Chapter 1 Flashcards
abate (v)
(of something unpleasant or severe) become less intense or widespread
e.g. The storm suddenly abated
abdicate (v)
(of a monarch) renounce one’s throne: in 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated as German emperor | [ with obj. ] : Ferdinand abdicated the throne in favor of the emperor’s brother.
• [ with obj. ] fail to fulfill or undertake (a responsibility or duty): the government was accused of abdicating its responsibility | [ no obj. ] : the secretary of state should not abdicate from leadership on educational issues.
aberrant (adj)
departing from an accepted standard.
• chiefly Biology diverging from the normal type: aberrant chromosomes.
abeyance (n)
a state of temporary disuse or suspension: matters were held in abeyance pending further inquiries.
• Law the position of being without, or waiting for, an owner or claimant.
abject (adj)
1 [ attrib. ] (of a situation or condition) extremely bad, unpleasant, and degrading: abject poverty.
• (of an unhappy state of mind) experienced to the maximum degree: his letter plunged her into abject misery.
2 (of a person or their behavior) completely without pride or dignity; self-abasing: an abject apology.
abjure (v)
solemnly renounce (a belief, cause, or claim): his refusal to abjure the Catholic faith.
abjure the realm: (historical) swear an oath to leave a country or realm forever.
abscission (n)
the natural detachment of parts of a plant, typically dead leaves and ripe fruit.
abscond (v)
leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to avoid detection of or arrest for an unlawful action such as theft: she absconded with the remaining thousand dollars.
• (of someone on bail) fail to surrender oneself for custody at the appointed time.
• (of a person kept in detention or under supervision) escape: 176 detainees absconded.
• (of a colony of honeybees, esp. Africanized ones) entirely abandon a hive or nest.
abstemious (adj)
not self-indulgent, esp. when eating and drinking: “We only had a bottle.” “Very abstemious of you.”
abstinence (n)
the fact or practice of restraining oneself from indulging in something, typically alcohol: I started drinking again after six years of abstinence.
banal (adj)
so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring: songs with banal, repeated words.
banter (n)
the playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks: there was much singing and good-natured banter.
bard (n)
a poet, traditionally one reciting epics and associated with a particular oral tradition.
• ( the Bard or the Bard of Avon )Shakespeare.
cacophonous (adj):
involving or producing a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds: the cacophonous sound of slot machines.
bawdy (adj)
dealing with sexual matters in a comical way; humorously indecent.
bifurcate (v)
divide into two branches or forks: [ no obj. ] : just below Cairo the river bifurcates | [ with obj. ] : the trail was bifurcated by a mountain stream.
beatify (v)
[ with obj. ]
(in the Roman Catholic Church) announce the beatification of.
bedizen (v)
dressed up or decorated gaudily: a dress bedizened with resplendent military medals.
behemoth (n)
a huge or monstrous creature.
• something enormous, esp. a big and powerful organization: shoppers are now more loyal to their local stores than to faceless behemoths | [ as modifier ] : behemoth telephone companies.
belie (v)
1 (of an appearance) fail to give a true notion or impression of (something); disguise or contradict: his lively alert manner belied his years.
2 fail to fulfill or justify (a claim or expectation); betray: the notebooks belie Darwin’s later recollection.
cadge (v)
ask for or obtain (something to which one is not strictly entitled): he eats whenever he can cadge a meal | [ no obj. ] : they cadge, but timidly.
callous (adj)
showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others: his callous comments about the murder made me shiver.
calumny (n)
the making of false and defamatory statements in order to damage someone’s reputation; slander.
• a false and slanderous statement.
canard (n)
1 an unfounded rumor or story: the old canard that LA is a cultural wasteland.
2 a small winglike projection attached to an aircraft forward of the main wing to provide extra stability or control, sometimes replacing the tail.
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from French, literally ‘duck,’ also ‘hoax,’ from Old French caner ‘to quack.’
canon (n):
1 a general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged: the appointment violated the canons of fair play and equal opportunity.
• a church decree or law: a set of ecclesiastical canons.
2 a collection or list of sacred books accepted as genuine: the formation of the biblical canon.
• the works of a particular author or artist that are recognized as genuine: the Shakespeare canon.
• the list of works considered to be permanently established as being of the highest quality: Hopkins was firmly established in the canon of English poetry.
cant (n):
1 hypocritical and sanctimonious talk, typically of a moral, religious, or political nature: the liberal case against all censorship is often cant.
2 [ as modifier ] denoting a phrase or catchword temporarily current or in fashion: they are misrepresented as, in the cant word of our day, uncaring.
• language peculiar to a specified group or profession and regarded with disparagement: thieves’ cant.
cantankerous (adj)
bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative: a crusty, cantankerous old man.
capricious (adj)
given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior: a capricious and often brutal administration | a capricious climate.
captious (adj)
(of a person) tending to find fault or raise petty objections.
daunt (v)
make (someone) feel intimidated or apprehensive: some people are daunted by technology.
PHRASES:
nothing daunted: without having been made fearful or apprehensive: nothing daunted, the committee set to work.
dearth(n)
a scarcity or lack of something: there is a dearth of evidence.
debauchery (n)
excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures
decorum (n)
behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety: you exhibit remarkable modesty and decorum.
• etiquette: he had no idea of funeral decorum.
• (usu. decorums) archaic a particular requirement of good taste and propriety.
• archaic suitability to the requirements of a person, rank, or occasion.
defame (v)
damage the good reputation of (someone); slander or libel: he claimed that the article defamed his family
default (v)
1 fail to fulfill an obligation, esp. to repay a loan or to appear in a court of law: some had defaulted on student loans.
• [ with obj. ] declare (a party) in default and give judgment against that party: the possibility that cases would be defaulted and defendants released.
2 (default to) (of a computer program or other mechanism) revert automatically to (a preselected option): when you start a fresh letter, the system will default to its own style.
deference (n)
humble submission and respect: he addressed her with the deference due to age.
PHRASES
in deference to: out of respect for; in consideration of.
defunct (adj)
no longer existing or functioning: a now defunct technology that only people over a certain age remember.
delineate (v)
describe or portray (something) precisely: the law should delineate and prohibit behavior that is socially abhorrent.
• indicate the exact position of (a border or boundary).
demographic (adj)
relating to the structure of populations: the demographic trend is toward an older population.
