The doctor explained to Jenkins that he had a serious ailment for which an operation was absolutely imperative.
The patient turned pale and asked, "Isn’t it very dangerous?"
"Yes," the doctor replied. "Five out of six who undergo this operation die, but as for you, you have nothing to worry about."
"Why not?" eagerly inquired the patient.
"Well, you’re sure to recover because my last five patients died," the doctor reassured him.
—adj. Advantageous; advisable on practical rather than moral grounds. —n. Means of attaining an end; resource. expedience n. Expediency n. [related to *expedite]
EXPENSIVE
adj. Costing or charging much. expensively adv. Expensiveness n.
EXPERTISE
n. Expert skill, knowledge, or judgement. [french]
EXPLETIVE
n. Swear-word or exclamation. [latin expleo fill out]
EXPLICATE
v. (-ting) 1 develop the meaning of (an idea etc.).
- explain (esp. A literary text). explication n. [latin explico -plicat- unfold]
EXPLOSION
n. - exploding.
- loud noise caused by this.
- sudden outbreak of feeling.
- rapid or sudden increase. [latin: related to *explode]
EXPLOSIVE
—adj. - able, tending, likely to explode.
- likely to cause a violent outburst etc.; dangerously tense. —n. Explosive substance. explosiveness n.
EXPULSION
n. Expelling or being expelled. expulsive adj. [latin: related to *expel]
EXPURGATE
v. (-ting) 1 remove objectionable matter from (a book etc.).
- remove (such matter). expurgation n. Expurgator n. [latin: related to *purge]
