Friday, August 24, 2007

Weekly vocabulary lesson...

The unfortunate vocabulary lesson about my life this week...

UNCERTAINTY

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Main Entry: un·cer·tain·ty
Pronunciation: -t&n-tE
Function: noun
Etymology: Old French. "Of indeterminate time or occurrence," from un- (1) "not" + certain (adj.). Meaning "not fully confident" is recorded from c.1380 (implied in uncertainty).
1: the quality or state of being uncertain : DOUBT
2: something that is uncertain. Uncertainty may range from a falling short of certainty to an almost complete lack of conviction or knowledge especially about an outcome or result.

Wikipedia

The lack of certainty, A state of having limited knowledge where it is impossible to exactly describe existing state or future outcome, more than one possible outcome.

"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next." - Ursula K. Lenguin

FRUSTRATION

Merriam-Webster

Main Entry: frus·tra·tion
Pronunciation: (")fr&s-'trA-sh&n
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin frustratus, past participle of frustrare to deceive, frustrate, from frustra in error, in vain
1: the act of frustrating
2a: the state or an instance of being frustrated b: a deep chronic sense or state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs.

Wikipedia

Frustration is an emotion that occurs in situations where one is blocked from reaching a personal goal. The more important the goal, the greater the frustration. It is comparable to anger.

Sources of frustration may be internal or external. Internal sources of frustration involve personal deficiencies such as a lack of confidence or fear of social situations that prevent one from reaching a goal. Conflict can also be an internal source of frustration when one has competing goals that interfere with one another. External causes of frustration involve conditions outside the person such as a blocked road, lack of money, or lack of performance by others.

"Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward." - Kurt Vonnegut

ANGST

Merriam-Webster

Main Entry: angst
Pronunciation: 'ä[ng](k)st, 'a[ng](k)st
Function: noun
Etymology: Danish & German; Danish, from German
A feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity

Wikipedia

Angst is the German word for fear or anxiety. It is used in English to describe an intense feeling of emotional strife. In German, it is the fear of possible suffering and a behavior situated from uncertainty and strain which is caused by pain, loss, and death, and the term Angst distinguishes itself from the word Furcht (German for "fear") in that it is Furcht that usually refers to a material threat (arranged fear), while Angst on the other hand is usually a nondirectional emotion.

"It used to be that you came out of school, and you got married - those who were going to get married. But my peers are getting married in their early 30s, so now there's like this extra 10 years of that angst." - Zach Braff

I am hoping that next week will look up a bit...

66H out...