vocab list 3 Flashcards
morpheme
a meaningful morphological unit of a language that cannot be further divided (e.g. in, come, -ing, forming incoming ).
ad hoc
when necessary or needed.
sine qua non
an essential condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary.
obfuscate
to make something less clear and harder to understand, especially intentionally: She was criticized for using arguments that obfuscated the main issue.
castigate
punish, and punish harshly, but the punishment is always a severe scolding. Sometimes it means criticize severely.
boilerplate
a standard, reusable piece of content that’s used in various pieces of content, from articles to communication materials like press releases and contracts.
allude, allusion
an allusion is a “brief, intentional reference to a historical, mythic, or literary person, place, event, or movement.” For example, you might hear someone say they went “down a rabbit hole” when researching a topic.
conceit (of a film, novel, plot)
To summarize, a conceit is an elaborate, exaggerated metaphor that compares two incredibly similar things. It is often far-fetched and an extended metaphor that combines two unlike ideas into a single idea, using imagery.
reification, reify
when you think of or treat something abstract as a physical thing. Reification is a complex idea for when you treat something immaterial — like happiness, fear, or evil — as a material thing.
elucidate
make (something) clear; explain.
canon, canonical
A canonical text is one in the “canon,” or the officially accepted “good” texts.
de facto
As a matter of fact. As in: Tony quickly became the de facto leader of our group.
highbrow, lowbrow
Highbrow literature is typically considered to be more intellectual and sophisticated, often focused on topics such as philosophy, literature, and art. Lowbrow literature, on the other hand, is usually more accessible and entertaining, often focusing on topics such as popular culture and entertainment.
trepidation
fear, anxiety, apprehension. When the student forgot to study for the test, they felt a wave of trepidation wash over me. You can also be trepidatious. The opposite, fearless or unintimidated, is intrepid.
internalize
Bring something from the outside in.
