vocab Flashcards
ambient
of or pertaining to the immediate surroundings; pervasive or encircling; relaxing
Ambient awareness is the experience of knowing what’s going on in the lives of other people - what they’re thinking about, what they’re doing, what they’re looking at - by paying attention to the small stray status messages that people are putting online.
macabre
representing, personifying, or obsessed with death, often in a strange or unpleasant way; gruesome or ghastly
The appeal of the spectrally macabre is generally narrow because it demands from the reader a certain degree of imagination and a capacity for detachment from everyday life.
spectral
of, pertaining to, or like a phantom or specter; ghostly; of or pertaining to a spectrum
confection
a sweet preparation or candy; the act or process of compounding or mixing something
“I suspect music is auditory cheesecake, an exquisite confection crafted to tickle the sensitive spots of our mental faculties.”
coven
a formal assembly of witches; a meeting of any group with similar interests or activities
liminal
of or pertaining to a transition or threshold; existing on an edge, margin, or periphery; barely perceptible
posthumous
occurring after one’s death
moniker
name, nickname, or alias
obsequious
excessively eager and attentive to follow, please, or obey; fawning, subservient
implausible
not appearing to be true; provoking disbelief
abase
to humiliate, degrade (After being overthrown and abased, the deposed
leader offered to bow down to his conqueror.)
aberration
something that differs from the norm (In 1918, the Boston Red Sox won
the World Series, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and the Red Sox
have not won a World Series since.)
abject
wretched, pitiful (After losing all her money, falling into a puddle, and
breaking her ankle, Eloise was abject.)
abjure
to reject, renounce (To prove his honesty, the President abjured the evil
policies of his wicked predecessor.)
abnegation
denial of comfort to oneself (The holy man slept on the floor, took only
cold showers, and generally followed other practices of abnegation.)
abort
to give up on a half-finished project or effort (After they ran out of food, the
men, attempting to jump rope around the world, had to abort and go home.)
abrogate
to abolish, usually by authority (The Bill of Rights assures that the
government cannot abrogate our right to a free press.)
abscond
to sneak away and hide (In the confusion, the super-spy absconded into the
night with the secret plans.)
absolution
) freedom from blame, guilt, sin (Once all the facts were known, the jury
gave Angela absolution by giving a verdict of not guilty.)
abstain
to freely choose not to commit an action (Everyone demanded that Angus
put on the kilt, but he did not want to do it and abstained.)
abstruse
hard to comprehend (Everyone else in the class understood geometry
easily, but John found the subject abstruse.)
accede
to agree (When the class asked the teacher whether they could play baseball
instead of learn grammar they expected him to refuse, but instead he acceded to
their request.)
accentuate
to stress, highlight (Psychologists agree that those people who are
happiest accentuate the positive in life.)
acclaim
high praise (Greg’s excellent poem won the acclaim of his friends.)
accolade
high praise, special distinction (Everyone offered accolades to Sam after
he won the Noble Prize.)
accommodating
helpful, obliging, polite (Though the apartment was not big
enough for three people, Arnold, Mark, and Zebulon were all friends and were
accommodating to each other.)
accord
an agreement (After much negotiating, England and Iceland finally came to
a mutually beneficial accord about fishing rights off the cost of Greenland.)
accost
to confront verbally (Though Antoinette was normally quite calm, when the
waiter spilled soup on her for the fourth time in 15 minutes she stood up and accosted
the man.)
accretion
slow growth in size or amount (Stalactites are formed by the accretion of
minerals from the roofs of caves.)
acquiesce
to agree without protesting (Though Mr. Correlli wanted to stay outside
and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner,
he acquiesced to her demands.)
acrimony
bitterness, discord (Though they vowed that no girl would ever come
between them, Biff and Trevor could not keep acrimony from overwhelming their
friendship after they both fell in love with the lovely Teresa.)
acumen
keen insight (Because of his mathematical acumen, Larry was able to figure
out in minutes problems that took other students hours.)
adamant
impervious, immovable, unyielding (Though public pressure was
intense, the President remained adamant about his proposal.)
adroit
skillful, dexterous (The adroit thief could pick someone’s pocket without
attracting notice.)
adulation
extreme praise (Though the book was pretty good, Marcy did not believe
it deserved the adulation it received.)
adumbrate
to sketch out in a vague way (The coach adumbrated a game plan, but
none of the players knew precisely what to do.)
adverse
antagonistic, unfavorable, dangerous (Because of adverse conditions, the
hikers decided to give up trying to climb the mountain.)
aerial
somehow related to the air (We watched as the fighter planes conducted
aerial maneuvers.)
aesthetic
artistic, related to the appreciation of beauty (We hired Susan as our
interior decorator because she has such a fine aesthetic sense.)
affinity
a spontaneous feeling of closeness (Jerry didn’t know why, but he felt an
incredible affinity for Kramer the first time they met.)
affront
an insult (Bernardo was very touchy, and took any slight as an affront to his
honor.)
aggrandize
) to increase or make greater (Joseph always dropped the names of the
famous people his father knew as a way to aggrandize his personal stature.)
aggregate
a whole or total (The three branches of the U.S. Government form an
aggregate much more powerful than its individual parts.) 2. (v.) to gather into a
mass (The dictator tried to aggregate as many people into his army as he possibly
could.)
aggrieved
distressed, wronged, injured (The foreman mercilessly overworked his
aggrieved employees.)
agnostic
believing that the existence of God cannot be proven or disproven
(Joey’s parents are very religious, but he is agnostic.)
aisle
a passageway between rows of seats (Once we got inside the stadium we
walked down the aisle to our seats.)
alacrity
eagerness, speed (For some reason, Chuck loved to help his mother
whenever he could, so when his mother asked him to set the table he did so with
alacrity.)