Vocab Flashcards 3
morpheme
The word dog has one morpheme while dogged has two.
a part of a word that cannot be divided further
ad hoc
The committee was created ad hoc for the sudden stock drop.
created for a specific purpose
sine qua non
Passing the bar is a sine qua non for being a lawyer.
an essential condition
obfuscate
All the witness’s story did was obfuscate the truth.
to make unclear
castigate
In old days, lower classes used to be castigated for small mistakes.
to reprimand someone severely
boilerplate
Sometimes people look up boilerplate terms for contracts when they are not used to writing them.
standardized text that can be found in many different situations
allusion
The man’s red drink was an allusion to the poison he had drank years before.
an implied or indirect reference
conceit
Shakespeare often wrote with many conceits in his stories.
an elaborate metaphor
reification
The reification of democracy allowed the United States to be created.
treatment of an abstract thing as a physical object
elucidate
The investigator elucidated what really happened in the murder.
to make something clear
canon
The canon of the Bible dictated many religious trials during the Middle Ages
a general law or rule that guides a judgement
de facto
The vice president is the de facto president if the current president is unable to make decisions.
in fact / as fact
highbrow
The Renaissance birthed many highbrow, important people.
scholarly/refined
trepidation
Horror movies leave the watcher with trepidation of what is to come.
fear or anticipation
internalize
My English teacher is always prompting us to internalize the words he teaches us.
to make something part of one’s nature or mentality
subversive
The French people were subversive during the late 1700s.
seeking to overthrow
genesis
The genesis of democracy came during Greek and Roman times.
creation of something
pro forma
The handshake was pro forma; the two competitors hated each other.
as a matter of politeness or form
