Chapter 12 Wordly Wise Flashcards
abduct
v. to carry away by force; to kidnap
abduction n. The act or instance of abducting
Bandits stopped the jeep and abducted the driver.
According to Greek myth, the abductionof Helen was the cause of the Trojan War.
abode
n. The place where one lives; home
Mu summer abode was a small cabin that I shared with two other camp counselors.
abyss
n. 1. a deep opening in the earth
2. anything too deep to measure
We were afraid to look down as we crossed the abyss on a swaying rope bridge
The Hubble space telescope was built to probe the abyss of space
attribute
v. to think of as coming from or belonging to a particular person or thing.
n. a quality or feature associated with a person or thing.
The painting was wrongly attributed to Mary Cassatt, America’s foremost Impressionist artist.
Wisdom is often considered an attribute of old age.
arbitrate
v. to settle a disagreement between two parties by having a third party make a decision after hearing both sides.
n the act of arbitrating
The United Nations will arbitrate the border dispute between the two countries.
By agreeing to arbitration, maagement and workers hope to avoid a strike.
capricious
adj. likely to change quickly for no obvious reason
Robert Frost wrote an amusing poem about the capricious New England weather.
compromise
v. 1. to settle a disagreement by having each side give up something.
2. to exposure to the possibility of criticism or shame.
n. a settlement reached by each side giving up something,
We compromised by splitting the difference between the $2,000 asking price of the car and the $1,500 offer I made for it.
The manager will not compromise the restaurant’s reputation by tolerating poor service to diners.
The compromise required me to work late on Fridays so that I could have Saturdays off.
devout
adj. 1. very religious
2. sincere
Devout Muslims try to make at least one visit to the holy city of Mecca.
I am a devout believer in the healing power of the mind
distraught
adj. deeply disturbed; very troubled.
The children are distraught when their pet rabbit died.
enlighten
v. to inform or intruct; to give knowledge or truth to.
enlightened. adj. free from ignorance or prejudice
Since we kidn’t know the store’s policy for returning merchandise, we asked customer service to enlighten us.
This day-care center takes an enlightened approach to early childhood education.
incline
v. 1. to slope or lean.
2. to be likely to; to have a fondness for
3. to bend or bow (the head)
n. a sloping surface
Instead of being vertical, the post inclines slightly to the left.
I am inclined to talk too much.
I inclined my head so that the barber could trim the back of my neck.
The summer house lay at the top of a grassy incline.
intervene
v. to enter in order to help or settle something.
intervention n. The act or instance of intervening.
The playground supervisor intervened when the children couldn’t agree about whose turn it was.
The talk show host’s timely intervention kept the discussion from becoming too heated.
necessity
n. 1/ anything that cannot be done without or that is greatly needed.
2. the condition of being needed.
Insect repellent is a necessity when camping.
I don’t see the necessity for taking separate cars.
orbit
n. the path taken by an object around a heavenly body such as a star, planet, or moon.
v. tp put into or be in orbit
The moon’s orbit around the earth takes just over 27 days.
In 1961, the Russian Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to orbit the earth.
sacred
adj. 1. holy; having to do with religion.
2. worthy of being given the greatest honor or respect
The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is sacred to the Jewish people.
The engaged couple asserted that they consider marriage vows to be sacred.
