Barron's words list 1 Flashcards
diverge
verb
to vary; go in different directions from the same point
A famous line in American poetry is from Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by ….
Divergence is the noun.
Psychological tests show that there is a wide divergence between citizens of different countries in how much importance they place on the virtue of justice, on the one hand, and the virtue of mercy, on the other hand.
syllogism
noun
a form of deductive reasoning that has a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion
The following syllogism is often taught in logic courses: “All Xs are Ys, all Ys are Zs; therefore, all Xs are Zs.”
juxtapose
verb
place side by side
To illustrate their case, opponents of functionalism juxtapose the products of modern architecture and those of classical architecture, such as the Parthenon, or those of medieval architecture, such as the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.
The noun juxtaposition means a side-by-side placement.
sidereal
adjective
relating to the stars
A sidereal year is longer than a solar year by 20 minutes and 23 seconds.
finesse
verb
to handle with a deceptive or evasive strategy; to use finesse, that is, refinement in performance
Engineers decided that the problem could be finessed by using lighter materials.
deride
verb
to mock
Innovation often requires challenges to orthodox thinking; for example, in the late 1960s, scientists from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency presented their idea of a vast network of computers to leading scientists from IBM and AT&T–companies with innumerable research breakthroughs to their credit–and were derided as impractical visionaries.
rubric
noun
title or heading; category; established mode of procedure or conduct; protocol
The data from the experiment was so diverse that the scientist decided to design a new rubric to organize it.
Impervious
impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected.
example: we were amazed how Laura sit at the noisy party studying organic chemistry, impervious to the noise around her
fractious
adjective
quarrelsome; unruly; rebellious
In an effort to unify their divided party, its leaders decided to first placate the party’s most fractious elements.
Lilliputian
adjective
extremely small
Less important
Microbiologists study Lilliputian organisms.
bewildered
adjective
مشوش
The members of the football team were bewildered by the presence of a female reporter in the locker room.
codify
verb
to systematize
The state legislature voted to codify regulations governing banking fraud.
Codification is the noun.
The most influential codification of civil law was the Napoleonic Code in France, which became the paradigm for law in the non- English-speaking countries of Europe and had a generally civilizing influence on most of the countries in which it was enacted.
Codified is the adjective.
Common law is the system of laws that originated in England; it is based on court decisions and on customs rather than on codified written laws.
junta
noun
group of people united in political intrigue
The country’s ruling junta consists of a general, an admiral, and the mayor of the capital city.
raiment
noun
clothing
It took two hours for the princess’ handmaidens to help her put on her splendid raiment for her coronation as queen.
treatise
noun
article treating a subject systematically and thoroughly
The thesis of the philosopher’s treatise is that reality is, ultimately, opaque to human understanding.
satyr
noun
a creature that is half-man, half-beast with the horns and legs of a goat; it is a follower of Dionysos; a lecher
One of the best-known satyrs is Pan, the god of the woods in Greek mythology.
simile
noun
comparison of one thing with another using “like” or “as”
In his autobiographical book Chronicles, Volume 1, Bob Dylan uses two similes in succession to try to convey the experience of writing a song: “A song is like a dream, and you try to make it come true. They’re like strange countries you have to enter.”
repine
verb
fret; complain
The president told the congressional representative he should stop repining over the lost opportunity and join the majority in exploring new ones.
detraction
noun
the act of taking away; derogatory comment on a person’s character
The writer responded in a letter to the critic’s long list of detractions about his book.
miscellany
noun
mixture of writings on various subjects
The book is a fascinating miscellany collected from the writer’s life work.
sensuous
adjective
relating to the senses; operating through the senses
The American painter Georgia O’Keeffe is known especially for her sensuous paintings of plants and flowers and for her landscapes.
subsume
verb
to include; incorporate
The philosopher described his work as an attempt to arrive at a final generalization that will subsume all previous generalizations about the nature of logic.
histrionic
adjective
تمثيلي
مسرحي
Whenever the star of the movie does not get her way on the set, she flies into a histrionic fit.
The noun histrionics means emotional behavior done for effect.
“Cut the histrionics and tell me how you really feel,” the woman said to her angry husband.
accrue
verb
to accumulate; grow by additions
Regulating the growth of large companies when they begin to become monopolistic is a difficult task for government in a capitalist country; if it limits monopolies too much, the nation’s firms could become less competitive than foreign companies that enjoy the advantages accruing from greater monopolies.
ruse
noun
trick; crafty stratagem; subterfuge
In July, 1999, a group of Christians from the United Kingdom traveled to various countries in which Crusaders had massacred people to apologize; however, many of the Moslems spurned this overture, believing it to be another Crusade in the form of a ruse.
talisman
noun
charm to bring good luck and avert misfortune
The soldier’s mother gave him a talisman to protect him from harm during battle.
tutelary
adjective
serving as a guardian or protector
Most of the people of ancient Rome believed in the existence of tutelary spirits.
riposte
noun
a retaliatory action or retort
The commander decided that the enemy attack must be countered with a quick riposte.
megalomania
noun
delusions of power or importance
In his farewell speech the retiring trial judge warned his colleagues to beware of megalomania as they exercise their power in the courtroom.
dichotomy
noun
division into two usually contradictory parts
The philosopher is a dualist who argues that there is a dichotomy between the mind and physical phenomena.
staccato
adjective
marked by abrupt, clear-cut sounds
We listened to the staccato steps of the woman in high heels running down the street.
homily
noun
sermon; tedious moralizing lecture; platitude
The pastor’s homilies have been published in an anthology.
timbre
noun
the characteristic quality of sound produced by a particular instrument or voice; tone color
The audience was delighted by the rich timbre of the singer’s soprano.
lascivious
adjective
lustful
The court ruled that the movie could be censored because its sole aim was to promote lascivious thoughts.
filibuster
noun
use of obstructive tactics in a legislature to block passage of a law
مماطلة
The senator threatened that his filibuster would include a full reading of his eight-volume autobiography.
labile
adjective
likely to change
Blood pressure in human beings is, to varying degrees, labile.
carnal
adjective
of the flesh or body; related to physical appetites
The yogi’s goal is to achieve nirvana through, among other things, the overcoming of carnal desires.
expository
adjective
explanatory
There is no one model of expository prose that a student can emulate, since each piece of good writing is unique.
brazen
adjective
bold; shameless
The brazen student irritated his teacher by saying that he could learn more from a day spent “surfing” the World Wide Web than a day spent in school.
seismic
adjective
relating to earthquakes; earthshaking
The study of seismic waves enables scientists to learn about the Earth’s structure.
ethnocentric
adjective
based on the attitude that one’s group is superior
The words “primitive” and “savage” reflect an ethnocentric bias in Western culture that regards societies that do not have Western science and technology as inferior because they have not achieved as much material success as Western societies.
The noun is ethnocentrism.
During certain periods of Chinese history, foreigners were considered to be “barbarians”; perhaps this ethnocentrism made it difficult for the Chinese to accept innovations from other countries.
allay
verb
to lessen; ease; soothe
Improvements in antivirus software have allayed many people’s fears of having their computers “infected” with malicious software.
modicum
noun
limited quantity
The scientist Carl Sagan wrote about astronomy and other scientific subjects in a way that enabled a reader with even a modicum of knowledge of science to understand what he was saying.
mesmerize
verb
to hypnotize
The audience sat, mesmerized, listening to the retired soldier’s account of hand-to-hand combat against the Japanese in New Guinea during World War II.
default
verb
to fail to act
Economists have pointed out the danger of using government money to help banks in danger of defaulting on a loan: such help might encourage banks to take excessive risks on the future, knowing they will be “bailed out” by the government.
captious
adjective
faultfinding; intended to entrap, as in an argument
The pedantic and captious critic seems incapable of appreciating the merits of even the most highly regarded books.
nugatory
adjective
trifling; invalid
The historian has a knack for focusing on information that appears nugatory but that, upon examination, illuminates the central issue.
apropos
adjective
relevant
Apropos of nothing, the speaker declared that the purpose of life is to love.
pique
noun
verb
fleeting feeling of hurt pride
Sally left the restaurant in a fit of pique after her date called to say he couldn’t come because he was working late.
As a verb, pique means to provoke or arouse.
The geologist’s curiosity was piqued by the unusual appearance of the rock formation.
amulet
noun
ornament worn as a charm against evil spirits
The early Christian Church forbade the use of amulets, which had become common in the Roman Empire at the time the Christian Church began to develop.
prudish
Adj
شديد الاحتشام
exquisite
Adj
Beautiful
رائع
raucous
Adj
صاخب
