#11 archetype ~ assiduous

Question 1

archetype

/ˈɑrkɪˌtaɪp/

Answer 1

n. an original model or pattern
An archetype is similar to a prototype.
A prototype is a first, tentative model that is made but that will be improved in later versions.
Henry Ford built a prototype of his Model T in his basement. His mother kicked him out, so he had no choice but to start a motor car company.
An archetype is usually sth. that precedes sth. else.
- Plato is the archetype of all philosophers.
An archetype is archetypal or archetypical.

Question 2

ardent

/ˈɑrdnt/

Answer 2

adj. passionate; enthusiastic
- Larry’s ardent wooing finally got on Cynthia’s nerves, and she told him to get lost.
- Blanche happily made cakes from morning to night. She was an ardent baker.
To be ardent is to have ardor.
- The young lovers were oblivious to everything except their ardor for each other.

Question 3

arduous

/ˈɑrdʒuəs or, esp. British, ˈɑrdyu-/

Answer 3

adj. hard; difficult
- Climbing the mountain was arduous. We were so exhausted when we got to the top that we forgot to enjoy the view.
- The arduous car trip was made even more difficult by the fact that all four tires went flat, one after another.

Question 4

aristocratic

/əˌrɪstəˈkrætɪk, ˌærəstə-/

Answer 4

adj. of noble birth; snobbish
- Prince Charles is aristocratic. He is a member of the British aristocracy.
- Polo, which Prince Charles enjoys, is often said to be an aristocratic sport because it is typically played by privileged people.
- People who act as though they think they are better than everyone else are often said to be aristocratic.
- A person with an “aristocratic bearing” is a person who keeps his or her nose in the air and looks down on everyone else.

Question 5

aristocrat

/əˈrɪstəˌkræt, ˈærəstə-/

Answer 5

n. a member of an aristocracy, esp. a noble
- It is possible to be an aristocrat without being rich, although aristocrats tend to be quite wealthy. There is nothing you can do to become an aristocrat, short of being born into a family of them.

Question 6

artful

/ˈɑrtfəl/

Answer 6

adj. crafty; wily; sly
- After dinner, the artful counselor told the campers that there was a madman loose in the woods, thus causing them to lie quietly in the tent.

Question 7

artless

/ˈɑrtlɪs/

Answer 7

adj. simple and honest

- Young children are charmingly artless.

Question 8

artifice

/ˈɑrtəfɪs/

Answer 8

n. a clever trick; cunning
- The Trojan Horse was an artifice designed to get the soldiers inside the walls.
- Mrs. Baker had to resort to artifice to get her children to take their medicine: She told them that it tasted like chocolate syrup.
Artifice and artificial are related words.

Question 9

ascendancy

/əˈsɛndənsi/

Answer 9

n. supremacy; domination
- Handheld gadgets have been in ascendancy for the past few years.
- The ascendancy of the new regime had been a great boon for the economy of the tiny tropical kingdom.
When sth. is in ascendancy, it is ascendant.

Question 10

ascetic

/əˈsɛtɪk/

Answer 10

adj. hermitlike; practicing self-denial
- The college student’s apartment, which contained no furniture except a single tattered mattress, was uncomfortably ascetic.
- In his effort to save money, Roy led an ascetic existence: He never went out, he never ate anything but soup and he never had any fun.
Ascetic can also be a noun. A person who leads an ascetic existence is an ascetic. An ascetic is someone who practices asceticism.

Question 11

assiduous

/əˈsɪdʒuəs/

Answer 11

adj. hardworking; busy; quite diligent
- The workmen were assiduous in their effort to get nothing done; instead or working, they drank coffee all day long.
- Wendell was the only assiduous student in the entire math class; all the other students tried to copy their homework from him.