#25 congregate ~ consonant

Question 1

congregate

/ˈkɒŋgrɪˌgeɪt/

Answer 1

v. to come together

- Protesters were granted permission to congregate peacefully on the plaza.

Question 2

congregation

/ˌkɒŋgrɪˈgeɪʃən/

Answer 2

n. the act of congregating; the membership of a house of worship
- About half the congregation attended the sunrise service.

Question 3

conjecture

/kənˈdʒɛktʃər/

Answer 3

v. to guess; to deduce or infer on slight evidence
- If forced to conjecture, I would say the volcano will erupt in twenty-four hours.
Conjecture can also be a noun,
- The divorce lawyer for Mr. Davis argued that the putative cause of the lipstick on his collar was mere conjecture.
A conjecture is conjectural.

Question 4

conjure

/ˈkɒndʒər, ˈkʌn-/

Answer 4

v. to summon or bring into being as if by magic
- The chef conjured (or conjured up) a fabulous gourmet meal using nothing more than the meager ingredients in Lucy’s kitchen.
- The wizard conjured (or conjured up) an evil spirit by mumbling some magic words and throwing a little powdered eye of newt into the fire.

Question 5

connoisseur

/ˌkɒnəˈsɜr, -ˈsʊər/

Answer 5

n. an expert, particularly in matters of art or taste
- The artist’s work was popular, but connoisseurs rejected it as amateurish.
- Frank was a connoisseur of bad movies. He had seen them all and knew which ones were genuinely dreadful and which ones were merely poorly made.
- The meal was exquisite enough to impress a connoisseur.
- I like sculpture, but I’m no connoisseur; I probably can’t describe to you why one statue is better than another.

Question 6

consecrate

/ˈkɒnsɪˌkreɪt/

Answer 6

v. to make or declare sacred
- The Veterans Day speaker said that the battle field had been consecrated by the blood of the soldiers who had died there.
- The priest consecrated the building by sprinkling holy water on it.
- The college chaplain delivered a sermon at the consecration ceremony for the new chapel.

Question 7

desecrate

/ˈdɛsɪˌkreɪt/

Answer 7

v. to treat irreverently
- The vandals desecrated the cemetery by knocking down all the tombstones.
Desecrate can also be applied to areas outside religion.
- Their act of vandalism was a desecration.
- Doodling in a book desecrates the book, even if the book isn’t a Bible.
- The graffiti on the front door of the school is a desecration.

Question 8

consensus

/kənˈsɛnsəs/

Answer 8

n. unanimity or general agreement
When there is a consensus, everybody feels the same way.
Contrary to how the word is often used, consensus implies more than just a rough agreement or a majority opinion. Election results don’t reflect a consensus unless everyone or nearly everyone votes for the same candidate.

Question 9

consonant

/ˈkɒnsənənt/

Answer 9

adj. harmonious; in agreement
- Our desires were consonant with theirs; we all wanted the same thing.
- The decision to construct a new gymnasium was consonant with the superintendent’s belief in physical education.

Question 10

dissonant

/ˈdɪsənənt/

Answer 10

adj. inharmonious

- Dissonant voices are voices that don’t sound good together.