Semester 2 - Vocab 4

Question 0

Prognosticate

Answer 0

transitive verb
1 : to foretell from signs or symptoms : predict
2 : presage
synonyms see foretell
Examples
using current trends to prognosticate what the workplace of the future will be like

Question 1

Prevaricate

Answer 1

intransitive verb
: to avoid telling the truth by not directly answering a question
Full Definition
: to deviate from the truth : equivocate
synonyms see lie
Example
during the hearings the witness was willing to prevaricate in order to protect his friend

Question 2

Proletariat

Answer 2

noun
1 : the laboring class; especially : the class of industrial workers who lack their own means of production and hence sell their labor to live
2 : the lowest social or economic class of a community
Examples
the Bolsheviks believed that Russia’s discontented proletariat made that nation ripe for revolution
Synonyms: rabble, rabblement, ragtag and bobtail, riffraff, rout, scum, tag, rag, and bobtail (or tagrag and bobtail), trash, unwashed
Antonyms: A-list, aristocracy, elite, gentry, quality, society, upper class, upper crust

Question 3

Promontory

Answer 3

noun
: a high area of land or rock that sticks out into the sea
Full Definition
1 a : a high point of land or rock projecting into a body of water
b : a prominent mass of land overlooking or projecting into a lowland
2 : a bodily prominence
Examples
stood on the windswept promontory overlooking the bay
Cape May is Delaware Bay’s largest promontory
Synonyms: ness, point, headland

Question 4

Promulgate

Answer 4

transitive verb
: to make (an idea, belief, etc.) known to many people
: to make (a new law) known officially and publicly
Full Definition
1 : to make (as a doctrine) known by open declaration : proclaim
2 a : to make known or public the terms of (a proposed law)
b : to put (a law) into action or force
synonyms see declare
Examples
the encyclical that promulgated the church’s position on artificial birth control

Question 5

Protuberant

Answer 5

adjective
: sticking out from a surface usually with a curved or rounded shape
Full Definition
: thrusting out from a surrounding or adjacent surface often as a rounded mass : prominent

Question 6

Prudent

Answer 6

adjective
: having or showing careful good judgment
Full Definition
: characterized by, arising from, or showing prudence: as
a : marked by wisdom or judiciousness
b : shrewd in the management of practical affairs
c : marked by circumspection : discreet
d : provident, frugal
Examples
her calm response was very prudent under the circumstances
it wouldn’t be prudent to ask for a raise while the company is having financial troubles
her many years of experience as a social worker have made her a prudent judge of character
Synonyms: intelligent, judgmatic (or judgmatical), judicious, discreet
Antonyms: imprudent, indiscreet, injudicious

Question 7

Quandary

Answer 7

noun
: a situation in which you are confused about what to do
Full Definition
: a state of perplexity or doubt
Examples
I’m in a quandary about whether I should try to repair my stereo or buy a new one, even though I don’t have the money to do either
Synonyms: catch-22, double bind, dilemma

Question 8

Quash

Answer 8

transitive verb
: to suppress or extinguish summarily and completely

transitive verb
: to nullify especially by judicial action

Question 9

Quixotic

Answer 9

adjective
: hopeful or romantic in a way that is not practical
Full Definition
1 : foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals; especially : marked by rash lofty romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action
2 : capricious, unpredictable
Examples
in this age of giant chain stores, any attempt at operating an independent bookstore must be regarded as quixotic
Synonyms: idealist, idealistic, quixotical, romantic, starry, starry-eyed, utopian, visionary
Antonyms: clear-eyed, clear-sighted

Question 10

Raconteur

Answer 10

noun
: someone who is good at telling stories
Full Definition
: a person who excels in telling anecdotes

Question 11

Rancor

Answer 11

noun
: an angry feeling of hatred or dislike for someone who has treated you unfairly
Full Definition
: bitter deep-seated ill will
Examples
controversy over use of pesticides has caused a lot of rancor in this agricultural community
Synonyms: animosity, animus, antagonism, antipathy, bad blood, bitterness, gall, grudge, hostility, jaundice, enmity
Antonyms: amity

Question 12

Raze

Answer 12

transitive verb
: to destroy (something, such as a building) completely
Full Definition
1 a archaic : erase
b : to scrape, cut, or shave off
2 : to destroy to the ground : demolish <raze an old building
Examples
The old factory was razed to make room for a parking lot.
an entire city block razed by a terrible fire

Question 13

Recapitulate

Answer 13

: to give a brief summary of something
Full Definition
transitive verb
1 a : to restate briefly : summarize
b : to give new form or expression to
2 : to repeat the principal stages or phases of
intransitive verb
: sum up
Examples
the professor told the students that their papers should not recapitulate the whole plot but should rather discuss in detail one particular incident they thought was interesting
Synonyms: abstract, boil down, brief, digest, encapsulate, epitomize, outline, recap, summarize, reprise, sum up, synopsize, wrap up

Question 14

Recluse

Answer 14

adjective
: marked by withdrawal from society : solitary

noun
: a person who lives alone and avoids other people
Full Definition
: a person who leads a secluded or solitary life
Synonyms: anchorite, eremite, hermit, isolate, solitary

Question 15

Recumbent

Answer 15

adjective
\: lying down
Full Definition
1 a : suggestive of repose : leaning, resting 
b : lying down
2 : representing a person lying down <a>
synonyms see prone

Question 16

Refute

Answer 16

transitive verb
: to prove that (something) is not true
: to say that (something) is not true
Full Definition
1 : to prove wrong by argument or evidence : show to be false or erroneous
2 : to deny the truth or accuracy of
Examples
while he was publicly refuting rumors of a merger, behind the scenes the CEO was working to effect that very outcome
the victories of African-American athlete Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics effectively refuted the racial views of the Nazis

Question 17

Remunerative

Answer 17

adjective
\: paying a lot of money
Full Definition
1 : serving to remunerate
2 : providing remuneration : profitable
Examples
made a highly remunerative investment that will end up paying my college tuition
Synonyms: economic, fat, gainful, juicy, lucrative, moneymaking, money-spinning [chiefly British], paying, profitable
Antonyms: unprofitable

Question 18

Renegade

Answer 18

noun
: a person who leaves one group, religion, etc., and joins another that opposes it
: someone or something that causes trouble and cannot be controlled
Full Definition
1 : a deserter from one faith, cause, or allegiance to another
2 : an individual who rejects lawful or conventional behavior
Synonyms: apostate, defector, deserter, recreant
Antonyms: loyalist

intransitive verb
: to become a renegade

adjective
1 : having deserted a faith, cause, or religion for a hostile one
2 : having rejected tradition : unconventional

Question 19

Reprisal

Answer 19

noun
: something that is done to hurt or punish someone who has hurt you or done something bad to you
Full Definition
1 a : the act or practice in international law of resorting to force short of war in retaliation for damage or loss suffered
b : an instance of such action
2 obsolete : prize
3 : the regaining of something (as by recapture)
4 : something (as a sum of money) given or paid in restitution — usually used in plural
5 : a retaliatory act
Examples
a peace agreement that was rejected because it contained no provisions for reprisals
after defeating them last year in the finals, our team nervously awaited the expected reprisal by our archrivals in this year’s tournament
Synonyms: damages, indemnification, indemnity, quittance, recompense, recoupment, redress, remuneration, reparation, reprisal(s), requital, restitution, satisfaction

Question 20

Resilient

Answer 20

adjective
: able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens
: able to return to an original shape after being pulled, stretched, pressed, bent, etc.
Full Definition
: characterized or marked by resilience: as
a : capable of withstanding shock without permanent deformation or rupture
b : tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change
Examples
after being dipped in liquid nitrogen, the rubber ball’s normally resilient surface is as brittle as ceramic
Synonyms: bouncy, flexible, elastic, rubberlike, rubbery, springy, stretch, stretchable, stretchy, supple, whippy
Antonyms: inelastic, inflexible, nonelastic, rigid, stiff