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Nw Pin's Sharing Vocabs > Man's Search For Meaning > Flashcards

Man's Search For Meaning Flashcards

1
Q

uncanny

A

strange or mysterious, especially in an unsettling way

• an uncanny feeling that she was being watched.

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2
Q

commiseration

A

sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others; compassion

• the other actors offered him clumsy commiseration.

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3
Q

perdition

A
  1. (in Christian theology) a state of eternal punishment and damnation into which a sinful and unrepentant person passes after death.
  2. complete and utter ruin
    • she used her last banknote to buy herself a square meal before perdition.
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4
Q

desolate

A

adjective — desolate /ˈdɛs(ə)lət /

  1. (of a place) uninhabited and giving an impression of bleak emptiness
    • a desolate Pennine moor.
  2. feeling or showing great unhappiness or loneliness
    • I suddenly felt desolate and bereft.
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5
Q

immense

A

adjective

extremely large or great, especially in scale or degree
• the cost of restoration has been immense
• a factor of immense importance.

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6
Q

grotesque

A

adjective

  1. comically or repulsively ugly or distorted
    • a figure wearing a grotesque mask.
  2. incongruous or inappropriate to a shocking degree
    • a lifestyle of grotesque luxury.
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7
Q

reprieve

A

verb — [with obj.]

  1. cancel or postpone the punishment of (someone, especially someone condemned to death)
    • under the new regime, prisoners under sentence of death were reprieved.
  2. abandon or postpone plans to close or abolish (something)
    • the threatened pits could be reprieved.
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8
Q

oblivion

A

noun — [ mass noun]

  1. the state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening around one
    • they drank themselves into oblivion.
  2. the state of being forgotten, especially by the public
    • his name will fade into oblivion.
  3. destruction or extinction
    • only our armed forces stood between us and oblivion.
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9
Q

suppurate

A

verb — [no obj.]

  1. undergo the formation of pus; fester.
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10
Q

emaciated

A

adjective

abnormally thin or weak, especially because of illness or a lack of food
• she was so emaciated she could hardly stand.

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11
Q

apathy

A

noun — [ mass noun]

  1. lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern
    • widespread apathy among students.
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12
Q

hasten

A

verb — [no obj., with infinitive]

  1. be quick to do something
    • he hastened to refute the assertion.
  2. [with adverbial of direction] — move or travel hurriedly
    • we hastened back to Paris.
  3. [with obj.] — cause (something, especially something undesirable) to happen sooner than it otherwise would
    • this tragedy probably hastened his own death from heart disease.
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13
Q

delirious

A

adjective

  1. in an acutely disturbed state of mind characterized by restlessness, illusions, and incoherence; affected by delirium.
    • he became delirious and couldn’t recognize people.
  2. in a state of wild excitement or ecstasy
    • there was a great roar from the delirious crowd.
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14
Q

moribund

A

adjective

  1. (of a person) at the point of death.
    • on examination she was moribund and dehydrated.
  2. (of a thing) in terminal decline; lacking vitality or vigour
    • the moribund commercial property market.
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15
Q

trivial

A
  1. of little value or importance
    • huge fines were imposed for trivial offences
    • trivial details.
  2. (of a person) concerned only with petty things.
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16
Q

incorrigible

A

adjective (of a person or their behaviour)

not able to be changed or reformed
• she’s an incorrigible flirt.

17
Q

irrepressible

A

adjective

not able to be controlled or restrained
• an irrepressible rogue
• a great shout of irrepressible laughter.

18
Q

aversion

A

noun

  1. a strong dislike or disinclination
    • they made plain their aversion to the use of force.
  2. someone or something that arouses a strong dislike or disinclination.
    • my dog’s pet aversion is visitors, particularly males.
19
Q

desolation

A

noun — [ mass noun]

  1. a state of complete emptiness or destruction
    • the stony desolation of the desert.
  2. great unhappiness or loneliness
    • in choked desolation, she watched him leave.
20
Q

trifling

A

adjective unimportant or trivial

• a trifling sum.

21
Q

transcend

A

verb — [with obj.]

  1. be or go beyond the range or limits of (a field of activity or conceptual sphere)
    • this was an issue transcending party politics.
  2. surpass (a person or achievement).
    • he doubts that he will ever transcend Shakespeare.
22
Q

conspicuous

A

adjective

  1. clearly visible
    • he was very thin, with a conspicuous Adam’s apple.
  2. attracting notice or attention
    • he showed conspicuous bravery.
23
Q

sublimate

A

verb

  1. [with obj.] — (in psychoanalytic theory) divert or modify (an instinctual impulse) into a culturally higher or socially more acceptable activity
    • people who sublimate sexuality into activities which help to build up and preserve civilization.
  2. transform (something) into a purer or idealized form
    • attractive rhythms are sublimated into a much larger context.
24
Q

void

A

Adjective

  1. not valid or legally binding
    • the contract was void.
  2. (of speech or action) ineffectual; useless
    • all the stratagems you’ve worked out are rendered void.
  3. completely empty
    • void spaces surround the tanks.
  4. ( void of) — free from; lacking
    • what were once the masterpieces of literature are now void of meaning.
25
Q

predicament

A

noun

  1. a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation
    • the club’s financial predicament.
26
Q

contend

A

verb

  1. [no obj.] ( contend with/against) — struggle to surmount (a difficulty)
    • she had to contend with his uncertain temper.
  2. ( contend for) — compete with others in a struggle to achieve (something)
    • factions within the government were contending for the succession to the presidency.
27
Q

conceivable

A

adjective

capable of being imagined or grasped mentally
• a mass uprising was entirely conceivable
• in every conceivable way that action was entirely wrong • the body was photographed from every conceivable angle.

28
Q

content

A

adjective

  1. in a state of peaceful happiness
    • he seemed more content, less bitter.
  2. willing to accept something; satisfied
    • he had to be content with third place
29
Q

transitory

A

adjective

not permanent
• transitory periods of medieval greatness.

30
Q

panacea

A

noun

a solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases
• the panacea for all corporate ills

31
Q

consolation

A

noun — [ mass noun]

  1. the comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment
    • there was consolation in knowing that others were worse off.
  2. [ count noun] — a person or thing providing consolation
    • the Church was the main consolation in a short and hard life.
32
Q

tantamount

A

adjective — ( tantamount to)

  1. equivalent in seriousness to; virtually the same as
    • the resignations were tantamount to an admission of guilt.
33
Q

abhor

A

verb — [with obj.]

  1. regard with disgust and hatred
    • he abhorred sexism in every form.
34
Q

cognizant

A

adjective ‹formal›

having knowledge or awareness
• statesmen must be cognizant of the political boundaries within which they work.

35
Q

promulgate

A

verb — [with obj.]

  1. promote or make widely known (an idea or cause)
    • these objectives have to be promulgated within the organization.
  2. put (a law or decree) into effect by official proclamation
    • in January 1852 the new Constitution was promulgated.
36
Q

complacency

A

noun — [ mass noun]

  1. a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements
    • the figures are better, but there are no grounds for complacency.
37
Q

smug

A

adjective

having or showing an excessive pride in oneself or one’s achievements
• he was feeling smug after his win.

38
Q

steadfast

A

adjective

resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering
• steadfast loyalty.

39
Q

upheaval

A

noun

  1. a violent or sudden change or disruption to something
    • major upheavals in the financial markets
    • [ mass noun] times of political upheaval.
  2. an upward displacement of part of the earth’s crust.
    • the first upheaval produced a hill which was called Roof Mountain.

Nw Pin's Sharing Vocabs (6 decks)

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