CO225 Flashcards
WISTFUL
Longing and yearning, tinged with MELANCHOLY (long-lasting sadness) and
PENSIVENESS (Word 214)
Legions of Harry Potter fans WISTFULLY prepared to watch the final film Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows–Part 2. A 14-year bond developed between the readers and the characters as many fans between the ages of 14 and 24 grew up along with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. These devotee compare the end of the series to the end of their childhood.
In preparation for the EPIC (Word 236) finale, many fans conducted their own NOSTALGIC (Word 23) RETROSPECTIVES (surveys of past events) by either rereading J.K. Rowling’s novels or revisiting the film adaptations. One fan WISTFULLY summed it up this way: “Harry Potter is a once-in-a-generation event.”
EARNEST
Serious in intention or purpose; showing depth and SINCERITY of feelings
Adele wrote her song “Rolling in the Deep” on the same day she broke up with her boyfriend. The lyrics display Adele’s SINCERE (genuine) belief that their relationship could have been very special.
- We could have had it all*
- Rolling in the deep*
- You had my heart inside of your hand*
- And you played it to the beat*
When asked how she felt about her breakup, Adele did not sugarcoat the truth. She spoke EARNESTLY: “I was really, really angry with my personal life up to about a year ago. I’ve grown up a little as well, and I like to think I’ve blossomed into who I’m going to become. Adele certainly did move on successfully. In May 2011 her song “Rolling in the Deep” became her first #1 hit!
DISGRUNTLED, DISCONTENTED
Angry; dissatisfied; annoyed; impatient; irritated
Some of the top companies in the world work tirelessly to make sure that their employees are not DISGRUNTLED. After all, happy employees are more productive than DISCONTENTED employees. Google is exceptionally notable for the benefits it provides its employees. At the Googleplex office in Mountain View, California, employees bring their pets to work, receive complimentary gourmet meals, have gym and pool access, and much more. It is clear that Google doesn’t want its employees to be DISGRUNTLED.
AUTHORITATIVE
Commanding and self-confident; likely to be respected and obeyed, based on competent authority
In the film DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story , Peter LaFleur must compete and win a dodgeball tournament to save his business, a gym called Average Joe’s. The employees of Average Joe’s rally together to form an amateur dodgeball team. They enlist the help of Patches O’Houlihan, an AUTHORITATIVE figure, to train and lead the team. Patches improves the dodgeball team through some UNORTHODOX (Word 7) methods: throwing wrenches at the team, forcing them to dodge oncoming cars, and constantly DERIDING (Word 180) them with insults. Patches’ AUTHORITATIVE manner inspires the Average Joe’s team to victory and ultimately saves the gym.
FRIVOLITY
The trait of being FRIVOLOUS; not serious or sensible
FRIVOLOUS
Lacking any serious purpose or value; given to trifling or levity
One form of FRIVOLOUS spending that has become UBIQUITOUS (Word 48) is bottled water. Many bottled water companies simply sell municipal water; you can get the same water from your tap. Also, if not properly recycled, disposable water bottles contribute to FRIVOLOUS waste. The 30 billion plastic water bottles that are thrown away each year can take thousands of years to decompose. Using a reusable water bottle or canteen reduces FRIVOLOUS consumption, saves money, and protects the environment.
ACERBIC, ACRID
Harsh, bitter, sharp, CAUSTIC (Word 242)
ACERBIC and ACRID both refer to the sharp and corrosive tone displayed by acid-tongued critics. ACRID can also refer to an unpleasantly PUNGENT (sharp) smell or taste. Glee’s cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester is famous for her ACERBIC comments directed at everyone around her. In one episode, she tells a cheerleader, “I’m going to ask you to smell your armpits. That’s the smell of failure, and it’s stinking up my office.” Since she holds a lot of ANIMOSITY (hatred) toward the glee club, she takes particular delight in crafting ACERBIC and ACRID remarks at the expense of Will Schuster, often DERIDING (Word 180) his haircut.
Charles McGrath wrote in the New York Times that Gore Vidal, “the novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and all-around man of letters who died in July [2012] at the age of 86…was shown in several clips from a PBS documentary being his usual ACERBIC, witty and elegant self: taking America to task for needless wars, a bloated military-industrial complex, and political hypocrisy.”
SOLEMN, GRAVE, SOMBER
Not cheerful or smiling; serious; gloomy
June 25, 2009, when the King of Pop died, marked a SOMBER day for the entire world. Michael Jackson was regarded by many as the premier entertainer in both singing and dancing. Jackson’s INNOVATIVE (Word 126) musical technique has influenced artists spanning all modern genres. His death was an especially GRAVE event because Jackson was preparing for his final tour, This Is It.
INQUISITIVE
Curious; inquiring
In the music video for her song “Friday,” Rebecca Black makes a silly INQUISITIVE remark that becomes the source of some parody. As she arrives at a crosswalk, she sees her friends driving to school. Her friends EXHORT (Word 53) her to hop into the car. Rebecca responds by
INQUIRING:
- Kickin’ in the front seat?*
- Sittin’ in the back seat?*
- Gotta make my mind up,*
- Which seat can I take?*
After her music video was called “the worst video ever” by a comedian with a Twitter following, INQUISITIVE YouTube users amassed over 167 million views and 3.1 million “dislikes,” helping to create an “overnight sensation.”
REFLECTIVE, PENSIVE
- Engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought, usually marked by sadness or* MELANCHOLY
- The Thinker,* a famous bronze and marble sculpture by August Rodin, depicts a PENSIVE man, that is, one captured in deep thought. The pose of The Thinker, seated with one fist nestled under his chin, has become very famous. The pose of deep REFLECTION has led many to believe that the man is struggling with some form of internal conflict. The original sculpture is located in Paris, but there are dozens of authentic cast replicas all over the world, including 13 in North America.
EQUIVOCAL
AMBIGUOUS (Word 21), open to interpretation, having several equally possible meanings
EQUIVOCATE
To avoid making an explicit statement; to hedge; to use vague or AMBIGUOUS (see KNOW YOUR ROOTS, p. 2) language
The classic movie The Graduate has a particularly EQUIVOCAL ending. Ben Braddock stt> e race out of the church and board a bus. But then their smiles fade, and they become strangely silent.
The film’s AMBIGUOUS ending leaves the audience wondering if they really love each other and what will happen to them in the future.
In election campaigns candidates often appear to be EQUIVOCATING, as if fearful of losing votes by coming out too UNEQUIVOCALLY on one side or another of an issue.
Alfred Hitchcock COINED (Word 296) the term of what is now a commonly used plot device in movies: the MacGuffin. A MacGuffin is a critically important object that drives the story forward, but whose exact nature usually remains AMBIGUOUS and undefined. In the film Citizen Kane, the meaning of the word “Rosebud” is the MacGuffin. In the movie Pulp Fiction, the briefcase is an EQUIVOCAL MacGuffin. The briefcase is very important to the characters, yet we never see the contents of the precious luggage. Fans of the movie often hypothesize and debate about the AMBIGUOUS contents of the briefcase.
DEFERENTIAL
Respectful; dutiful That Prince William’s wife, Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge and future queen of England, is a former commoner means that she must show proper DEFERENCE to the royal family, including Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the daughters of Prince Andrew. This DEFERENTIAL protocol is outlined in the “Order Of Precedence Of The Royal Family,” which was recently revised by Queen Elizabeth to take into account Kate’s non-royal origins. On the hit Masterpiece Theater TV show Downton Abbey, the valet Bates must show proper DEFERENCE to Lord Grantham, even though the two served together in the Boer war. In the highly STRATIFIED (hierarchal, separated into a sequence of social levels) world of early 20th century British society, his role as a servant requires that he be DEFERENTIAL.
EBULLIENT, ELATED, ECSTATIC, EUPHORIC, EXUBERANT
Feeling or expressing great happiness or triumph
The London Olympic Women’s Soccer final was a EUPHORIC day for the U.S. team. The Americans won the gold medal against Japan and AVENGED (take vengeance or exact satisfaction for) their defeat in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup final. The American team was ELATED to win the third consecutive Olympic gold medal for the United States.
Even though the Japanese women were CRESTFALLEN (sad and disappointed) at the end of the final game; they were EBULLIENT as they stood on the medndrdrdrdrdr d al stand to receive their Olympic silver medals. (They also got to fly home in Business Class). The Canadian women’s team was ECSTATIC when they received their bronze medals since they were the first Canadian team sport to bring back a medal since the 1936 Berlin Olympic games.
TIP:
The word EBULLIENT comes from the Latin verb ebullire, to bubble forth or be boisterous, going back to bullire, to boil. So an EBULLIENT person is bubbly, upbeat, and high-spirited.
BENEVOLENT
Well-meaning; kindly
MALEVOLENT
Wishing evil to others, showing ill will Mother Teresa was a BENEVOLENT Catholic nun who served the people of India for over 45 years, ministering to the poor, sick, and orphaned, while spreading a message of love. Mother Teresa also founded a program called Missionaries of Charity, which supported soup kitchens, orphanages, schools, and homes for people with HIV/AIDS. Mother Teresa’s BENEVOLENCE can be noted in such sayings as:
“Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand. ”
Perhaps the most MALEVOLENT of all historical figures was Hitler, who ordered the deaths of millions of people during the Holocaust. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Iago MALEVOLENTLY manipulates Othello into believing that his loving and innocent wife, Desdemona, is unfaithful. The question of Iago’s motives remains one of the most mysterious of literary enigmas. Perhaps he is simply evil.
WHIMSICAL
Playful; fanciful; CAPRICIOUS (Word 63); given to whimsies or odd notions
In Disney/Pixar’s Up, Carl Fredricksen lives in a quirky old house painted in lots of bright colors surrounded by modern, sleek skyscrapers. His multicolored cottage adds a touch of WHIMSY to the sterility of the neighborhood. His unique house becomes even more WHIMSICAL when he ties it to thousands of colorful balloons and flies it through town. The citizens are delighted by the fanciful flying house.
VINDICTIVE
Having a strong desire for revenge
Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather chronicles the rise of Michael Corleone in his family’s organized crime business. Michael is initially AMBIVALENT (Word 1) about joining the Mafia, but after his father is almost assassinated, he declares his loyalty to the Corleone family business. As he accumulates more power and rises to the top of the family, he becomes increasingly ruthless and VINDICTIVE. When he becomes the Don of the Corleone family, he orchestrates a series of hits on all of his enemies in order to “settle all family business.” His VINDICTIVE and vengeful behavior continues throughout The Godfather trilogy, as he takes revenge on everyone with whom he has grievances.
Country-pop star Taylor Swift is known for her autobiographical love songs, but her song “Better Than Revenge” reveals a surprisingly VINDICTIVE side. In the song, Taylor describes a cruel girl who stole her boyfriend. In the chorus, Taylor warns, “She should keep in mind there is nothing I do better than revenge.” By filling her lyrics with CAUSTIC (Word 242) remarks about the girl, Taylor seems to have gotten revenge through this song.
