Unit Six Flashcards
faux pas
(n.) an embarrassing or tactless act or remark in a social situation
precocity
(n.) exceptionally early or premature development (as of mental powers or sexual characteristics)
capricious
(adj.) given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior
grandiloquent
(adj.) pompous or extravagant in language, style, or manner, especially in a way that is intended to impress
analogous
(adj.) having analogy; corresponding in some particular; (adj.) (biology) corresponding in function, but not evolved from corresponding organs, as the wings of a bee and those of a hummingbird
chagrin
(n.) distress or embarrassment at having failed or been humiliated; (v.) feel distressed or humiliated
laudatory
(adj.) of, relating to, or expressing praise
laudable
(adj.) deserving praise; praiseworthy; commendable, (adj.) (medicine/medical obsolete) healthy; wholesome; not noxious
amorous
(adj.) showing, feeling, or relating to sexual desire
amatory
(adj.) of, relating to, or expressing sexual love
cogitation
(n.) the action of thinking deeply about something; contemplation
cogitate
(v.) (formal) think deeply about something; meditate or reflect
peccadillo
(n.) a small, relatively unimportant offense or sin
hodiernal
(adj.) (rare) relating to the present day
talon
(n.) a claw, especially one belonging to a bird of prey, (n.) the part of a bolt against which the key presses to slide it in a lock
imprimatur
(n.) an official license to print or publish a book, pamphlet, etc., especially a license issued by a censor of the Roman Catholic Church, (n.) sanction or approval; support
nadir
(n.) the lowest point in the fortunes of a person or organization, (n.) (astronomy) the point on the celestial sphere directly below an observer
jetsam
(n.) unwanted material or goods that have been thrown overboard from a ship and washed ashore, especially material that has been discarded to lighten the vessel
flotsam
(n.) the wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on or washed up by the sea, (n.) people or things that have been rejected and are regarded as worthless
ombudsman
(n.) an official appointed to investigate individuals’ complaints against maladministration, especially that of public authorities
ascertain
(v.) to find out or learn with certainty, (v.) (archaic) to make certain, exact, or precise
nosology
(n.) the branch of medical science dealing with the classification of diseases
gnosis
(n.) knowledge of spiritual mysteries
pathology
(n.) the study of the essential nature of diseases and especially of the structural and functional changes produced by them, (n.) the structural and functional deviations from the normal that constitute disease or characterize a particular disease, (n.) deviation from propriety or from an assumed normal state of something nonliving or nonmaterial, (n.) deviation giving rise to social ills
