Vocabulary Flashcards
Infallible
Incapable of making mistakes or being wrong
Eschew
To abstain or keep away from; shun; avoid
Flout
To treat with disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff at; mock
Tenebrous
Gloomy or dark
Recondite
Beyond ordinary understanding
Incarcerate
To imprison or confine
Simple argument
Contains a single conclusion
Complex argument
Contains more than one conclusion = main conclusion + subsidiary/sub- conclusions
Inference
A conclusion that must be true and follows from an argument
Assumption
Unstated premise - what must be true in order for the argument to be true but is taken for granted
Scope of an argument
Range to which the premises and conclusion encompass certain ideas
Narrow/limited scope argument
Definite in its statements
Wide/broad scope argument
Less definite in its statements and allows for a greater range of possibility
Solemn
Not cheerful or smiling; serious
Curtail
Reduce in extent or quantity; impose a restriction on
Onerous
Involving an amount of effort and difficulty that is oppressively burdensome
LSAT definition of “either/or”
“At least one of the two, possibly both”
“Either/or, but not both”
Exactly one of the two occurs, i.e. both cannot occur simultaneously
Preclude
Prevent from happening; make impossible
“Than either”
“Than both”, e.g. Desmond likes Biology better than either Chemistry or Physics = Desmond likes Biology better than both Chemistry and Physics (individually, not combined)
Innocuous
Not harmful, injurious or offensive; harmless
Imperative
Absolutely necessary or required; unavoidable
Fallacy
A mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument
Inoculate
Treat (a person or animal) with a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease
Reverberate
(Of a loud noise) Be repeated several times as an echo
Market share
- The portion of a market controlled by a particular company or product
- The specific percentage of total industry sales of a particular product achieved by a single company in a given period of time
Cognition
The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses
Gratification
Pleasure, especially when gained from the satisfaction of a desire
Faculty
- An inherent mental or physical power
2. The teaching staff of a university or college, or one of its departments or divisions
Cognitive
Relating to the mental process of knowing, including reasoning and judgement
Risqué
- Slightly indecent or liable to shock, especially by being sexually suggestive
- Daringly close to indelicacy or being inappropriate
Gourmet
A gourmet is a connoisseur of food and drink, and a connoisseur is a person with deep or special knowledge of a subject
Impartial
Treating all rivals or disputants equally; fair and just
Arbitrator
An independent person or body officially appointed to settle a dispute
Jury
A body of people (typically twelve in number) sworn to give a verdict in a legal case on the basis of evidence submitted to them on court
Litigation
The process of taking legal action
Litigate
To make the subject of a lawsuit; contest at law
Moot
Subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty, and typically not admitting of a final decision
Longevity
A long individual life; great duration of individual life
Preponderance
The quality or fact of being greater/superior in number, quantity, or importance
Ludicrous
So foolish, unreasonable, or out of place as to be amusing; ridiculous
Counterexample
An example that opposes or contradicts an idea or theory
Abuzz
Filled with a continuous humming sound
Cordon
A line or circle of police, soldiers, or guards preventing access to or from an area or building
Pun
The humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words
Posit
Assume as a fact; put forward as a basis of argument
Obscure
- Not discovered or known about; uncertain
2. Not clearly expressed or easily understood
Obfuscate
- Render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible
2. Bewilder/confuse someone
Conviction
- A formal declaration that someone is guilty of a criminal offense, made by the verdict of a jury or the decision of a judge in a court of law
- A firmly held belief or opinion
Exoneration
- The action of officially absolving (i.e. set or declare someone free from blame, guilt or responsibility) someone from blame; vindication (i.e. clear someone of blame or suspicion)
Trial
- A formal examination of evidence before a judge, and typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings
- A test of the performance, qualities, or suitability of someone or something
- A person, thing, or situation that tests a persons endurance or forbearance/self-control
Commission
- An instruction, command, or duty given to a person or group of people
- An amount of money, typically a set percentage of the value involved, paid to an agent in a commercial transaction
- The action of committing a crime or offence
Tractable
- (Of a person or animal) easy to control or influence
2. (Of a situation or problem) easy to deal with
Esoteric
Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest
Apposition
- The positioning of things or the condition of being side by side or close together; juxtaposition
- Words or phrases in apposition are placed next to each other, and the second word or phrase defines, clarifies, or gives evidence for the first word or phrase. The second word or phrase will be set off from the first by a comma, semicolon, hyphen, or parentheses
Antithetical
- Directly opposed or contrasted; mutually incompatible
Rhetorical
Of, relating to, or concerned with the art of rhetoric
- Expressed in terms intended to persuade or impress
- (Of a question) asked in order to produce an effect or to make a statement rather than to elicit information
Acrimonious
(Typically of speech or a debate) angry and bitter
Corollary
A proposition that follows from (and is often appended/added to) one already proved
-A direct or natural consequence or result
Ontology
The branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being
Coherent
- (Of an argument, theory, or policy) logical and consistent
- (Of a person) able to speak clearly and logically - United as or forming a whole
Analogy
A comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification
Laden
Heavily loaded or weighed down
Tacit
Understood or implied without being stated
Advocate
A person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy
- A person who pleads on someone else’s behalf
- A pleader in a court of law; a lawyer
Measured
- Ascertain the size, amount, or degree of something by using an instrument or device marked in standard units or by comparing it with an object of known size
- Consider one’s words or actions carefully
- Travel over a certain distance or area -> we must measure 20 miles today
Punitive
Inflicting or intended as punishment
Languid
- Lacking in vigor or vitality; slack or slow
- Lacking in spirit or interest; listless; indifferent
- Drooping or flagging from weakness or fatigue; faint
Rarefied
- Extremely high or elevated
Sophomoric
- Of or pertaining to a sophomore or sophomores (i.e. a student in the second year of high school or college)
- Suggestive of or resembling the traditional sophomore; intellectually pretentious, overconfident, conceited, etc., but immature
Advocacy
The act of pleading for, supporting, or recommending; active espousal
Qualified
- Having the qualities, accomplishments, etc., that fit a person for some function, office, or the like
- Having the qualities, accomplishments, etc., required by law or custom for getting, having, or exercising a right, holding an office, or the like
- Modified, limited, or restricted in some way
Impartiality
Not partial or biased; fair; just
Ambivalence
The state of having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone
Perfunctory
- Performed merely as a routine duty; hasty/hurried and superficial
- Lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; indifferent or apathetic
- (Of an action or gesture) carried out with a minimum of effort or reflection
Irony
- The use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: e.g. the irony of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all weekend.
- An outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected
- An objectively or humorously sardonic (i.e. grimly mocking or cynical) utterance, disposition, quality, etc.
Critical
- Inclined to find fault or to judge with severity, often too readily
Hostile
- Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of an enemy: e.g. a hostile nation
- Opposed in feeling, action, or character; antagonistic: hostile criticism
- Characterized by antagonism/opposition
- Not friendly, warm, or generous; not hospitable/welcoming/pleasant
Idealistic
Characterized by idealism; unrealistically aiming for perfection
Juvenile
- Of, for, or relating to young people
2. Childish; immature
Pollyanna/Pollyannaish
An excessively cheerful or optimistic person
Snide
Derogatory/disrespectful in a nasty, insinuating/unpleasant manner
Ecstatic
- Feeling or expressing overwhelming happiness or joyful excitement
- Involving an experience of mystic self-transcendence
Masquerade
- False outward show; façade (i.e. an outward appearance that is maintained to conceal a less pleasant or creditable reality); pretense (i.e. an attempt to make something that is not the case appear true)
- A party, dance, or other festive gathering of persons wearing masks and other disguises, and often elegant, historical, or fantastic costumes
Nascent
Beginning to exist or develop
Envy
A feeling of discontent/dissatisfaction or covetousness (i.e. having or showing a great desire to possess something, typically something belonging to someone else) with regard to another’s advantages, success, possessions, etc.
Cynic
- A person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in or minimizes selfless acts or disinterested points of view.
- A cynic looks at reality from a negative perspective, usually with a sense of dark irony and hopelessness
Communism
- A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.
- (Often initial capital letter) a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party
Bureaucracy
- Government by many bureaus, administrators, and petty officials.
- The body of officials and administrators, especially of a government or government department.
- Excessive multiplication of, and concentration of power in, administrative bureaus or administrators.
- Administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine.
- A system of government in which most of the important decisions are taken by state officials rather than by elected representatives
Discrepancy
- The state or quality of being discrepant; difference; inconsistency.
- An instance of difference or inconsistency
Allocate
- To set apart for a particular purpose; assign or allot: e.g. to allocate funds for new projects
- To fix the place of; locate
Conjecture
- The formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence for proof
- An opinion or theory so formed or expressed; guess; speculation
Caste
- Sociology-
a. An endogamous and hereditary social group limited to persons of the same rank, occupation, economic position, etc., and having mores distinguishing it from other such groups
b. Any rigid system of social distinctions. - Hinduism- any of the social divisions into which Hindu society is traditionally divided, each caste having its own privileges and limitations, transferred by inheritance from one generation to the next; jati
- Any class or group of society sharing common cultural features: e.g. low caste; high caste
- Social position conferred upon one by a caste system: e.g. to lose caste.
- Entomology- one of the distinct forms among polymorphous social insects, performing a specialized function in the colony, as a queen, worker or soldier
Resentment
The feeling of displeasure or indignation (i.e. anger or annoyance provoked by what is perceived as unfair treatment) at some act, remark, person, etc., regarded as causing injury or insult
Superfluous
- Being more than is sufficient or required; excessive
2. Unnecessary or needless
Extraneous
- Introduced or coming from without; not belonging or proper to a thing; external; foreign
- Not pertinent; irrelevant
Forgone
- To abstain or refrain from; do without
- To give up, renounce, or resign
- Omit or decline to take (something pleasant or valuable); go without
Boycott
- To combine in abstaining from, or preventing dealings with, as a means of intimidation or coercion: e.g. to boycott a store.
- To abstain from buying or using: e.g. to boycott foreign products.
Intimidate
- To make timid; fill with fear
- To overawe or cow, as through the force of personality or by superior display of wealth, talent, etc.
- To force into or deter from some action by inducing fear: e.g. to intimidate a voter into staying away from the polls
Timid
- Lacking in self-assurance, courage, or bravery; easily alarmed; timorous; shy
- Characterized by or indicating fear: e.g. a timid approach to a problem
Innovation
- Something new or different introduced: e.g. numerous innovations in the high-school curriculum
- The act of innovating; introduction of new things or methods
Prudent
- Acting with or showing care and thought for the future
- Wise or judicious in practical affairs; sagacious/shrewd; discreet or circumspect; sober
- Careful in providing for the future; provident: e.g. a prudent decision
Insidious
- Intended to entrap or beguile/trick: e.g. an insidious plan
- Stealthily treacherous or deceitful: e.g. an insidious enemy
- Operating or proceeding in an inconspicuous/subtle or seemingly harmless way but actually with grave/serious/harmful effect: e.g. an insidious disease
Ominous
- Portending evil or harm; foreboding; threatening; inauspicious: e.g. an ominous bank of dark clouds.
- Indicating the nature of a future event, for good or evil; having the significance of an omen; being a portent: e.g. some of these events were immediately ominous, while others only later revealed themselves as such
Portend
- To indicate in advance; to foreshadow or presage, as an omen does: e.g. the street incident may portend a general uprising
- To signify; mean
Cursory
Going rapidly over something, without noticing details; hasty; superficial: e.g. a cursory glance at a newspaper article
viz.
Namely; in other words (used to introduce a gloss or explanation): e.g. the first music-reproducing media, viz. the music box and the player piano
Stupendous
- Causing amazement; astounding; marvelous: e.g. stupendous news
- Amazingly large or great; immense: e.g. a stupendous mass of information.
Tramp
Verb:
1. To tread or walk with a firm, heavy, resounding step
2. To go on a walking excursion or expedition; hike
3. To go about as a vagabond or tramp
Noun:
1. A person who travels on foot from place to place, especially a vagabond living on occasional jobs or gifts of money or food
2. A sexually promiscuous woman; prostitute
Credulous
- Willing to believe or trust too readily, especially without proper or adequate evidence; gullible
- Marked by or arising from credulity: e.g. a credulous rumor
Affliction
- A state of pain, distress, or grief; misery: e.g. They sympathized with us in our affliction
- A cause of mental or bodily pain, as sickness, loss, calamity, or persecution
Recede
- To go or move away; retreat; go to or toward a more distant point; withdraw
- To become more distant
- (Of a color, form, etc., on a flat surface) to move away or be perceived as moving away from an observer, especially as giving the illusion of space
- To slope backward: e.g. a chin that recedes.
- To draw back or withdraw from a conclusion, viewpoint, undertaking, promise, etc.
Providential
- Occurring at a favourable time; opportune
2. Involving divine foresight or intervention
Imponderable
A factor that is difficult or impossible to estimate or assess
Modus operandi
A particular way or method of doing something, especially one that is characteristic or well-established
-The way something operates or works
Watchword
- A word or short phrase to be communicated, on challenge, to a sentinel or guard; password or countersign
- A word or phrase expressive of a principle or rule of action; slogan: e.g. Conservation has been our watchword.
- A rallying cry of a party, club, team, etc.
Hypochondria
Abnormal anxiety about one’s health, especially with an unwarranted fear that one has a serious disease
Curtail
Reduce in extent or quantity; impose a restriction on
Indefinitely
- For an unlimited or unspecified period of time: e.g. Talks cannot go on indefinitely.
- [As a submodifier] to an unlimited or unspecified degree or extent: e.g. an indefinite large number of channels.
Cryptic
- adjective Also, cryp·ti·cal.
1. Mysterious in meaning; puzzling; ambiguous: e.g. a cryptic message.
2. Abrupt; terse; short: e.g. a cryptic note.
3. Secret; occult/supernatural/mystical: e.g. a cryptic writing.
4. Involving or using cipher, code, etc.
5. Zoology. fitted for concealing; serving to camouflage. - noun
6. A cryptogram, especially one designed as a puzzle.
Pivotal
- Of, pertaining to, or serving as a pivot (i.e. the central point, pin, or shaft on which a mechanism turns or oscillates)
- Of vital or critical importance: e.g. a pivotal event
Concede
- verb (used with object)
1. To acknowledge as true, just, or proper; admit: e.g. He finally conceded that she was right
2. To acknowledge (an opponent’s victory, score, etc.) before it is officially established: e.g. to concede an election before all the votes are counted
3. To grant as a right or privilege; yield: e.g. to concede a longer vacation for all employees - verb (used without object)
4. To make concession; yield; admit: e.g. She was so persistent that I conceded at last
Pretense (Brit. Pretence)
- An attempt to make something that is not the case appear true: e.g. His anger is masked by a pretense that all is well / They have finally abandoned their secrecy and pretense
- A false display of feelings, attitudes, or intentions: e.g. He asked me questions without any pretense at politeness
- The practice of inventing imaginary situations in play: e.g. Before the age of two, children start to engage in pretense
- Affected and ostentatious (i.e. characterized by vulgar or pretentious display; designed to impress or attract notice) speech and behaviour - (Pretense to) A claim, especially a false or ambitious one: E.g. He was quick to disclaim any pretense to superiority
Emanation
An abstract but perceptible thing that issues or originates from a source: e.g. She saw the insults as emanations of his own tortured personality
- The action or process of issuing from a source: e.g. The risk of random gas emanation
- A tenuous/insubstantial substance or form of radiation given off by something: e.g. Vaporous emanations surround the mill’s foundations
Aura
The distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing, or place: e.g. The ceremony retains an aura of mystery
- A supposed emanation surrounding the body of a living creature, viewed by mystics, spiritualists, and some practitioners of complementary medicine as the essence of the individual, and allegedly discernible by people with special sensibilities
- Any invisible emanation, especially a scent or odor: E.g. There was a faint aura of disinfectant
- Medicine (pl. also aurae) a warning sensation experienced before an attack of epilepsy or migraine
Tutelage
Protection of or authority over someone or something; guardianship: E.g. The organizations remained under firm government tutelage
-instruction; tuition; E.g. He felt privileged to be under the tutelage of an experienced actor
Envisage
Contemplate or conceive of as a possibility or a desirable future event: e.g. The Rome Treaty envisaged free movement across frontiers
-Form a mental picture of (something not yet existing or known): e.g. He knew what he liked but had difficulty envisaging it
Constituent
Adjective
1. Being a part of a whole: e.g. The constituent minerals of the rock
2. Being a voting member of a community or organization and having the power to appoint or elect: e.g. The constituent body has a right of veto
-Able to make or change a political constitution: e.g. A constituent assembly
Noun
1. A member of a constituency
2. A component part of something: the essential constituents of the human diet
Supplant
Supersede (i.e. take the place of) and replace: e.g. Another discovery could supplant the original finding
Customary
According to the customs or usual practices associated with a particular society, place, or set of circumstances: e.g. It is customary to mark an occasion like this with a toast
- According to a person’s habitual practice: e.g. I put the kettle on for our customary cup of tea
- Law: established by or based on custom rather than common law or statute
Conjecture
- The formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence for proof
- An opinion or theory so formed or expressed; guess; speculation
Legislation
- The act of making or enacting laws
2. A law or a body of laws enacted
Dilemma
- A situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternatives
- Any difficult or perplexing situation or problem
- Logic: A form of syllogism in which the major premise is formed of two or more hypothetical propositions and the minor premise is a disjunctive proposition, as “If A, then B; if C then D. Either A or C. Therefore, either B or D.”
Reserved
- Kept or set apart for some particular use or purpose
- Kept by special arrangement for some person: e.g. a reserved seat
- Formal or self-restrained in manner and relationship; avoiding familiarity or intimacy with others: e.g. a quiet, reserved man
- Characterized by reserve, as the disposition, manner, etc.: e.g. reserved comments
- retaining the original color of a surface, especially when decorating portions of the surface with other colors
Feign
Verb
- To represent fictitiously (i.e. not real or true); put on an appearance of: e.g. to feign sickness
- To invent fictitiously or deceptively, as a story or an excuse
- To imitate deceptively: e.g. to feign another’s voice
- verb (used without object) - To make believe; pretend: e.g. She’s only feigning, she isn’t really ill
Summarily
- In a prompt or direct manner; immediately; straightaway
2. Without notice; precipitately: e.g. to be dismissed summarily from one’s job
Perplex
- To cause to be puzzled or bewildered over what is not understood or certain; confuse mentally: e.g. Her strange response perplexed me
- To make complicated or confused, as a matter or question
- To hamper with complications, confusion, or uncertainty
Zealous
Having or showing zeal (i.e. great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective): e.g. The council was extremely zealous in the application of the regulations
Bellwether
- A wether or other male sheep that leads the flock, usually bearing a bell.
- A person or thing that assumes the leadership or forefront, as of a profession or industry: e.g. Paris is a bellwether of the fashion industry.
- A person or thing that shows the existence or direction of a trend; index.
- A person who leads a mob, mutiny, conspiracy, or the like; ringleader.
Odometer
An instrument for measuring distance traveled, as by an automobile.
Proponent
- A person who puts forward a proposition or proposal.
- A person who argues in favor of something; an advocate.
- A person who supports a cause or doctrine; adherent.
- A person who propounds (i.e. puts forward) a legal instrument, such as a will for probate.
Odometer
An instrument for measuring distance traveled, as by an automobile.
Thwart
- Verb:
1. To oppose successfully; prevent from accomplishing a purpose.
2. To frustrate or baffle (a plan, purpose, etc.). - Noun:
3. A seat across a boat, especially one used by a rower.
4. A transverse member spreading the gunwales of a canoe or the like. - Adjective:
5. Passing or lying crosswise or across; cross; transverse.
6. Perverse; obstinate.
7. Adverse; unfavourable - Preposition, adverb
8. Across; athwart.
Suppose
- To assume (something), as for the sake of argument or as part of a proposition or theory: e.g. Suppose the distance to be one mile.
- To consider (something) as a possibility suggested or an idea or plan proposed: e.g. Suppose we wait until tomorrow.
- To believe or assume as true; take for granted: e.g. It is supposed that his death was an accident.
- To think or hold as an opinion: e.g. What do you suppose he will do?
- To require logically; imply; presuppose: e.g. The evidence supposes his presence near the scene.
- (Used in the passive) to expect or design; require or permit (followed by an infinitive verb): e.g. The machine is supposed to make noise. I’m not supposed to run fast.
Telling
- Adjective
1. Having force or effect; effective; striking: e.g. a telling blow.
2. Revealing; indicative of much otherwise unnoticed: e.g. a telling analysis of motivation in business.
Paradox
- A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
- A self-contradictory and false proposition.
- Any person, thing, or situation exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature.
- An opinion or statement contrary to commonly accepted opinion.
Reconcile
- To cause (a person) to accept or be resigned to something not desired: e.g. He was reconciled to his fate.
- To win over to friendliness; cause to become amicable: e.g. to reconcile hostile persons.
- To compose or settle (a quarrel, dispute, etc.).
to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent: e.g. to reconcile differing statements; to reconcile accounts. - To reconsecrate (a desecrated church, cemetery, etc.).
- To restore (an excommunicate or penitent) to communion in a church.
Disparate
Distinct in kind; essentially different; dissimilar: e.g. disparate ideas.
Unwieldy
- Not wieldy; wielded with difficulty; not readily handled or managed in use or action, as from size, shape, or weight; awkward; ungainly.
- Difficult to carry or move because of its size, shape, or weight.
- (Of a system or bureaucracy) too big or badly organized to function efficiently.
Plaid
- Any fabric woven of differently colored yarns in a crossbarred pattern.
- A pattern of this kind.
- A long, rectangular piece of cloth, usually with such a pattern and worn across the left shoulder by Scottish Highlanders.
Lull
- Verb (used with object)
1. To put to sleep or rest by soothing means: e.g. to lull a child by singing.
2. To soothe or quiet.
3. To give or lead to feel a false sense of safety; cause to be less alert, aware, or watchful. - Verb (used without object)
4. To quiet down, let up, or subside: e.g. furious activity that finally lulled. - Noun
5. A temporary calm, quiet, or stillness: e.g. a lull in a storm.
6. A soothing sound: e.g. the lull of falling waters.
7. A pacified or stupefied condition: e.g. The drug had put him in a lull.
Pronouncement
- A formal or authoritative announcement or declaration/statement.
- An opinion or decision.
- Act of pronouncing.
Curtail
- Reduce in extent or quantity; impose a restriction on: e.g. Civil liberties were further curtailed
- To cut short; cut off a part of; abridge; reduce; diminish
Irreconcilable
- Adjective
1. Incapable of being brought into harmony or adjustment; incompatible: e.g. irreconcilable differences.
2. Incapable of being made to acquiesce or compromise; implacably opposed: e.g. irreconcilable enemies. - Noun
3. A person or thing that is irreconcilable.
4. A person who is opposed to agreement or compromise.
Presuppose
- Verb
1. To suppose or assume beforehand; take for granted in advance.
2. (of a thing, condition, or state of affairs) to require or imply as an antecedent condition: e.g. An effect presupposes a cause.
Err
- To go astray in thought or belief; be mistaken; be incorrect.
- To go astray morally; sin: e.g. To err is human.
Equivocate
To use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead; prevaricate/evade or hedge: e.g. When asked directly for his position on disarmament, the candidate only equivocated
Embezzle
To appropriate fraudulently to one’s own use, as money or property entrusted to one’s care.
Guild
- An organization of persons with related interests, goals, etc., especially one formed for mutual aid or protection.
- Any of various medieval associations, as of merchants or artisans, organized to maintain standards and to protect the interests of its members, and that sometimes constituted a local governing body.
- Botany: a group of plants, as parasites, having a similar habit of growth and nutrition.
Elude
- To avoid or escape by speed, cleverness, trickery, etc.; evade: e.g. to elude capture. Synonyms: shun, dodge.
- To escape the understanding, perception, or appreciation of: e.g. The answer eludes me.
Rein
- Noun
1. Often, reins. a leather strap, fastened to each end of the bit of a bridle, by which the rider or driver controls a horse or other animal by pulling so as to exert pressure on the bit.
2. Any of certain other straps or thongs forming part of a harness, as a checkrein.
3. Any means of curbing, controlling, or directing; check; restraint.
4. Reins, the controlling or directing power: e.g. the reins of government. - verb (used with object)
5. To check or guide (a horse or other animal) by exerting pressure on a bridle bit by means of the reins.
6. To curb; restrain; control. - verb (used without object)
7. To obey the reins: e.g. a horse that reins well.
8. To rein a horse or other animal. - Idioms
9. Draw rein, to curtail one’s speed or progress; halt: The rider saw the snake and drew rein sharply.
10. Give rein to (Also, give free rein to, give full rein to), to give complete freedom to; indulge freely: e.g. to give rein to one’s imagination.
Reign
- Noun
1. The period during which a sovereign occupies the throne.
2. Royal rule or authority; sovereignty.
3. Dominating power or influence: e.g. the reign of law. - verb (used without object)
4. To possess or exercise sovereign power or authority.
5. To hold the position and name of sovereign without exercising the ruling power.
6. To have control, rule, or influence of any kind.
7. To predominate; be prevalent.
Jubilant
Showing great joy, satisfaction, or triumph; rejoicing; exultant (i.e. triumphantly happy): e.g. the cheers of the jubilant victors; the jubilant climax of his symphony.
Tempestuous
- Characterized by strong and turbulent or conflicting emotion: e.g. He had a reckless and tempestuous streak
- Very stormy: e.g. a tempestuous wind
Animosity
A feeling of strong dislike, strong hostility, ill will, or enmity that tends to display itself in action: e.g. a deep-seated animosity between two sisters; animosity against one’s neighbor.
Belligerent
- Adjective
1. Warlike; given to waging war.
2. Of warlike character; aggressively hostile; bellicose/aggressive: e.g. a belligerent tone.
3. Waging war; engaged in war: e.g. a peace treaty between belligerent powers.
4. Pertaining to war or to those engaged in war: e.g. belligerent rights. - noun
5. A state or nation at war.
6. A member of the military forces of such a state.
Annal
- A record of events of a particular year: e.g. an annal of the year 753.
- A single record or entry in a historical chronicle: e.g. A later scribe has added to the annal.
- One of the periodic formal reports of an organization or learned field: e.g. The proceedings will be published as an Annal of the Academy.
Preposterous
Completely contrary to nature, reason, or common sense; absurd; senseless; utterly foolish: e.g. a preposterous tale.
Notoriety
- The state, quality, or character of being notorious or widely known: e.g. a craze for notoriety.
- Chiefly British. A notorious or celebrated person.
Consternation
- Feelings of dismay/distress, typically at something unexpected: e.g. I always welcomed clover, much to the consternation of the neighbours
- A sudden, alarming amazement or dread that results in utter confusion; dismay.
Allegorical
Consisting of or pertaining to allegory; of the nature of or containing allegory; figurative: e.g. an allegorical poem; an allegorical meaning.
Allegory
- A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one: e.g. Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory of the spiritual journey
- A symbol
Deplore
- To regret deeply or strongly; lament: e.g. to deplore the present state of morality.
- To disapprove of; censure.
- To feel or express deep grief for or in regard to: e.g. The class deplored the death of their teacher.
Derogatory
Tending to lessen the merit or reputation of a person or thing; disparaging (i.e. regard or represent as being of little worth); depreciatory (i.e. diminish in value over a period of time): e.g. a derogatory remark.
Brainchild
A product of one’s creative work or thought
Concede
- verb (used with object)
1. To acknowledge as true, just, or proper; admit: e.g. He finally conceded that she was right.
2. To acknowledge (an opponent’s victory, score, etc.) before it is officially established: e.g. to concede an election before all the votes are counted.
3. To grant as a right or privilege; yield: e.g. to concede a longer vacation for all employees. - verb (used without object)
4. To make concession; yield; admit: e.g. She was so persistent that I conceded at last.
Erudite
Characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly: e.g. an erudite professor; an erudite commentary.
Synonyms: educated, knowledgeable; wise, sapient.
Critical
- Inclined to find fault or to judge with severity, often too readily.
- Occupied with or skilled in criticism.
- Involving skillful judgment as to truth, merit, etc.; judicial: e.g. a critical analysis.
- Of or pertaining to critics or criticism: e.g. critical essays.
- Providing textual variants, proposed emendations, etc.: e.g. a critical edition of Chaucer.
- Pertaining to or of the nature of a crisis: e.g. a critical shortage of food.
- Of decisive importance with respect to the outcome; crucial: e.g. a critical moment.
- Of essential importance; indispensable: a critical ingredient.
- Medicine/Medical . (of a patient’s condition) having unstable and abnormal vital signs and other unfavorable indicators, as loss of appetite, poor mobility, or unconsciousness.
Physics.
a. pertaining to a state, value, or quantity at which one or more properties of a substance or system undergo a change.
b. (of fissionable material) having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction.
Juxtapose
To place close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.
Semblance
- The outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different: e.g. She tried to force her thoughts back into some semblance of order.
- Archaic/Old-fashioned: resemblance; similarity: e.g. It bears some semblance to the thing I have in mind.
Burgeon/Bourgeon
- verb
1. Begin to grow or increase rapidly; flourish: e.g. Manufacturers are keen to cash in on the burgeoning demand.
2. To begin to grow, as a bud; put forth buds, shoots, etc., as a plant (often followed by out, forth). - noun
3. A bud; sprout
Sunder
- to separate; part; split apart; divide; sever: e.g. The crunch of bone when it is sundered
- ‘In sunder’- Apart or into pieces: e.g. Hew/chop/cut their bones in sunder!
Callous
- adjective
1. Made hard; hardened.
2. Insensitive; indifferent; unsympathetic: e.g. They have a callous attitude toward the sufferings of others.
3. Having a callus; indurated/hardened, as parts of the skin exposed to friction. - verb
4. To make or become hard or callous.
Weary
- adjective
1. Physically or mentally exhausted by hard work, exertion, strain, etc.; fatigued; tired: e.g. weary eyes; a weary brain.
2. Characterized by or causing fatigue: e.g. a weary journey.
3. Impatient or dissatisfied with something (often followed by of): e.g. weary of excuses.
4. Characterized by or causing impatience or dissatisfaction; tedious; irksome: e.g. a weary wait. - verb
5. To make or become weary; fatigue or tire: e.g. The long hours of work have wearied me.
6. To make or grow impatient or dissatisfied with something or at having too much of something (often followed by of): e.g. The long drive had wearied us of desert scenery. We had quickly wearied at such witless entertainment.
Barbarous
- Adjective
1. Uncivilized; wild; savage; crude.
2. Savagely cruel or harsh: e.g. The prisoners of war were given barbarous treatment.
3. Full of harsh sounds; noisy; discordant: e.g. an evening of wild and barbarous music.
4. Not conforming to classical standards or accepted usage, as language.
5. Foreign; alien.
6. (among ancient Greeks) designating a person or thing of non-Greek origin.
Courtier
- A person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage.
- A person who seeks favor by flattery, charm, etc.
Cunning
- Having or showing skill in achieving one’s end by deceit or evasion: e.g. A cunning look came into his eyes.
- Ingenious: e.g. Plants have evolved cunning defences
- Informal- charmingly cute or appealing: e.g. a cunning little baby.
Rebut
- To refute/disprove by evidence or argument.
- To oppose by contrary proof.
- To provide some evidence or argument that refutes or opposes.
Libel
- Law.
a. defamation by written or printed words, pictures, or in any form other than by spoken words or gestures.
b. the act or crime of publishing it.
c. a formal written declaration or statement, as one containing the allegations of a plaintiff or the grounds of a charge. - Anything that is defamatory or that maliciously or damagingly misrepresents.
Slander
- Defamation; calumny: e.g. rumors full of slander.
- A malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report: e.g. a slander against his good name.
- Law. defamation by oral utterance rather than by writing, pictures, etc.
Malice
- Desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness: e.g. the malice and spite of a lifelong enemy.
- Law. evil intent on the part of a person who commits a wrongful act injurious to others.
Serendipity
- An aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.
2. Good fortune; luck: e.g. the serendipity of getting the first job she applied for.
Vituperate
To use or address with harsh or abusive language; revile (i.e. criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner).
Vagary
- An unpredictable or erratic action, occurrence, course, or instance: e.g. the vagaries of weather; the vagaries of the economic scene.
- A whimsical, wild, or unusual idea, desire, or action.
Infringe
- To commit a breach or infraction/violation of; violate or transgress: e.g. to infringe a copyright; to infringe a rule.
- To encroach/intrude or trespass (usually followed by on or upon ): e.g. Don’t infringe on his privacy.
Militia
A military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency.
- A military force that engages in rebel or terrorist activities, typically in opposition to a regular army.
- All able-bodied civilians eligible by law for military service.
Epithet
- Any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe an actual or attributed quality: e.g. “Richard the Lion-Hearted” is an epithet of Richard I.
- A characterizing word or phrase firmly associated with a person or thing and often used in place of an actual name, title, or the like, as “man’s best friend” for “dog.”
- A word, phrase, or expression used invectively as a term of abuse or contempt, to express hostility, etc.
Seminal
- (Of a work, event, moment, or figure) strongly influencing later developments: e.g. His seminal work on chaos theory.
- Of, relating to, or denoting semen.
- Botany. Of, relating to, or derived from the seed of a plant.
Orator
A public speaker, especially one who is eloquent (i.e. fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing) or skilled.
Propriety
- Conformity to established standards of good or proper behavior or manners.
- Appropriateness to the purpose or circumstances; suitability.
- Rightness or justness.
- The proprieties- the conventional standards of proper behavior; manners: e.g. to observe the proprieties.
Aesthetic
- Adjective
1. Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty: e.g. the pictures give great aesthetic pleasure. - Giving or designed to give pleasure through beauty; of pleasing appearance.
- Noun
2. A set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement: e.g. the Cubist aesthetic
Paleontology
The branch of science concerned with fossil animals and plants.
Oblong
Having an elongated shape, as a rectangle or an oval.
Pervade
To become spread throughout all parts of: e.g. Spring pervaded the air.
Impugn
To challenge as false (another’s statements, motives, etc.); cast doubt upon.
Laudable
(Of an action, idea or goal) deserving praise; praiseworthy; commendable: e.g. Reorganizing the files was a laudable idea.
Divest
- To strip of clothing, ornament, etc.: e.g. The wind divested the trees of their leaves.
- To strip or deprive (someone or something), especially of property or rights; dispossess.
- To rid of or free from: e.g. He divested himself of all responsibility for the decision.
- Law. to take away or alienate (property, rights, etc.).
- Commerce.
- To sell off: e.g. to divest holdings.
- To rid of through sale: e.g. The corporation divested itself of its subsidiaries.