7th July Flashcards
hegemony
Hegemony is political or cultural dominance or authority over others.
Wealthy lender nations hoping to determine political outcomes and trade decisions have established hegemony over the debtor nations they lend to.
During the American Revolution, colonists fought to throw off the British hegemony.
circumscribe
Circumscribe is to limit or restrict.
If you spend too much time watching TV instead of fulfilling other obligations, you might circumscribe your TV-watching time to one hour daily.
n geometry, circumscribe means to draw one geometric figure around another figure so that the two figures touch but don’t intersect.
To allow my activities to be circumscribed by my opponent was a form of defeat, and I resolved not to become my own jailer.
Their tour of south america was circumscribed so that the y saw only popular destinations and avoided dangerous part of the country.
sanction
1) give authority or permission to
2) a legal penalty for a forbidden action.
dilettante
1) An amateur person who pretends himself to be knowledgeable.
2) Showing frivolous or superficial interest; amateurish
Today, the word implies you’re pretending to be more of an artist than you’re interested in or capable of being, so
In this culture, I’m a mere chipper, a dilettante hobbyist who bakes bread on the odd weekend and eats Skippy peanut butter off the spoon the rest of the week
gauche
Use the word gauche when you want to call something tacky, graceless, tactless, rude, boorish, or awkward and foolish.
Shreyas says the most gauche things, such as telling a girl he likes that she is prettier than the girl he dated before.
intrepid
Intrepid is just a fancy word for describing a person or action that is bold and brave.
Similar words are fearless, courageous, dauntless, or valiant.
intrepid suggests a lack of fear in dealing with something new or unknown.
She was an explorer, an intrepid follower of her own heart.
Grace wanted intrepid explorers who mined for gold—because they were about to strike it rich.
pernicious
Pernicious means harmful and subtle, such as a poison gas that causes illness in those exposed to it over the course of years.
You might have heard your parents and teachers talk about the pernicious effects of watching too much TV and playing video games all day — they’ll turn your brain to mush.
Pernicious effects of watching too much porn.
Radiation, in fact, is so pernicious and long lasting that even now her papers from the 1890s–even her cookbooks–are too dangerous to handle.
California searches vehicles for vegetables and fruits which might carry pernicious insects and diseases, and regulations of these are enforced with almost religious intensity.
The pernicious effects of corona virus is not known to the scientific community.
subversive
You might want to call someone subversive if they are sneakily trying to undermine something, from the social structure of your high school to an entire system of government.
Think about a subversive as a sneaky kind of revolutionary who tries to turn the system from underneath.
It is alleged that the disturbance was caused by labor agitation, as papers of a subversive nature were found on and about the site of disturbance.
The ruling party has begun a campaign to shut down the subversive websites that it deems as a threat to national safety.
winsome
1) If you are described as winsome, take it as a compliment. It means you are attractive or charming in an open and delightful way. It
It was a far different woman from the one at church—the winsome fisher wife serving tea and coffee.
Each of those shows was winsome in its own way, but they didn’t fill a dire need; there’s a surfeit of sharp TV for younger kids both on commercial and public TV.
antithetical
Something is antithetical when it is in complete and utter opposition to the character of something.
You’ll find that antithetical is a useful word when you’re trying to express an extreme contrast
You go out to vote because sitting out of the voting process is antithetical to what you believe in.
Thomas Kuhn thought that science and technology were antithetical to each other, at least until the 1870s.
bolster
1) When you cheer up a friend who’s feeling down, you bolster them. To bolster is to offer support or strengthen.
2) When you bolster your friends, you support them and prop them up, just like the pillow does for your back.
She was just trying to bolster my mood and keep my spirits up—and maybe my courage, too.
Support as a pillow does to a back.
His other arm bolstered Nurse Duckett, who was trembling and sobbing against him, too, her long, angular face dead white.
indecorous
Indecorous behavior isn’t proper or socially acceptable.
It would be indecorous to publish your sister’s diary in the newspaper or to tell your extended family an offensive joke at Thanksgiving dinner.
Indecorous things lack decorum, which is good manners or proper behavior.
anomaly
Something that is not normal, different from the standard
nonplussed
If a conversation with someone leaves you scratching your head and wondering what point they were trying to make, you are nonplussed: bewildered, puzzled, often speechless.
“I’m nonplussed,” you say when your mother tells you she’s marrying her 25-year-old personal trainer.
“I’m nonplussed,” you say when your boss fires you, even though he tells you you’re the best employee he’s ever had.
Shirley was totally nonplussed when the motorist cut her off and then stick his middle finger out of the window.
jovial
Jovial is to describe people who show good humor and are full of joy. Santa Claus, with his constant “ho-ho-hoing” is a jovial figure.
