#44 forbear ~ futile

Question 1

forbear

/fɔrˈbɛər/

Answer 1

v. to refrain from; to abstain
- Stephen told me I could become a millionaire if I joined him in his business, but his lack of integrity makes me nervous so I decided to forbear.
- George forbore to punch me in the nose, even though I told him that I thought he was a sniveling idiot.
The noun is forbearance

Question 2

forebear

/ˈfɔrˌbɛər, ˈfoʊr-/

Answer 2

n. an ancestor

Question 3

forego

/fɔrˈgoʊ, foʊr-/

Answer 3

v. to do without; to forbear
- We had some of the chocolate cake, some of the chocolate mousse, and some of the chocolate cream pie, but we were worried about our wight so we decided to forego the chocolate-covered potato chips. That is, we forewent them.
Can also be spelled forgo.

Question 4

forsake

/fɔrˈseɪk/

Answer 4

v. to abandon; to renounce; to relinquish
- We urged Buddy to forsake his life with the alien beings and return to his job at the drugstore.
- All the guru’s followers had forsaken him, so he became a real estate developer and turned his temple into an apartment building.

Question 5

fortuitous

/fɔrˈtuɪtəs, -ˈtyu-/

Answer 5

adj. accidental; occurring by chance
- The program’s outcome was not the result of any plan but was entirely fortuitous.
- The object was so perfectly formed that its creation could not have been fortuitous.

Question 6

founder

/ˈfaʊndər/

Answer 6

v. to fail; to collapse; to sink
- The candidate’s campaign for the presidency foundered when it was revealed that he had once been married to a drug addict.
- Zeke successfully struggled through the first part of the course but foundered when the final examination was given.
- The ship foundered shortly after it hit the iceberg.

Question 7

flounder

/ˈflaʊndər/

Answer 7

v. to move clumsily or in confusion
- Our field hockey team floundered helplessly around the field while the opposing team scored goal after goal.
- The witness began to flounder as the attorney fired question after question.

Question 8

fraternal

/frəˈtɜrnl/

Answer 8

adj. like brothers
- The fraternal feelings of the group were strengthened by monthly fishing trips.
- A fraternity is an organization of men who have bound themselves together in a relationship analogous to that of real brothers.

Question 9

frenetic

/frəˈnɛtɪk/

Answer 9

adj. frantic; frenzied
- There was a lot of frenetic activity in the office, but nothing ever seemed to get accomplished.
- The bird’s frenetic attempt to free itself from the thorn bush only made the situation worse.

Question 10

frugal

/ˈfrugəl/

Answer 10

adj. economical; penny-pinching
- Laura was so frugal that she even tried to bargain with the checkout girl at the discount store.
- We were as frugal as we could be, but still ended up several thousand dollars in debt.
- Hannah’s frugality annoyed her husband, who loved spending money on tech gadgets.

Question 11

furtive

/ˈfɜrtɪv/

Answer 11

adj. secretive; sly
- Cal wiggled his ears while the countess was talking to him in a furtive attempt to catch our attention.
- The burglars were furtive, but not furtive enough; the alert policeman grabbed them as they carried the TV through the Rubenstein’s back door.

Question 12

futile

/ˈfyutl, ˈfyutaɪl/

Answer 12

adj. useless; hopeless
- A D+ average and no extracurricular interests to speak of meant that applying to Harvard was futile, but Lucinda hoped against hope.
Sth. futile is a futility.
- Lucinda doesn’t know what a futility it is.