Unit1 Flashcards
benediction
A prayer that asks for God’s blessing, especially a prayer that concludes a worship service
eg. The moment the bishop had finished his benediction, she squeezed quickly out of her row and darted out the cathedral’s side entrance.
benefactor
Someone who helps another person or group, especially by giving money
eg. An anonymous benefactor had given $15 million to establish an ecological institute at the university
beneficiary
A person or organization that benefits or is expected to benefit from something, especially one that receives money or property when someone dies.
eg. Living in a trailer in near-poverty, she received word in the mail that her father had died, naming her as the sole beneficiary of his life-insurance policy.
benevolence
Kindness, generosity.
eg. In those financially desperate years, the young couple was saved only by the
benevolence of her elderly great-uncle.
amicable
Friendly, peaceful
eg. Their relations with their in-laws were generally amicable, despite some
bickering during the holidays.
enamored
Charmed or fascinated; inflamed with love
eg. Rebecca quickly became enamored of the town’s rustic surroundings, its slow pace, and its eccentric characters.
amorous
Having or showing strong feelings of attraction or love
eg. It turned out that the amorous Congressman had gotten his girlfriend a good job and was paying for her apartment.
paramour
A lover, often secret, not allowed by law or custom
eg. He had been coming to the house for two years before her brothers realized that he was actually the paramour of their shy and withdrawn sister.
antebellum
Existing before a war, especially before the American Civil War (1861–65).
eg. When World War I was over, the French nobility found it impossible to return to their extravagant antebellum way of life.
bellicose
Warlike, aggressive, quarrelsome
eg. The more bellicose party always got elected whenever there was tension along the border and the public believed that military action would lead to security.
belligerence
Aggressiveness, combativeness.
eg. The belligerence in Turner’s voice told them that the warning was a serious
threat.
rebellion
Open defiance and opposition, sometimes armed, to a person or thing in authority
eg. A student rebellion that afternoon in Room 13 resulted in the new substitute teacher racing out of the building in tears.
pacify
(1) To soothe anger or agitation. (2) To subdue by armed action.
eg. It took the police hours to pacify the angry demonstrators.
pacifist
A person opposed to war or violence, especially someone who refuses to bear arms or to fight, on moral or religious grounds.
eg. Her grandfather had fought in the Marines in World War II, but in his later years he had become almost a pacifist, opposing every war for one reason or another.
pact
An agreement between two or more people or groups; a treaty or formal agreement between nations to deal with a problem or to resolve a dispute.
eg. The girls made a pact never to reveal what had happened on that terrifying night in the abandoned house.
pace
Contrary to the opinion of.
eg. She had only three husbands, pace some Hollywood historians who claim she had as many as six.
criminology
The study of crime, criminals, law enforcement, and punishment.
eg. His growing interest in criminology led him to become a probation officer
decriminalize
To remove or reduce the criminal status of
eg. An angry debate over decriminalizing doctor-assisted suicide raged all day in the statehouse
incriminate
To show evidence of involvement in a crime or a fault.
eg. The muddy tracks leading to and from the cookie jar were enough to incriminate them.
recrimination
(1) An accusation in answer to an accusation made against oneself. (2) The making of such an accusation.
eg. Their failure to find help led to endless and pointless recriminations over responsibility for the accident.
approbation
A formal or official act of approving; praise, usually given with pleasure or enthusiasm.
eg. The senate signaled its approbation of the new plan by voting for it unanimously.
probate
The process of proving in court that the will of someone who has died is valid, and of administering the estate of a dead person.
eg. When her father died, she thought she would be able to avoid probate, but she wasn’t that lucky.
probity
Absolute honesty and uprightness
eg. Her unquestioned probity helped win her the respect of her fellow judges.
reprobate
A person of thoroughly bad character
eg. His wife finally left him, claiming he was a reprobate who would disappear for weeks at a time, gambling and drinking away all his money.
grave
(1) Requiring serious thought or concern. (2) Serious and formal in appearance or manner.
eg. We realized that the situation was grave and that the slightest incident could spark all-out war.
gravitas
Great or very dignified seriousness
eg. The head of the committee never failed to carry herself with the gravitas she felt was appropriate to her office.
gravitate
To move or be drawn toward something, especially by natural tendency or as if by an invisible force.
eg. On hot evenings, the town’s social life gravitated toward the lakefront, where you could stroll the long piers eating ice cream or dance at the old Casino.
aggravate
(1) To make (an injury, problem, etc.) more serious or severe. (2) To annoy or bother
eg. She went back to the soccer team before the knee was completely healed, which naturally aggravated the injury.
alleviate
To lighten, lessen, or relieve, especially physical or mental suffering
eg. Cold compresses alleviated the pain of the physical injury, but only time could alleviate the effect of the insult.
elevation
(1) The height of a place. (2) The act or result of lifting or raising someone or something
eg. Her doctor is concerned about the elevation of her blood pressure since her last visit.
cantilever
A long piece of wood, metal, etc., that sticks out from a wall to support something above it
eg. The house’s deck, supported by cantilevers, jutted out dramatically over the rocky slope, and looking over the edge made him dizzy.
levity
Lack of appropriate seriousness
eg. The Puritan elders tried to ban levity of all sorts from the community’s meetings, but found it increasingly difficult to control the younger generation.
cicerone
A guide, especially one who takes tourists to museums, monuments, or architectural sites and explains what is being seen
eg. On Crete they sought out a highly recommended cicerone, hoping to receive the best possible introduction to the noteworthy historical sites.
hector
To bully or harass by bluster or personal pressure.
eg. He would swagger around the apartment entrance with his friends and hector the terrified inhabitants going in and out.
hedonism
An attitude or way of life based on the idea that pleasure or happiness should be the chief goal.
eg. In her new spirit of hedonism, she went out for a massage, picked up champagne and chocolate truffles, and made a date that evening with an old boyfriend.
nestor
A senior figure or leader in one’s field
eg. The guest of honor was a nestor among journalists, and after dinner he shared some of his wisdom with the audience.
spartan
Marked by simplicity, avoidance of luxury, and often strict self-discipline or self-denial
eg. When he was single, he had lived a spartan life in a tiny, undecorated apartment with one chair, a table, and a bed.
stentorian
Extremely loud, often with especially deep richness of sound.
eg. Even without a microphone, his stentorian voice was clearly audible in the last rows of the auditorium.
stoic
Seemingly indifferent to pleasure or pain
eg. She bore the pain of her broken leg with such stoic patience that most of us had no idea she was suffering.
sybaritic
Marked by a luxurious or sensual way of life
eg. When I knew them they were living a sybaritic existence—hopping from resort to resort, each more splendid than the last—but a year later the money ran out.
