Test 3/14/14 Flashcards
Torque (v)
To cause to rotate or twist
The robot torqued its arm.
Quietus (n)
A finishing stroke
Having given a quietus to the argument, she left the room.
Piquancy (adj)
Agreeably pungent or sharp in taste or flavor.
The soup had a piquancy.
Cascade (n)
A waterfall or anything moving in a way that resembles a waterfall.
There was a cascade of water from the roof during the heavy rain storm.
Oblate (n)
A person offered to the service of and living in a monastery, but not under monastic vows or full monastic rule.
The young girl was taken to the monastery to serve as an oblate for a time.
Abase (v)
To reduce or lower, as in rank, office, reputation, or estimation; humble; degrade.
He abased his head.
Debase (v)
To reduce in quality or value; adulterate:
They debased the value of the dollar.
Adjure (v)
To charge, bind, or command earnestly and solemnly, often under oath or the threat of a penalty.
He adjured the young man to remain quiet about what he had witnessed.
Redress (v)
The setting right of what is wrong.
He redressed the abuses of his father.
Gnu (n)
Either of two stocky, oxlike antelopes of the genus Connochaetes, the silver-gray, white-bearded C. taurinus of the eastern African plain and the black, white-tailed C. gnou of central South Africa: recently near extinction, the South African gnu is now protected.
Sublime (adj)
Elevated or lofty in thought, language, etc.:
Paradise Lost is sublime poetry.
Repose (v)
peace; tranquillity; calm.
She was so cute when she was reposing.
Convoke (v)
to call together; summon to meet or assemble.
He spoke to convoke the meeting.
Cadence (n)
Rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words: the cadence of language.
Her cadence was stilted.
Cloister (n)
a place of religious seclusion, as a monastery or convent.
She retreated to the cloister with the nuns.
