#5 aggregate ~ alloy

Question 1

aggregate

/adj., n. ˈægrɪgɪt, -ˌgeɪt; v. ˈægrɪˌgeɪt/

Answer 1

n. sum total; a collection of separate things mixed together
- Chili is an aggregate of meat and beans.
Aggregate can also be a verb or an adjective.
- You would make chili by aggregating meat and beans.
- Chili is an aggregate food.

Question 2

congregate

/ˈkɒŋgrɪˌgeɪt/

Answer 2

v. to come together; to assemble, esp. in large numbers

- People waiting for rooms congregated in the hotel lobby.

Question 3

segregate

/ˈsɛgrɪˌgeɪt/

Answer 3

v. to keep apart; to separate

- to segregate exceptional children; to segregate hardened criminals.

Question 4

integrate

/ˈɪntɪˌgreɪt/

Answer 4

v. to unite; to combine

Question 5

agnostic

/ægˈnɒstɪk/

Answer 5

n. one who believes that the existence of a god can be neither proven nor disproven
An atheist is someone who does not believe in a god.
An agnostic, on the other hand, isn’t sure. He doesn’t believe, but he doesn’t not believe, either.
The noun is agnosticism
- An atheist himself, Jon concluded from Jorge’s spiritual skepticism that they shared similar beliefs. In fact, Jorge’s reluctance to affirm or discredit a god’s existence reflects his agnosticism.

Question 6

agrarian

/əˈgrɛəriən/

Answer 6

adj. relating to land; relating to the management or farming of land
Agrarian usually has to do with farming. Think of agriculture.
- Politics in this country often pit the rural, agrarian interest against the urban interests.

Question 7

alacrity

/əˈlækrɪti/

Answer 7

n. cheerful eagerness or readiness to respond

- David could hardly wait for his parents to leave; he carried their luggage out to the car with great alacrity.

Question 8

allege

/əˈlɛdʒ/

Answer 8

v. to assert without proof
- If I say, “Cedrick alleges that I stole his hat,” I am saying two things: 1. Cedrick says I stole his hat. 2. I say I didn’t do it.
To allege sth. is to assert it without proving it. Such an assertion is called an allegation.
- The police have alleged that he or she committed the crime, but a jury hasn’t made a decision yet.

Question 9

alleged

/əˈlɛdʒd, əˈlɛdʒɪd/

Answer 9

adj. asserted without proof
If the police accuse someone of having committed a crime, newspapers will usually refer to the person as an alleged criminal.

Question 10

alleviate

/əˈliviˌeɪt/

Answer 10

v. to relieve, usually temporarily or incompletely; to make bearable; to lessen
- Visiting the charming pet cemetery alleviated the woman’s grief over the death of her canary.
- Aspirin alleviates headache pain. When your headache comes back, take some more aspirin.

Question 11

allocate

/ˈæləˌkeɪt/

Answer 11

v. to distribute; to assign; to allot
- The event had been a big failure, and David, Aaliyah and Jan spent several hours attempting to allocate the blame. In the end, they decided it had all been Jan’s fault.
- The office manage had allocated just seven paper clips for our entire department.

Question 12

alloy

/n. ˈælɔɪ, əˈlɔɪ; v. əˈlɔɪ/

Answer 12

n. a combination of two or more things, usually metals
- Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. That is, you make brass by combining copper and zinc.
Alloy is often used as a verb. To alloy two things is to mix them together. There is usually an implication that the mixture is less than the sum of the parts. That is, there is often sth. undesirable or debased about an alloy (as opposed to a pure substance).

Question 13

unalloyed

/ˌʌnəˈlɔɪd/

Answer 13

adj. undiluted or pure
- Unalloyed dislike is dislike undiminished by any positive feelings.
- Unalloyed love is love undiminished by any negative feelings.