General Vocabulary 15 Flashcards
Petrifaction (n)
The state of being petrified.
In the next chapter I shall explain how these petrifaction stories developed.
Hardihood (n)
Boldness, daring and courage
The hardihood of early settlers.
Faddists (n)
A person following a fad or given to fads, as one who seeks and adheres briefly to a passing variety of unusual diets, beliefs,
Coonskin (n)
An article of clothing made of coonskin, especially a cap with a tail.
Atavistic (adj)
Relating to or characterized by reversion to something ancient or ancestral.
These councils have been seeking amendments in the Hindu Marriage Act to support their atavistic views.
Verbiage (n)
Excessively lengthy or technical speech or writing.
The basic idea here, despite all the verbiage, is simple.
A Priori
Relating to or denoting reasoning or knowledge which proceeds from theoretical deduction rather than from observation or experience.
A priori assumptions about human nature.
Irredentism (n)
A policy of advocating the restoration to a country of any territory formerly belonging to it.
Bulgaria, motivated mainly by irredentism, fought on the German side during both world wars.
Acrophobic (n)
A pathological fear of heights.
Acrophobics should probably avoid this hike.
Parlous (adj)
Full of danger or uncertainty; precarious.
The parlous state of the economy.
Irenic (adj)
Tending to promote peace or reconciliation.
Factoid (n)
An item of unreliable information that is reported and repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact.
He addresses the facts and factoids which have buttressed the film’s legend.”
Autarkies (n)
A country, state, or society which is economically independent.
Rural community autarky is a Utopian dream.
Tendentious (adj)
Having or showing a definite tendency, bias, or purpose:
A tendentious reading of history.
Gibbets (n)
Gallows
The four ringleaders were sentenced to the gibbet
Bear-baiting (n)
A form of entertainment which involved setting dogs to attack a captive bear.
Pollyanna (n)
An excessively cheerful or optimistic person.
What I am saying makes me sound like some ageing Pollyanna who just wants to pretend that all is sweetness and light.
Innumeracy (n)
Illiteracy of numbers and mathematics in general.
Short shrift (n)
Curt treatment.
The judge gave short shrift to an argument based on the right to free speech.
Juddering (v)
Shake and vibrate rapidly and with force.
The steering wheel juddered in his hand.
Kleptocrat (n)
A ruler who uses their power to steal their country’s resources.
Praetor (adj)
[preetor]
One of a number of elected magistrates charged chiefly with the administration of civil justice.
Messianic (adj)
Inspired by hope or belief in a messiah.
The messianic expectations of that time.
Epidemiology (n)
The branch of medicine which deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health.
Ipso Facto (adv)
By that very fact or act.
The enemy of one’s enemy may be ipso facto a friend.
Pigeonholing (v)
Assign to a particular category, typically an overly restrictive one.
I was pigeonholed as a ‘youth writer’.
Eschatological (adj)
Relating to death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.
Unorthodox religionists concerned with eschatological questions.
Sequelae (n)
[Seekwela]
A condition which is the consequence of a previous disease or injury.
The long-term sequelae of infection.
Hobgoblins (n)
A mischievous imp or sprite.
Maximalist (n) (adj)
A person who holds extreme views and is not prepared to compromise.
The maximalist interpretation is more promising.
Locomotors (n)
A person or thing that is capable of locomotion.
Locomotor organs need exercising.
Extremis (adv)
In an extremely difficult situation.
I’ll only ask the bank for a loan in extremis.
Nihilistic (adj)
Rejecting all religious and moral principles in the belief that life is meaningless.
An embittered, nihilistic teenager.
Falsifiable (v)
To make false or incorrect, especially so as to deceive.
To falsify income-tax reports.
Revanchist (n)
An advocate or supporter of a political policy of revanche(regain lost territory), especially in order to seek vengeance for a previous military defeat.
Gantlet (n)
A track construction used in narrow places, in which two parallel tracks converge so that their inner rails cross, run parallel, and diverge again, thus allowing a train to remain on its own track at all time.
Ad Hominem(adj)
Criticism or attacks directed against a person, rather than against what they say.
Sometimes, he relies on an ad hominem argument.
Weathervane (n)
A revolving pointer to show the direction of the wind, typically mounted on top of a building.
Culvert (n)
A tunnel carrying a stream or open drain under a road or railway.
Insensate (adj)
Lacking physical sensation.
A patient who was permanently unconscious and insensate.
Comity (n)
The mutual recognition by nations of the laws and customs of others.
The comity of nations.
Innate (adj)
Inborn; natural.
Her innate capacity for organization.
Animus (n)
Hostility or ill feeling.
The author’s animus towards her.
Prosecutrix (n)
A female person, as a complainant or chief witness, instigating prosecution in a criminal proceeding.
Cuckoldry (n)
The act of making someone’s husband a cuckold.
Encumbrance (n)
Something burdensome, useless, or superfluous, a burden or hindrance.
Poverty was a lifelong encumbrance.
Cognate (adj)
Related by birth; of the same parentage, descent, etc.
OR
descended from the same language or form.
Cognate languages such as French and Spanish.
Rapscallion (n)
A mischievous person.
They were the rapscallions behind this practical joke.
Florid (adj)
Reddish, ruddy, rosy.
OR
Flowery; excessively ornate.
A florid complexion.
Florid writing.
Uxoricide (n)
The killing of one’s wife.
Matricide (n)
The act of killing one’s mother.
Weaning (v)
Accustom (someone) to managing without something which they have become dependent on.
The doctor tried to wean her off the sleeping pills.
Filicide (n)
The killing of one’s son or daughter.
Amniocentesis (n)
A process in which amniotic fluid is sampled using a hollow needle inserted into the uterus, to screen for abnormalities in the developing fetus.
Culling (v)
Select from a large quantity; obtain from a variety of sources
OR
Reduce the population of (a wild animal) by selective slaughter.
Anecdotes culled from Greek and Roman history.
Midwives (n)
A person, typically a woman, who is trained to assist women in childbirth.
Putative (adj)
Generally considered or reputed to be.
The putative author of the book.
Upshot (n)
The final or eventual outcome or conclusion of a discussion.
The upshot of the meeting was that he was on the next plane to New York.
Treacle (n)
Cloying sentimentality or flattery.
Enough of this treacle - let’s get back to business.
Teleogical (adj)
The belief that purpose and design are a part of or are apparent in nature.
Gestalt (n)
An organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts.
Right now I needed a gestalt of something whose whole would be a lot greater than the sum of its parts.
Sacralization (n)
To make sacred; imbue with sacred character, especially through ritualized devotion:
Snitches (n)
An informer.
OR
To steal.
They thought he was a plant or a snitch.
Parlayed (v)
Transform into (something greater or more valuable).
A banker who parlayed a sizable inheritance into a financial empire.
Pederasty (n)
Sexual relationship of a man with a boy.
Concordant (adj)
In agreement; consistent.
The answers were roughly concordant.
Precept (n)
A general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought.
The legal precept of being innocent until proven guilty.
Totem (n)
A person or thing regarded as being symbolic or representative of a particular quality or concept.
The fast food chains have become totems of Western economic development.
Tetanus (n)
A bacterial disease marked by rigidity and spasms of the voluntary muscles.
Frugivores (n)
[Froogivor]
An animal that feeds on fruit.
Homo sapiens (n)
The primate species to which modern humans belong.
A small barefoot Homo sapiens could have made the footprints.
Physiological (adj)
Relating to the branch of biology that deals with the normal functions of living organisms and their parts.
Slow down your body’s physiological response to anger by breathing deeply.
Gelding (n)
A castrated animal, especially a male horse.
Anthropocentrism (n)
A belief in humans and their existence as the most important and central fact in the universe.
Our anthropocentrism is ruining the world, for us and every other form of life.
Utilitarian (adj)
Designed to be useful or practical rather than attractive.
A utilitarian building.
Locavore (n)
A person whose diet consists only or principally of locally grown or produced food.
Incurious (adj)
Not eager to know something; lacking curiosity.
As for who had written it, she was oddly incurious.
Entree (n)
The main course of a meal.
Physiologist (n)
An expert in or student of the branch of biology that deals with the normal functions of living organisms and their parts.
Neonaticide (n)
The act of killing a baby in the first 24 hours of its life.
Slaked (v)
Quench or satisfy (one’s thirst).
Slake your thirst with citron pressé.
Red Herring
A clue or piece of information which is or is intended to be misleading or distracting.
The book is fast-paced, exciting, and full of red herrings.
Tort (n)
A wrongful act or an infringement of a right (other than under contract) leading to legal liability.
Public nuisance is a crime as well as a tort.
Plaintiff (n)
A person who brings a case against another in a court of law.
The plaintiff commenced an action for damages.
Armamentarium (n)
A collection of resources available for a certain purpose.
The technological armamentarium.
Expropriate (v)
Take (property) by the state from its owner for public use or benefit.
Their assets were expropriated by the government.
Ratiocination (n)
The process of logical reasoning.
Expository (adj)
Intended to explain or describe something.
An expository prologue.
Femicide (n)
The act of killing a woman, as by a domestic partner or a member of a criminal enterprise.
Antlers (n)
One of the solid deciduous horns, usually branched, of an animal of the deer family.
Primatologist (n)
The branch of zoology dealing with the primates.
Gauntlet (n)
Go through an intimidating or dangerous crowd or experience in order to reach a goal.
She had to run the gauntlet of male autograph seekers.
Saporific (adj)
Producing or imparting flavor or taste.
Piquant (adj)
Pleasantly stimulating or exciting to the mind or taste buds.
A piquant tartare sauce.
Banal (n)
Not original or interesting.
The instructor’s script is banal, relying heavily on images in place of textual content.
Baleful (adj)
Having a harmful or destructive effect.
The baleful influence of Rasputin.
Baneful (adj)
Harmful or destructive.
The baneful effects of envy and jealousy.
Plenary (adj)
A plenary meeting is one at which all the members of a group or organization are present, especially at a conference.
A plenary session of the UN Security Council.
Spiel (n)
An elaborate or glib speech, one especially delivered as a sales pitch.
His marketing spiel delivered results where it mattered most.
Soliloquy (n)
An act of speaking aloud one’s thoughts when by oneself or regardless of others around.
Hamlet’s soliloquy starts “To be or not to be”.
