absentmindedly

(adverb)

Definition:  Not paying attention, as if your mind were absent

Example:  On non-school days, Mrs. Halden sometimes absentmindedly starts driving to Rosa.

accommodate

(verb)

Definition:  To provide with a place to stay.

Example:  Even though the restaurant was packed with patrons, the hostess said she could accommodate my family if we waited 30 minutes. 

meander

(verb)

Definition:  wind or turn in its course

Example:  Highway 61 meanders for hundreds of miles through the rolling farmland of Dylan County.

mundane

(adjective)

Definition:  worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday; concerned with common place

Example:  The English teacher asked his students to record not the mundane details of their lives but rather their observations and reflections.

ominous

(adjective)

Definition:  threatening

Example:  The economic indicators are ominous - a falling stock market, high unemployment, and zero growth.

parody

(noun)

Definition:  humorous imitation; spoof; takeoff; travesty

Example:  Our English teacher asked us to write a parody of a scene from Julius Caesar.

quagmire

(noun)

Definition:  soft, wet boggy land; complex or dangerous situation from which it is difficult to remove oneself.

Example:  The defense lawyer introduced so much evidence that the trial became bogged down in a quagmire of irrelevant information. 

rigor

(noun)

Definition:  severity; strictness - an acto or instance of strictness.

Example:  Modern science has brought a new rigor of the study of nature. 

stagnant

(adjective)

Definition:  motionless; stale; dull

Example:   During the long drough, all that was left of Lake Weir was stagnant water one foot deep.

truncate

(verb)

Definition:  shorten; cut the top off

Example:  My pleasant conversation with an old friend was truncated by an important phone call.

virtuoso

(noun or adjective)

Definition:  highly skilled artist

Example:  Jimi Hendrix was a guitar virtuoso who developed a new style of playing that still influences musicians today. 

zealot

(noun)

Definition:  person who shows excessive zeal

Example:  Uncle Rick could be regarded as a zealot when it comes to supporting his political party; he has voted for all the candidates of his party in every election since 1975.