🔍 Anomaly: One in a Billion

Anomaly (noun): a deviation from a rule or from what is regarded as normal: her late arrival was an anomaly.

• IPA: əˈnɑ.mə.lɪ (See IPA key)

• Phonetic: uh-NAH-muh-lee

Test your recall of the last five words we learned! One question each — answer key at the bottom of this email.

1. FALLIBLE most nearly means

(A) deceptive
(B) gullible
(C) suspicious
(D) imperfect

2. IMPECCABLE most nearly means

(A) meticulous
(B) fallible
(C) ostentatious
(D) flawless

3. AFFINITY most nearly means

(A) gloom
(B) inherent liking for
(C) distance
(D) acceptance

4. INELUCTABLE most nearly means

(A) immutable
(B) imminent
(C) contingent
(D) inevitable

5. VERBATIM most nearly means

(A) accurately
(B) word for word
(C) concisely
(D) approximately

Here are some examples of the word ANOMALY:

• It is a sad thought for some to imagine that humans are an anomaly in the universe.

• For many students attending competitive schools, getting to sleep while there are still four digits on the digital clock is an anomaly.

• In 1964, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson found a persistent anomaly in their radio antenna: unexplained microwave noise coming from every direction. This turned out to be the cosmic microwave background, which provided powerful evidence for the Big Bang.

• statistical anomaly, detect an anomaly, anomaly in the data

1st question: D, aberration.

Last-5 quiz answers: 1) A — underscore 2) C — fallible 3) C — impeccable 4) B — affinity 5) D — ineluctable

Tomorrow’s word:

• My colleague Robert’s SAT Vocab book on Amazon

• Dr. P’s guide to building a perfect college list