Descriptionary

double standard n. (dub ul STAN derd) a social standard that is followed unequally between sexes, races, groups, etc. It's quite acceptable for a woman to wear a man's suit at work, but not for a man to wear a dress—a double standard.

dour adj. (DOWR) gloomy, stern; sullen. My boss is a dour man who rarely smiles.

draconian adj. (dray KOHN ee un) extremely harsh. Originating from Draco, an Athenian lawmaker who, around 620 b.c., implemented laws in Greece that too frequently punished criminals and wrongdoers by death. The despot has implemented a draconian set of punishments for anyone who commits treason.

droll adj. (DROHL) oddly comical. The comic's droll delivery of a New England accent had audience members snickering.

dubious adj. (DOO be us) questionable; doubtful. The items we purchased through the mail were of dubious quality.

duplicity adj. (doo PLISS i tee) behavior that is two- faced or deceptive. Over time his duplicity became obvious because he too frequently said one thing but did another.

dyed-in-the-wool adj. (DYED in the WULL) to the very core; through and through. I am a dyed-in-the- wool-conservationist.

dynamic adj. (dye NAM ik) active; highly spirited and powerful. We're looking for a dynamic personal­ity for our managerial position.

earnest adj. (UR nist) serious and genuine. We made an earnest attempt to clean the basement.

echelon n. (ESH uh lon) one level of a multilevel organization. We took our complaints to the compa­ny's highest echelon, the office of the CEO.

eclectic adj. (i KLEK tik) from diverse sources. His collection of CDs was highly eclectic and included everything from pop to New Age.

effeminate adj. (i FEM uh nit) feminine or unmanly.

Effeminate boys may be picked on unfairly.

efficacy n. (EF uh kuh see) effectiveness. The efficacy and safety of the new drug left much to be desired.

effusive adj. (i FYOO siv) pouring out great emo­tion; gushing. It's nice to be complimented, but Aunt Mary's effusive hugging and screaming over my little clay sculpture was a bit much.

egalitarian adj. (i GAL uh TAIR ee un) practicing or believing in equality for everyone. It's always wise to elect someone who has a strongly egalitarian phi­losophy.

egocentric adj. (ee go SEN trik) seeing oneself at the center of everything; selfish. He was so egocentric he actually believed the football players in the huddle were talking about him.

egregious adj. (i GREE jus) extremely conspicuous or outrageous. I'm sick of your egregious lies.

elicit vb. (i LIS it) to bring out. The comedian's clever pantomime was designed to elicit applause, and it did.