Period 4 Vocabulary Flashcards
World War 2 and Cold War and Stuff
Cataclysm
A large scale and violent event
Coercion
The act of persuading someone by using force or threats
Pariah
A social outcast
Abdicate
To give up the throne
Precursor
Something pre-existing that indicates the approach of something else
Provisional
Temporarily existing until replaced by something permanent
Coup
A sudden, violent and illegal seizure of power
Disillusionment
A feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as it once seemed
Avant-Garde
New and experimental ideas and methods in art, music and literature
Grotesque
Comically or repulsively ugly and distorted
Nihilism
The rejection of all religious and moral principles and the pessimistic belief that life is meaningless
Paramilitary
Relating to a group that operates like a military but is not part of the official military
Suppression
The act of preventing something by force
Totalitarianism
Centralized and dictatorial government
Ruthless
Showing no mercy or compassion, cruel and relentless
Prominent
Widely known, important, famous
Polarize
To divide or cause a divide into two sharply contrasting groups or factions
Autocracy
A system of government with one person as a dictator with absolute power and authority
Tribunal
A court or assembly to conduct judicial business
Supremacy
The state or condition of being superior to all others in authority, power or status
Proxy
Involving or acting as a substitute for something or someone else
Resuscitation
The act of reviving or restoring something that has been damaged or weakened
