After Session 3 Flashcards

Question

SUBSIDE

Answer 1

**wear off or die down** To subside is to die down or become less violent, like rough ocean waves after a storm has passed (or your seasickness, if you happened to be sailing on that ocean). (v) To sink to a lower or normal level (such as a fever); to sink or settle down (as onto a couch or to the bottom of a river) (v) To become less agitated or active When the gales had finally subsided, he shook his index finger.

Answer 2

**More than is needed or desired** The word redundant applies to things that are unnecessary or could be left out. Calling a blank sheet of paper empty is redundant. (adj.) More than necessary; superfluous (adj.) Excessively wordy or repetitive “Oh, you mean, redundant, like saying the same thing over and over but in different ways?”

Answer 3

**A feeling of intense dislike.** An antipathy is a deep-seated dislike of something or someone. Usually it's a condition that is long-term, innate, and pretty unlikely to change — like your antipathy for the Red Sox. (n) An aversion, disliking, or distaste for (n) An object of dislike or aversion That eye of hers, that voice stirred every antipathy I had.

Answer 4

**Highly complex or intricate** If something is convoluted, it's intricate and hard to understand. You'll need to read over your brother's convoluted investment scheme a few times before deciding whether or not to go in on it. (adj.) Having a great number of coils, loops, or folds (adj.) Intricate or involved He pretended, for me, that his mind and his heart were not dark and convoluted places.

Answer 5

**lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of** Choose the verb mitigate when something lessens the unpleasantness of a situation. You can mitigate your parents' anger by telling them you were late to dinner because you were helping your elderly neighbor. (v) To moderate (the force, intensity, or strength of) or alleviate Just “running out of fuel, sir” at the end of a sentence, preceded by the mitigating “ah.”

Answer 6

**great coolness and composure under strain** If you have sang-froid, you can keep your cool, even under stress. Your feathers aren't easily ruffled. (n) Self-possession or composure, especially under stress

Answer 7

**a sudden inward collapse** An implosion is the abrupt, violent collapse of something large. When an old building needs to be removed to make way for new structures, implosion is often used as a controlled way to destroy it. (n) Forceful collapse inward

Answer 8

**excuse, overlook, or make allowances for** If you condone something, you allow it, approve of it, or at least can live with it. Some teachers condone chewing gum, and some don't. (v) To overlook, dismiss, or forgive (an offense)

Answer 9

**an event or person causing a change.** A catalyst is an event or person causing a change. Getting kicked out of your parents' house might be a catalyst for becoming more independent. n) Something precipitating, provoking, or accelerating an action, event, or change (n) A substance that starts or speeds a chemical reaction It could be that this penury was the catalyst for Bobby’s often-criticized “greediness” later in his career.

Answer 10

**Unable to hold yourself back. excess in action and immoderate indulgence of appetites** Intemperance is when you can't do anything half way, or hold yourself back. You might describe your inability to eat a single slice of cake — instead, gobbling the whole thing — as intemperance. (n) Indulgence of passions or appetites (n) Excessive drinking of alcohol It is a celebration of intemperance, and a condemnation of its destructiveness.

Answer 11

**having rugged physical strength** To be stalwart is to be courageous and dependable, like a stalwart knight who defends a kingdom from a ferocious dragon. (adj.) Strong or vigorous in mind, body, or spirit

Answer 12

**enlarge or increase** Do you need to make something bigger, better, or stronger? Then you need to augment it. To augment is to increase the amount or strength of something. (v) To enlarge; to make greater, more intense, or more numerous Taylor’s force grew quickly, in no small part augmented by boys whom he armed and drugged into a killing frenzy.

Answer 13

**Lessen, diminish** So the editor wants to cut your epic 800-page history of the stapler to a 150-page summary instead. Don't cry — he just wants to abridge your masterpiece, trimming it down to the more readable essential elements. (v) To cut short or condense (especially of a written work)

Answer 14

**marked by a lack of interest** If you're indifferent about something, you don't care much about it one way or another. You might feel indifferent about politics, changing the channel whenever the TV news comes on. (n) Not caring; having no interest; unbiased, impartial I don’t mean it to sound indifferent, but it does.

Answer 15

**using or containing too many words** If you're verbose, you use far more words than you need to. A verbose book report goes on and on and is packed with long, complicated words that aren't at all necessary. (adj.) Using more words than necessary; wordy

Answer 16

**suppress or crush completely** When you squelch something, you're putting an end to it. You can squelch an idea or a rebellion. (v) To crush or squash as if by trampling (v) To quell or suppress completely (v) To silence, as by a crushing remark (v) To emit a splashing, sucking sound

Answer 17

**grow weak and thin or waste away physically** To emaciate is to make someone extremely thin or very weak. A serious illness can often emaciate a person, leaving them gaunt and frail. (adj.) Wasted away, enfeebled, or made extremely thin The emaciated, dirty, bearded face: its eyes never even blinked.

Answer 18

**with little or no preparation or forethought.** Something extempore is spontaneous and unscripted. An extempore dance party on the city bus might be fun, while an extempore speech in front of the whole school could be terrifying. (adj.) Done, said, or composed with little or no preparation; unpremeditated There were no musical instruments and psalms were led, while prayers were extempore and interminable with some church members rambling on for 20 minutes minimum.

Answer 19

**keep from happening or arising; make impossible.** It takes a bit of planning to forestall something, meaning stop it from happening. To forestall the effects of aging, exercise and take care of your health all your life. (v) To hinder or prevent in advance (v) To anticipate or deal with in advance (v) To buy up goods so as to drive up prices for resale

Answer 20

**similar or equivalent in some respects** Use the adjective analogous to describe something that is similar to something else and can be compared to another. (adj.) Similar or related so that one can draw an analogy or comparison

Answer 21

**a state of quiet (but possibly temporary) inaction** If there's a particular time of day when your ten kittens settle down to nap, you can call that their period of quiescence, or the time when they are all quiet and restful. (n) The state of being quiescent; tranquil restfulness or repose I answered miserably that the disease hath a period of quiescence before it blooms.

Answer 22

**make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance** If you adulterate something, you mess it up. You may not want to adulterate the beauty of freshly fallen snow by shoveling it, but how else are you going to get to work? (v) To make impure or corrupt by adding foreign or inferior materials or ingredients, particularly in preparation for sale If the car hadn’t been adulterated for the mysterious and missing goats, it would hold thirty-two horses.

Answer 23

**a wealthy man** (n) A person who is wealthy, prominent, or important (n) A provincial governor of India’s Mogul empire (historical)

Answer 24

**serving as an essential component. something that shouldn't be broken.** A cardinal is a bright red songbird, and the word also refers to the bird's crimson color. In Catholicism, a cardinal is a high-ranking bishop. In math, you use cardinal numbers to count. A cardinal rule is one that is central and should not be broken. (adj.) Of prime importance; chief; main

Answer 25

**causing or able to cause nausea** If you accidentally leave half a sandwich under your bed for a few days, cover your nose while you sleep because it will probably become quite noisome. This is a fancy way of saying that it will stink. (adj.) Having an extremely offensive smell I also became aware of the noisome stench arising from it.

Answer 26

**power to influence or coerce** Puissance is the power to influence what other people do or believe. A celebrity who is extremely popular with teens has puissance to help end problems like bullying just by talking about it in interviews. (n) Power; might “the puissance of the labor vote”