Chapter 7 Flashcards
legion
n.
- The major unit of the Roman army consisting of 3,000 to 6,000 infantry troops and 100 to 200 cavalry troops.
- A large military unit trained for combat; an army.
- A large number; a multitude
officious
adj.
- Marked by excessive eagerness in offering unwanted services or advice to others; domineering; intrusive; meddlesome: an officious host; officious attention.
- Informal; unofficial.
posthumous
adj.
- Occurring or continuing after one’s death: a posthumous award.
- Published after the writer’s death: a posthumous book.
- Born after the death of the father: a posthumous child.
totter
1.
a. To sway as if about to fall.
b. To appear about to collapse: an empire that had begun to totter.
2. To walk unsteadily or feebly; stagge
rigor
n.
1.
a. Strictness or severity, as in action or judgment
b. A harsh or trying circumstance; a hardship or difficulty: the rigors of working in a coal mine
2.
a. Strictness in adhering to standards or a method; exactitude e.g. scientific rigor, behaviorists
b. A standard or exacting requirement, as of a field of study: the intellectual rigors of advanced mathematics.
alacrity
n.
- Cheerful willingness; eagerness.
- Speed or quickness; celerity.
burgeon
v.
a. To put forth new buds, leaves, or greenery; sprout.
b. To begin to grow or blossom, flourish
2. To grow or develop rapidly; expand or proliferate.
deleterious
adj.
Having a harmful effect; injurious: the deleterious effects of smoking.
tractable
adj.
- Easily managed or controlled; governable; obedient; dutiful; polite.
- Easily handled or worked; malleable.
burnish
v.
- To make smooth or glossy by rubbing; polish.
- To rub with a tool that serves especially to smooth or polish.
- To improve or make more impressive: achievements that burnished her reputation.
euphony
n.
Agreeable sound, especially in the phonetic quality of words.
iconoclast
n.
- One who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions; one who opposes orthodoxy
- One who destroys sacred religious images.
levity
n.
Humor, merriment, flippancy, or a lack of seriousness, especially when inappropriate: a subject that should not be treated with levity.
olfactory
adj.
Of, relating to, or contributing to the sense of smell.
potable
adj.
Fit to drink.
rotund
adj.
- Rounded in figure; plump
- Round or spherical
buttress
v.
- To support or reinforce with a buttress.
- To sustain, prop, or bolster:”The author buttresses her analysis with lengthy dissections”
delineate
v.
1.
a. To draw or depict
b. To describe or characterize in words
2.
a. To mark, form, or show the outline or border of: The police delineated the crime scene with yellow tape. A hedge delineates one plot of land from the other.
b. To establish the position of (a border): The treaty delineates the border between Spanish and American territory.
c. To show or contain a distinguishing characteristic of; distinguish: “The first game … delineated the differences between the two teams” (Stuart Miller).
idiosyncrasy
- A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.
- A physiological or temperamental peculiarity.
- An unusual individual reaction to food or a drug.
ruminate
v.
To turn a matter over and over in the mind; to ponder
byline
n.
A line at the head of a newspaper or magazine article carrying the writer’s name.
demur
v.
1. To voice opposition; object; refuse
ignominious
adj.
- Characterized by or deserving shame or disgrace
- Degrading; debasing
liniment
n.
A medicinal fluid rubbed into the skin to soothe pain or relieve stiffness.
ruse
n.
A crafty stratagem; a subterfuge; a trick
