every eminent athlete of the twentieth century, or one who has steeped herself in
every social-protest novel she can get her hands on, may very well be learning all there is to
know in a narrow area. But books are replete with so many wonders that it is often discouraging
to see bright young people limit their own experiences.
Voracious is an adjective used to describe a wolflike appetite. It might be a craving for food or for something else, such as power, but the word usually denotes an unflattering greediness.
Voracious comes from the Latin vorāre, “to devour.” The word is usually associated with swallowing or devouring food in a ravenous manner, but it can be used of someone intensely involved in any activity. Pierre Salinger referred to President Kennedy as a “voracious reader,” while Robert Bakker once likened the IRS to a “voracious, small-minded predator.”
She’s a voracious reader.
I think my voracious reading came from a deep longing for something that was missing.
They’re feeding at their highest level, their most voracious appetites.
When you discriminate between two things, you can tell the difference between them and can tell them apart.
The ability to discriminate between similar objects is important. For example, if you want to be a good root farmer, it helps if you can discriminate between a turnip and a parsnip. However, some people take it too far and discriminate against other people, treating them differently based on their physical characteristics or abilities. To be able to discriminate between a turnip and a radish is good, but to discriminate against people is not.
We shouldn’t discriminate against gays.
The virus doesn’t discriminate.
Love doesn’t discriminate.
I sure hate being discriminated against.
Can you imagine in this day and age being discriminated against?
Anyone highly regarded or prominent is eminent. Eminent people are very successful at their jobs. If you’ve heard of Neil deGrasse Tyson, it’s probably because he’s an eminent astrophysicist.
Every field has eminent — impressive, famous, or accomplished — people. Two of the most eminent coaches in the history of professional basketball are Red Auerbach and Phil Jackson because they’ve won the most championships. Beethoven was an eminent musician. Frank Lloyd Wright was an eminent architect. Eminent people loom over a field because they’re influential and you can’t avoid hearing about them. It’s not easy to be eminent because you have to be extremely successful.
I’m not sure if you’re saying imminent or eminent.
He’s got it all. You know what eminent domain is? 强制土地征用
A man becomes pre-eminent, he’s expected to have enthusiasms.
Then you’ll invoke eminent domain.
Hey, Dan Darwell told me that you were eminently qualified.
Uh, the contract you sent me is eminently fair, but for one tiny shortcoming… the money.
Steep means sharply angled. When hiking trails lead straight up mountainsides, they’ve got a steep incline. Steep also means “to soak in,” as in steeping a tea bag in boiling water.
You often hear steep used as an adjective to describe cliffs, hills, or even water park slides that have a perilous slope. Steep can apply to curves on a chart––you might say when someone who has a lot to learn that their learning curve is going to be steep. Steep also comes up to describe exorbitant changes in costs or spending. Everyone would love to travel more, but sometimes plane fare is too steep.
That’s a steep rise in thirty seconds.
Your life is steeped in blood and violence.
Some of you here have your hands steeped in blood.
Replete means full, often in a satisfying way. “The library was replete with bound first editions, and Lucy, a bookworm, was happier there than any place else.”
Replete shares a root with the word plenty. When you have plenty of cookies and cake, you can say your table is replete with goodies. Another cousin of replete is replenish. When your cabinets are bare, you go to the store to replenish them. When you unpack your groceries, your pantry is replete with essentials.
So I had arrived in South America, my head replete with the matters of Europe.
History is replete with turning points, Lieutenant.
to eat humble pie—to admit your error and apologize
After his candidate had lost the election, the boastful campaign manager had to eat
humble pie.
To eat humble pie, in common usage, is to face humiliation and subsequently apologize for a serious mistake. Humble pie, or umble pie, is also a term for a variety of pastries based on medieval meat pies.
The expression derives from umble pie, a pie filled with chopped or minced offal, especially of deer but often other meats. Umble evolved from numble (after the Middle French nombles), meaning “deer’s innards”.
Although “umbles” and the modern word “humble” are etymologically unrelated, each word has appeared with and without the initial “h” after the Middle Ages until the 19th century. Since the sound “h” is dropped in many dialects, the phrase was hypercorrected as “humble pie”. While “umble” is now gone from the language, the phrase remains, carrying the fossilized word as an idiom.