vocab 10 Flashcards
Vitriol
- sulfuric acid.
“it was as if his words were spraying vitriol on her face” - cruel and bitter criticism.
“her mother’s sudden gush of fury and vitriol
Penchant
- a strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something.
“he has a penchant for adopting stray dogs”
Errant
- erring or straying from the proper course or standards.
“he could never forgive his daughter’s errant ways” - traveling in search of adventure.
“that same lady errant”
analogue
- a person or thing seen as comparable to another.
“an interior analogue of the exterior world” - A clock with hands instead of digits.
cash advance
Taking money from an ATM (your bank) when your card doesn’t have enough funds. Your account goes into the negatives, and if you don’t pay back the bank in time, you get interest, eventually leading to debt.
nebulous
- in the form of a cloud or haze; hazy.
“a giant nebulous glow” - (of a concept or idea) unclear, vague, or ill-defined.
“nebulous concepts like quality of life” - relating to or denoting a nebula or nebulae.
“a vast nebular cloud”
Nebula
- a clouded spot on the cornea causing defective vision
- as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter.
- a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter.
Uvula
- a fleshy extension at the back of the soft palate which hangs above the throat.
- a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter.
reparation
- Making of amends for one’s wrongdoings by paying money to or helping those who have been wronged.
“He demanded financial reparation.” - the compensation for war damage paid by a defeated state.
- the action of repairing something.
“the old hall was pulled down to avoid the cost of reparation”
Thicket
a dense group of bushes or trees.
“a horned owl perfectly camouflaged in a dense thicket”
Cross yourself
Do the sign of the cross
Servility
an excessive willingness to serve or please others.
“a classic example of media servility”
Deference
humble submission and respect.
“he addressed her with the deference due to age”
Phrase:
in deference to — out of consideration of
“In deference to his thirst for reparations, we defiled the villains.”
Toady
a person who behaves obsequiously to someone important.
Servile
- having or showing an excessive willingness to serve or please others.
- of or characteristic of a slave or slaves.
“the servile condition of the peasants”
Coterie
a small group of people with shared interests or tastes, especially one that is exclusive of other people.
“a coterie of friends and advisers”
Genuflect
- lower one’s body briefly by bending one knee to the ground, typically in worship or as a sign of respect.
“she genuflected and crossed herself” - show deference or servility.
Overt
- done or shown openly; plainly or readily apparent, not secret or hidden.
“an overt act of aggression”
Covert
- any of the feathers covering the bases of the main flight or tail feathers of a bird.
- not openly acknowledged or displayed.
“covert operations against the dictatorship” - a thicket where game (animals) hide
Venerate
regard with great respect; revere.
“Mother Teresa is venerated as a saint”
Fakir
an Islamic term for Muslim ascetics who dedicate their lives to the worship of God.
Lark
- A ground-dwelling songbird
- Engage in something mischievous or daring; an amusing adventure or escapade.
“Larking about, riling up crowds to shout” - used to suggest that an activity is foolish or a waste of time.
“he’s serious about this rock-collecting lark” - a warbling sound or utterance.
“through the wall came a faint warble”
astetic
Characterized by severe self-discipline and abstention
Mystic
- Someone who seeks unity with the universe or religious deity
- relating to ancient religious mysteries or other occult or esoteric rites.
“the mystical practices of the Pythagoreans” - Something with a hidden meaning
Alms
Food and goods given to the poor
“The rough riders were gentle enough to stop to give alms”
mendicant
- a beggar.
- A religious officer that relies solely on alms.
“a mendicant friar”
Songbird
- A singing bird. (Lark, Bluebird)
- a female singer.
“the title track is the kind of tune any Nashville songbird could do”
Sufi
- Man of wool (Arabic)
- A Muslim mystic who emphasizes the inward search for God and shuns materialism.
Warble
- Someone (or a bird) sing softly and with a succession of constantly changing notes. Vibrato
“larks were warbling in the trees” - a swelling or abscess beneath the skin on the back of mammals caused by larvae or a warble fly.
Taxonomic
concerned with the classification of things, especially organisms.
“the taxonomic diversity of bees”
Genus
a class, kind, or group marked by one or more common characteristics
Salaam
a gesture of greeting or respect, with or without a spoken salutation, typically consisting of a low bow of the head and body with the hand or fingers touching the forehead.
sigma
- the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet ( Σ, σ ), transliterated as ‘s.’.
- the eighteenth star in a constellation.
“Sigma Octantis”
Sigmoid
- S-shaped.
- curved like the uncial sigma (C); crescent-shaped.
Majuscule
large lettering, either capital or uncial, in which all the letters are the same height.
“Insular majuscule script”
Unicial
- written in a majuscule script with rounded unjoined letters which is found in European manuscripts of the 4th–8th centuries and from which modern capital letters are derived.
- relating to an inch or an ounce.
