brain wordlist 3 Flashcards
amenities
N. convenient features; courtesies. In addition to the customary amenities for the business traveler - fax machines, modems, a health club - the hotel offers the services of a butler versed in the social amenities.
amiable
A MANE EVO BAL - HE IS AMIABLE - AMY=FRIENDLY
amicable
AMICABLE SOLUTION TO INDO-PAK ADJ. politely friendly; not quarrelsome. Beth’s sister Jo is the hot-tempered tomboy who has a hard time maintaining amicable relations with those around her. Jo’s quarrel with her friend Laurie finally reaches an amicable settlement, but not because Jo turns amiable overnight.
amiss
WHAT’S AMISS? ADJ. wrong; faulty. Seeing her frown, he wondered if anything were amiss. also ADV.
amity
HAVE A TEA WITH AMY FOR FRIENDSHIP –N. friendship. Student exchange programs such as the Experiment in International Living were established to promote international amity.
amnesia
N. loss of memory. Because she was suffering from amnesia, the police could not get the young girl to identify herself.
amnesty
N. pardon. When his first child was born, the king granted amnesty to all in prison.
amoral
AMORAL INDIVIDUAL –ADJ. nonmoral. The amoral individual lacks a code of ethics; he cannot tell right from wrong. The immoral person can tell right from wrong; he chooses to do something he knows is wrong.
amorous
AMOROUS MAN –ADJ. moved by sexual love; loving. “Love them and leave them” was the motto of the amorous Don Juan.
amorphous
ADJ. formless; lacking shape or definition. As soon as we have decided on our itinerary, we shall send you a copy; right now, our plans are still amorphous.
amphibian
AMPHIBIAN FROGS ADJ. able to live both on land and in water. Frogs are classified as amphibian. also N.
amphitheater
AMPHITHEATER IN PARK – N. oval building with tiers of seats. The spectators in the amphitheater cheered the gladiators.
amputate
V. cut off part of body; prune. When the doctors had to amputate the young man’s leg to prevent the spread of cancer, he did not let the loss of a limb keep him from participating in sports.
amok (also amuck)
COW RAN AMOK IN THE STREETS. ADV. in a state of rage. The police had to be called in to restrain him after he ran amok in the department store.
amulet
N. charm; talisman. Around her neck she wore the amulet that the witch doctor had given her.
anachronism
N. having an error involving time in a story. The reference to clocks in Julius Caesar is anachronistic: clocks did not exist in Caesar’s time. anachronistic, ADJ.
analgesic
ADJ. causing insensitivity to pain. The analgesic qualities of this lotion will provide temporary relief.
analogous
ADJ. comparable. She called our attention to the things that had been done in an analogous situation and recommended that we do the same.
analogy
N. similarity; parallelism. A well-known analogy compares the body’s immune system with an army whose defending troops are the lymphocytes or white blood cells.
anarchist
N. person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority. Denying she was an anarchist, Katya maintained she wished only to make changes in our government, not to destroy it entirely. anarchy, N.
anarchy
N. absence of governing body; state of disorder. The assassination of the leaders led to a period of anarchy.
anathema
ENATHIMA - ABHISHAAP N. solemn curse; someone or something regarded as a curse. The Ayatolla Khomeini heaped anathema upon “the Great Satan,” that is, the United States. To the Ayatolla, America and the West were anathema; he loathed the democratic nations, cursing them in his dying words. anathematize,V.
ancestry
N. family descent. David can trace his ancestry as far back as the seventeenth century, when one of his ancestors was a court trumpeter somewhere in Germany. ancestral,ADJ.
anchor
V. secure or fasten firmly; be fixed in place. We set the post in concrete to anchor it in place. anchorage, N.
ancillary
ADJ. serving as an aid or accessory; auxiliary. In an ancillary capacity, Doctor Watson was helpful; however, Holmes could not trust the good doctor to solve a perplexing case on his own. also N.
anecdote
N. short account of an amusing or interesting event. Rather than make concrete proposals for welfare reform, President Reagan told anecdotes about poor people who became wealthy despite their impoverished backgrounds.
anemia
N. condition in which blood lacks red corpuscles. The doctor ascribes her tiredness to anemia. anemic,ADJ.
anesthetic
anesthesia – N. substance that removes sensation with or without loss of consciousness. His monotonous voice acted like an anesthetic; his audience was soon asleep. anesthesia, N.
anguish
N. acute pain; extreme suffering. Visiting the site of the explosion, the governor wept to see the anguish of the victims and their families.
angular
ADJ. sharp-cornered; stiff in manner. Mr. Spock’s features, though angular, were curiously attractive, in a Vulcan way.
animadversion
He resented the ENIMANEDE VER SON of his criticsN. critical remark. He resented the animadversions of his critics, particulary because he realized they were true.