New Words Flashcards
melange
a mixture; a medley:
a mélange of tender vegetables and herbs
quotidian
of or occurring every day; daily:
the car sped noisily off through the quotidian traffic
**ordinary or everyday, especially when mundane: **
his story is an achingly human one, mired in quotidian details Medicine denoting the malignant form of malaria.
rump
a small or unimportant remnant of something originally larger
once the profitable enterprises have been sold the unprofitable rump will be left
sanguine
optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation:
he is sanguine about prospects for the global economy the committee takes a more sanguine view
fob off
deceitfully attempt to satisfy someone by making excuses or giving them something inferior:
secretaries fob off most unwanted callers by saying their boss is in a meeting
**(fob something off on) give (someone) something inferior to or different from what they want: **
he fobbed off the chairmanship on Clifford
apposite
apt in the circumstances or in relation to something:
an apposite quotation
transcendental
of or relating to a spiritual or nonphysical realm:
the transcendental importance of each person’s soul (in Kantian philosophy) presupposed in and necessary to experience; a priori. relating to or denoting Transcendentalism.
bifurcation
the division of something into two branches or parts:
the bifurcation of the profession into social do-gooders and self-serving iconoclasts either of two branches into which something divides: right aortic bifurcation nodes were seen
Pangloss(ian)
noun a person who is optimistic regardless of the circumstances.
staid
sedate, respectable, and unadventurous:
staid law firms
adumbrate
[with object] formal report or represent in outline:
- James Madison adumbrated the necessity that the Senate be somewhat insulated from public passions indicate faintly:*
- the walls were not more than adumbrated by the meager light foreshadow or symbolize: what qualities in Christ are adumbrated by the vine?*
overshadow:
her happy reminiscences were adumbrated by consciousness of something else
obfuscate
render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible:
- the spelling changes will deform some familiar words and obfuscate their etymological origins bewilder (someone):*
- i**t is more likely to obfuscate people than enlighten them*
mendacious
adjective not telling the truth; lying:
mendacious propaganda
specious
superficially plausible, but actually wrong:
- a specious argument misleading in appearance, especially misleadingly attractive:*
- the music trade gives Golden Oldies a specious appearance of novelty*
milieu
a person’s social environment:
he grew up in a military milieu
obtuse
annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand:
he wondered if the doctor was being deliberately obtuse difficult to understand: some of the lyrics are a bit obtuse
eschew
deliberately avoid using; abstain from:
he appealed to the crowd to eschew violence
compendium
a collection of concise but detailed information about a particular subject, especially in a book or other publication. a collection of things, especially one systematically gathered: t
he program is a compendium of outtakes from our archives
pluralism
**a condition or system in which two or more states, groups, principles, sources of authority, etc., coexist. a form of society in which the members of minority groups maintain their independent cultural traditions. **
allay
diminish or put at rest (fear, suspicion, or worry): the report attempted to educate the public and allay fears relieve or alleviate (pain or hunger):
some stale figs partly allayed our hunger
disquiet
a feeling of anxiety or worry:
public disquiet about animal testing
verb [with object] (usually as adjective disquieted) make (someone) worried or anxious:
she felt disquieted at the lack of interest the girl had shown
expositor
a person or thing that explains complicated ideas or theories:
a lucid expositor of difficult ideas
replete
filled or well-supplied with something:
sensational popular fiction, replete with adultery and sudden death very full of or sated by food: I went out into the sun-drenched streets again, replete and relaxed
judicious
having, showing, or done with good judgment or sense:
the efficient and judicious use of pesticides
travesty
a false, absurd, or distorted representation of something:
the absurdly lenient sentence is a travesty of justice
ossify
be stagnant or rigid:
ossified political institutions
chimera
a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve:
the economic sovereignty you claim to defend is a chimera
inculcate
instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction:
the failures of the churches to inculcate a sense of moral responsibility
teach (someone) an attitude, idea, or habit by persistent instruction:
they will try to inculcate you with a respect for culture
banal
so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring:
songs with banal, repeated words
conflate
combine (two or more texts, ideas, etc.) into one:
the urban crisis conflates a number of different economic and social issues
affine
allowing for or preserving parallel relationships.
rejoinder
a reply, especially a sharp or witty one:
she would have made some cutting rejoinder but none came to mind Law, dated a defendant’s answer to the plaintiff’s reply or replication.
moxie
force of character, determination, or nerve:
when you’ve got moxie, you need the clothes to match
demagogue
a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument.
coup de grâce
a final blow or shot given to kill a wounded person or animal:
- he administered the coup de grâce with a knife an action or event that serves as the culmination of a bad or deteriorating situation: t*
- he epidemic has been the coup de grâce for the airline crisis*
bête noire
a person or thing that one particularly dislikes:
great-uncle Edward was my father’s bête noire
countenance
** person’s face or facial expression:**
his impenetrable eyes and inscrutable countenance give little away
support:
she was giving her specific countenance to the occasion verb [with object] admit as acceptable or possible: he was reluctant to countenance the use of force
parlance
a particular way of speaking or using words, especially a way common to those with a particular job or interest:
dated terms that were once in common parlance medical parlance
bridle
bring (something) under control; curb:
the fact that he was their servant bridled his tongue
show one’s resentment or anger, especially by throwing up the head and drawing in the chin:
ranchers have bridled at excessive federal control
pillory
attack or ridicule publicly: he found himself pilloried by members of his own party
riposte
a quick clever reply to an insult or criticism.
envisage
contemplate or conceive of as a possibility or a desirable future event:
the Rome Treaty envisaged free movement across frontiers
form a mental picture of (something not yet existing or known):
he knew what he liked but had difficulty envisaging it
miasma
a highly unpleasant or unhealthy smell or vapor:
a miasma of stale alcohol hung around him like marsh gas
an oppressive or unpleasant atmosphere that surrounds or emanates from something:
a miasma of despair rose from the black workshops
penury
extreme poverty; destitution:
he died in a state of virtual penury
