Vocab-1

Question 1

Commonwealth

Answer 1

A nation, state, or other political unit: such as
a: one founded on law and united by compact or tacit agreement of the people for the common good
b: one in which supreme authority is vested in the people
c: REPUBLIC

Question 2

Oligarchy

Answer 2

1: government by the few
//The corporation is ruled by oligarchy.
2: a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes
//a military oligarchy was established in the country
also : a group exercising such control
//An oligarchy ruled the nation.
3: an organization under oligarchic control
//That country is an oligarchy.

Question 3

Dialectic

Answer 3

philosophy
a: discussion and reasoning by dialogue as a method of intellectual investigation
specifically : the Socratic techniques of exposing false beliefs and eliciting truth
b: the Platonic (see PLATONIC sense 1) investigation of the eternal ideas
3
philosophy : the logic of appearances and of illusions : the logic of fallacy
//the dialectic of Kant

Question 4

Cog

Answer 4

1: a tooth on the rim of a wheel or gear
2: a subordinate but integral person or part
verb (1)
cogged; cogging
Definition (Entry 2 of 5)
intransitive verb
1obsolete : to cheat in throwing dice
2obsolete : DECEIVE
3obsolete : to use venal flattery

Question 5

Totalitarianism

Answer 5

1: centralized control by an autocratic authority
2: the political concept that the citizen should be totally subject to an absolute state authority

Question 6

Improvise

Answer 6

Definition
transitive verb
1: to compose, recite, play, or sing extemporaneously
2: to make, invent, or arrange offhand
//the quarterback improvised a play
3: to make or fabricate out of what is conveniently on hand
//improvise a meal

Question 7

Promulgate

Answer 7

Definition
transitive verb
1: to make (an idea, belief, etc.) known to many people by open declaration : PROCLAIM
//… the huge meeting served primarily as the occasion on which to promulgate the official doctrine …
— Roger Shattuck
//From the beginning our objective has been to develop and promulgate new models for the calculus-based introductory course.
— John S. Rigden et al.
2a: to make known or public the terms of (a proposed law)
//The law was promulgated in February 1993.
b: to put (a law or rule) into action or force

Question 8

Zero-sum

Answer 8

Definition
: of, relating to, or being a situation (such as a game or relationship) in which a gain for one side entails a corresponding loss for the other side
//dividing up the budget is a zero-sum game

Question 9

Hegemony

Answer 9

Definition
1: preponderant influence or authority over others : DOMINATION
//battled for hegemony in Asia
2: the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group

Question 10

Unequivocal

Answer 10

Definition
1: leaving no doubt : CLEAR, UNAMBIGUOUS
2: UNQUESTIONABLE
//production of unequivocal masterpieces
— Carole Cook

Question 11

Forestall

Answer 11

Definition
transitive verb
1: to exclude, hinder, or prevent (something) by prior occupation or measures
//Negotiations failed to forestall the conflict.
2: to get ahead of (something) : ANTICIPATE
//detailed explanations intended to forestall questions
3: to prevent the normal trading in (something) by buying or diverting goods or by persuading people to raise prices
//… forestalling the wheat harvest and selling it at three times its cost …

Question 12

Melt

Answer 12

Definition (Entry 1 of 3)
intransitive verb
1: to become altered from a solid to a liquid state usually by heat
2a: DISSOLVE, DISINTEGRATE
//the sugar melted in the coffee
b: to disappear as if by dissolving
//her anger melted at his kind words
3obsolete : to become subdued or crushed (as by sorrow)
4: to become mild, tender, or gentle
5: to lose outline or distinctness : BLEND

Question 13

Lop

Answer 13

Definition (Entry 1 of 3)
: material cut away from a tree
especially : parts discarded in lumbering
verb (1)
lopped; lopping
Definition (Entry 2 of 3)
transitive verb
1a(1): to cut off branches or twigs from
(2): to sever from a woody plant
b(1)archaic : to cut off the head or limbs of
(2): to cut from a person

Question 14

Wager

Answer 14

Definition (Entry 1 of 2)
1a: something (such as a sum of money) risked on an uncertain event : STAKE
b: something on which bets are laid : GAMBLE
//do a stunt as a wager
2archaic : an act of giving a pledge to take and abide by the result of some action.
To make a bet

Question 15

Hog

Answer 15

Definition (Entry 1 of 2)
1a: a domesticated swine especially when weighing more than 120 pounds (54 kilograms)
— compare PIG sense 1a
b: any of various animals related to the domesticated swine

Question 16

Pen

Answer 16

Definition (Entry 1 of 7)
transitive verb
: to shut in or as if in a pen
//The cattle were penned behind a wooden fence.
noun (1)
Definition (Entry 2 of 7)
1a: a small enclosure for animals
b: the animals in a pen

Question 17

Anoint

Answer 17

Definition
transitive verb
1: to smear or rub with oil or an oily substance
2a: to apply oil to as part of a religious ceremony
//The priest anointed the sick.
b: to choose by or as if by divine election
//anoint him as his successor

Question 18

Lest

Answer 18

Definition
: for fear that —often used after an expression denoting fear or apprehension
//worried lest she should be late

Question 19

Host

Answer 19

Definition (Entry 1 of 5)
1: ARMY
//the destruction of Pharaoh’s host in that sea
— W. L. Sperry
2: a great number : MULTITUDE
//a whole host of options

Question 20

Scorch

Answer 20

Definition (Entry 1 of 3)
transitive verb
1: to burn a surface of so as to change its color and texture
2a: to dry or shrivel with or as if with intense heat : PARCH
b: to afflict painfully with censure or sarcasm