Vocab 2 Flashcards
Gerrymander
Verb
achieve (a result) by manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency.
“a total freedom to gerrymander the results they want”
Appeal
Verb
1. make a serious or urgent request, typically to the public.
“police are appealing for information about the incident”
- be attractive or interesting.
“the range of topics will appeal to youngsters”
noun
3. an attempt to persuade someone to do something by calling on a particular principle or quality.
“an appeal to their common cultural values”
Diminutive
adjective
Extremely or unusually small
Wordsmith
Noun:
A skilled user of words
Chiefly
Adverb
above all; mainly.
“he is remembered chiefly for his sonatas”
Dispiriting
Adjective
causing someone to lose enthusiasm and hope; disheartening.
Clastic
Adjective
denoting rocks composed of broken pieces of older rocks.
“a group of clastic sediments such as conglomerates”
Nadir
Noun
1. the lowest point in the fortunes of a person or organization.
“they had reached the nadir of their sufferings”
- the point on the celestial sphere directly below an observer.
Zenith
Noun
1. the time at which something is most powerful or successful.
- the point in the sky or celestial sphere directly above an observer.
the highest point reached by a celestial or other object.
“the sun was well past the zenith”
Recess
Noun:
1. a small space created by building part of a wall further back from the rest.
“a table set into a recess”
- a period of time when the proceedings of a parliament, committee, court of law, or other official body are temporarily suspended.
“talks resumed after a month’s recess” - a remote, secluded, or secret place.
“the recesses of the silent pine forest”
Sonata
Noun:
a composition for an instrumental soloist, often with a piano accompaniment, typically in several movements with one or more in sonata form.
Psychal
Adjective
Of or pertaining to the soul; psychical.
gyp
noun
1. an act of cheating someone; a swindle
verb
2. cheat or swindle (someone).
“that’s salesmanship, you have to gyp people into buying stuff they don’t like”
mar
verbi
1. to impair the appearance of; disfigure.
“no wrinkles marred her face”
impair the quality of; spoil.
“violence marred a number of New Year celebrations”
Vicarious
Adjective
1. experienced in the imagination through the feelings or actions of another person.
“I could glean vicarious pleasure from the struggles of my imaginary film friends”
- acting or done for another.
“a vicarious atonement” - of or pertaining to the performance by one organ of the functions normally discharged by another.
champak
noun
an Asian evergreen tree of the magnolia family, bearing fragrant orange flowers and sacred to Hindus and Buddhists.
posthumous
Adjective
1. occurring, awarded, or appearing after the death of the originator.
“he was awarded a posthumous Military Cross”
- (of a child) born after the death of its father.
“Newton was the posthumous son of an illiterate yeoman”
cathartic
adjective
1. providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions; causing catharsis.
“crying is a cathartic release”
noun
1. a purgative drug
Purgative
adjective
1. having the effect of ridding someone of unwanted feelings or memories.
“the purgative action of language”
- strongly laxative in effect.
Iridescent
adjective
1. showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles.
“the drake’s head has an iridescent purple sheen
drake
noun:
a male duck.
“a drake mallard”
Stunt
verb:
- (intransitive, slang, African American Vernacular) To show off; to posture.
- Perform a dangerous, acrobatic maneuver
Jagged
Adjective
1. having rough, sharp points protruding.
“the jagged edges gashed their fingers”
- perhaps symbolic of sudden movement or unevenness
Straight edge
adjective and phrase
1. is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture.
Varsity
noun
1. the principal team representing a high school or college in a sport or other competition.
“Miller promoted him to the varsity for his sophomore season”
Aorta
noun
the main artery of the body, supplying oxygenated blood to the circulatory system. In humans it passes over the heart from the left ventricle and runs down in front of the backbone.
(as a phrase can denote the heart. “kiss my aorta”)
Not the kind of person to pepper their steak
Phrase
Doesn’t need extravagance
Stud
Verb
strew or cover (something) with a scattering of small objects or features.
“the sky was clear and studded with stars”
Noun
A handsome, muscular male