H's Flashcards
Hallmark
A mark or indication of quality, purity, genuineness, etc.; any distinguishing characteristic (not positive)
Fast-paced rhymes, an angry tenor, and personal attacks on celebrities are hallmarks of Eminem’s music.
Hallucination
A delusion, a false or mistaken idea; seeing, sensing, or hearing things that aren’t there, such as from a mental disorder.
Handpick
To pick by hand, to personally select.
The retiring CEO handpicked his successor.
Hardly
Almost or probably not, or not at all. ( I can hardly see you means I can see you only a little bit.) But in the following sentence, hardly means not.
The news could hardly have come at a worse time. (The meaning is The news came at the worst possible time.)
Hardy
Bold, brave, capable of withstanding hardship, fatigue, old, etc.
While the entire family enjoyed the trip to South America, only the hardier members even attempted to hike to the top of Ecuador’s tallest volcano.
Hearken or Hark
Listen, pay attention to. The expression hearken back or hark back means to turn back to something earlier or return to a source.
The simple lifestyle and anachronistic dress of the Amish hearken back to an earlier era.
The nation’s first change of leadership in decades is causing the people to hearken closely to what is happening in government.
Hedge
Avoid commitment by leaving provisions for withdrawal or changing one’s mind; protect a bet by also betting on the other side.
When the professor called on him to take a stand on the issue, he hedged for fear of offending her: “Well, there are valid points on both sides,” he said.
Hegemony
Domination, authority; influence by one country over others socially, culturally, economically, etc.
The discovery of oil by a previously poor nation disrupted the larger, richer nation’s hegemony in the region - suddenly, the hegemon had a competitor.
Heterogenous
Different in type, incongruous; composed of different types of elements. Homogeneous (of the same kind) is the opposite of heterogeneous.
Rather than build the wall with plain brick, we used a heterogeneous mixture of stones - they are not only different colors, but a variety of sizes as well.
Hierarchy
A ranked series; a classification of people according to rank, ability, etc.; a ruling body.
The Eco-Action Coalition was led by a strict hierarchy: members followed orders from district leaders, district leaders from regional leaders, and regional leaders from the national head.
Holdings
Property, such as land, capital, and stock. The company liquidated its holdings means that the company sold off everything. Of course, the word hold has many meanings. In a holding patterns is an expression that means staying still, not changing.
Host
A large amount. A host of problems means a lot of problems.
Hyperbole
Deliberate exaggeration for effect.
Oh, come on. Saying “That movie was so bad it made me puke” was surely hyperbole. I strongly doubt that you actually vomited during or following The Back-Up Plan.
