Chapter 1 English vocab Flashcards
aviary
a place where birds are kept
“corporal” punishment
relating to the body
brevity
shortness of duration
fatuous
foolish or stupid
“grave” matters
significantly serious
“gravity” of the situation
the condition of being serious
levity
a lack of seriousness
mundane
dull and ordinary
“provincial” attitude
having narrow or limited concerns or interests
such matters were not in his “province”
a subject or area of interest that a person knows about or is involved in
temporal
of or relating to time (as opposed to eternity)
ursine
characteristic of a bear
urban
relating to the city
urbane
polite and polished; fashionable
“vacuous” expression
showing lack of intelligence or substance
verbose
wordy
vulgar
lacking in good taste
sanitarium
place for the care & treatment of people recovering from illness
cordiality
sincere affection and kindness
mentality
a particular way of thinking
temporary
not permanent
“vocal” in their complaints
expressing opinions in a public and forceful way
“civil” ceremony
established by law (i.e. non-religious, legal ceremony)
“civil” engineer
of, relating to, or involving the general public, their activities, needs, or ways
“civil” disobedience
the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power
civility
polite, reasonable, respectful behaviour
“terminal” illness
eventually leading to death
atrocious
very evil or cruel
sanitary
of or relating to good health or protection from dirt/disease
corpus
collection of writings, poems, etc.
“formal” dinner
following or according with established form, custom, or rule
oval
something with the shape of an egg
senility
the physical & mental infirmity of old age
“proprietary” rights
of or like that of an owner; relating to an owner
terminus
the end of something
vulgarity
the quality or state of not having good taste, manners, politeness, etc.
recession
a period of reduced economic activity
decedent
dead person
concession
the act of accepting something as true, or acknowledging defeat
unprecedented
not done or experienced before
cursive
flowing, joined writing
incursion
an entering in or into (as an activity or undertaking)
cursory
done quickly/rapidly
concurrence
the state of agreeing with someone or something
concurrent
happening at the same time
“deduction” made from evidence
the act or process of using logic or reason to form a conclusion or opinion about something
induction
the formal act or process of placing someone into a new job or position
traduce
to tell lies about (someone)
frangible
readily or easily broken
fractious
causing trouble; hard to manage or control
infringement
an encroachment or trespass on a right or privilege
infraction
an act that breaks a rule or law
collusion
secret cooperation for an illegal or dishonest purpose
illusion
something that looks or seems different from what it is
elusive
hard to understand or capture
prelude
something that comes before and leads to something else
remote
small in degree; far away
commotion
an agitated/noisy disturbance
emote
to express emotion in a very dramatic or obvious way
incontinent
lacking self-restraint; not being under control
pertinacious
stubbornly tenacious; adhering resolutely to an opinion, purpose, or design
pertinent
relating to the thing that is being thought about or discussed
during his “tenure”
the amount of time that a person holds a job, office, or title
detention
the act of detaining or holding back; the state of being kept in prison
sedentary
doing or involving a lot of sitting
assiduous
showing great care, attention, and effort
insidious
causing harm in a way that is gradual or not easily noticed
obession
a state in which someone thinks about someone/something constantly or frequently
supersede
to take the place of (replace)
assessment
the act of making a judgement about something
subsidence
to sink or fall down to the bottom
went off on a “tangent”
diverging from an original purpose or course
contingent
depending on something else that might or might not happen
tactile
relating to the sense of touch
intangible
not made of physical substance
contiguous
touching along a boundary or at a point
introvert
a reserved or quiet person
inadvertent
not intended or planned
perverse
wrong or different in a way that others feel is strange/offensive
subvert
to overturn or overthrow from the foundation
obverse
the opposite; a counterpart having the opposite orientation or force
subsidize
to help someone or something pay for the costs of (something)
subsidiary
owned or controlled by another company
an “untenable” position to take
not capable of being defended against attack or criticism
sedimentary
made from material that sinks to the bottom of a liquid
residual
remaining after a process has been completed or something has been removed
concede
to give away (something), usually grudgingly or hesitantly
excursus
an appendix or digression (at end of a book)
seductively
in a manner that is attractive/alluring or tempting
contingency
something that might, but is not certain to, occur
averse
having an active feeling of repugnance or distaste
transverse
lying or made across something
traverse
to move across (an area)
ductile
capable of being pulled or drawn out into a wire or thread
conducive
making it easy, possible, or likely for something to happen or exist
motility
the state of exhibiting or being capable of movement
extemporize
to do something without special preparation (i.e. improvise)
contemporaneous
existing or happening during the same time
extemporaneous
composed, performed, or uttered on the spur of the moment
temporize
to act to suit the time or occasion
tempus fugit
time flies
“capsule” history
an extremely brief condensation
indignant
feeling or showing anger because of something unjust or unworthy
deign
do something that one considers to be beneath one’s dignity
aggregate
taking all units as a whole (adj.); to join or combine into a single group (verb)
egregious
conspicuously bad
invidious
tending to cause discontent, animosity, or envy; of an unpleasant or objectionable nature
diligence
careful and continued hard work
eloquent
marked by forceful and fluent expression
rectitude
moral integrity; the state of being correct in judgement
elocution
the art of effective public speaking
interlocutory
made during the progress of a legal action and not final or definitive
circumlocution
evasion in speech (using unnecessarily large # of words to express an idea)
loquacious
full of excessive talk
odious
full of hatred
odium
hatred and condemnation accompanied by loathing or contempt
ennui
boredom
imprecation
curse (i.e. offensive word or phrase)
deprecate
to express disapproval of
incorrigible
incapable of being corrected or amended; unruly
obsequious
marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
undulant
rising and falling in waves
undulate
to move or be shaped like waves
undulating
having a wavy appearance
redundancy
an act or instance of needless repetition
visionary
having or marked by foresight and imagination
providential
of, relating to, or determined by providence (i.e. divine guidance or care)
improvidence
the state of not foreseeing and providing for the future
Providence
divine guidance or care (i.e. God guiding human destiny)
visualization
the act of putting into visible form, or formation of mental visual images
purview
the range or limit of authority, competence, responsibility, concern, or intentions; range of vision, understanding, or cognizance
obsequies
a funeral or burial rite
regimen
a regular course of action designed to improve & maintain health
“provisional” government
serving for the time being (temporary)
operational
ready for or in condition to undertake a destined function
illegible
not able to be read or deciphered
illegal
not according to or authorized by law
colloquy
a discussion/conversation
gregarious
sociable; marked by or indicating a liking for companionship
allocate
to apportion for a specific purpose or to particular persons or things
