Annie Zheng / Unit 1 Flashcards
(n.) something added to something else as helpful or useful but not essential; an assistant or helper; a valuable quality or characteristic; (adj) added or connected in a subordinate capacity; attached to a faculty or staff in auxiliary capacity
adjunct
(n.) the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse; a leader, as in a desperate or violent undertaking; an indicator of trends
bellwether
(v.) to howl or screech like a cat; to quarrel; (n.) a harsh or noisy cry; a racket
caterwaul
(adj.) absurd; wildly fantastic; impossible
chimerical
(adj.) lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn-out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out-of-date
effete
(n.) an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action
fait accompli
(adj.) narrow-minded and rigid, especially in opinions or prejudices, stubbornly and unthinkingly conservative
hidebound
(n.) any system of things or people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank, wealth, class, etc
hierarchy
(n.) a religious service or rite; the form of a ritual or other act of public worship
liturgy
(n.) something illusory, without substance, or without a basis in reality; an illusion
mirage
(n.) a patch of low, soft, wet ground; a swamp; a confusing situation in which one is entrapped, as in quicksand
morass
(adj.) offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful of injurious
noisome
(adj.) forgetful; unaware
oblivious
(n.) a base coward
poltroon
(n.) a convert, a disciple
proselyte
(adj.) resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely
quasi
(n.) good-humored ridicule; teasing
raillery
(adj.) irreverently mocking; coarse, vulgar, or indecent in language
ribald
(adj.) lying flat on one’s back; listless or lethargic apathetic or passive
supine
(n.) a short description or sketch; a picture or illustration with edges that gradually shade off; a decorative design on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter
vignette
