This Week in Words: April 22 - 27, 2018

No time to scour the headlines or watch the news? No problem! We’ve rounded up the top words heard, read, debated, and discussed this week.

This week was one that contained both terrible suffering and terrific joy. There were two indiscriminate acts of violence in North America perpetrated by delusional men, leaving many dead and the world asking why such senseless events occur. Some joy was brought by French President Emmanuel Macron, well-known for his famous bonhomie, who visited the White House. And the birth of a prince brought hope and happiness to royal-watchers around the world.

Take a look back at the week that was, vocabulary style.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. primogeniture
    right of inheritance belonging exclusively to the eldest son
    Shortly before older brother George was born, British law changed to make birth order the determining factor in succession, replacing gender — male primogeniture — as the default rule that developed over 10 centuries. - USA Today ( Apr. 24, 2018)
    Kate Middleton gave birth to her third child with Prince William this week. The boy, whose name has not been announced, is fifth in line for the British throne after his grandfather, his father, and his older brother and sister. Primogeniture is an old rule of kingly succession and a good thing to keep in mind when reading Shakespearean plays, which often deal with who gets the throne next.
  2. delusion
    a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea
    More than 150 city, state and local law enforcement agents searched for the gunman, who has had a history of bizarre behavior, delusions and multiple encounters with authorities, including an episode in Washington in July 2017 when he was arrested for trying to get into the White House, according to police records. - Reuters (Apr.23, 2018)
    There was a shooting at a Nashville Waffle House this week. The gunman killed four people before being disarmed by an unarmed customer, James Shaw, Jr., who is being hailed as a hero. The gunman fled into the woods but was later found after a manhunt. No motive for the shooting is known at this time, but the gunman, Travis Reinking, has a history of bizarre behavior.
  3. indiscriminate
    failing to make or recognize distinctions
    The killing began on a busy lunchtime thoroughfare in Toronto on Monday when a white rental Ryder van ran over a pedestrian crossing the street — then mounted a sidewalk and began plowing into people indiscriminately. - The New York Times (Apr. 23, 2018)
    A man drove onto a busy sidewalk in Toronto this week, deliberately hitting pedestrians. Ten people were killed, and fifteen others wounded. The driver, Alek Minassian, 25, was taken into custody.
  4. stave off
    prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
    The moves are an effort by Mr. Lampert to inject Sears with cash and stave off a bankruptcy filing, while at the same time allowing the hived-off businesses to grow by distributing their products and services beyond Sears and sister chain Kmart, according to people familiar with the matter. - The Wall Street Journal (Apr. 23, 2018)
    A signature American retail store, Sears, is selling off assets like the Kenmore brand of appliances in hopes of preventing a bankruptcy filing. The likely candidate seems the owners of a hedge fund who could end up spending $500 million dollars for Kenmore.
  5. bonhomie
    a disposition to be friendly and approachable
    The three-day trip is choreographed to showcase the bonhomie that has unexpectedly blossomed between the men over the past year. - The Wall Street Journal (Apr. 23, 2018)
    French President Emmanuel Macron visited the United States this week. Macron is said to get along very well with President Trump. Macron is expected to try to break down Trump's resistance to the Iran nuclear deal, a deal that President Trump campaigned against and has criticized throughout his presidency. Macron's visit, which includes a lavish state dinner, will be followed by a visit from German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week.
  6. courier
    a person who carries a message
    The company said Tuesday it has joined with General Motors Co. GM +0.36% and Volvo Cars to start offering in-car deliveries, giving its couriers access to potentially millions of vehicles in 37 U.S. markets. - The Wall Street Journal (Apr. 24, 2018)
    Amazon is starting a pilot program where they will deliver packages directly to your parked car. The program works through keyless entry systems on select vehicles. There is already a program that delivers packages to the inside of a house using similar technology. Some might think it's creepy that a delivery person as been in your car or house without you there, but other say it's better than the risk of porch pirates stealing those brown boxes right off your doorstep.
  7. proximate
    coming immediately before or after in a chain of events
    The wrongful-death lawsuit filed in Cook County, Illinois, alleges a doctor and pharmacist at Trinity Medical Center in Moline, Illinois, failed to appropriately treat and investigate Prince's April 15, 2016, overdose, and that he died "as a direct and proximate cause of one or more ... deviations from the standards of care." - USA Today (Apr. 24, 2018)
    Two years after his passing, Prince's family is suing a medical center and a pharmacy for playing a role in his death. Prince died of an overdose, but the lawsuit filed by his estate alleges that he did not receive the proper care and treatment. Proximate means nearby in the course of events, close enough to be the direct cause, or direct result, of a related action.
  8. inhospitable
    unfavorable to life or growth
    “The area around the house is quite mountainous and is very inhospitable terrain to go walking in, so she’d traveled quite a distance with her dog that was quite loyal to her,” SES area controller Ian Phipps told ABC.net.au. - goodnewsnetwork.org (Apr. 24, 2018)
    A three-year-old girl got lost in mountainous terrain in Australia this week. The girl was guarded and saved by her dog, who stayed by her side for 15 hours until a search party arrived. The dog, Max, is seventeen years old, deaf and partially blind. The dog comforted the little girl and when he sensed that people were approaching, went out on the path and led them right to her.
  9. jeopardy
    a source of danger
    The development came just two days before Jackson, the White House physician, was scheduled to testify before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and threw what was looking to be a difficult confirmation process into further jeopardy. - The Washington Post (Apr. 24, 2018)
    Ronny Jackson is President Trump's nominee to be the head of Veteran’s Affairs. It was revealed that Jackson has a history of overprescribing medications and possibly drinking on the job. Jackson's previous position was personal physician to the president, and some question whether, apart from the brewing scandals, Jackson has enough leadership experience to be in charge of such a large bureaucracy like the VA. On Thursday, Jackson removed himself as a candidate amid the scandal.
  10. perpetrate
    perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
    The Supreme Court limited foreign victims of terrorism, torture and other international crimes in their use of U.S. courts to sue corporations they say helped perpetrate abuses, ruling that a centuries-old statute at the heart of major human-rights cases could be employed only against individuals. - The Wall Street Journal (Apr. 25, 2018)
    The Supreme Court ruled this week that victims of terrorism cannot sue entities indirectly responsible for those actions, such as banks that funded the terrorists. The court held that the ability to pursue such legal action would discourage investment by companies. The ruling is interesting because in several decisions in recent years, corporations have been increasingly granted the rights afforded to people, but in this ruling corporations get a protection not available to individuals.
Created on Mon Apr 23 09:22:52 EDT 2018 (updated Thu Apr 26 20:05:17 EDT 2018)

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