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I've been coming across both words a lot and understand them in passing; but I was wondering if I may be given some sentence examples which explicitly illustrate their meanings?

I feel that I lack the necessary contextual understanding to use the above words myself.

Thanks very much.

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Neither of these terms are more understandable through contextual use than by simply looking them up in a dictionary or encyclopaedia. In any event, such questions are not considered constructive in this forum. – coleopterist Nov 10 '12 at 7:26
I was under the impression that a question of this nature is allowed on this site (or at least it said so in the faq) – janexlane Nov 10 '12 at 8:10
Could you point out the section of the FAQ in question? Please feel free to also (search first and then) open a topic on the meta site if you'd like some clarification on any section of the FAQ. – coleopterist Nov 10 '12 at 8:29
It would also be worthwhile editing the question to include what you have found in your own research (many dictionaries include contextual sentences) and what you found unclear about them. Don't ask here for what can be found elsewhere; ask for clarification of what you have researched and found wanting. The question might then be reopened. – Andrew Leach Nov 10 '12 at 9:33
Any good dictionary will have a couple example phrases. You can also search freely available corpora such as the Corpus of Contemporary American English or the British National Corpus. Lastly, you can just use Google or any search engine of your choice to get as many sample sentences as you wish. – RegDwighт♦ Nov 10 '12 at 22:19

closed as not constructive by coleopterist, Noah, Barrie England, Andrew Leach, Kris Nov 10 '12 at 9:22

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance.