Unit8 Flashcards
portage
The carrying of boats or goods overland from one body of water to another; also, a regular route for such carrying.
eg. The only portage on the whole canoe route would be the one around the great waterfall on our second day.
portfolio
(1) A flat case for carrying documents or artworks. (2) The investments owned by a person or organization.
eg. In those days, a graphic artist who had recently moved to New York would just schlep his portfolio around to every magazine office in the city.
comport
(1) To be in agreement with. (2) To behave.
eg. This new evidence comports with everything we know about what happened that night.
deportment
Manner of conducting oneself socially.
eg. At social events she would constantly sneak glances at Alexandra, in quiet admiration of her elegant and graceful deportment.
pendant
Something that hangs down, especially as an ornament.
eg. Around her neck she was wearing the antique French pendant he had given her, with its three rubies set in silver filigree.
append
To add as something extra.
eg. She appended to the memo a list of the specific items that the school was most in need of.
appendage
(1) Something joined on to a larger or more important body or thing. (2) A secondary body part, such as an arm or a leg.
eg. She often complained that she felt like a mere appendage of her husband when they socialized with his business partners.
suspend
(1) To stop something, or to force someone to give up some right or position, for a limited time. (2) To hang something so that it is free on all sides.
eg. The country has been suspended from the major trade organizations, and the effects on its economy are beginning to be felt.
panacea
A remedy for all ills or difficulties; cure-all.
eg. Educational reform is sometimes viewed as the panacea for all of society’s problems.
pandemonium
A wild uproar or commotion.
eg. Pandemonium erupted in the stadium as the ball shot past the goalie into the net.
pantheism
A system of belief that regards God as identical with the forces and laws of the universe.
eg. Most of her students seemed to accept a vague kind of pantheism, without any real belief that God had ever appeared in human form.
panoply
(1) A magnificent or impressive array. (2) A display of all appropriate accessory items.
eg. The full panoply of a royal coronation was a thrilling sight for the throngs of sidewalk onlookers and the millions of television viewers.
extradite
To deliver an accused criminal from one place to another where the trial will be held.
eg. Picked up by the Colorado police for burglary, he’s being extradited to Mississippi to face trial for murder.
extrapolate
To extend or project facts or data into an area not known in order to make assumptions or to predict facts or trends.
eg. Economists predict future buying trends partly by extrapolating from current economic data.
extrovert
A person mainly concerned with things outside him- or herself; a sociable and outgoing person.
eg. These parties are always full of loud extroverts, and I always find myself hiding in a corner with my drink.
extraneous
(1) Existing or coming from the outside. (2) Not forming an essential part; irrelevant.
eg. Be sure your essays are well focused, with any discussion of extraneous topics kept to a minimum.
photoelectric
Involving an electrical effect produced by the action of light or other radiation.
eg. They wanted to avoid the kind of smoke detector that uses radioactive materials, so they’ve installed the photoelectric kind instead.
photovoltaic
Involving the direct generation of electricity when sunlight or other radiant energy falls on the boundary between dissimilar substances (such as two different semiconductors).
eg. Photovoltaic technology is being applied to thin film that can produce as much energy as solar cells while using far less semiconducting material.
photon
A tiny particle or bundle of radiant energy.
eg. The idea that light consists of photons is difficult until you begin to think of a ray of light as being caused by a stream of tiny particles.
photosynthesis
The process by which green plants use light to produce organic matter from carbon dioxide and water.
eg. Sagebrush survives in harsh climates because it’s capable of carrying on photosynthesis at very low temperatures.
lucid
(1) Very clear and easy to understand. (2) Able to think clearly.
eg. On his last visit he had noticed that his elderly mother hadn’t seemed completely lucid.
elucidate
To clarify by explaining; explain.
eg. A good doctor should always be willing to elucidate any medical jargon he or she uses.
lucubration
(1) Hard and difficult study. (2) The product of such study.
eg. Our professor admitted that he wasn’t looking forward to reading through any more of our lucubrations on novels that no one enjoyed.
translucent
Partly transparent; allowing light to pass through without permitting objects beyond to be seen clearly.
eg. Architects today often use industrial glass bricks in their home designs, because translucent walls admit daylight while guarding privacy.
mortality
(1) The quality or state of being alive and therefore certain to die. (2) The number of deaths that occur in a particular time or place.
eg. Mortality rates were highest among those who those who lived closest to the plant.
moribund
(1) In the process of dying or approaching death. (2) Inactive or becoming outmoded.
eg. Church attendance in Britain has fallen in recent years, but no one would say the Anglican church is moribund.
amortize
To pay off (something such as a mortgage) by making small payments over a period of time.
eg. For tax purposes, they chose to amortize most of the business’s start-up costs over a three-year period.
mortify
(1) To subdue or deaden (the body) especially by self- discipline or self-inflicted pain. (2) To embarrass greatly.
eg. Our 14-year-old is mortified whenever he sees us dancing, especially if any of his school friends are around.
atrophy
(1) Gradual loss of muscle or flesh, usually because of disease or lack of use. (2) A decline or degeneration.
eg. After a month in a hospital bed, my father required a round of physical therapy to deal with his muscular atrophy.
hypertrophy
(1) Excessive development of an organ or part. (2) Exaggerated growth or complexity.
eg. Opponents claimed that the Defense Department, after years of being given too much money by the Congress, was now suffering from hypertrophy.
dystrophy
Any of several disorders involving the nerves and muscles, especially muscular dystrophy.
eg. The most common of the muscular dystrophies affects only males, who rarely live to the age of 40.
eutrophication
The process by which a body of water becomes enriched in dissolved nutrients.
eg. Local naturalists are getting worried about the increasing eutrophication they’ve been noticing in the lake.
aeolian harp
A box-shaped instrument with strings that produce musical sounds when the wind blows on them.
eg. Poets have long been fascinated by the aeolian harp, the only instrument that produces music without a human performer.
cynosure
(1) A guide. (2) A center of attention.
eg. Near the club’s dance floor, a young rock star was hanging out, the cynosure of a small crowd of admirers.
laconic
Using extremely few words.
eg. Action-film scripts usually seem to call for laconic leading men who avoid conversation but get the job done.
mnemonic
Having to do with the memory; assisting the memory.
eg. Sales-training courses recommend various mnemonic devices as a way of remembering peoples’ names.
platonic
(1) Relating to the philosopher Plato or his teachings. (2) Involving a close relationship from which romance and sex are absent.
eg. The male and female leads in sitcoms often keep their relationship platonic for the first few seasons, but romance almost always wins out in the end.
sapphic
(1) Lesbian. (2) Relating to a poetic verse pattern associated with Sappho.
eg. The Roman poets Catullus and Horace composed wonderful love poems in sapphic verse.
Socratic
Having to do with the philosopher Socrates or with his teaching method, in which he systematically questioned the student in conversation in order to draw forth truths.
eg. She challenges her students by using the Socratic method, requiring them to think and respond constantly in every class.
solecism
(1) A grammatical mistake in speaking or writing. (2) A blunder in etiquette or proper behavior.
eg. The poor boy committed his first solecism immediately on entering by tracking mud over the Persian rug in the dining room.
