Reading Comp Vocab List - Key Words Flashcards
Subjective
With bias
Objective
Without bias
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Ambivalent
Having two or multiple feelings
not sure whether you want or like something or not:
Ex. We are both somewhat ambivalent about having a child.
Reconcile
To bring to agreement
Syn. Conciliate
if you reconcile two ideas, situations, or facts, you find a way in which they can both be true or acceptable:
Ex. The possibility remains that the two theories may be reconciled.
[reconcile something with something]
Ex. Bevan tried to reconcile British socialism with a wider international vision.
Equivocal
Possibly two or more meanings
If you are equivocal, you are deliberately unclear in the way that you give information or your opinion
Syn. Ambiguous
Ex. His answer was equivocal.
Ex. She was rather equivocal about her work.
Equivocate
To avoid being straightforward
(formal) to avoid giving a clear or direct answer to a question
Disparity
Unequal
A difference between two or more things, especially an unfair one
Ex. A disparity between the rates of pay for men and women.
Irony
Difference between what is expected and what actually occurs
a situation that is unusual or amusing because something strange happens, or the opposite of what is expected happens or is true
Ex. Life is full of little ironies.
Belied
Shown to be false
Belie = to give someone a false idea about something:
Ex. Her pleasant manner belied her true character.
Characterize
To describe particular qualities of
To describe the qualities of someone or something in a particular way
[characterize somebody as (being) something]
Ex. The group was characterized as being well-educated and liberal.
Prove
To establish truth by presenting evidence
Ex. You’re wrong, and I can prove it.
Aesthetic
Pertaining to taste and appreciation of beauty
Syn. Beautiful
Dubious
Doubtful
Ex. I can see you are dubious; take some time to think about it.
Spurious
False
A spurious statement, argument etc is not based on facts or good thinking and is likely to be incorrect:
Ex. He demolished the Opposition’s spurious arguments.
Indifferent
Without care one way or another
Ex. Sarah was absolutely indifferent to him, and it hurt.
Exemplify
To show as an example
Ex. Problems are exemplified in the report.
Ambiguous
With two or more possible meanings
Ex. The language in the Minister’s statement is highly ambiguous.
Rhetoric
Structure and style in writing and speaking / argumentation
language that is used to persuade or influence people, especially language that sounds impressive but is not actually sincere or useful:
Ex. The speech was dismissed by some people as merely political rhetoric.
Discredit
To damage in reputation
To make people stop respecting or trusting someone or something:
Ex. The company’s lawyers tried to discredit her testimony.
Qualified
Limited, restricted or modified
Limited in some way
Ex. The proposal received qualified approval.
Repudiate
To reject validity of
To refuse to accept or continue with something
SYN reject
Ex. He repudiated all offers of friendship.
To state or show that something is not true or correct:
Ex. The book repudiates the racist stereotypes about black women.
Debunk
To show to be false
To show that an idea or belief is false:
Ex. His claims were later debunked by fellow academics.
Theory
A guess based on information
Hypothesis
Basically a theory
an idea that is suggested as an explanation for something, but that has not yet been proved to be true
Ex. One hypothesis is that the victim fell asleep while driving.
Dispassionate
Unaffected by emotion or bias
Devoid of personal feeling or bias
Not influenced by personal emotions and therefore able to make fair decisions
SYN impartial
Ex. a dispassionate view of the situation
Speculate
To guess
To guess about the possible causes or effects of something, without knowing all the facts or details
[speculate on/about (why/what etc)]
Ex. Jones refused to speculate about what might happen.
[speculate that]
Ex. Some analysts speculated that jobs will be lost.
