C-1 Flashcards
1
Q
cabal
A
small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests (Eg: The cabal was defeated when its scheme was discovered. )
2
Q
cache
A
hiding place (Eg: The detectives followed the suspects until he led them to the cache where he had stored his loot. )
3
Q
cacophony
A
discord (Eg: Some people seem to enjoy the cacophony of an orchestra that is tuning up. )
4
Q
cadaver
A
corpse (Eg: In some states- it is illegal to dissect cadavers. )
5
Q
cadaverous
A
like a corpse; pale (Eg: From his cadaverous appearance- we could see how the disease had ravaged him. )
6
Q
cadence
A
rhythmic rise and fall (of words or sounds); beat (Eg: Marching down the road- the troops sang out- following the cadence set by the sergeant. )
7
Q
cajole
A
coax; wheedle (Eg: I will not be cajoled into granting your wish. )
8
Q
calamity
A
disaster; misery (Eg: As news of the calamity spread- offers of relief poured in to the stricken community. )
9
Q
caliber
A
ability; capacity (Eg: A man of such caliber should not be assigned such menial tasks. )
10
Q
calligraphy
A
beautiful writing; excellent penmanship (Eg: As we examine ancient manuscripts- we became impressed with the calligraphy of the scribes. )
11
Q
callous
A
hardened; unfeeling (Eg: He had worked in the hospital for so many years that he was callous to the suffering in the wards. )
12
Q
callow
A
youthful; immature (Eg: In that youthful movement- the leaders were only a little less callow than their immature followers. )
13
Q
calorific
A
heat-producing (Eg: Coal is much more calorific than green wood. )
14
Q
calumny
A
malicious misrepresentation (Eg: He could endure his financial failure- but he could not bear the calumny that his foes heaped upon him. )
15
Q
camaraderie
A
good-fellowship (Eg: What he loved best about his job was the sense of camaraderie he and his co-workers shared. )
16
Q
cameo
A
shell or jewel carved in relief (Eg: Tourists are advised not to purchase cameos from the street peddlers of Rome who sell poor specimens of )
17
Q
canard
A
unfounded rumor (Eg: It is almost impossible to protect oneself from such a base canard. )
18
Q
candor
A
frankness (Eg: The candor and simplicity of his speech impressed all- it was all clear he held nothing back. )
19
Q
canine
A
related to dogs; doglike (Eg: Some days the canine population of Berkeley seems almost to outnumber the human population. )
20
Q
canker
A
any ulcerous sore; any evil (Eg: Poverty is a canker in the body politic; it must be cured. )
21
Q
canny
A
shrewd; thrifty (Eg: The canny Scotsman was more than a match for the swindlers. )
22
Q
cant
A
pious phraseology; jargon of criminals (Eg: Angry that the president had slashed the education budget- we dismissed his speech on the importance of )
23
Q
cantankerous
A
ill-humored; irritable (Eg: Constantly complaining about his treatment and refusing to cooperate with the hospital staff- he was a )
24
Q
cantata
A
story set to music- to be sung by a chorus (Eg: The choral society sang the new cantata composed by its leader. )
25
canter
slow gallop (Eg: Because the racehorse had outdistanced its competition so easily- the reporter wrote that the race was won )
26
canto
division of a long poem (Eg: Dante's poetic masterpiece The Divine Comedy is divided into cantos. )
27
canvass
determine or seek opinions- votes- etc. (Eg: After canvassing the sentiments of his constituents- the congressman was confident that he represented the )
28
capacious
spacious (Eg: In the capacious areas of the railroad terminal- thousands of travelers lingered while waiting for their train. )
29
capillary
having a very fine bore (Eg: The changes in surface tension of liquids in capillary vessels is of special interest to physicists. )
30
capitulate
surrender (Eg: The enemy was warned to capitulate or face annihilation. )
31
caprice
whim (Eg: She was an unpredictable creature- acting on caprice- never taking thought of the consequences. )
32
capricious
fickle; incalculable (Eg: The storm was capricious and changed course constantly. )
33
caption
title; chapter heading; text under illustration (Eg: I find the captions that accompany these cartoons very clever and humorous. )
34
captious
faultfinding (Eg: His criticisms were always captious and frivolous- never offering constructive suggestions. )
35
carafe
glass water bottle (Eg: With each dinner- the patron receives a carafe of red or white wine. )
36
carapace
shell covering the back (of a turtle- crab- etc) (Eg: At the children's zoo- Richard perched on top of the giant turtle's hard carapace as it slowly made its way )
37
carat
unit of weight for precious stones; measure of fineness of gold (Eg: He gave her a diamond that weighed three carats and was mounted in an eighteen-carat gold band. )
38
carcinogenic
causing cancer (Eg: Many supposedly harmless substances have been revealed to be carcinogenic. )
39
cardinal
chief (Eg: If you want to increase your word power- the cardinal rule of vocabulary-building is to read. )
40
careen
lurch; sway from side to side (Eg: The taxicab careened wildly as it rounded the corner. )
41
caricature
distortion; burlesque (Eg: The caricatures he drew always emphasized personal weaknesses of the people he burlesqued. )
42
carillon
set of bells capable of being played (Eg: The carillon in the bell tower of the Coca-Cola pavilion at the New York World's Fair provided musical )
43
carnage
destruction of life (Eg: The carnage that can be caused by atomic warfare adds to the responsibilities of our statesmen. )
44
carnal
fleshly (Eg: The public was more interested in carnal pleasures than in spiritual matters. )
45
carnivorous
meat-eating (Eg: The lion is a carnivorous animal. )
46
carousal
drunken revel (Eg: The party degenerated into an ugly carousal. )
47
carping
petty criticism; fault-finding (Eg: Welcoming constructive criticism- Lexy appreciated her editor's comments- finding them free of carping. )
48
carrion
rotting flesh of a dead body (Eg: Buzzards are nature's scavengers; they eat the carrion left behind by other predators. )
49
cartographer
map-maker (Eg: Though not a professional cartographer- Tolkien was able to construct a map of the fictional world. )
50
cascade
small waterfall (Eg: )
51
caste
one of the hereditary classes in Hindu society- social stratification; prestige (Eg: The differences created by caste in India must be wiped out if true democracy is to prevail in that country. )
52
castigation
punishment; severe criticism (Eg: Sensitive even to mild criticism- Woolf could not bear castigation that she found in certain reviews. )
53
casualty
serious or fatal accident (Eg: The number of automotive casualties on this holiday weekend was high. )
54
cataclysm
deluge; upheaval (Eg: A cataclysm such as the French Revolution affects all countries. )
55
catalyst
agent that brings about a chemical change while it remains unaffected and unchanged (Eg: Many chemical reactions cannot take place without the presence of a catalyst. )
56
catapult
slingshot; hurling machine (Eg: Airplanes are sometimes launched from battleships by catapults. )
57
cataract
great waterfall; eye abnormality (Eg: She gazed with awe at the mighty cataract known as Niagara Falls. )
58
catastrophe
calamity (Eg: The Johnstown flood was a catastrophe. )
59
catechism
book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer (Eg: He taught by engaging his pupils in a catechism until they gave him the correct answer. )
60
categorical
without exceptions; unqualified; absolute (Eg: Though the captain claimed he was never- never sick at sea- he finally qualified his categorical denial; he )
61
catharsis
purging or cleansing of any passage of the body (Eg: Aristotle maintained that tragedy created a catharsis by purging the soul of base concepts. )
62
cathartic
purgative (Eg: Some drugs act as laxatives when taken in small doses but act as cathartics when taken in much larger )
63
catholic
universal; wide-ranging liberal (Eg: He was extremely catholic in his taste and read everything he could find in the library. )
64
caucus
private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy (Eg: At the opening of Congress the members of the Democratic Party held a caucus to elect the majority )
65
caulk
to make watertight (by plugging seams) (Eg: )
66
causal
implying a cause-and-effect relationship (Eg: The psychologist maintained there was a causal relationship between the nature of one's early childhood )
67
caustic
burning; sarcastically biting (Eg: The critic's caustic remarks angered the hapless actors who were the subjects of his sarcasm. )
68
cauterize
burn with hot iron or caustic (Eg: In order to prevent infection- the doctor cauterized the wound. )
69
cavalcade
procession; parade (Eg: As described by Chaucer- the cavalcade of Canterbury pilgrims was motley group. )
70
cavalier
casual and offhand; arrogant (Eg: Sensitive about having her ideas taken lightly- Marcia felt insulted by Mark's cavalier dismissal of her )
71
cavil
make frivolous objections (Eg: I respect your sensible criticisms- but I dislike the way you cavil about unimportant details. )
72
cede
transfer; yield title to (Eg: I intend to cede this property to the city. )
73
celerity
speed; rapidity (Eg: Hamlet resented his mother's celerity in remarrying within a month after his father's death. )
74
celestial
heavenly (Eg: She spoke of the celestial joys that awaited virtuous souls in the hereafter. )
75
celibate
abstaining from sexual intercourse; unmarried (Eg: Though the late Havelock Ellis wrote extensively about sexual customs and was considered an expert in )
76
censor
overseer of morals; person who eliminates inappropriate matter (Eg: Soldiers dislike having their mail read by a censor but understand the need for this precaution. )
77
censorious
critical (Eg: censorious people delight in casting blame. )
78
censure
blame; criticize (Eg: He was censured for his inappropriate behavior. )
79
centaur
mythical figure- half man and half horse (Eg: I was particularly impressed by the statue of the centaur in the Roman Hall of the museum. )
80
centigrade
denoting a widely used temperature scale (basically same as Celsius) (Eg: )
81
centrifugal
radiating; departing from the center (Eg: Many automatic drying machines remove excess moisture from clothing by centrifugal force. )
82
centrifuge
machine that separates substances by whirling them (Eg: At the dairy- we employ a centrifuge to separate cream from milk. )
83
centripetal
tending toward the center (Eg: Does centripetal force or the force of gravity bring orbiting bodies to the earth's surface? )
84
centurion
Roman army officer (Eg: Because he was in command of a company of one hundred soldiers- he was called a centurion. )
85
cerebral
pertaining to the brain or intellect (Eg: The content of philosophical works is cerebral in nature and requires much thought. )
86
cerebration
thought (Eg: Mathematics problems sometimes require much cerebration. )
87
ceremonious
marked by formality (Eg: Ordinary dress would be in appropriate at so ceremonious an affair. )
88
cessation
stopping (Eg: The workers threatened a cessation of all activities if their demands were not met. )
89
cession
yielding to another; ceding (Eg: The cession of Alaska to the United States is discussed in this chapter. )
90
chafe
warm by rubbing (Eg: The collar chafed his neck. )
91
chaff
worthless products of an endeavor (Eg: When you separate the wheat from the chaff- be sure you throw out the chaff. )
92
chaffing
bantering; joking (Eg: Sometimes his flippant and chaffing remarks annoy us. )
93
chagrin
vexation; disappointment (Eg: Her refusal to go with us filled us with chagrin. )
94
chalice
goblet; consecrated cup (Eg: In a small room adjoining the cathedral- many ornately decorated chalices made by the most famous )
95
chameleon
lizard that changes color in different situations (Eg: Like the chameleon- he assumed the political coloration of every group he met. )
96
champion
support militantly (Eg: )
97
chaotic
in utter disorder (Eg: He tried to bring order into the chaotic state of affairs. )
98
charisma
divine gift; great popular charm or appeal (Eg: Political commentators have deplored the importance of a candidate's charisma in these days of television )
99
charlatan
quack; pretender to knowledge (Eg: When they realized that the Wizard didn't know how to get them back to Kansas- Dorothy and her friends )
100
chary
cautious; sparing or restrained about giving (Eg: A prudent- thrifty New Englander- DeWitt was as chary of investing money in junk bonds as he was chary )
101
chase
ornament a metal surface by indenting (Eg: With his hammer- he carefully chased an intricate design onto the surface of the chalice. )
102
chasm
abyss (Eg: They could not see the bottom of the chasm. )
103
chassis
framework and working parts of an automobile (Eg: Examining the car after the accident- the owner discovered that the body had been ruined but that the )
104
chaste
pure (Eg: Her chaste and decorous garb was appropriately selected for the solemnity of the occasion. )
105
chasten
discipline; punish in order to correct (Eg: Whom God loves- God chastens. )
106
chastise
punish (Eg: I must chastise you for this offense. )
107
chauvinist
blindly devoted patriot (Eg: A chauvinist cannot recognize any faults in his country- no matter how flagrant they may be. )
108
check
stop motion; curb or restrain (Eg: Thrusting out her arm- Grandma checked Bobby's lunge at his sister. `Young man-` she said- `you'd better )
109
checkered
marked by changes in fortune (Eg: During his checkered career he had lived in palatial mansions and in dreary boardinghouses. )
110
cherubic
angelic; innocent-looking (Eg: With her cheerful smile and rosy cheeks- she was a particularly cherubic child. )
111
chicanery
trickery (Eg: Your deceitful tactics in this case are indications of chicanery. )
112
chide
scold (Eg: Grandma began to chide Steven for his lying. )
113
chimerical
fantastic; highly imaginative (Eg: Poe's chimerical stories are sometimes too morbid for reading in bed. )
114
chivalrous
courteous; faithful; brave (Eg: chivalrous behavior involves noble words and good deeds. )
115
choleric
hot-tempered (Eg: His flushed- angry face indicated a choleric nature. )
116
choreography
art of dancing (Eg: Martha Graham introduced a form of choreography that seemed awkward and alien to those who had )
117
chronic
long established- as a disease (Eg: The doctors were finally able to attribute his chronic headaches and nausea to traces of formaldehyde gas )
118
chronicle
report; record (in chronological order) (Eg: The gossip columnist was paid to chronicle the latest escapades of the socially prominent celebrities. )
119
churlish
boorish; rude (Eg: Dismayed by his churlish manners at the party- the girls vowed never to invite him again. )
120
ciliated
having minute hairs (Eg: The paramecium is a ciliated- one-celled animal. )
121
cipher
nonentity; worthless person or thing (Eg: She claimed her ex-husband was a total cipher and wondered why she had ever married him. )
122
cipher
secret code (Eg: Lacking his code book- the spy was unable to decode the message sent to him in cipher. )
123
circlet
small ring; band (Eg: This tiny circlet is very costly because it is set with precious stones. )
124
circuitous
roundabout (Eg: Because of the traffic congestion on the main highways- she took a circuitous route. )
125
circumlocution
indirect or roundabout expression (Eg: He was afraid to call spade a spade and resorted to circumlocutions to avoid direct reference to his subject. )
126
circumscribe
limit; confine (Eg: )
127
circumspect
prudent; cautious (Eg: Investigating before acting- she tried always to be circumspect. )
128
circumvent
outwit; baffle (Eg: In order to circumvent the enemy- we will make two preliminary attacks in other sections before starting )
129
citadel
fortress (Eg: The citadel overlooked the city like a protecting angel. )
130
cite
quote; commend (Eg: She could cite passages in the Bible from memory. )
131
civil
having to do with citizens or the state; courteous and polite (Eg: Although internal Revenue Service agents are civil servants- they are not always civil to suspected tax )
132
clairvoyant
having foresight; fortuneteller (Eg: Cassandra's clairvoyant warning was not heeded by the Trojans. )
133
clamber
climb by crawling (Eg: She clambered over the wall. )
134
clamor
noise (Eg: The clamor of the children at play outside made it impossible for her to take a nap. )
135
clandestine
secret (Eg: After avoiding their chaperon- the lovers had a clandestine meeting. )
136
clangor
loud- resounding noise (Eg: The blacksmith was accustomed to the clangor of hammers on steel. )
137
clapper
striker (tongue) of a bell (Eg: Wishing to be undisturbed by the bell- Dale wound his scarf around the clapper to muffle its striking. )
138
clarion
shrill- trumpetlike sound (Eg: We woke to the clarion to muffle its striking. )
139
claustrophobia
fear of being locked in (Eg: His fellow classmates laughed at his claustrophobia and often threatened to lock him in his room. )
140
clavicle
collarbone (Eg: Even though he wore shoulder pads- the football player broke his clavicle during a practice scrimmage. )
141
cleave
split asunder (Eg: The lightening cleaves the tree in two. )
142
cleft
split (Eg: Erosion caused a cleft in the huge boulder. )
143
clemency
disposition ot be lenient; mildness- as of the weather (Eg: The lawyer was pleased when the case was sent to Judge Smith's chambers because Smith was noted for )
144
cliche
phrase culled in meaning by repetition (Eg: High school compositions are often marred by such cliches as `strong as an ox.` )
145
clientele
body of customers (Eg: The rock club attracted a young- stylish clientele. )
146
climactic
relating to the highest point (Eg: When he reached the climactic portions of the book- he could not stop reading. )
147
clime
region; climate (Eg: His doctors advised him to move to a milder clime. )
148
clique
small- exclusive group (Eg: She charged that a clique had assumed control of school affairs. )
149
cloister
monastery or convent (Eg: The nuns lived in the cloister. )
150
clout
great influence (especially political or social) (Eg: Gatsby wondered whether he had enough clout to be admitted to the exclusive club. )
151
cloying
distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental (Eg: Disliking the cloying sweetness of standard wedding cakes- Jody and Tom chose a homemade carrot cake )
152
coagulate
thicken; congeal; clot (Eg: Even after you remove the pudding from the burner- it will continue to coagulate as it stands. )
153
coalesce
combine; fuse (Eg: The brooks coalesce into one large river. )
154
coda
concluding section of a musical or literary composition (Eg: The piece concluded with a distinctive coda that strikingly brought together various motifs. )
155
coddle
treat gently; pamper (Eg: Don't coddle the children to much; they need a taste of discipline. )
156
codicil
supplement to the body of a will (Eg: This codicil was drawn up five years after the writing of the original will. )
157
codify
arrange (laws- rules) as a code; classify (Eg: )
158
coercion
use of force (Eg: They forced him to obey- but only by great coercion. )
159
coeval
living at the same time as; contemporary (Eg: coeval with the dinosaur- the pterodactyl flourished during the Mesozoic era. )
160
cog
tooth projecting from a wheel (Eg: A bicycle chain moves through a series of cogs in order to propel the bike. )
161
cogent
convincing (Eg: She presented cogent arguments to the jury. )
162
cogitate
think over (Eg: cogitate on this problem; the solution will come. )
163
cognate
related linguistically; allied by blood; similar or akin in nature (Eg: The English word `mother` cognate to the Latin word `mater-` whose influence is visible in the words )
164
cognitive
having to do with knowing or perceiving related to the mental precesses (Eg: Though Jack was emotionally immature- his cognitive development was admirable; he was very advanced )
165
cognizance
knowledge (Eg: During the election campaign- the two candidates were kept in full cognizance of the international )
166
cohere
stick together (Eg: Solids have a greater tendency to cohere than liquids. )
167
cohesion
tendency to keep together (Eg: A firm believer in the maxim `Divide and conquer-` the emperor- by lies and trickery- sought to disrupt the )
168
cohorts
armed band (Eg: Caesar and his Roman cohorts conquered almost all of the known world. )
169
coiffure
hairstyle (Eg: You can make a statement with your choice of coiffure: in the 60's many African-Americans affirmed their )
170
coincident
occurring at the same time (Eg: Some people find the coincident events in Hardy's novels annoyingly improbable. )
171
colander
utensil with perforated bottom used for straining (Eg: Before serving the spaghetti- place it in a colander to drain it. )
172
collaborate
work together (Eg: Two writers collaborated in preparing this book. )
173
collage
work of art put together from fragments (Eg: Scraps of cloth- paper doilies- and old photographs all went into her collage. )
174
collate
examine in order to verify authenticity; arrange in order (Eg: They collated the newly found manuscripts to determine their age. )
175
collateral
security given for loan (Eg: The sum you wish to borrow is so large that it must be secured by collateral. )
176
collation
a light meal (Eg: Tea sandwiches and cookies were offered at the collation. )
177
colloquial
pertaining to conversational or common speech (Eg: Your use of colloquial expressions in a formal essay such as the one you have presented spoils the effect )
178
colloquy
informal discussion (Eg: I enjoy our colloquies but I sometimes wish that they could be made more formal and more searching. )
179
collusion
conspiring in a fraudulent scheme (Eg: The swindlers were found guilty of collusion. )
180
colossal
huge (Eg: Radio City Music Hall has a colossal stage. )
181
colossus
gigantic statue (Eg: The legendary Colossus of Rhodes- bronze statue of the sun god that dominated the harbor of the Greek )
182
comatose
in a coma; extremely sleepy (Eg: The long-winded orator soon had his audience in a comatose state. )
183
combustible
easily burned (Eg: After the recent outbreak of fires in private homes- the fire commissioner ordered that all combustible )
184
comely
attractive; agreeable (Eg: I would rather have a poor and comely wife than a rich and homely one. )
185
comestible
something fit to be eaten (Eg: The roast turkey and other comestibles- the wines- and the excellent service made this Thanksgiving dinner )
186
comeuppance
rebuke; deserts (Eg: After his earlier rudeness- we were delighted to see him get his comeuppance. )
187
comity
courtesy; civility (Eg: A spirit of comity should exist among nations. )
