Essential Units 8-14

Question 1

Atavism

Answer 1

Atavism (n)

In biology, the reappearance of a characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence; individual or a part that exhibits atavism; return of a trait after a period of absence.

Some modern political theorists reject nationalism as a tribal atavism.

Question 2

Attenuate

Answer 2

Attenuate (v)

To weaken

Modern digital radio equipment allows even signals that have been greatly attenuated to be transmitter by one station and received by another station.

Question 3

Audacious

Answer 3

Audacious (adj)

Bold; daring

The German army commander Erwin Rommel was known as the “Desert Fox” as a result of his audacious surprise attacks on Allied forces in World War 2.

Question 4

Austere

Answer 4

Austere (adj)

Stern; unadorned

Deism is an austere belief that reflects the predominant philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment: a universe symmetrical and governed by rationality.

Question 5

Autonomous

Answer 5

Autonomous (adj)

Self-governing; independent

Some biologists have theorized that our belief in our ability to act as autonomous agents is in conformity with the theory of evolution because it gives us a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives that helps us survive.

Question 6

Avarice

Answer 6

Avarice (n)

Greed

Successful investment bankers are sometimes accused of avarice; their defenders, however, say that they are simply very good at what they do and should be rewarded accordingly.

Question 7

Aver

Answer 7

Aver (v)

To affirm; to declare to be true

Yogis avers that everyone has a guru, wether it’s…

Question 8

Avocation

Answer 8

Avocation (n)

Secondary occupation

Dan was better at his avocation than his real job.

Question 9

Avuncular

Answer 9

Avuncular (adj)

Like an uncle, benevolent and tolerant

Walter Cronkite, who was the anchorman of CBS News during much of the 1970’s and 1980’s, had an avuncular manner that made him one of America’s most trusted personalities.

Question 10

Asylum

Answer 10

Asylum (n)

Place of refuge or shelter

The victim seemed asylum after the trial.

Question 11

Axiomatic

Answer 11

Axiomatic (adj)

Taken for granted

In nineteenth-century geology, uniformtarism was the antithesis of catastrophism, asserting that it was axiomatic that natural law and processes do not fundamentally change,, and that what we observe now is essentially the same as what occurred in the past.

Question 12

Bacchanalian

Answer 12

Bacchanalian (adj)

Pertaining to riotous or drunken festivity; pertaining to revelry.

For some people New Year’s Eve is an occasion for bacchanalian revelry.

Question 13

Banal

Answer 13

Banal (adj)

Commonplace; trite

The writer has a gift for making even the most banal observation seem important and original.

Question 14

Banter

Answer 14

Banter (n)

Playful conversation

The governor engaged in some banter with reporters before getting to the serious business of the news conference.

Question 15

Bard

Answer 15

Bard (n)

Poet

The great bards of English literature have all been masters of the techniques of verse.

Question 16

Bawdy

Answer 16

Bawdy (adj)

Obscene

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is the story of a group of Christian pilgrims who entertain one another with stories, ranging from the holy to the bawdy, on their journey to Canterbury Cathedral.

Question 17

Beatify

Answer 17

Beatify (v)

To sanctify; to bless; to ascribe a virtue

In the year 2000 Pope John Paul 2 traveled to Fatima in Portugal to beatify two of the three children who said they saw the appearance of the Virgin Mary there in 1917

Beatification is the second and next to last step on the path to sainthood.

Question 18

Bedizen

Answer 18

Bedizen (v)

To dress in a vulgar, show manner

Paul went to the costume party bedizened as a seventeenth century french aristocrat.

Question 19

Behemoth

Answer 19

Behemoth (n)

Huge creature; anything very large and powerful

Question 20

Belie

Answer 20

Belie (v)

To contradict; misrepresent; give a false impression

The boxer’s childlike face belies the ferocity with which he can attack opponents in the ring.

Question 21

Beneficent

Answer 21

Beneficent (adj)

Kindly; doing good

The theologian discussed the question of why a beneficent and omnipotent God allows bad things to happen to good people.

Question 22

Bifurcate

Answer 22

Bifurcate (v)

To divide into two parts

Teachers bifurcate their job into two parts- teaching and lesson planning.

Question 23

Blandishment

Answer 23

Blandishment (n)

Flattery

Despite the salesperson’s blandishments, Donna did not buy the car.

Blandish is the verb, meaning to coax with flattery.

Question 24

Blasé

Answer 24

Blasé (adj)

Bored because of frequent indulgence; unconcerned

We were amazed by John’s blase attitude toward school; he seems to have made it a rule never to open a book again.

Question 25

Bolster

Answer 25

Bolster (v) To give a boost to; prop up; support The president has visited the state several times to bolster his sagging popularity there.

Question 26

Bombastic

Answer 26

Bombastic (adj) Pompous; using inflated language Nearly lost in the senator's long, bombastic speech were several sensible ideas.

Question 27

Boorish

Answer 27

Boorish (adj) Rude; insensitive Bob apologized for his boorish behavior at the party, saying he hadn't realized that it was such a formal occasion.

Question 28

Bovine

Answer 28

Bovine (adj) Cowlike Following the slow moving group of students up the long path to the school's entrance, the word bovine popped into the English teachers mind

Question 29

Brazen

Answer 29

Brazen (adj) Bold; shameless The brazen student irritated his teacher by saying that he could learn more from a day spent "surfing" the World Wide Web than a day spent in school.

Question 30

Broach

Answer 30

Broach (v) To mention for the first time Steve's boss knew that she couldn't put off warning him about his poor performance and decided to broach the subject the next time she saw him.

Question 31

Bucolic

Answer 31

Bucolic (adj) Characteristic of the countryside; rustic; pastoral The south end of Toronto's beautiful high park is a bucolic expanse of land that is perfect for anyone wanting a quiet walk.

Question 32

Burgeon

Answer 32

Burgeon (v) To flourish After world war 2 came the increased speed of industrialization and the burgeoning world population.

Question 33

Burnish

Answer 33

Burnish (v) To polish The poet T.S. Eliot burnished his reputation as one the best poets of the twentieth century.

Question 34

Buttress

Answer 34

Buttress (v) To reinforce; support Innocent until proven guilty is argued as to being too difficult a criteria and they buttress their case by citing research.

Question 35

Cacophonous

Answer 35

Cacophonous (adj) Unpleasant or harsh-sounding Some people call that type of music cacophony noise.

Question 36

Cadge

Answer 36

Cadge (v) To beg; sponge The Great Depression created people cadging for money.

Question 37

Callous

Answer 37

Callous (adj) Thick-skinned; insensitive Jim's terrible experiences in the war have made him callous about the suffering of others.

Question 38

Calumny

Answer 38

Calumny (n) False and malicious accusation; slander "Be thou chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny."

Question 39

Canard

Answer 39

Canard (n) False, deliberately misleading story Most politicians do not want to be associated with the old canard that big government in Washington can solve all of America's problems.

Question 40

Canon

Answer 40

Canon (n) An established principle; a basis or standard for judgment; a group of literary works Star Wars canon

Question 41

Cant

Answer 41

Cant (n) Insincere talk; language of a particular group Many of the beat artists of the 1950's reacted against what they regarded as the cant of bourgeois society.

Question 42

Cantankerous

Answer 42

Cantankerous (adj) Irritable; Ill-humored Many of us have in our mind the stereotype of the cantankerous old man who is constantly complaining about something or other.

Question 43

Capricious

Answer 43

Capricious (adj) Fickle The rule of law is regarded as a great achievement since citizens are no longer subjugated to capricious decisions and verdicts.

Question 44

Captious

Answer 44

Captious (adj) Fault finding; intended to entrap, as in an argument The pendantic and captious critic seems incapable of appreciating the merits of even the most highly regarded books.

Question 45

Cardinal

Answer 45

Cardinal (adj) Of foremost importance The cardinal rule of any weight-loss diet must be limiting the intake of calories.

Question 46

Carnal

Answer 46

Carnal (adj) Of the flesh or body; related to physical appetites The yogi's god is to achieve nirvana through, among other things, the overcoming of carnal desires.

Question 47

Carping

Answer 47

Carping (v) To find fault; complain Cost-benefit analysis owes much of it's origin to utilitarian thought; despite the carping of critics that such analysis is based on faulty premises, the technique has proved useful in many areas.

Question 48

Cartography

Answer 48

Cartography (n) Science of making maps Satellites in Earth orbit take pictures of topography that have greatly aided cartography.

Question 49

Caste

Answer 49

Caste (n) any of the hereditary social classes of Hindu society; social stratification The Dalits, formerly known as untouchables, are at the bottom of the thousands of castes that make up Indian society. Caste is also an adjective.

Question 50

Cataclysm

Answer 50

Cataclysm (n) a violent upheaval that causes great destruction and change The French Revolution of 1789 was cataclysm whose effects are still felt today.

Question 51

Catalyst

Answer 51

Catalyst (n) Something causing change Among the catalysts of the romantic movement were the libertarian ideals of the French Revolution.

Question 52

Categorical

Answer 52

Categorical (adj) Absolute; without exception

Question 53

Caucus

Answer 53

Caucus (n) Smaller group within an organization The workers formed an informal caucus to discuss their difficulties

Question 54

Causal

Answer 54

Causal (adj) Involving a cause Plato believed there is a causal relationship between income equality, political discontent and crime.

Question 55

Caustic

Answer 55

Caustic (adj) Sarcastically biting; burning The columnists caustic comments on government policy did not win her any friends among government officials.

Question 56

Celestial

Answer 56

Celestial (adj) Concerning the sky or heavens; sublime Astronomers make use of the Doppler effect to measure the velocities and distance from Earth of stars and other celestial objects.

Question 57

Centrifugal

Answer 57

Centrifugal (adj) Moving away from a center As the empire expanded, there was an ever-increasing centrifugal stress as remote colonies sought autonomy.

Question 58

Centripetal

Answer 58

Centripetal (adj) Moving or directed toward a center Astronomers calculate that the centripetal forced exerted by the Earth's gravity on the moon will keep the moon in orbit around Earth for billions of years.

Question 59

Champion

Answer 59

Champion (v) To defend or support Robin Hood is famous for championing the underdogs of England.

Question 60

Castigation

Answer 60

Castigation (n) Punishment; chastisement; criticism Many British writers recall with loathing the castigation they received at school.

Question 61

Chasten

Answer 61

Chasten (v) To correct by punishment or reproof; to restrain or subdue The child's behavior improved after she had been chastened by punishment.

Question 62

Chicanery

Answer 62

Chicanery (n) Trickery; fraud The governor ordered an audit to investigate alleged financial chicanery.

Question 63

Chivalry

Answer 63

Chivalry (n) The qualities idealized by knighthood such as bravery and gallantry toward women.

Question 64

Churlish

Answer 64

Churlish (adj) Rude; boorish According to the chivalric code, a knight was never supposed to be churlish, especially toward noble ladies, to whom he was supposed to be unfailingly gentle and courteous.

Question 65

Circuitous

Answer 65

Circuitous (adj) Roundabout According to Hindu philosophy, some souls take a circuitous path through many births to reach God.

Question 66

Clairvoyant

Answer 66

Clairvoyant (n) One who can predict the future; psychic He was a famous clairvoyant.

Question 67

Clamor

Answer 67

Clamor (n) Noisy outcry Over the past 12 years or so the clamor for better protection for the Earth's rain Forrest's had increased dramatically.

Question 68

Clique

Answer 68

Clique (n) a small, exclusive group

Question 69

Cloister

Answer 69

Cloister (v) To confine; seclude The writer cloistered herself in a country house to finish her novel. Cloistered (adj) To shut away from the world

Question 70

Coagulate

Answer 70

Coagulate (v) Thicken; congeal In normal individuals, blood behind to coagulate about 20 seconds after a wound is sustained, thus preventing further bleeding.