SAT 4 Flashcards
Ambivalence
uncertainty or fluctuation, especially when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things. | Psychology. the coexistence within an individual of positive and negative feelings toward the same person, object, or action, simultaneously drawing him or her in opposite directions. | ambivalencia | the simultaneous existence of two opposed and conflicting attitudes, emotions, etc
Cantankerous
disagreeable to deal with; contentious; peevish: a cantankerous, argumentative man. | quarrelsome; irascible
Derogatory
tending to lessen the merit or reputation of a person or thing; disparaging; depreciatory: a derogatory remark. | tending or intended to detract, disparage, or belittle; intentionally offensive
Exemplify
to show or illustrate by example. | to furnish or serve as an example of: The plays of Wilde exemplify the comedy of manners. | Law. to transcribe or copy; make an attested copy of (a document) under seal. | to show by example | to serve as an example of | (law)
to make an official copy of (a document from public records) under seal
to transcribe (a legal document)Impecunious
having little or no money; penniless; poor. | without money; penniless
Lucid
easily understood; completely intelligible or comprehensible: a lucid explanation. | characterized by clear perception or understanding; rational or sane: a lucid moment in his madness. | shining or bright. | clear; pellucid; transparent. | readily understood; clear | shining or glowing | (psychiatry) of or relating to a period of normality between periods of insane or irresponsible behaviour
Ornate
elaborately or sumptuously adorned, often excessively or showily so: They bought an ornate Louis XIV sofa. | embellished with rhetoric; florid or high-flown: an ornate style of writing. | heavily or elaborately decorated | (of style in writing) overembellished; flowery
Precipice
a cliff with a vertical, nearly vertical, or overhanging face. | a situation of great peril: on the precipice of war. | the steep sheer face of a cliff or crag
the cliff or crag itself | a precarious situation
Salubrious
favorable to or promoting health; healthful: salubrious air. | conducive or favourable to health; wholesome
Truant
a student who stays away from school without permission. | a person who shirks or neglects his or her duty. | absent from school without permission. | neglectful of duty or responsibility; idle. | of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a truant. | to be truant. | a person who is absent without leave, esp from school | being or relating to a truant | (intransitive) to play truant |
Ambulatory
of, pertaining to, or capable of walking: an ambulatory exploration of the countryside. | adapted for walking, as the limbs of many animals. | moving about or from place to place; not stationary: an ambulatory tribe. | Also, ambulant. Medicine/Medical.
not confined to bed; able or strong enough to walk: an ambulatory patient.
serving patients who are able to walk: an ambulatory care center. | Law. not fixed; alterable or revocable: ambulatory will. | Also called deambulatory. Architecture.
an aisle surrounding the end of the choir or chancel of a church.
the covered walk of a cloister. | of, relating to, or designed for walking | changing position; not fixed | Also ambulant. able to walk | (law) (esp of a will) capable of being altered or revoked
Capacious
capable of holding much; spacious or roomy: a capacious storage bin. | capable of holding much; roomy; spacious
Desecrate
to divest of sacred or hallowed character or office. | to divert from a sacred to a profane use or purpose. | to treat with sacrilege; profane. | to violate or outrage the sacred character of (an object or place) by destructive, blasphemous, or sacrilegious action | to remove the consecration from (a person, object, building, etc); deconsecrate
Exhaustive
exhausting a subject, topic, etc.; comprehensive; thorough: He published an exhaustive study of Greek vases. | tending to exhaust or drain, as resources or strength: a protracted, exhaustive siege of illness. | comprehensive in scope; thorough: an exhaustive survey | tending to exhaust
Impious
not pious or religious; lacking reverence for God, religious practices, etc.; irreligious; ungodly. | disrespectful. | lacking piety or reverence for a god; ungodly | lacking respect; undutiful
Ludicrous
causing laughter because of absurdity; provoking or deserving derision; ridiculous; laughable: a ludicrous lack of efficiency. | absurd or incongruous to the point of provoking ridicule or laughter
Orthodox
of, pertaining to, or conforming to the approved form of any doctrine, philosophy, ideology, etc. | of, pertaining to, or conforming to beliefs, attitudes, or modes of conduct that are generally approved. | customary or conventional, as a means or method; established. | sound or correct in opinion or doctrine, especially theological or religious doctrine. | conforming to the Christian faith as represented in the creeds of the early church. | (initial capital letter) of, pertaining to, or designating the Eastern Church, especially the Greek Orthodox Church. | (initial capital letter) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Orthodox Jews or Orthodox Judaism. | conforming with established or accepted standards, as in religion, behaviour, or attitudes | conforming to the Christian faith as established by the early Church | of or relating to the Orthodox Church of the East
Precipitous
of the nature of or characterized by precipices : a precipitous wall of rock. | extremely or impassably steep: precipitous mountain trails. | precipitate. | resembling a precipice or characterized by precipices | very steep | hasty or precipitate
Salutary
favorable to or promoting health; healthful. | promoting or conducive to some beneficial purpose; wholesome. | promoting or intended to promote an improvement or beneficial effect: a salutary warning | promoting or intended to promote health
Truncate
to shorten by cutting off a part; cut short: Truncate detailed explanations. | Mathematics, Computers. to shorten (a number) by dropping a digit or digits: The numbers 1.4142 and 1.4987 can both be truncated to 1.4. | truncated. | Biology.
square or broad at the end, as if cut off transversely.
lacking the apex, as certain spiral shells. | (transitive) to shorten by cutting off a part, end, or top | cut short; truncated | (biology) having a blunt end, as though cut off at the tip: a truncate leaf
Ameliorate
to make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory; improve; meliorate. | to make or become better; improve
Capitulate
to surrender unconditionally or on stipulated terms. | to give up resistance: He finally capitulated and agreed to do the job my way. | (intransitive) to surrender, esp under agreed conditions
Desecration
to divest of sacred or hallowed character or office. | to divert from a sacred to a profane use or purpose. | to treat with sacrilege; profane. | to violate or outrage the sacred character of (an object or place) by destructive, blasphemous, or sacrilegious action | to remove the consecration from (a person, object, building, etc); deconsecrate
Exonerates
to clear, as of an accusation; free from guilt or blame; exculpate: He was exonerated from the accusation of cheating. | to relieve, as from an obligation, duty, or task. | to clear or absolve from blame or a criminal charge | to relieve from an obligation or task; exempt
Impoverished
reduced to poverty. | (of a country, area, etc.) having few trees, flowers, birds, wild animals, etc. | deprived of strength, vitality, creativeness, etc.: an impoverished attempt at humor. | to reduce to poverty: a country impoverished by war. | to make poor in quality, productiveness, etc.; exhaust the strength or richness of: Bad farming practices impoverished the soil. | to make poor or diminish the quality of: to impoverish society by cutting the grant to the arts | to deprive (soil, etc) of fertility
Lukewarm
moderately warm; tepid. | having or showing little ardor, zeal, or enthusiasm; indifferent: lukewarm applause. | (esp of water) moderately warm; tepid | having or expressing little enthusiasm or conviction
Ossify
to convert into or cause to harden like bone. | to become bone or harden like bone. | to become rigid or inflexible in habits, attitudes, opinions, etc.: a young man who began to ossify right after college. | to convert or be converted into bone | (intransitive) (of habits, attitudes, etc) to become inflexible
Preclude
to prevent the presence, existence, or occurrence of; make impossible: The insufficiency of the evidence precludes a conviction. | to exclude or debar from something: His physical disability precludes an athletic career for him. | to exclude or debar | to make impossible, esp beforehand
Sanctimonious
making a hypocritical show of religious devotion, piety, righteousness, etc.: They resented his sanctimonious comments on immorality in America. | Obsolete. holy; sacred. | affecting piety or making a display of holiness
Tumult
violent and noisy commotion or disturbance of a crowd or mob; uproar: The tumult reached its height during the premier’s speech. | a general outbreak, riot, uprising, or other disorder: The tumult moved toward the embassy. | highly distressing agitation of mind or feeling; turbulent mental or emotional disturbance: His placid facade failed to conceal the tumult of his mind. | a loud confused noise, as of a crowd; commotion | violent agitation or disturbance | great emotional or mental agitation
Amelioration
an act or instance of ameliorating; the state of being ameliorated. | something that ameliorates; an improvement. | melioration (def 1). | the act or an instance of ameliorating or the state of being ameliorated | something that ameliorates; an improvement | (linguistics) Also called elevation. (of the meaning of a word) a change from pejorative to neutral or positively pleasant. The word nice has achieved its modern meaning by amelioration from the earlier sense foolish, silly
Carping
characterized by fussy or petulant faultfinding; querulous: carping criticism. | petty faultfinding. | to find fault or complain querulously or unreasonably; be niggling in criticizing; cavil: to carp at minor errors. | a peevish complaint. | (intransitive) often foll by at. to complain or find fault; nag pettily | a freshwater teleost food fish, Cyprinus carpio, having a body covered with cycloid scales, a naked head, one long dorsal fin, and two barbels on each side of the mouth: family Cyprinidae | any other fish of the family Cyprinidae; a cyprinid | tending to make petty complaints; fault-finding
Desist
to cease, as from some action or proceeding; stop. | (intransitive) often foll by from. to cease, as from an action; stop or abstain | see:
cease and desist
Exorcism
the act or process of exorcising. | the ceremony or the formula used in exorcising : An elaborate exorcism was pronounced over the sick man.
Impromptu
made or done without previous preparation: an impromptu address to the unexpected crowds. | suddenly or hastily prepared, made, etc.: an impromptu dinner. | improvised; having the character of an improvisation. | without preparation: verses written impromptu. | something impromptu; an impromptu speech, musical composition, performance, etc. | a character piece for piano common in the 19th century and having, despite its title, a clear-cut form. | unrehearsed; spontaneous; extempore | produced or done without care or planning; improvised | in a spontaneous or improvised way: he spoke impromptu | something that is impromptu
Lummox
a clumsy, stupid person. | (informal) a clumsy or stupid person
Ostentatious
characterized by or given to pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others: an ostentatious dresser. | (of actions, manner, qualities exhibited, etc.) intended to attract notice: Lady Bountiful’s ostentatious charity. | characterized by pretentious, showy, or vulgar display
Precocious
unusually advanced or mature in development, especially mental development: a precocious child. | prematurely developed, as the mind, faculties, etc. | of or pertaining to premature development. | Botany.
flowering, fruiting, or ripening early, as plants or fruit.
bearing blossoms before leaves, as plants.
appearing before leaves, as flowers. | ahead in development, such as the mental development of a child | (botany) (of plants, fruit, etc) flowering or ripening early
Sanction
authoritative permission or approval, as for an action. | something that serves to support an action, condition, etc. | something that gives binding force, as to an oath, rule of conduct, etc. | Law.
a provision of a law enacting a penalty for disobedience or a reward for obedience.
the penalty or reward. | International Law. action by one or more states toward another state calculated to force it to comply with legal obligations. | to authorize, approve, or allow: an expression now sanctioned by educated usage. | to ratify or confirm: to sanction a law. | to impose a sanction on; penalize, especially by way of discipline. | final permission; authorization | aid or encouragement
Turpitude
vile, shameful, or base character; depravity. | a vile or depraved act. | base character or action; depravity
Amiable
having or showing pleasant, good-natured personal qualities; affable: an amiable disposition. | friendly; sociable: an amiable greeting; an amiable gathering. | agreeable; willing to accept the wishes, decisions, or suggestions of another or others. | Obsolete. lovable or lovely. | having or displaying a pleasant or agreeable nature; friendly
Cartographer
a person engaged in cartography, or the production of maps.
Despondent
feeling or showing profound hopelessness, dejection, discouragement, or gloom: despondent about failing health. | downcast or disheartened; lacking hope or courage; dejected
Expatriate
to banish (a person) from his or her native country. | to withdraw (oneself) from residence in one’s native country. | to withdraw (oneself) from allegiance to one’s country. | to become an expatriate: He expatriated from his homeland. | expatriated; exiled. | an expatriated person: Many American writers were living as expatriates in Paris. | resident in a foreign country | exiled or banished from one’s native country: an expatriate American | a person who lives in a foreign country | an exile; expatriate person
Inadvertent
unintentional: an inadvertent insult. | not attentive; heedless. | of, pertaining to, or characterized by lack of attention. | failing to act carefully or considerately; inattentive | resulting from heedless action; unintentional
Luscious
highly pleasing to the taste or smell: luscious peaches. | richly satisfying to the senses or the mind: the luscious style of his poetry. | richly adorned; luxurious: luscious furnishings. | arousing physical, or sexual, desire; voluptuous: a luscious figure. | sweet to excess; cloying. | extremely pleasurable, esp to the taste or smell | very attractive | (archaic) cloying
Oust
to expel or remove from a place or position occupied: The bouncer ousted the drunk; to oust the prime minister in the next election. | Law. to eject or evict; dispossess. | to force out of a position or place; supplant or expel | (property law) to deprive (a person) of the possession of land
Predecessor
a person who precedes another in an office, position, etc. | something succeeded or replaced by something else: The new monument in the park is more beautiful than its predecessor. | Archaic. an ancestor; forefather. | a person who precedes another, as in an office | something that precedes something else | an ancestor; forefather
Sanguinary
full of or characterized by bloodshed; bloody: a sanguinary struggle. | ready or eager to shed blood; bloodthirsty. | composed of or marked with blood. | accompanied by much bloodshed | bloodthirsty | consisting of, flowing, or stained with blood
Tyro
a beginner in learning anything; novice. | a novice or beginner
Amity
friendship; peaceful harmony. | mutual understanding and a peaceful relationship, especially between nations; peace; accord. | a female given name. | friendship; cordiality
Castigate
to criticize or reprimand severely. | to punish in order to correct. | (transitive) to rebuke or criticize in a severe manner; chastise
Destitution
lack of the means of subsistence; utter poverty. | deprivation, lack, or absence. | the state of being destitute; utter poverty | (rare) lack or deficiency
Expedient
tending to promote some proposed or desired object; fit or suitable for the purpose; proper under the circumstances: It is expedient that you go. | conducive to advantage or interest, as opposed to right. | acting in accordance with expediency. | a means to an end: The ladder was a useful expedient for getting to the second floor. | a means devised or employed in an exigency; resource; shift: Use any expedients you think necessary to get over the obstacles in your way. | suitable to the circumstances; appropriate | inclined towards methods or means that are advantageous rather than fair or just | something suitable or appropriate, esp something used during an urgent situation
Incantation
the chanting or uttering of words purporting to have magical power. | the formula employed; a spell or charm. | magical ceremonies. | magic; sorcery. | repetitious wordiness used to conceal a lack of content; obfuscation: Her prose too often resorts to incantation. | ritual recitation of magic words or sounds | the formulaic words or sounds used; a magic spell
Lynch
to put to death, especially by hanging, by mob action and without legal authority. | John (“Jack”) 1917–1999, Irish political leader: prime minister 1966–73, 1977–79. | (transitive) (of a mob) to punish (a person) for some supposed offence by hanging without a trial | David. born 1946, US film director; his work includes the films Eraserhead (1977), Blue Velvet (1986), Wild at Heart (1990), Mulholland Drive (2001), and Inland Empire (2006), and the television series Twin Peaks (1990) | John, known as Jack Lynch. 1917–99, Irish statesman; prime minister of the Republic of Ireland (1966–73; 1977–79)
Overt
open to view or knowledge; not concealed or secret: overt hostility. | Heraldry. (of a device, as a purse) represented as open: a purse overt. | open to view; observable | (law) open; deliberate. Criminal intent may be inferred from an overt act
Predicament
an unpleasantly difficult, perplexing, or dangerous situation. | a class or category of logical or philosophical predication. | Archaic. a particular state, condition, or situation. | a perplexing, embarrassing, or difficult situation | (logic, obsolete) (?pr?d?k?m?nt). one of Aristotle’s ten categories of being | (archaic) a specific condition, circumstance, state, position, etc
Sanguine
cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident: a sanguine disposition; sanguine expectations. | reddish; ruddy: a sanguine complexion. | (in old physiology) having blood as the predominating humor and consequently being ruddy-faced, cheerful, etc. | bloody; sanguinary. | blood-red; red. | Heraldry. a reddish-purple tincture. | a red iron-oxide crayon used in making drawings. | cheerful and confident; optimistic | (esp of the complexion) ruddy in appearance | blood-red
Ubiquitous
existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent: ubiquitous fog; ubiquitous little ants. | ubicuo
it is ubiquitous in Spainse encuentra en toda Españathe secretary has to be ubiquitousel secretario tiene que estar constantemente en todas partes | omnipresente | having or seeming to have the ability to be everywhere at once; omnipresent
Amorphous
lacking definite form; having no specific shape; formless: the amorphous clouds. | of no particular kind or character; indeterminate; having no pattern or structure; unorganized: an amorphous style; an amorphous personality. | Petrography, Mineralogy. occurring in a mass, as without stratification or crystalline structure. | Chemistry. not crystalline. | Biology. having structural components that are not clearly differentiated, as the nuclear material in certain bacteria. | lacking a definite shape; formless | of no recognizable character or type | (of chemicals, rocks, etc) not having a crystalline structure
Catharsis
the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music. | Medicine/Medical, purgation. | Psychiatry.
psychotherapy that encourages or permits the discharge of pent-up, socially unacceptable affects.
discharge of pent-up emotions so as to result in the alleviation of symptoms or the permanent relief of the condition. | (in Aristotelian literary criticism) the purging or purification of the emotions through the evocation of pity and fear, as in tragedy | (psychoanal) the bringing of repressed ideas or experiences into consciousness, thus relieving tensions See also abreaction | purgation, esp of the bowels
Deter
to discourage or restrain from acting or proceeding: The large dog deterred trespassers. | to prevent; check; arrest: timber treated with creosote to deter rot. | (transitive) to discourage (from acting) or prevent (from occurring), usually by instilling fear, doubt, or anxiety
Expedite
to speed up the progress of; hasten: to expedite shipments. | to accomplish promptly, as a piece of business; dispatch: to expedite one’s duties. | to issue or dispatch, as an official document or letter. | Obsolete. ready for action; alert. | to hasten the progress of; hasten or assist | to do or process (something, such as business matters) with speed and efficiency | (rare) to dispatch (documents, messages, etc) | unimpeded or prompt; expeditious | alert or prepared |
Incarceration
the act of incarcerating, or putting in prison or another enclosure: The incarceration rate has increased dramatically.
Machinations
an act or instance of machinating. | Usually, machinations. crafty schemes; plots; intrigues. | an intrigue, plot, or scheme | the act of devising plots or schemes
Overwrought
extremely or excessively excited or agitated: to become overwrought on hearing bad news; an overwrought personality. | elaborated to excess; excessively complex or ornate: written in a florid, overwrought style. | Archaic. wearied or exhausted by overwork. | to cause to work too hard, too much, or too long; weary or exhaust with work (often used reflexively): Don’t overwork yourself on that new job. | to work up, stir up, or excite excessively: to overwork a mob to the verge of frenzy. | to employ or elaborate to excess: an appeal for sympathy that has been overworked by many speakers. | to work or decorate all over; decorate the surface of: white limestone overworked with inscriptions. | to work too hard, too much, or too long; work to excess: You look as though you’ve been overworking. | work beyond one’s strength or capacity. | extra or excessive work.
Preeminent
eminent above or before others; superior; surpassing: He is preeminent in his profession.
Sardonic
characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering: a sardonic grin. | characterized by irony, mockery, or derision
Unalloyed
a substance composed of two or more metals, or of a metal or metals with a nonmetal, intimately mixed, as by fusion or electrodeposition. | a less costly metal mixed with a more valuable one. | standard; quality; fineness. | admixture, as of good with evil. | anything added that serves to reduce quality or purity. | to mix (metals or metal with nonmetal) so as to form an alloy. | to reduce in value by an admixture of a less costly metal. | to debase, impair, or reduce by admixture; adulterate. | not mixed or intermingled with any other thing; pure: unalloyed metal, unalloyed pleasure | a metallic material, such as steel, brass, or bronze, consisting of a mixture of two or more metals or of metallic elements with nonmetallic elements. Alloys often have physical properties markedly different from those of the pure metals
Analgesic
a remedy that relieves or allays pain. | of, pertaining to, or causing analgesia. | of or causing analgesia | a substance that produces analgesia
Caucus
U.S. Politics.
a meeting of party leaders to select candidates, elect convention delegates, etc.
a meeting of party members within a legislative body to select leaders and determine strategy.
(often initial capital letter) a faction within a legislative body that pursues its interests through the legislative process: the Women’s Caucus; the Black Caucus. | any group or meeting organized to further a special interest or cause. | to hold or meet in a caucus. | to bring up or hold for discussion in a caucus: The subject was caucused. The group caucused the meeting. | (mainly US & Canadian)
a closed meeting of the members of one party in a legislative chamber, etc, to coordinate policy, choose candidates, etc
such a bloc of politicians: the Democratic caucus in Congress | (mainly US)
a group of leading politicians of one party
a meeting of such a group | (mainly US) a local meeting of party members | (Brit) a group or faction within a larger group, esp a political party, who discuss tactics, choose candidates, etc | (Austral) a group of MPs from one party who meet to discuss tactics, etc | (NZ) a formal meeting of all Members of Parliament belonging to one political party
Deteriorate
to make or become worse or inferior in character, quality, value, etc. | to disintegrate or wear away. | to make or become worse or lower in quality, value, character, etc; depreciate | (intransitive) to wear away or disintegrate
Exposition
a large-scale public exhibition or show, as of art or manufactured products: an exposition of 19th-century paintings; an automobile exposition.
Synonyms: exhibit, demonstration, display, presentation. | the act of expounding, setting forth, or explaining: the exposition of a point of view. | writing or speech primarily intended to convey information or to explain; a detailed statement or explanation; explanatory treatise: The students prepared expositions on familiar essay topics.
Synonyms: elucidation, commentary; critique, interpretation, exegesis, explication. | the act of presenting to view; display: The singer gave a splendid exposition of vocal talent. | exposure (def 10). | the state of being uncovered, revealed, or otherwise exposed; exposure. | Music. the first section of a fugue or a sonata form, in which the principal themes normally are introduced. | (in a play, novel, etc.) dialogue, description, etc., that gives the audience or reader the background of the characters and the present situation. | a systematic, usually written statement about, commentary on, or explanation of a specific subject | the act of expounding or setting forth information or a viewpoint
Incessant
continuing without interruption; ceaseless; unending: an incessant noise. | not ceasing; continual
Maelstrom
a large, powerful, or violent whirlpool. | a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs: the maelstrom of early morning traffic. | (initial capital letter) a famous hazardous whirlpool off the NW coast of Norway. | a large powerful whirlpool | any turbulent confusion | a strong tidal current in a restricted channel in the Lofoten Islands off the NW coast of Norway
Palatable
acceptable or agreeable to the palate or taste; savory: palatable food. | acceptable or agreeable to the mind or feelings: palatable ideas. | pleasant to taste | acceptable or satisfactory: a palatable suggestion
Prerogative
an exclusive right, privilege, etc., exercised by virtue of rank, office, or the like: the prerogatives of a senator. | a right, privilege, etc., limited to a specific person or to persons of a particular category: It was the teacher’s prerogative to stop the discussion. | a power, immunity, or the like restricted to a sovereign government or its representative: The royal prerogative exempts the king from taxation. | Obsolete, precedence. | having or exercising a prerogative. | pertaining to, characteristic of, or existing by virtue of a prerogative. | an exclusive privilege or right exercised by a person or group of people holding a particular office or hereditary rank | any privilege or right | a power, privilege, or immunity restricted to a sovereign or sovereign government | having or able to exercise a prerogative
Savant
a person of profound or extensive learning; learned scholar. | a man of great learning; sage
Unctuous
characterized by excessive piousness or moralistic fervor, especially in an affected manner; excessively smooth, suave, or smug. | of the nature of or characteristic of an unguent or ointment; oily; greasy. | having an oily or soapy feel, as certain minerals. | slippery or greasy | affecting an oily charm
Analogous
having analogy; corresponding in some particular: A brain and a computer are analogous. | Biology. corresponding in function, but not evolved from corresponding organs, as the wings of a bee and those of a hummingbird. | similar or corresponding in some respect | (biology) (of organs and parts) having the same function but different evolutionary origin: the paddle of a whale and the fin of a fish are analogous Compare homologous (sense 4) | (linguistics) formed by analogy: an analogous plural
Caustic
capable of burning, corroding, or destroying living tissue. | severely critical or sarcastic: a caustic remark. | a caustic substance. | Optics.
caustic curve.
caustic surface. | capable of burning or corroding by chemical action: caustic soda | sarcastic; cutting: a caustic reply | of, relating to, or denoting light that is reflected or refracted by a curved surface | Also called caustic surface. a surface that envelops the light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface | Also called caustic curve. a curve formed by the intersection of a caustic surface with a plane | (chem) a caustic substance, esp an alkali
Detrimental
causing detriment; damaging; harmful. | a detrimental person or thing. | when postpositive, foll by to. harmful; injurious; prejudicial: smoking can be detrimental to health
Extol
to praise highly; laud; eulogize: to extol the beauty of Naples. | (transitive) to praise lavishly; exalt
Incipient
beginning to exist or appear; in an initial stage: an incipient cold. | just starting to be or happen; beginning
Magnanimous
generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness: to be magnanimous toward one’s enemies. | high-minded; noble: a just and magnanimous ruler. | proceeding from or revealing generosity or nobility of mind, character, etc.: a magnanimous gesture of forgiveness. | generous and noble
Palisade
a fence of pales or stakes set firmly in the ground, as for enclosure or defense. | any of a number of pales or stakes pointed at the top and set firmly in the ground in a close row with others to form a defense. | Botany, palisade parenchyma. | palisades, a line of cliffs. | to furnish or fortify with a palisade. | a strong fence made of stakes driven into the ground, esp for defence | one of the stakes used in such a fence | (botany) a layer of elongated mesophyll cells containing many chloroplasts, situated below the outer epidermis of a leaf blade | (transitive) to enclose with a palisade |
Prescient
having prescience, or knowledge of things or events before they exist or happen; having foresight: The prescient economist was one of the few to see the financial collapse coming.
Scale
Zoology.
one of the thin, flat, horny plates forming the covering of certain animals, as snakes, lizards, and pangolins.
one of the hard, bony or dentinal plates, either flat or denticulate, forming the covering of certain other animals, as fishes. | any thin, platelike piece, lamina, or flake that peels off from a surface, as from the skin. | Botany.
Also called bud scale. a rudimentary body, usually a specialized leaf and often covered with hair, wax, or resin, enclosing an immature leaf bud.
a thin, scarious or membranous part of a plant, as a bract of a catkin. | scale insect. | a coating or incrustation, as on the inside of a boiler, formed by the precipitation of salts from the water. | Often, scales. Metallurgy.
an oxide, especially an iron oxide, occurring in a scaly form on the surface of metal brought to a high temperature.
Also called mill scale. such scale formed on iron or steel during hot-rolling. | scales.
a cause of blindness or ignorance, as regarding the true nature of a person, situation, etc.: You’re infatuated with her now, but the scales will soon fall from your eyes.
Bible. an unspecified affliction that caused Paul to become temporarily blind. Acts 9:18. | to remove the scales or scale from: to scale a fish. | to remove in scales or thin layers. | to cover with an incrustation or scale.
Undermined
to injure or destroy by insidious activity or imperceptible stages, sometimes tending toward a sudden dramatic effect. | to attack by indirect, secret, or underhand means; attempt to subvert by stealth. | to make an excavation under; dig or tunnel beneath, as a military stronghold. | to weaken or cause to collapse by removing underlying support, as by digging away or eroding the foundation. | (of the sea, wind, etc) to wear away the bottom or base of (land, cliffs, etc) | to weaken gradually or insidiously: their insults undermined her confidence | to tunnel or dig beneath
Anarchy
a state of society without government or law. | political and social disorder due to the absence of governmental control: The death of the king was followed by a year of anarchy.
Synonyms: lawlessness, disruption, turmoil. | anarchism (def 1). | lack of obedience to an authority; insubordination: the anarchy of his rebellious teenage years. | confusion and disorder: Intellectual and moral anarchy followed his loss of faith. It was impossible to find the book I was looking for in the anarchy of his bookshelves.
Synonyms: chaos, disruption, turbulence; license; disorganization, disintegration. | general lawlessness and disorder, esp when thought to result from an absence or failure of government | the absence or lack of government | the absence of any guiding or uniting principle; disorder; chaos | the theory or practice of political anarchism |
Cavalcade
a procession of persons riding on horses, in horsedrawn carriages, in cars, etc. | any procession. | any noteworthy series, as of events or activities. | a procession of people on horseback, in cars, etc | any procession: a cavalcade of guests
Devoured
to swallow or eat up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously. | to consume destructively, recklessly, or wantonly: Fire devoured the old museum. | to engulf or swallow up. | to take in greedily with the senses or intellect: to devour the works of Freud. | to absorb or engross wholly: a mind devoured by fears. | to swallow or eat up greedily or voraciously | to waste or destroy; consume: the flames devoured the curtains | to consume greedily or avidly with the senses or mind: he devoured the manuscripts | to engulf or absorb: the flood devoured the land |
Extradite
to give up (an alleged fugitive or criminal) to another state or nation at its request. | to obtain the extradition of. | to surrender (an alleged offender) for trial to a foreign state | to procure the extradition of
Inclination
a disposition or bent, especially of the mind or will; a liking or preference: Much against his inclination, he was forced to resign. | something to which one is inclined: In sports his inclination is tennis. | the act of inclining; state of being inclined. | a tendency toward a certain condition, action, etc.: the door’s inclination to stick. | deviation or amount of deviation from a normal, especially horizontal or vertical, direction or position. | an inclined surface. | Geometry.
the angle between two lines or two planes.
the angle formed by the x-axis and a given line. | Astronomy.
the angle between the orbital plane of a planet and another given plane, usually the ecliptic.
the angle between the equatorial and orbital planes of a planet. | Magnetism. dip (def 32). | often foll by for, to, towards, or an infinitive. a particular disposition, esp a liking or preference; tendency: I’ve no inclination for such dull work
Magnate
a person of great influence, importance, or standing in a particular enterprise, field of business, etc.: a railroad magnate. | a person of eminence or distinction in any field: literary magnates. | a member of the former upper house in either the Polish or Hungarian parliament. | a person of power and rank in any sphere, esp in industry | (history) a great nobleman | (formerly) a member of the upper chamber in certain European parliaments, as in Hungary
Palliative
serving to palliate. | something that palliates. | serving to palliate; relieving without curing | something that palliates, such as a sedative drug or agent
Presentiment
a feeling or impression that something is about to happen, especially something evil; foreboding. | a sense of something about to happen; premonition
Scapegoat
a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place. | Chiefly Biblical. a goat let loose in the wilderness on Yom Kippur after the high priest symbolically laid the sins of the people on its head. Lev. 16:8,10,26. | to make a scapegoat of: Strike leaders tried to scapegoat foreign competitors. | cabeza de turco
to be a scapegoat forpagar el pato por, pagar los cristales rotos por | chivo expiatorio | a person made to bear the blame for others | (Old Testament) a goat used in the ritual of Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16); it was symbolically laden with the sins of the Israelites and sent into the wilderness to be destroyed | (transitive) to make a scapegoat of
Underscore
to mark with a line or lines underneath; underline, as for emphasis. | to stress; emphasize: The recent tragedy underscores the danger of disregarding safety rules. | a line drawn beneath something written or printed. | music for a film soundtrack; background for a film or stage production. | to draw or score a line or mark under | to stress or reinforce | a line drawn under written matter
