Unit13 Flashcards
(40 cards)
accord
(1) To grant.
(2) To be in harmony; agree.
eg. What she told police under questioning didn’t accord with the accounts of the other witnesses.
concord
(1) A state of agreement: harmony.
(2) A formal agreement.
eg. In 1801 Napoleon signed a concord with the pope reestablishing the Catholic Church in France.
cordial
Warm, friendly, gracious.
eg. After the meeting, the president extended a cordial invitation to everyone for coffee at her own house.
discordant
Being at odds, conflicting, not in harmony.
eg. The first discordant note at dinner was struck by my cousin, when he claimed the president was only interested in taking away our guns.
culpable
Deserving to be condemned or blamed.
eg. The company was found guilty of culpable negligence in allowing the chemical waste to leak into the groundwater.
exculpate
To clear from accusations of fault or guilt.
eg. The girls aren’t proud of what they did that night, but they’ve been exculpated by witnesses and won’t be facing criminal charges.
inculpate
To accuse or incriminate; to show evidence of someone’s involvement in a fault or crime.
eg. It was his own father who finally inculpated him, though without intending to
mea culpa
An admission of personal fault or error.
eg. The principal said his mea culpa at the school board meeting, but not all the parents were satisfied.
diction
(1) Choice of words, especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.
(2) Clarity of speech.
eg. Our CEO is determined to appear in some TV ads, but he first needs to work on his diction with a vocal coach.
edict
(1) An official announcement that has the force of a law. (2) An order or command.
eg. In 1989 an edict by the leader of Iran pronouncing a death sentence on a British novelist stunned the world.
jurisdiction
(1) The power or right to control or exercise authority.
(2) The territory where power may be exercised.
eg. Unluckily for the defendants, the case fell within the jurisdiction of the federal court rather than the more tolerant state court.
dictum
A formal and authoritative statement.
eg. It has long been a dictum of American foreign policy that the government doesn’t negotiate with kidnappers and terrorists.
cognitive
(1) Having to do with the process of knowing, including awareness, judgment, and understanding.
(2) Based on factual knowledge that has been or can be gained by experience.
eg. A child isn’t a computer; a third-grader’s cognitive abilities are highly dependent on his or her upbringing and happiness.
agnostic
A person who believes that whether God exists is not known and probably cannot be known.
eg. Both of them were always agnostics, but after they had children they started attending church again.
incognito
In disguise, or with one’s identity concealed.
eg. Years after her reign as a top Hollywood star, she was discovered working incognito as a bartender in Manhattan while living in cheap hotels.
prognosis
(1) The chance of recovery from a given disease or condition.
(2) A forecast or prophecy.
eg. The prognosis for a patient with chicken pox is usually excellent; the prognosis for someone with liver cancer is terrible.
calligraphy
The art of producing beautiful handwriting.
eg. Calligraphy can be seen today in event invitations, logo designs, and stone inscriptions.
hagiography
(1) Biography of saints.
(2) Biography that idealizes or idolizes.
eg. According to the new biography, which should really be called a hagiography, the former prime minister doesn’t seem to have done anything small-minded or improper in his entire life.
choreography
(1) The art of composing and arranging dances and of representing them in symbolic notation.
(2) The movements by dancers in a performance.
eg. The reviews praised the show for its eye-catching choreography, calling it the best element of the whole musical.
lithograph
A picture made by printing from a flat surface (such as a smooth stone) prepared so that the ink will only stick to the design that will be printed.
eg. To make a lithograph, the artist first draws an image, in reverse, on a fine- grained limestone or aluminum plate.
artful
(1) Skillful.
(2) Wily, crafty, sly.
eg. It was an artful solution: each side was pleased with the agreement, but it was the lawyer himself who stood to make the most money off of it.
artifact
A usually simple object made by human workmanship, such as a tool or ornament, that represents a culture or a stage in a culture’s development.
eg. Through the artifacts found by archaeologists, we now know a considerable amount about how the early Anasazi people of the Southwest lived.
artifice
(1) Clever skill.
(2) A clever trick.
eg. By his cunning and artifice, Iago convinces Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful.
artisan
A skilled worker or craftsperson.
eg. At the fair, they saw examples of the best carving, pottery, and jewelry by local artisans.