5 tips for dealing with meeting overload | The Way We Work, a TED series

Important Vocabulary Words From The Video

whims

A whim is a sudden, irrational desire. Whims can be anything from wanting to eat ice cream every day to wanting to dye your hair green.

  • She had a sudden whim to dye her hair green.
  • He had a sudden whim to eat ice cream every day.
reacting

To react is to react to something. When you react, you respond to something that has happened.

  • He reacted with anger when he found out that she had lied to him.
  • She reacted with shock when she saw the accident.
finalize

To finalize something is to make it official. When you finalize a contract, you agree to all of the terms of the agreement.

  • The company finalized the contract last week.
  • The lawyer finalized the divorce last week.
defensively

When someone is defensively, they are acting in a way that is designed to protect themselves or to protect someone else. They might be defensive because they are angry or because they are afraid.

  • He was defensive when he said that he didn't do it.
  • She was defensive when she said that she didn't know what you were talking about.
cranky

cranky is a word that is used to describe someone who is angry and unpleasant. They might be grumpy or irritable, and they might not seemhappy at all.

  • She was feeling cranky because she had to work overtime.
  • He was cranky because he wasn't getting any sleep.
snowball

A snowball is a small, round object that is made from snow. When you throw a snowball, it starts to grow as it rolls.

  • When he threw the snowball, it quickly grew into a large snowball.
  • When she threw the snowball, it slowly grew larger and larger.
lateness

Late is a word that refers to a time that is later than what is expected.

  • He was late for work again.
  • The meeting was going to start at 10, but she showed up 20 minutes late.
ruthless

ruthless means ruthless and cruel. When you say that someone is ruthless, you mean that they are not afraid to hurt or even kill people.

  • The ruthless businessman is always looking for new ways to make money.
  • The ruthless dictator is always looking for ways to control the people.
uninterrupted

Uninterrupted is a word that is used to describe something that is uninterrupted. When you're talking about a conversation, for example, you would say that it was uninterrupted conversation.

  • He wanted to talk to her about the project, but the interruption was unplanned.
  • The movie was interrupted twice by commercials.