Vocabulary Bonus 3 Flashcards
Resembling the qualities or subject matter of the writing of George Orwell, particularly the totalitarian future world of his book 1984.
Orwellian
To hurl or shoot (as from a sling); to provide or exhibit sudden upward movement. As a noun: an ancient military weapon.
Catapult
Causing or likely to cause sleep or drowsiness; anything likely to induce sleep.
Soporific
A medieval chemical philosophy in which the goal was to convert base metals into gold; also, any supposedly magical power of transformation or instant creation of wealth.
Alchemy
Intense passion, desire or emotion.
Ardor
A person who enjoys living well.
Bon Vivant
To criticize or rebuke severely, usually with the intention of correct wrongdoing.
Castigate
Middling; neither extraordinarily good nor extraordinarily poor. (French for “like this, like that.”)
Comme Ci Comme Ca
Clumsy; uncoordinated.
Maladroit
To reach about blindly. Grope can also be used figuratively to describe when someone acts in uncertainty of purpose.
Grope
Together; in one body or group. En masse is a French term that translate loosely as “in the form of a crowd”.
En Masse
The study of the development and history of words. A word’s etymology is its lineage or decent.
Etymology
To alienate or remove from a position or relationship. A family member who is estranged by others in the family is no longer regarded as a part of the group.
Estrange
Embattled; constantly confronted with obstacles. To beleaguer is, literally, to besiege or surround with an army for the purpose of harassment. When we say someone is beleaguered, we mean that he is beset with many troubles.
Beleaguered
Delusions of wealth and/or power. Literally, megalomania is a psychopathological condition in which a person is obsessed with fantasies of riches or authority. The word is also used to describe people whose ambitions and sense of self-importance are overblown.
Megalomania
