mediate vb. (MEE dee ayt) to act as an intermediate and help two parties come to an agreement or settlement. The children should not be employed to mediate between feuding husbands and wives.
melodramatic adj. (mel oh druh MAT ik) overly dramatic; theatrical. My teenager is often melodramatic; last night she announced in horrified tones that she would die if she couldn't go to the concert.
menial adj. (MEE nee ul) servile; that of a servant. She held a menial position cleaning the houses of the wealthy.
mentor n. (MEN tor) a teacher, instructor, or guru. A personal mentor can help expedite your apprenticeship as a writer considerably.
mercenary adj. (MERS uh nair ee) motivated purely by money, as a hired soldier. He didn't care who won or lost the war; his motivation as a sharpshooter was solely mercenary.
metamorphosis n. (met uh MORF uh sis) a dramatic transformation. The caterpillar undergoes an incredible metamorphosis to become a butterfly.
metaphor n. (MET uh for) a figure of speech not to be taken literally, but to illustrate a point. "The star basketball player is on fire" is a metaphor for a basketball player who is shooting extremely well.
metaphysical adj. (met uh FIZ ih kul) supernatural; not of the physical world. Astrologers take a metaphysical view of the universe, while astronomers take a physical one.
microcosm n. (MI kroh KOZ um) a miniature world or reality. The suburban sprawl in my neighborhood is just a microcosm of what is happening around the world.
milieu n. (mil YOO) setting; environment. The street corner was not the opera singer's normal performance milieu.
militant adj. (MIL uh tunt) aggressive and antagonistic. The militant environmentalists were arrested for inciting a brawl with lumberjacks.
minutiae n. (mi NOO shee ee) trivial or insignificant detail. Biographies describe a celebrity's life, right down to the finest minutiae.
misanthrope n. (MIS un throhp) one who hates people. The misanthrope shuns community and prefers to live secluded from others.
mitigate vb. (MIT uh gayt) to lessen or soften the effect of something. We tried to mitigate flood damage by sandbagging the periphery of our property.
mollify vb. (MOLL uh fye) to soothe or appease. Giving raises will temporarily mollify complaining employees.
momentous adj. (moh MEN tus) important; consequential; pivotal. The bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in World War II was momentous.
