Term 3 ATV Vocab Flashcards
Frivolous
carefree, trivial
Kalanithi did not have time for frivolous pursuits as his time dwindled away.
Pretentious
showy, trying to impress
Despite his many achievements, Kalanithi never came across as pretentious in his writing.
Auspicious
promising, sign of future success
His early career in neurosurgery seemed auspicious, with limitless potential ahead.
Divulge
disclose
Kalanithi chose to divulge his personal struggles with illness in his memoir.
Squander
waste
He refused to squander the time he had left, continuing to work and write.
Efface
wipe out, destroy
Cancer threatened to efface the identity he had spent years building as a neurosurgeon.
Terse
abruptly concise
Some of his reflections in When Breath Becomes Air are terse yet deeply profound.
Tenacious
stubborn, persistent
Kalanithi remained tenacious in his pursuit of meaning despite his declining health.
Benevolent
charitable, kind
His benevolent nature as a doctor was evident in his dedication to his patients.
Muddle
mix
The uncertainty of his prognosis left him in a mental muddle about how to plan for the future.
Configure
create
He had to configure his priorities once he knew his time was limited.
Extrapolate
infer, conjecture
Kalanithi used his medical knowledge to extrapolate what his illness would mean for his future.
Abashed
ashamed, embarrassed
He felt abashed at times when transitioning from doctor to patient.
Ambiguous
vague, doubtful
The ambiguity of his life expectancy made decisions about his career and family difficult.
Apathetic
stoic, indifferent
Unlike some, Kalanithi refused to become apathetic in the face of death.
Jeer
mock
His diagnosis seemed to jeer at him and his future.
Proliferate
grow rapidly
Cancer cells continued to proliferate in his body despite treatments.
Sever
divide, break off or dissolve
His illness forced him to sever ties with the surgical career he had worked so hard for.
Sully
damage the purity of, tarnish, stain
He did not let cancer sully his passion for understanding the human condition.
Abridge
to reduce, shorten time/extent
His life was tragically abridged, ending before he could fulfill all his aspirations.
Wane
decrease in strength/power/intensity/power/importance, approach an end
His strength began to wane as the disease progressed.
Strident
loud and harsh
He avoided strident tones in his reflections, favoring introspection and sincerity.
Wry
clever in irony, grimly humourous
His wry humor remained intact even as he faced his own mortality.
Vitriolic
cruel and bitter sarcasm
He never became vitriolic about his fate, instead accepting it with wisdom.
Audacious
extremely bold, fearless
Writing a memoir while dying was an audacious act of defiance against time.
