Historical Power Words

1. Historical Power Words 1. Accrue. Verb. To accumulate; grow by additions Use: Instead of accumulate; grow more (in number) Historical Example: �An effective way for a new leader to accrue support of his or her people is to demonize the previous administration.�

2. Historical Power Words 2. Beleaguer. Verb. To harass; to plague Use: Instead of harass; bother Historical Example: �Monarchs often feel beleaguered by the plaintive cries of their subjects.�

3. Historical Power Words 3. Catalyst. Noun. Something causing change, without it being changed Use: Instead of a spark for change. Historical Example: �It is often mistakenly represented that the storming of the Bastille was the catalyst for the French Revolution. Much had been done prior to that act.�

4. Historical Power Words 4. Debunk. Verb. To discredit; to disprove. Use: Instead of disprove Historical Example: �It was not Martin Luther's intention to debunk the teachings of Catholicism; on the contrary, he wanted the Church to truly turn to the word of God.�

5. Historical Power Words 5. Effrontery. Impudent boldness; audacity Use: Instead of boldness Historical Example: �It was considered the greatest manner of effrontery (not to mention illegal) to dress in a fashion that did not represent your �station� in life. This is the basis of the sumptuary laws.�

6. Historical Power Words 6. Feign. Verb. To pretend; give a false impression; to invent falsely Use: Instead of pretend Historical Example: �To feign interest in a historical topic will come back to haunt you in class discussion.�

7. Historical Power Words 7. Grandiose. Adjective. Magnificent. Imposing; possibly pretentious Use: Instead of imposing; very fancy/too fancy Historical Example: �the Baroque style can be described as grandiose in comparison to the sparse architecture of many of the protestant houses of worship.�

8. Historical Power Words 8. Harrowing. Adjective. Extremely distressing; terrifying Use: Instead of terrifying; frightful Historical Example: �There are thousands of harrowing tales about the treatment of Soviet prisoners in the Gulags and labor camps of Stalin�s rule.�

9. Historical Power Words 9. Impasse. Noun. A blocked path; a dilemma with no solution. Use: Instead of problem; a dilemma with no solution Historical Example: � It has been commented on that war begins when diplomacy has reached an impasse.�

10. Historical Power Words 10. Juggernaut. Noun. A huge force destroying everything in its path. Use: Instead of powerful force or army Historical Example: �The Nazi forces that marched through the Low Countries and into France in 1940 were a virtual juggernaut.�

11. Historical Power Words 11. Knell. Noun. The Sound of a funeral bell; an omen of death or failure Use: Instead of immanent death or irrevocable change. Historical Example: �The onset of mass production was the death knell for small scale manufacturing and putting out system.�

12. Historical Power Words 12. Licentious. Adjective. Immoral; seemingly unrestrained by society Use: Instead of immoral; thoughtless Historical Example: �Licentious behavior is often justified by the desire for a result, regardless of the consequences.�

13. Historical Power Words 13. Malady. Noun. Illness. Use: Instead of Illness Historical Example: �Democratic thought was considered a malady to the re-established monarchies in post 1815 Europe; that is the core belief resultant from the Congress of Vienna.�

14. Historical Power Words 14. Nullify. Verb. To make void. Use: Instead of to make void. Historical Example: �Once Henry VIII� had effectively broken from Rome, he nullified any potential harm from Papal Bull�s or excommunication.�

15. Historical Power Words 15. Obstinate. Adjective. Stubborn Use: Instead of stubborn. Historical Example: �Winston Churchill was nothing if not obstinate in his steadfast belief in the British people and their ability to resist the Nazi forces.�

16. Historical Power Words 16. Paradigm. Noun. The ideal example; a model; a true beginning Use: Instead of ideal example Historical Example: �Hegel's dialectic became the paradigm for Karl Marx�s view of history and his socialist ideology.�

17. Historical Power Words 17. Query. Noun. A question. Use: Instead of a question. Historical Example: �The management of Germany after WWII became the query that was a point of great contention for the United States and The Soviet Union.�

18. Historical Power Words 18. Reactionary. Adjective. Marked by extreme conservatism. Use: Instead of conservative reaction Historical Example: �It would seem to be a historical inevitability that a reactionary administration would follow the election of G.W Bush Jr.�

19. Historical Power Words 19. Secular. Not pertaining to religion. Use: Instead of worldly. Historical Example: �A common theme is European History is the struggle between the sacred and the secular.�

20. Historical Power Words 20. Tenuous. Adjective. Weak; unsubstantial; very impermanent. Use: Instead of weak, not permanent. Historical Example: �The Maginot gave the French a very tenuous protective border with the Germans.�

21. Historical Power Words 21. Usurp. Verb. To seize by force. Use: Instead of seize by force Historical Example: �After usurping the Power of Charles I, the English Civil was the then thrust into the hands of Cromwell; not exactly a fare trade.�

22. Historical Power Words 22. Veracity. Noun. The truthfulness of a certain idea; accuracy Use: Instead of accuracy; truthfulness Historical Example: �Any historical study is only as strong as the veracity of its sources.�

23. Historical Power Words 23. Weather. Verb. To endure to undergo Use: Instead of to endure: like a person or people going through a tough time Historical Example: �It has been said that the measure of any people is how they are able to weather difficult times.�

24. Historical Power Words 24. Demarcation. Noun. Borderline; a point of difference between two things Use: Instead of boundary; distinction Historical Example: �There are few historical periods that can be shown to have absolute chronological marks of demarcation from preceding eras.�

25. Historical Power Words 25. Enervate. Verb. To Weaken. Use: Instead of weaken. Historical Example: �To say that the Soviet forces were enervated during the Battle of Stalingrad is to demean the death and exhaustion incurred during that six-month siege.�