Unit16

Question 1

topical

Answer 1

(1) Designed for local application to or treatment of a bodily part.
(2) Referring to the topics of the day.

eg. If the topical ointment doesn’t work on the rash, the doctor will prescribe an antibiotic pill.

Question 2

ectopic

Answer 2

Occurring or originating in an abnormal place

eg. A pacemaker was installed to correct her ectopic heartbeat

Question 3

utopian

Answer 3

Relating to an imaginary place in which the government, laws, and social conditions are perfect.f

eg. Some of the new mayor’s supporters had gotten increasingly unrealistic, and seemed to expect that she could turn the city into a utopian community.

Question 4

topography

Answer 4

(1) The art of showing the natural and man- made features of a region on a map or chart.
(2) The features of a surface, including both natural and man-made features.

eg. Planning the expedition involved careful study of the region’s topography.

Question 5

eccentric

Answer 5

(1) Not following an established or usual style or conduct.
(2) Straying from a circular path; off-center.

eg. She keeps a dozen stray cats in her house and is rather eccentric, but her neighbors say she’s very pleasant and completely harmless.

Question 6

epicenter

Answer 6

(1) The location on the earth’s surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.
(2) The center or focus of activity.

eg. The destruction caused by Mexico City’s earthquake was extensive because the city was at the quake’s epicenter.

Question 7

egocentric

Answer 7

Overly concerned with oneself; self-centered

eg. He’s brilliant but completely egocentric, and the only things he’ll talk about are his own life and work.

Question 8

ethnocentric

Answer 8

Marked by or based on the attitude that one’s own group is superior to others.

eg. Some reviewers criticized the ethnocentric bias that came through in the way the film portrayed immigrants.

Question 9

dominion

Answer 9

(1) An area over which one rules; domain.
(2) Supreme authority.

eg. The Roman empire had dominion over the entire Mediterranean, which the Romans called mare nostrum, “our sea.”

Question 10

predominant

Answer 10

Greater in importance, strength, influence, or authority.

eg. The predominant color of the desert landscape was a rusty brown.

Question 11

domineering

Answer 11

Tending to control the behavior of others in a bossy manner.

eg. His mother was a domineering type, and not even his stepfather dared do anything without her permission.

Question 12

domination

Answer 12

(1) Supremacy or power over another.
(2) The exercise of governing or controlling influence.

eg. The region was under the domination of a single nation, even though it hadn’t yet invaded its neighbors.

Question 13

omnivore

Answer 13

An animal that eats both plants and other animals.

eg. If we’re all natural omnivores, she kept asking herself, then why wouldn’t her toddler eat anything but cashews and peanut butter until the age of four?

Question 14

omnipotent

Answer 14

Having complete or unlimited power; all- powerful.

eg. What really scares these men is the nightmare of an omnipotent state, and they think that with their guns they’ll be able to keep the government’s forces at bay when the time comes.

Question 15

omnibus

Answer 15

Of or including many things.

eg. Eager to go home for vacation, Senate leaders assembled an omnibus bill to tie up the loose ends on dozens of unrelated projects.

Question 16

omniscient

Answer 16

Knowing everything; having unlimited understanding or knowledge.

eg. Brought up in a strict Christian family, he knew that an omniscient God was watching him every second of his life.

Question 17

holistic

Answer 17

Relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts.

eg. Environmental scientists tend to be holistic in their views, even when they’re only studying a tiny patch of ground.

Question 18

hologram

Answer 18

A three-dimensional image reproduced from a pattern of interference produced by a beam of radiation such as a laser.

eg. When holograms are used for data storage, the entire bulk of the storage material can be used rather than just its surface.

Question 19

Holocene

Answer 19

Of, relating to, or being the present geologic epoch.

eg. As the Holocene epoch began, the glaciers were swiftly retreating, forests were taking over the bare land, and human beings were moving northward again in large numbers.

Question 20

holocaust

Answer 20

(1) (usually capitalized) The mass slaughter of European civilians and especially Jews by the Nazis during World War II.
(2) A thorough destruction involving extensive loss of life, especially through fire.

eg. Her parents had escaped the Holocaust in Poland by fleeing into the forest and surviving there with hundreds of others for two years.

Question 21

retroactive

Answer 21

Intended to apply or take effect at a date in the past.

eg. The fact that the tax hike was retroactive annoyed the public the most.

Question 22

retrofit

Answer 22

To furnish something with new or modified parts or equipment that was optional or unavailable at the time of manufacture.

eg. The office building has been retrofitted with air-conditioning, but the result has been a mixed success.

Question 23

retrogress

Answer 23

To return to an earlier and usually worse or more primitive state.

eg. According to the tests, the sophomores had actually retrogressed in the course of spring term.

Question 24

retrospective

Answer 24

A generally comprehensive exhibition or performance usually covering an artist’s output to date.

eg. A retrospective covering the photographer’s entire career is forcing critics to revise their earlier estimates of her status as an artist.

Question 25

temporal

Answer 25

(1) Having to do with time as opposed to eternity; having to do with earthly life as opposed to heavenly existence.
(2) Having to do with time as distinguished from space.

eg. The quick passing of the seasons as we grow older makes us feel the fleeting nature of temporal existence.

Question 26

contemporary

Answer 26

(1) Occurring or existing during the same period of time. (2) Having to do with the present period; modern or current.

eg. The two scientists were contemporary with each other, but neither seemed to have heard of the other’s existence.

Question 27

extemporaneous

Answer 27

(1) Composed, performed, spoken, or done on the spur of the moment; impromptu or improvised.
(2) Carefully prepared but delivered without notes.

eg. It was once common in middle-class homes to make extemporaneous speeches, recite poetry, and give little solo song recitals after a dinner with guests.

Question 28

temporize

Answer 28

(1) To act in a way that fits the time or occasion; to give way to current opinion.
(2) To draw out discussions to gain time.

eg. The legislature was accused of temporizing while the budget deficit continued to worsen.

Question 29

chronic

Answer 29

(1) Lasting a long time or recurring frequently.
(2) Always present; constantly annoying or troubling; habitual.

eg. He had stopped to pick up ice-cream cones for the kids, hoping it would give him a temporary rest from their chronic bickering.

Question 30

chronology

Answer 30

(1) A sequence of events in the order they occurred.
(2) A table, list, or account that presents events in order.

eg. The scandal had gotten so complex that the newspaper had to print a chronology showing the order of the numerous events involved.

Question 31

anachronism

Answer 31

(1) The error of placing a person or thing in the wrong time period.
(2) A person or thing that is out of its own time.

eg. A Model T Ford putt-putting down the highway at 25 miles per hour was an anachronism by 1940.

Question 32

synchronous

Answer 32

(1) Happening or existing at exactly the same time; simultaneous.
(2) Recurring or acting at exactly the same intervals.

eg. The theory depends on whether the chemical appeared in synchronous deposits worldwide seven million years ago.

Question 33

triad

Answer 33

(1) A group of three usually related people or things.
(2) A secret Chinese criminal organization.

eg. The kids in the garage band next door seemed to know six or seven triads and a couple of seventh chords.

Question 34

trilogy

Answer 34

A series of three creative works that are closely related and develop a single theme.

eg. William Faulkner’s famous “Snopes trilogy” consists of the novels The Hamlet, The Town, and The Mansion.

Question 35

triceratops

Answer 35

One of a group of large dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous period and had three horns, a bony crest or hood, and hoofed toes.

eg. The triceratops probably used its three horns for defense against the attacks of meat-eating dinosaurs.

Question 36

trident

Answer 36

A three-pronged spear, especially one carried by various sea gods in classical mythology.

eg. The bronze statue at the middle of the great fountain depicted a sea god emerging from the water, wreathed in seaweed and carrying a large trident.

Question 37

trimester

Answer 37

(1) A period of about three months, especially one of three such periods in a human pregnancy.
(2) One of three terms into which an academic year is sometimes divided.

eg. Most women experience morning sickness in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Question 38

trinity

Answer 38

(1) (capitalized) The unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one God in Christian belief.
(2) A group of three people.

eg. In Christian art depicting the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is almost always shown as a radiant dove.

Question 39

triptych

Answer 39

(1) A picture or carving made in the form of three panels side by side.
(2) Something composed or presented in three sections.

eg. The Renaissance produced many beautiful triptychs portraying religious scenes that are still used as altarpieces.

Question 40

trivial

Answer 40

Of little value or importance.

eg. She was so caught up in the trivial details of the trip that she hardly noticed the beautiful scenery.