JOV Quiz Words Units 21-26 Flashcards
Aerobic
Able to live or grow only in the presence of oxygen
Animated
Alive; lively; spirited
Biodegradable
Capable of being readily decomposed by living microorganisms
Ecology
Interrelationship between living organisms and their environment
Expatriate
One who lives in a foreign country
Reclusive
Solitary; living in seclusion, apart from others; like a recluse
Resuscitate
Revive from apparent death; restore to life
Abyss
(literally, “without bottom”) Seemingly bottomless pit or gulf; chasm; anything immeasurably deep.
Anesthesia
(literally, “without feeling”) partial or complete loss of the sense of pain, with or without loss of consciousness, artificially induced by drugs
Anomaly
(literally, “not regular”) irregularity; departure from the common rule; abnormality
Apolitical
Not connected with political matters; of no political significance; uninterested in politics
Asymptomatic
Without evidence of disease; symptomless
Atrophy
(literally, condition of being “without nourishment”) wasting away or decrease in size of a body organ or tissue
Atypical
Not typical; irregular; abnormal
Articulate
Capable of speech; able to express oneself effectively
Cliche
Overused expression; trite phrase; platitude
Euphemism
Mild expression substituted for one that may be harsh or unpleasant
Palindrome
Any word, phrase, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward
Pejorative
Having a derogatory meaning or effect; disparaging; downgrading
Pun
Play on words having the same sound but different meanings; play on different meanings of the same word
Understatement
Restrained statement in mocking contrast to what is warranted by the facts
Achilles’ heel
Vulnerable spot or weak point
Between Scylla and Charybdis
Between two equally difficult alternatives, neither of which can be avoided without incurring the other
Catch-22
Paradox (contradiction) in an order or regulation that makes people victims of its
Cry wolf
Give alarm without occasion; give a false alarm
Last straw
Final test of patience or endurance
Murphy’s Law
Satirical maxim stating that if anything can go wrong; it will
Pandora’s box
Source of extensive unforeseen troubles
Extrapolate
Estimate or infer unknown information by extending or projecting known information
Hype
Exaggerated claims, especially in advertising; anything intended to mislead
Insomniac
Person suffering from insomnia (prolonged and abnormal inability to obtain sufficient sleep)
Mortify
Humiliate; subject to shame
Precipitation
Amount of rain, snow, sleet, hail, etc., falling on an area in a specified period
Subside
Become less intense; abate; wane
Ubiquitous
Existing or seeming to exist everywhere at the same time; omnipresent
Caveat emptor
Latin: “Let the buyer beware.” The buyer is at risk and the seller cannot be held responsible (except when there is a warranty)
Eureka
Greek: “I have found (it).” This expression of triumph was allegedly made by Archimedes (287 - 212 B.C.) when he discovered a method for determining the purity of gold.
Habeas corpus
Latin: “You shall have the body (in court).” First two words of a writ issued by a court, requiring a person detained against his or her will to be brought before the court to determine the lawfulness of that detention. A writ of habeas corpus is a citizen’s protection against illegal imprisonment
Laissez-faire
French: “Let (people) do (as they choose).” (a) Policy of non-interference in the affairs of others; (b) theory that government should interfere as little as possible in economic affairs.
Tempus fugit
Latin: “Time flies.”
