Chapter 2 Flashcards
Trivial
Minutiae
Trifling; unimportant; insignificant
Minor everyday details
Drake is one of the world’s most popular hip hop artists. While Drake would prefer to concentrate on creating music, his zealous fans often focus on interesting but trivial minutiae about his personal life.
Exhort
To encourage; urge; give a pep talk; IMPLORE
When Jeter began to approach the coveted 3000 hit milestone, his teammates and fans exhorted him to continue to platelet so he could reach the elusive milestone.
Antipathy
Strong dislike; ill will; the state of detesting someone; Enmity; Rancor
Can you imagine the antipathy that the Winklevoss brothers and Narendra felt upon seeing their idea becoming successful without them? In the movie, Narendra discovered Zuckerberg’s Thefacebook, slammed his laptop closed, and, filled with enmity, stormed out of the room to inform the Winklevoss brothers of Zuckerberg’s betrayal.
Digress
To depart from a subject; wander; ramble
Have you ever listened to someone who repeatedly wanders off a topic? If so, you know how confusing and annoying it is when a speaker digresses from a subject.
Roots: GRESS | to step
Progress to step forward
Regress to step back
Transgress to step across the line that divides right from wrong
Egress to step out, to exit (or as a noun, an exit)
Aggressive tending to attack, encroach, or step on others
Diminutive
Very small
Gabby, at 4’11’ and 90 pounds the most diminutive of the bunch. Diminutive Gabby Douglas won the hearts of Americans everywhere.
Tenacious
Characterized by holding fast to something valued; showing great determination
The 2006 film Amazing Grace tells the story of the 20-year campaign against the British slave trade led by the tenacious Member of Parliament William Wilberforce.
Indulgent
Characterized by excessive generosity; overly tolerant
In the movie Mean Girls, Regina George’s mother prides herself in being indulgent. She proudly tells Regina and Cady, “I just want you to know, if you ever need anything, don’t be shy, ok? There are NO rules in the house. I’m not like a ‘regular’ mom. I’m a ‘cool’ mom.” Mrs. George should have said, “I’m a super - Indulgent mom who lets Regina do anything she wishes.”
Polarize
To create disunity or dissension; to break up into opposing factions or groups; to be divisive
Americans have a long and distinguished record of settling differences by reaching a compromise. However, some issues are so Divisive and Polarizing that a compromise is impossible. Before the Civil War, the issue of slavery Polarized Americans into two groups: those who defended the South’s “peculiar institution” and those who demanded that slavery be abolished. As Lincoln eloquently noted: “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.”
Nebulous
Vague; cloudy; misty; lacking a fully developed form
In an interview, Joan Rowling (creator of Harry Potter) stated that the Epilogue is deliberately “nebulous.” She wanted readers to feel as if they were looking at Platform 9 3/4 through the mist, unable to make out exactly who was there and who was not.
Ephemeral, Fleeting, Evanescent
Perennial
Very brief; lasting for a short time; transient
Returning year after year; enduring
There are a lot of music bands who had a single hit song and then disappeared. Their popularity was Evanescent. They were Ephemeral – here today and gone tomorrow.
Bands like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Simon and Garfunkel have remained Perennial favorites.
Penchant, Predilection, Propensity
A liking or preference for something; a Bent; and Inclination
Angeline Jolie and rap Lil Wayne both a well-known Penchant for tattoos.
Lil Wayne’s Predilection for tattoos has led him to cover his face and torso with tattoos.
Capricious, Mercurial, Fickle
Very changeable; characterized by constantly-shifting moods
Boorish, Uncouth, Crass
Vulgar; characterized by crude behavior and deplorable manners; unrefined
Borat demonstrated boorish manners and behavior.
Indignant
Characterized by outrage at something that is perceived as unjust
Innuendo
A veiled reference; an insinuation
At the beginning of The Godfather; Kay doesn’t understand the workings of the Corleone family business, and she asks Michael how his father managed a business deal. Michael responds with an innuendo: “My father made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.” His response insinuates that Don Vito uses coercion and threats in his business dealings. Michael’s innuendo suggests that his father is a powerful mob boss.
Thwart, Stymie
To stop; to frustrate; to prevent
In the Harry Potter Lilly Potter’s love thwarted Lord Voldemort’s attempt to kill her one-year-old son, Harry. With the help of Ron and Hermione, Harry repeatedly thwarted the Dark Lord’s attempts to kill him.
After a CHICANERY that came to light in 2011, new security measures have been implemented by both SAT and ACT to stymie those who might wish to take an exam for someone else.
Adroit, Deft, Adept
Having or showing great skill; Dexterous; nimble
Chuck Norris has Adroit legs; he is adept at using a roundhouse kick to escape even the toughest situations.
Admonish
To earnestly caution; to warn another to avoid a course of action
“Santa Claus is Coming Town” song earnestly admonishes children to “be good for goodness sake.”
Roots: MON | to warn, remind
Admonition a warning or reproof, a reminder
Premonition a warning in advance, presentiment of something evil, foreboding
Monitor a person or a device that reminds or checks (like a study hall monitor, a heart monitor, or an audio monitor for performers on stage)
Monument a sepulcher, memorial, edifice to commemorate something or someone notable, something that reminds (literally)
Incontrovertible
Impossible to deny or disprove; demonstrably true
In recent years it is becoming clear that global warming is an incontrovertible fact.
