Day 10 Flashcards
canto
division of a long poem. Dante’s poetic masterpiece The Divine Comedy is divided
into cantos.
Canvass
/determine votes, etc. After canvassing the sentiments of his constituents, the
congressman was confident that he represented the majority opinion of his district. also N.
Capacious
/spacious. In the capacious rotunda of the railroad terminal, thousands of travelers lingered
while waiting for their train.
Capitulate
/surrender. The enemy was warned to capitulate or face annihilation.
Cardinal
/chief. If you want to increase your word power, the cardinal rule of vocabulary-building is
to read.
Careen
/lurch; sway from side to side. The taxicab careened wildly as it rounded the corner
Carping
finding fault. A carping critic is a nit-picker: he loves to point out flaws. If you don’t
like this definition, feel free to carp.
cataclysm
/upheaval; deluge. A cataclysm such as the French Revolution affects all countries.
cataclysmic,ADJ.
Catechism
/book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer. He taught
by engaging his pupils in a catechism until they gave him the correct answer.
caucus
/private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy. At
the opening of Congress, the members of the Democratic Party held a caucus to elect the Majority
Leader of the House and the Party Whip.
caulk
/make watertight by filling in cracks. Jack had to caulk the tiles in the shower stall to stop
the leak into the basement below.
cavil
make frivolous objections. It’s fine when you make sensible criticisms, but it really bugs me
when you cavil about unimportant details. also N.
celerity
speed; rapidity. Hamlet resented his mother’s celerity in remarrying within a month after his
father’s death.
centripetal
tending toward the center. Does centripetal force or the force of gravity bring orbiting bodies
to the earth’s surface?
centurion
Roman army officer. Because he was in command of a company of one hundred soldiers,
he was called a centurion.
cession
/yielding to another; ceding. The cession of Alaska to the United States is discussed in
this chapter.
chaff
worthless products of an endeavor. When you separate the wheat
from the chaff, be sure you throw out the chaff.
chaffing
/bantering; joking. Sometimes Chad’s flippant, chaffing remarks annoy us. Still, Chad’s
chaffing keeps us laughing. also N.
chary
/cautious; sparing or restrained about giving. A prudent, thrifty, New Englander, DeWitt
was as chary of investing money in junk bonds as he was chary of paying people unnecessary
compliments.
chasm
abyss. They could not see the bottom of the chasm.
chassis
framework and working parts of an automobile. Examining the car after the accident, the
owner discovered that the body had been ruined but that the chassis was unharmed.
chauvinist
/blindly devoted patriot. A chauvinist cannot recognize any faults in his country, no
matter how flagrant they may be. Likewise, a male chauvinist cannot recognize his bias in favor of his
own sex, no matter how flagrant that may be. chauvinistic,ADJ.
checkered
/marked by changes in fortune. During his checkered career he
had lived in palatial mansions and in dreary boardinghouses.
cherubic
/angelic; innocent-looking. With her cheerful smile and rosy cheeks, she was a
particularly cherubic child.
