kk Flashcards
Insolence
Insolence is a rude, disrespectful act. The teenager’s insolence got her in trouble with her teachers.
Insolence is an act of or the trait of being a jerk, especially to someone you should respect. Insolence is what rude and stuck-up people show off every chance they get. They ignore their parents, walk out on dinner bills, elbow old people out of the way, and tell professors their clothes look cheap. Insolence is a trait to get rid of, not flaunt. Teenagers often embrace insolence when they get to the age when they think their parents are stupid. (It usually wears off.)
Turbulent
Turbulent means chaotic, disordered, characterized by conflict. A time of war is a turbulent time for a country. If your family moves and your parents get divorced, you might call that a turbulent period in your history.
Calumny
Use the noun calumny to characterize verbal attacks that are meant to destroy reputations or friendships. You’ve probably seen political ads during election time that rely on calumny to move voters.
Calumny comes from the Latin word calvi, meaning “to trick, deceive,” which is why it can also describe falsely accusing someone or quoting them out of context with the intent to do them harm. Some political candidates use this tactic against opponents in the hope that voters will be tricked into thinking that the accusations are true.
torrent
a sudden, violent, and copious outpouring of (something, typically words or feelings).
“she was subjected to a torrent of abuse”
temperance
Temperance means restraint and moderation, but if you’re talking about alcohol, temperance means not just drinking in moderation, it means not having it at all.
Judicious
Judicious
having, exercising, or characterized by good or discriminating judgment; wise, sensible, or well-advised:
a judicious selection of documents.
clemency
clemency
1.
the quality of being clement; disposition to show forbearance, compassion, or forgiveness in judging or punishing; leniency; mercy.
2.
an act or deed showing mercy or leniency.
extant
extant
(especially of a document) still in existence; surviving.
primal
primal
relating to an early stage in evolutionary development; primeval.
conjoined
conjoined
combining a pair
Parable
parable
parable - a short narrative using metaphor and symbolism to illustrate a moral point - has been used since long before his time.
The word ‘parable’ itself is derived from the Greek paraballein,
1) ‘to set beside or parallel with’: Parables make excellent teaching tools because they use metaphors and symbolic imagery that are easily recognizable to the audience. As a result, a teller can convey sometimes highly complex moral truths in a way that is readily understandable and relatable to one’s own life. This is especially useful for philosophers like Socrates who notoriously deal with complicated subjects. These short instructional narratives are then inserted alongside more intricate philosophical arguments in order to serve as a verbal illustration of the point.
2) ‘to compare one with another’: Most parables present two (but sometimes more) scenarios from which the protagonist and the audience must choose. In this way, the listener becomes an active participant in arriving at the moral point that is being illustrated.
Paradox
Paradox
a paradox occurs in any statement that seems to contradict itself, but turns out to make sense on a deeper level. The word itself comes from the Greek words para, which means distinct from, and doxa, which means opinion.
deciphering the true meaning behind the phrase, therefore emphasizing a larger idea and significance. For example, consider the phrase the pen is mightier than the sword. This statement seems to contradict itself. A pen cannot cause as much physical damage as a sword, which is what is implied by using the term mightier. But if you look at the meaning behind the words, the message becomes clear. The phrase does not truly imply physical strength. The true message is that the art of persuasion and manipulation, which can be done through the written word, can actually cause more damage than outright physical attack.
Parallel Structure
Parallel Structure
Using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance is the definition of parallel structure.
Parallel structure provides balance and clarity in your writing. It can also be used as an effective technique by highlighting important information or as a way to emphasize powerful points in your writing.
Examples
Let’s take a look at a basic example of a sentence that uses parallel structure.
Louise will swim, bike, and run this weekend at her triathlon.
All three verbs in this sentence are in the same tense, or form. This creates a smooth flow to the sentence as opposed to the one below, which is lacking in parallel structure.
Louise will be swimming, then bike, and run this weekend in her triathlon.
Parody
parody
In literature, a parody takes a specific work and uses the conventions it is known for to poke fun at them. Just as a parody of a commercial exaggerates the language and images of a specific commercial to advertise a fake (and often silly) product, a literary parody exaggerates the language and tone of a well-known work for humorous effect.
So if the work being parodied is an action-adventure story where the hero has a short temper, the hero in the parody might try to fight everyone he encounters, from bad guys to old ladies.
Pastoral
PASTORAL (Latin pastor, “shepherd”): An artistic composition dealing with the life of shepherds or with a simple, rural existence. It usually idealized shepherds’ lives in order to create an image of peaceful and uncorrupted existence. More generally, pastoral describes the simplicity, charm, and serenity attributed to country life, or any literary convention that places kindly, rural people in nature-centered activities. The Greek Theocritus (316-260 BCE) first used the convention in his Idylls, though pastoral compositions also appear in Roman literature, in Shakespeare’s plays, and in the writings of the Romantic poets. Typically, pastoral liturgy depicts beautiful scenery, carefree shepherds, seductive nymphs, and rural songs and dances. Conventional names for the shepherds and nymphs come from bastardized Latin nicknames such as Mopsy, Flopsy, and Dorcas (from Mopsius, Doricas, etc.). See also pastoral elegy under elegy.
