n. straying from what is normal or accepted.

"Their fourth daughter became a lawyer, an aberration in this family of doctors."

aberrant, adj. 

n. environment; the surrounding atmosphere

"Many writers have described the ambience of Venice:  its canals and gondolas, its squares and palaces."

ambient, adj.

n.  an incident in a person's life or in a story or play

episodic, adj.; episodically, adv. 

"The episode in "The Secret Garden" where lonely Mary Lennox discovers a hidden garden begins a story of friendship, believable magic, and the will to live." 

adj.  irregular or inconsistent in movment, habit, quality, or ideas. 

"Because Alice meets so many strange characters like The Queen of Hearts and The Mad Hatter, her journey through Wonderland is highly erratic."

erratically, adv. 

n.  1.  mass departure or emigration

"....an exodus of refugees escaping to France." 

2.  (capitalized)  Exodus:  the departure of the Israelites from Egypt with their leader Moses.

"The second book of the Bible tells the story of the Exodus from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan."  

n.  notice of a death with biographical information

"The obituary of Harriet Beecher Stowe included mention of her nine children and her novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin."  

tr. and intr. v.  To go beyond or over set limits; to break a rule.

"According to the Bible, Adam and Even transgressed God's command when they ate fruit from the tree of knowledge."

transgression, n.

adj  1.  passing quickly, transitory ("summer vacations are all too transient")

2.  Staying only a short time ("youth hostels cater to transient guests")

n.  A person or thing having a short stay  ("Canada geese are only transients in the midwest, resting on their migration to the north")

transience, n. 

adj.  lasting for only a short while 

("in comedy, problems are transitory; misfortune ends and conflicts are resolved.")

adj.  permitting light to pass through, but not transparent

("sunlight through the translucent stained glass windows made colorful designs on the white walls").

translucence, n; translucently, adv. 

n.  1.  arrival or coming into being ('the change in foliage from green to red and yellow announced the advent of autumn."

2.  (capitalized)  The period beginning four weeks before Christmas; the birth of Christ ("during Advent Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ.")

tr. v 1.  to avoid; to evade by cleverness ("finding herself alone in a strange place, Viola in "Twelfth Night" circumvents discovery of her identity by disguising herself as a boy")

2.  to avoid by passing around ("freeways that circumvent cities ease traffic congrestion downtown.")  

circumvention, n.

tr. and intr. v.  To assemble, especially for a meeting.

("The First Continental Congress, which convened in 1774 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began drafting the Declaration of Independence.")

convention, n. 

intr. v.  To turn aside from a course, norm, pattern, or subject

("We try to get our English teacher to deviate from the lesson by asking about new books or movies.")

deviant, adj. and n.; deviation, n

adj.  1.  winding; roundabout

("In Walkabout an aboriginal leads home by a devious route two children lost in the Australian outback.")

2.  Underhanded, deceptive

("The two detectives, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, are quick to identify devious characters in Agatha Christie's mysteries.")

deviousness, n. 

adj.  1.  not penetrable by light rays, moisture, etc.

("The new raincoats are impervious to water.")

2.  Incapable of being influenced or affected

("Florence Nightingale was impervious to her family's objections that a career in nursing was unladylike")

imperviousness, n. 

intr. v.  1.  to occur between events or periods

2.  to come between, thereby easing a situation

3.  to interfere or to interrupt  ("In "Treasure Island" Long John Silver intervenes just as the young hero Jim devises ways to outwit him.") 

intervention, n.

adj.  traveling from place to place, especially to perform some duty or work; transient

(Johnny Appleseed led an itinerant life wandering through the Ohio Valley....)

n.  A person who travels from palce to place 

(Members of most herding tribes are itinerants, constantly on the move to find fresh grazing lands)

itinerancy, n.

n.  1.  a route of travel  

2.  a plan or record of a journey

(The team planning to climb Annapurna drew up a detailed itinerary of their route, base camps, and supply depots)

itinerate, v. 

n.  communication from one mind to another without speech, writing, or other sensory means.

(Although a continent apart, the twins insisted that they could communicate through telepathy.)

telepathic, adj.; telepathically, adv.