manhattan #3 essential Flashcards
peripheral
Relating to or making up an outer boundary or region; not of primary importance, fringe. “My main goal is to get into grad school. Whether it has a good fitness facility is a peripheral concern”
ambiguous
not clear, hard to understand, open to having several meanings or interpretations
ubiquitous
Existing everywhere at the same time. “Pay phones which used to be ubiquitous in urban areas are not nearly impossible to find in operation”
makeshift
a temporary, often improvised substitute; improvised for temporary use
pristine
in an original, pure state; uncorrupted
indifferent
not caring, having no interest, unbiased, impartial
pragmatic
practical, dealing with actual facts and reality- a pragmatic sanction is a ruler’s declaration having the force of law. A ruler might issue a pragmatic sanction when the ideal situation isn’t possible, so one must be practical and just get the job done.
savor
a characteristic taste or flavor (usually pleasant) appreciate fully, taste or smell with pleasure
cynical
Thinking the worst of others’ motivations; bitterly pessimistic
pronounced
distinct, strong, clearly indicated - can also mean declare “he pronounced the book the best thing he had ever read”
catalyst
causer of change
benign
harmless, favorable, kindly, gentle or beneficial, not cancerous
culminate
reach the highest point or final stage
derivative
derived from something else, not original - in finance a derivative is a contract, the value of which is derived from the value of stocks and bonds.
buffer
something that shields, protects, absorbs shock or cushions. A buffer could also be a device for polishing (nails, cars)
maverick
rebel, individualist, dissenter, “most cop movies feature heroes who are maverick police officers, breaking all the rules, blowing things up and getting there guns confiscated, but who ultimately save the day”. Lone wolf and loose canon mean the same thing (loose cannon implies the person may do something crazy) a political maverick doesn’t belong to any part, in ranching, a maverick is an unbranded animal.
reap
harvest, such as by cutting, gather, get as a result of one’s effort
retrospective
looking to the past or backward, applying to the past, retroactive, an art exhibit or an artist’s work over a long period of time. “The proposed law is retrospective. Anyone who violated the law before it even existed can be prosecuted”
eccentric
peculiar, odd, deviating from the norm, esp in a whimsical way
fidelity
faithfulness, loyalty, strict observance of duty; accuracy in reproducing a sound or image “the sound has great fidelity “ - meaning sharp sound and true, fid root means trust
skeptic
person inclined to doubting or questioning generally accepted beliefs. Don’t confuse skeptical and cynical
autonomous
self governing, independent - an autonomous region is independent but not considered its own country
timely
well timed, happening at a suitable time
pedestrian
ordinary, dull, commonplace - ped root means foot
contention
controversial. Prone to causing arguments, especially gratuitous or petty ones
lavish
abundant or giving in abundance; marked by excess, give very generously “although her rich banker lavished gifts on here, she didn’t’ want to be with someone she didn’t love”. Owning a lavish house, hosting a lavish banquet.
plummet
plunge, fall straight down - as a noun, a plummet (plumb bomb) is a weight on the end of a cord used to sound the depths of a body of water.
feasible
possible, logical or likely, suitable
subside
sink, settle down, become less active; return to a normal level, abate could be a synonym
concur
approve, agree, assent
phony
fake, counterfeit, insincere, not genuine, synonyms include faux, spurious
confer
consult, compare views, bestow or give. “ A Ph.D. confers the right to be addressed as doctor. Vest can also mean grant authority to.
exacerbate
make worse (more violent, severe, etc). inflame , irritate or embitter (a person), aggravate is a synonym - to make utterly acerbic
anomaly
deviation from what is common, inconsistency
simultaneous
at the same time, the root simul means together
dubious
doubtful, questionable, suspect “the applicant’s resume is filled with dubious qualifications”
mitigate
make less severe, lesson or moderate (damage, grief, pain, etc), ameliorate, palliate and alleviate are all synonyms
emulate
copy in an attempt to be equal or be better than
aggregate
gather together, amount to; constituting a whole made up of constituent parts, a collection of things forming a whole
arbitrary
based on entirely on one’s discretion; capricious, unreasonable or having no basis, originally something arbitrary was something that was uncertain because it depended on an arbiter’s decision.
conversely
in an opposite way; on the other hand, or “to the contrary” , the converse of a statement is the reversal
covert
secret, veiled, undercover - “the soldier trained to be a part of the covert operations, moving silently and remaining out of the enemy’s sight”, clandestine, surreptitious, and furtive are l synonyms
converge
move towards one another or towards a point, unite
complementary
completing, fitting together well, filling mutual needs
impede
hold back, obstruct the progress of
avid
enthusiastic, dedicated, passionate, excessively desirous
disperse
scatter, spread widely, cause to vanish - use disperse for something that spreads out and disappears “the crowd dispersed and went their separate ways”. Used disseminate for something that spreads out and remains significant (writers want to disseminate their ideas, disseminating seeds to grow new plants.
alienate
cause to become unfriendly, hostile or distant -”the talk show host was trying to help but only alienated her viewers when she suggested they cope with a tough economy by checking themselves into a spa” , related words include disaffected and estrange. In law alienate means to transfer property to another owner. An inalienable right is one that you cannot give away or sell (for instance, it is not possible for a person to sell himself into slavery)
alleviate
lessen, make easier to endure, assuage, ameliorate, extenuate, palliate are all synonyms
mundane
common, ordinary, everyday comes for the root mundo meaning earthly or world
