#26 construe ~ copious Flashcards
construe
/kənˈstru or, esp. British, ˈkɒnstru/
v. to interpret
- Preston construed his contract as giving him the right to do anything he wanted.
- The law had always been construed as permitting the behavior for which Katya had been arrested.
- The meaning of the poem, as I construed it, had to do with the love of a man for his dog.
misconstrue
/ˌmɪskənˈstru or, esp. British, mɪsˈkɒnstru/
v. to misinterpret
- Tommy misconstrued Pamela’s smile, but he certainly did not misconstrue the slap she gave him.
consummate (adj.)
/kənˈsʌmɪt, ˈkɒnsəmɪt/
adj. perfect; complete; supremely skillful
- A consummate pianist is an extremely good one. Nothing is lacking in the way he or she plays.
consummate (v.)
/ˈkɒnsəˌmeɪt/
v. to finish it or make it complete
- Signing a a contract would consummate an agreement.
contentious
/kənˈtɛnʃəs/
adj. argumentative; quarrelsome
- Liz figured that her contentious style would make her a perfect litigator; after law school, however, the would-be trial attorney discovered that passing the bar requires more than a will to argue.
- A person looking for a fight is contentious.
- Two people having a fight are contentious.
- To be contentious in a discussion is to make a lot of noisy objections.
contend
/kənˈtɛnd/
v. to fight or argue for sth.
A contender is a fighter.
- Someone who breaks the law may have to contend with the law.
contiguous
/kənˈtɪgyuəs/
adj. side by side; adjoining
Two countries that share a border are contiguous; so are two events that happened one right after the other.
If two countries are contiguous, the territory they over is continuous. That is, it spreads or continues across both countries without any interruption.
contingent
/kənˈtɪndʒənt/
adj. dependent; possible
- Our agreement to buy their house is contingent upon the sellers’ finding another house to move into. That is, they won’t sell their house to us unless they can find another house to buy.
- My happiness is contingent on yours; if you’re unhappy, I’m unhappy.
contingency
/kənˈtɪndʒənsi/
n. a possibility or sth. that may happen but is at least as likely not to happen.
- The Bowdens were prepared for any contingency. Their front hall closet contained a first-aid kit, a fire extinguisher, a life raft, a parachute and a pack of sled dogs.
- Several contingencies stand between us and the successful completion of our business proposal; several things could happen to screw it up.
contrite
/kənˈtraɪt, ˈkɒntraɪt/
adj. admitting guilt; esp. feeling remorseful
To be contrite is to admit whatever terrible thing you did.
- Mira was contrite about her mistake, so we forgave her.
A criminal who won’t confess his crime is not contrite.
Saying that you’re sorry is an act of contrition.
contrived
/kənˈtraɪvd/
adj. artificial; labored
- Sam’s acting was contrived: No one in the audience believed his character or enjoyed his performance.
- The artist was widely admired for his originality; but his paintings seemed contrived to me.
- No one laughed at Mark’s contrived attempt attempt at humor.
contrivance
/kənˈtraɪvəns/
n. a mechanical device, usually sth. rigged up.
conventional
/kənˈvɛnʃənl/
adj. common; customary; unexceptional
- The architect’s conventional designs didn’t win him awards for originality.
Tipping the waiter in a restaurant is a conventional courtesy.
Conventional wisdom is what everyone thinks.
- The bland politician maintained his popularity by never straying far from the conventional wisdom about any topic.
convivial
/kənˈvɪviəl/
adj. fond of partying; festive
A convivial gathering is one in which the people present enjoy eating, drinking and being together.
To be convivial is to be an eager but generally well-behaved party animal.
A convivial person is the opposite of an antisocial person.
copious
/ˈkoʊpiəs/
adj. abundant; plentiful
- The champagne at the wedding reception was copious but not very good.
- Matt had a copious supply of nails in his workshop. Everywhere you stepped, it seemed, there was a pile of nails.
- Phil ate copiously at the banquet and went home feeling quite sick.
