#20 charlatan ~ chronicle

Question 1

charlatan

/ˈʃɑrlətn/

Answer 1

n. fraud; quack; con man
- Buck was selling what he claimed was a cure for cancer, but he was just a charlatan (the pills were jelly beans).
- The flea market usually attracts a lot of charlatans who sell phony products that don’t do what they claim they will.

Question 2

chasm

/ˈkæzəm/

Answer 2

n. a deep, gaping hole; a gorge
- Mark was so stupid that his girlfriend wondered whether there wasn’t a chasm where his brain should be.
- The bad guys were gaining, so the hero grabbed the heroine and swung across the chasm on a slender vine.

Question 3

chastise

/tʃæsˈtaɪz, ˈtʃæstaɪz/

Answer 3

v. to inflict punishment on; to discipline
- Mother chastised us for firing our bottle rockets too close to the house.
- Chastising the dog for sleeping on the beds never seemed to do any good; the minute we turned our backs, he’d curl up next to the pillows.

Question 4

chicanery

/ʃɪˈkeɪnəri, tʃɪ-/

Answer 4

n. trickery; deceitfulness; artifice, esp. legal or political
- Political news would be dull were it not for the chicanery of our elected officials.

Question 5

chimera

/kɪˈmɪərə, kaɪ-/

Answer 5

n. an illusion; a foolish fancy
- Jie’s dream of becoming a movie star was just a chimera.
- Could you take a picture of a chimera? No, of course not. It wouldn’t show up on the film.

Question 6

choleric

/ˈkɒlərɪk, kəˈlɛrɪk/

Answer 6

adj. hot-tempered; quick to anger
- The choleric watchdog would sink his teeth into anyone who came within biting distance of his doghouse.
- When the grumpy old man was in one of his choleric moods, the children refused to go near him.
- The choleric administrator kept all the secretaries in a state of terror.

Question 7

chronic

/ˈkrɒnɪk/

Answer 7

adj. constant; lasting a long time; inveterate
- DJ’s chronic back pains often kept him from football practice, but the post-game internal bleeding lasted only a day.
Someone who always comes in last could be called a chronic loser.
Chronic is usually associated with sth. negative or undesirable: chronic illness, chronic failure, chronic depression. You would be much less likely to encounter a reference to chronic success or chronic happiness, unless the writer or speaker was being ironic.
A chronic disease is one that lingers for a long time, doesn’t go away or keeps coming back. The opposite of a chronic disease is an acute disease. An acute disease is one that comes and goes very quickly. It may be severe, but it doesn’t last forever.

Question 8

chronicle

/ˈkrɒnɪkəl/

Answer 8

n. a record of events in order of time; a history
- Sally’s diary provided her mother with a detailed chronicle of her daughter’s extracurricular activities.
Chronicle can also be used as a verb.
- The reporter chronicled all the events of the revolution.
Chronology and chronicle are nearly synonyms: Both provide a chronological list of events.
Chronological means in order of time.