Deck 1

Question 1

deride

Answer 1

to mock; to laugh at in scorn or contempt

Democrats Deride Bush And Dismiss One Another.

Question 2

derivative

Answer 2

something derived; unoriginal

The drug morphine is the principal derivative of opium, which is the juice in the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy.

Question 3

desiccate

Answer 3

to dry completely

The dry desert air caused the bodies of the dead animals to desiccate quickly.

Question 4

desuetude

Answer 4

state of disuse; state of no longer being used or practiced

NASA is considering a plan to refurbish booster rockets from the Apollo Program that have fallen into desuetude.

Question 5

desultory

Answer 5

random; disconnected; rambling

The jury had difficulty following the witnesses’ desultory testimony.

Question 6

deterrent

Answer 6

something that discourages or hinders

During the Cold War, the United States maintained a large number of nuclear weapons as a deterrent to aggression by the Soviet Union and its allies.

Question 7

detraction

Answer 7

the act of taking away; derogatory comment on a person’s character

The writer reponded in a letter to the critic’s long list of detractions about his book.

Question 8

diaphanous

Answer 8

transparent; fine-textured; insubstantial; vague

In World War II, many soldiers went to war with diaphanous dreams of glory, but found instead horror and death.

Question 9

diatribe

Answer 9

bitter verbal attack

The speaker launched into a diatribe against what he called “the evils of technology”.

Question 10

dichotomy

Answer 10

division into two usually contradictory parts

The philosopher is a dualist who argues that there is a dichotomy between the mind and physical phenomena.

Question 11

diffidence

Answer 11

shyness; lack of confidence

As a result of the strength of his opposition to the Vietnam War Senator Eugene McCarthy overcame his diffidence and ran against President Lyndon Johnson for the Democratic nomination for president.

Question 12

diffuse

Answer 12

to spread out

The idea of equality and liberty diffused through society after the French Revolution.

Question 13

digression

Answer 13

act of straying from the main point

The novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M.Pirsig contains many fascinating digressions from the main story that discuss topics such as Platonic philosophy.

Question 14

disabuse

Answer 14

to free from a misconception

The chairman of the Federal Reserve used his testimony before Congress to disabuse his audience of the idea that the busines cycle had been eliminated by the unprecedented period of prosperity.

Question 14

discerning

Answer 14

perspective; exhibiting keen insight and good judgement

Discerning movie critics have praised the work of producer Stanley Kubrick, who produced such excellent films…

Question 15

discomfit

Answer 15

to make uneasy; disconcert

The young man was discomfited being the only male in the play.

Question 16

discordant

Answer 16

not in tune; disagreeing

In a pluralistic society there exists a cacophony of discordant voices, each shouting to be heard.

Question 17

discredit

Answer 17

to dishonor; disgrace; cause to be doubted

The candidate’s attempt to discredit his opponent by spreading damaging rumors about him failed.

Question 18

discrepancy

Answer 18

difference; inconsistency

The book studies the discrepancy in values and outlook between men who fought in the war, whether volutarily or not, and those who remained civilians.

Question 19

discrete

Answer 19

constituting a separate thing; distinct

Like the physicist, the abstract artist strives to identify the discrete elements of reality and to understand how they interact.

Question 20

discretion

Answer 20

quality of showing self-restraint in speech or actions; freedom of judgement or choice

In nineteenth-century Britain gentlemen were expected to behave with discretion.

Question 21

disingenuous

Answer 21

lacking in frankness, candor, or sincerety; falsely ingenuous

When a person starts a sentence, “I don’t mean to appear disingenuous,” one might be tempted to suspect that the person is being just that.

Question 22

disinterested

Answer 22

unprejudiced, objective

The newspaper reporter looked for **disinterested ** witnesses to the events so that she could get an objective account of what had happened.

Question 23

disjointed

Answer 23

lacking order or coherence; dislocated

The technique of telling a story through a disjointed narrative is a technique best left to masters of the modern novel such as James Joyce and William Faulkner.

Question 24

dismiss

Answer 24

to put away from consideratoin; reject Investigators **dismissed** the man's account of a visit to another planet aboard an alien spacecraft as the product of an overactive imagination.

Question 25

disparage

Answer 25

to speak or treat slightingly; depreciate Though sometimes **disparaged** as merely an intelletual game, philosophy provides us with a method for inquiring systematically into problems that arise in areas such as medicine, science, and technology.

Question 26

disparate

Answer 26

distinct in kind; dissimilar Many technological projects are interdisciplinary, requiring a knowledge of fields as **disparate** as physics and biology.

Question 27

dissemble

Answer 27

to pretend; conceal the truth or real nature of I believe you are **dissembling.** I want you to tell me the whole truth about what happened that night.

Question 28

disseminate

Answer 28

to spread; scatter; disperse Belief in reincarnation appeared as doctrine first in India and was **disseminated** throughout Asia by Buddhism.

Question 29

dissident

Answer 29

person who disagrees Some of the most notorious concentration camps in history were the Gulag camps used by the Soviet Union to control **dissidents.**

Question 30

dissolution

Answer 30

disintegration; debauchery Some philosophers maintain that the **dissolution** of the body does not mean the destruction of the mind.

Question 31

dissonance

Answer 31

discord; lack of harmony In psychology, the term "cognitive **dissonance**" refers to a conflict resulting from inconsistency between one's beliefs and one's actions.

Question 32

distend

Answer 32

to expand; swell out People in an advanced stage of starvation often have **distended** bellies.

Question 33

distill

Answer 33

to extract the essential elements In his book..., Bryan Magee manages to **distill** the essence of leading thinkers such as ...

Question 34

distrait

Answer 34

inattentive because of distracting worries; preoccupied The chairperson became **distrait** because his secretary was not sitting in her usual position on his right.

Question 35

diverge

Answer 35

to vary; go in different directions from the same point

Question 36

divest

Answer 36

to strip of clothig, ornament, etc.; deprive; rid The candidate for secretary of defense pledged to **divest** himself of the shares he held in defense-related companies.

Question 37

divulge

Answer 37

to make known something that is secret; disclose or reveal Under the Geneva Conventions, prisoners of war cannot be tortured and forced to **divulge** information.

Question 38

doctrinaire

Answer 38

n. adj. (relating to a) person who cannot compromise about points of a theory or doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding The **doctrinaire** Marxists say that capitalism is merely a temporary phenomenon on the road to socialism.

Question 39

document

Answer 39

to provide with written evidence to support The insurance company asked Debbie to **document** her claim with letters from the doctors who treated her for her condition.

Question 40

doggerel

Answer 40

poor verse In his book..., the literary critic Paul Fussell quotes this bit of **doggerel** from a U.S. Army latrine during World War II: ``` Soldiers who wish to be a hero Are practically zero. But those who wish to be civilians, Jesus, they run into millions. ```

Question 41

dogmatic

Answer 41

stating opinions without proof Since every case is unique, jurists must not be **dogmatic** in applying precedents to make their decision, but instead must base their decision on a combination of such precedents and the facts of the case at hand.

Question 42

dormant

Answer 42

inactive There is a considerable body of evidence showing that many diseases, such as ulcers, asthma, and hypertension have a large psychological component; the working hypothesis is that they represent manifestations of **dormant** emotional disturbances.

Question 43

dross

Answer 43

waste; worthless matter; trivial matter One of the ways the **dross** among blogs on the Internet are filtered out from the worthwhile ones is through links good blogs provide to other good blogs.

Question 44

dupe

Answer 44

to deceive; trick In friendship, as well as in love, the mind is often **duped** by the heart."

Question 45

ebullient

Answer 45

overflowing with fervor, enthusiasm, or excitement The **ebullient** candidate for president appeared before his supporters to announce that he had won in a landslide.

Question 46

eclectic

Answer 46

selecting from various sources But in a shift mirrored by many other Internet users, Mr. Dudley's interest in the Web is no longer driven by **eclectic** imagination. When he logs on now, he knows what he wants and he mostly knows where to get it. (nytimes)

Question 47

effervescence

Answer 47

state of high spirits of liveliness; the process of bubbling as gas escapes A person who believes himself to be physically unattractive might develop an **effervescent** personality as a compensation for his perceived deficiency.

Question 48

effete

Answer 48

depleted of vitality; overrefined; decadent "A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an **effete** corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals."

Question 49

efficacy

Answer 49

efficiency; effectiveness A cardinal rule of medicine is that the **efficacy** of a treatment should be measured against the seriousness of its side effects.

Question 50

effrontery

Answer 50

shameless boldness; presumptuousness In her essay the student had the **effrontery** to argue that school is largely a waste of time.

Question 51

egotistical

Answer 51

excessively self-centered; conceited The critics accused the writer of being **egotistical** since she wrote only about herself.

Question 52

elicit

Answer 52

to provoke; draw out The Socratic method is designed to **elicit** responses that guide the student toward understanding.

Question 53

elixir

Answer 53

a substance believed to have the power to cure ills The doctor said that her prescription would help to alleviate my condition but that I could not expect it to be an **elixir**.

Question 53

Elysian

Answer 53

blissful; delightful \* Elysium is described in Homer's Odyssey as a place of eternal spring where the souls of heroes and others who are blessed by the gods wander blissfully.

Question 54

emaciated

Answer 54

thin and wasted, abnormally thin because of lack of nutrition or disease The prisoner was **emaciated** after being fed only bread and water for three months.

Question 55

embellish

Answer 55

to adorn; decorate; enhance; make more attractive by adding details The story he had been told was so powerful that the writer felt no need to **embellish** it.

Question 56

gullible

Answer 56

easily deceived or cheated In the nineteenth century, snake oil salesmen traveled around America selling elixirs to **gullible** people.

Question 57

garner

Answer 57

[穀物倉・貯蔵庫などに]蓄える、蓄積する to get; acquire; earn The politician has found a grassroots approach to **garner**ing support to be most efficacious.

Question 58

conceited

Answer 58

having an excessively favorable opinion about one's ability, appearance, etc

Question 59

emollient

Answer 59

soothing; mollifying The politician's speech is filled with **emollient** phrases to make his message more palatable.

Question 60

emulate

Answer 60

to imitate; copy Bionics uses technology to **emulate** nature, but sometimes a similar process occurs in reverse, in which scientists use technology as a heuristic tool to better understand natural processes.

Question 61

encomium

Answer 61

a formal expression of praise The prime minister asked her speechwriter to compose an **encomium** for the retiring general.

Question 62

endemic

Answer 62

natural to or characteristic of specific people or place Malaria, once **endemic** to the area, has now been largely eradicated.

Question 63

enervate

Answer 63

to weaken During World War II Russian commanders counted on the bitter cold to **enervate** German soldiers invading their country.

Question 64

engender

Answer 64

to cause; produce Hatred **engender**s violence.

Question 65

enunciate

Answer 65

to pronounce clearly In everyday speech the sounds of many words are not **enunciated** clearly.

Question 66

prodigious

Answer 66

extraordinary in size, amount, extent, degree, force, etc. a **prodigious** research grant

Question 67

emancipate

Answer 67

to free from restraint, influence, or the like Charles Darwin **emancipated** science from the ideologies of philosophy and religion by being fiercely independent in his thinking, rejecting all prevailing dogmas...

Question 67

ephemeral

Answer 67

short-lived Impressioninst painters such as Claude Monet share with Romantics an affinity for nature, but the Impressionists took a more scientific interest in it, attempting to accurately depict **ephemeral** phenomena such as the play of light on water.

Question 68

equable

Answer 68

free from many changes or variations; serene Throughout the crisis the president remained **equable**.

Question 69

equitable

Answer 69

characterized by equity or fairness; just and right; fair; reasonable **equitable** treatment of all citizens

Question 70

equanimity

Answer 70

mental or emotional stability or composure; calmness Emergency room doctors and nurses are trained to maintain their **equanimity** when treating patients.

Question 71

equivocate

Answer 71

to intentionally use vague language The businessperson has earned a reputation as someone who never **equivocates** and can be trusted to do exactly what he promises.

Question 71

errant

Answer 71

mistaken; straying from the proper course The pitcher's **errant** fastball struck the batter on the shoulder.

Question 72

erudite

Answer 72

characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly Fredercik Copleston, author of the nine-volume History of Philosophy, was undoubtedly one of the most **erudite** people who ever lived.

Question 73

esoteric

Answer 73

hard to understand; known only to a few Epidemiologists, using **esoteric** statistical analyses, ..., investigate the cause of a disease, its distribution, method of spread and measures for preventing or controlling it.

Question 74

essay

Answer 74

to try; attempt; subject to a test The composer began work on a sonata, a form she had not previously **essayed**.

Question 75

estimable

Answer 75

admirable; possible to estimate Alistair Cooke's book Six Men contains character studies of **estimable** modern figures including ...

Question 76

veer

Answer 76

to change direction or turn about or aside; shift The missile had to be destroyed after it **veered** off course.

Question 77

overshadow

Answer 77

to be more important or significant by comparison an author who does not allow facts to be **overshadowed** by politics

Question 78

illuminate

Answer 78

to supply or brighten with light; light up

Question 79

obscure

Answer 79

adj.v. not clear or plain; ambiguous this author does not permit them to **obscure** his comprehensive description of what we know about our biosphere.

Question 80

temperance

Answer 80

moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control **Temperance** is the best physic.

Question 81

tumultuous

Answer 81

full of tumult or riotousness; marked by disturbance and uproar; 騒然とした; 動乱の; 無秩序の The more his eminence as an artist increased, the more **tumultuous** his life became.

Question 82

providence

Answer 82

the foreseeing care and guidance of God or nature over the creatures of earth; 神の導き

Question 83

dispassionate

Answer 83

free from or unaffected by passion; devoid of personal feeling or bias a **dispassionate** critic

Question 84

precarious

Answer 84

dependent on circumstances beyond one's control; uncertain; unstable a **precarious** livelihood

Question 85

relentless

Answer 85

unyieldingly severe, strict, or harsh; 無慈悲な; 容赦ない a **relentless** enemy

Question 86

trifling

Answer 86

of very little importance; trivial; insignificant a **trifling** matter

Question 87

ameliorate

Answer 87

to make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory; improve **ameliorate** a condition