whisper, trigger, inhibit, distort, declare: meanings and examples

Learn these 5 words from Advanced set 73. Each entry includes a definition, example sentence, pronunciation, and synonyms. Use the interactive cards above to practice them.

1. whisper · verb/ˈ(h)wɪspər/

   talk very softly so that others do not hear

   During the movie, Raymond leaned over and whispered to his friend how unrealistic he thought the storyline was.

   Synonyms: murmur

   Origin: Old English hwisprian, of Germanic origin; related to German wispeln, from the imitative base of whistle

2. trigger · verb/ˈtrɪɡər/

   cause something to happen

   Tammy leaned against the wall and accidentally triggered the fire alarm, which led to the evacuation of the whole building.

   Synonyms: provoke, generate, bring about

   Origin: early 17th century: from dialect tricker, from Dutch trekker, from trekken ‘to pull’

3. inhibit · verb/ɪnˈhɪbət/

   limit or prevent something from happening

   Rose felt so inhibited in the presence of her parents that she didn't say a word the entire evening.

   Synonyms: restrain, hinder, obstruct

   Origin: late Middle English (in the sense ‘forbid (a person) to do something’): from Latin inhibere ‘hinder’, from in- ‘in’ + habere ‘hold’

4. distort · verb/dəˈstɔrt/

   alter in a way that something no longer resembles its original or true state

   The mirrors in changing rooms have been known to distort the figure to make buyers look slimmer than they really are.

   Synonyms: falsify, twist, misinterpret

   Origin: late 15th century (in the sense ‘twist to one side’): from Latin distort- ‘twisted apart’, from the verb distorquere, from dis- ‘apart’ + torquere ‘to twist’

5. declare · verb/dəˈklɛr/

   announce something officially

   After years of war, there was finally an end put to hostilities and peace was declared.

   Synonyms: announce, confirm, reveal

   Origin: Middle English: from Latin declarare, from de- ‘thoroughly’ + clarare ‘make clear’ (from clarus ‘clear’)