Vocabulary Part IV Flashcards
effrontery…
insolent or impertinent behaviour.
“one juror had the effrontery to challenge the coroner’s decision”
insolent…
showing a rude and arrogant lack of respect.
“she hated the insolent tone of his voice”
annals…
a record of events year by year.
“eighth-century Northumberland annals”
historical records.
“the annals of the police courts”
used in titles of learned journals.
unfazed…
not disconcerted or perturbed.
“protestors were unfazed by the prospect of arrest”
bristling…
1.
(especially of hair) short, stiff, and spiky.
“a bristling beard”
2.
aggressively brisk or tense.
“he fills the screen with a restless, bristling energy”
postulate…suggest/assume existence, fact, or truth of (sth) as basis for reasoning/discussion/belief.
“theory postulated rotatory mvment for hurricanes”
2.
nominate/elect (smne) to ecclesiastical office subject to sanction of higher authority.
“chapter was allowed to postulate bishop of Bath”
ecclesiastical…
relating to the Christian Church or its clergy.
“the ecclesiastical hierarchy”
taint…
contaminate or pollute (something).
“the air was tainted by fumes from the cars”
affect with a bad or undesirable quality.
“his reputation was tainted by scandal”
illuminating…
helping to clarify or explain something.
“it’s been a very illuminating discussion”
cloying…
excessively sweet, rich, sentimental, esp to a disgusting or sickening degree.
“a romantic, rather cloying story”
legion
1.
a division of 3,000–6,000 men, including a complement of cavalry, in the ancient Roman army.
2.
a vast number of people or things.
“legions of photographers and TV cameras”
zeitgeist…
defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by ideas and beliefs of the time.
“the story captured the zeitgeist of the late 1960s”
placebo is treatment that has no active properties, such as a sugar pill. There are many clinical trials where a person who has taken placebo instead of active treatment has reported an improvement in symptoms. Belief in a treatment may be enough to change course of a person’s physical illness.
palliative…
(of medicine or form of medical care) relieving symptoms without dealing with cause of condition.
“palliative drugs”
callous…
showing/ insensitive & cruel disregard for others.
“callous comments about murder made me shiver”
indelible
(of ink/pen) making marks that can’t be removed.
“an indelible marker pen”
Similar:
ineffaceable
not able to be forgotten.
“the story made an indelible impression on me”
Flotsam=debris in water that was not deliberately thrown overboard, often as a result from a shipwreck or accident. Jetsam=debris that was deliberately thrown overboard by a crew of a ship in distress, most often to lighten the ship’s load.
searing…
extremely hot or intense.
“the searing heat of the sun”
severely critical.
“a searing indictment of government’s performance”
enduring…
lasting over a period of time; durable.
“he formed no. of enduring relationships w women”
exalt…
1.
think or speak very highly of (smne or sth).
“the party will continue to exalt their hero”
2.
raise to a higher rank or position.
“this naturally exalts the peasant above his brethren in the same rank of society”
eclectic…
1.
deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.
“universities offering an eclectic mix of courses”
Similar:
multifarious
Opposite:
dogmatic
2.
PHILOSOPHY
denoting or belonging to a class of ancient philosophers who did not belong to or found any recognized school of thought but selected doctrines from various schools of thought.
catharsis…
1.
process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.
“music is a means of catharsis for them”
obliteration…
action or fact of obliterating or being obliterated; total destruction.
“headlines about the obliteration of the green belt”
elude…
1.
escape from or avoid (a danger, enemy, or pursuer), typically in a skilful or cunning way.
“he eluded security by sneaking thru back door”
Similar:
duck
shake off
give the slip to
slip away from
throw off the scent
slip through someone’s fingers
slip through the net
circumvent
bilk
2.
(achievement/sth desired) fail to attained by (smne).
“sleep still eluded her”
cataclysm…
a large-scale and violent event in the natural world.
“the cataclysm at the end of the Cretaceous Period”
a sudden violent political or social upheaval.
“the cataclysm of the First World War”
credence…
1.
belief in or acceptance of something as true.
“psychoanalysis finds little credence among laymen”
Similar:
traction
2.
a small side table, shelf, or niche in a church for holding elements of Eucharist before they are consecrated.
“a credence table”
consecrated…
(of a church or land) been made or declared sacred.
“a Christian burial in consecrated ground”
(of bread and wine in Christian belief) declared to be or represent the body and blood of Christ.
“they received host but not the consecrated wine”
oblation…
a thing presented or offered to God or a god.
kernel…
1.
a softer, usually edible part of a nut, seed, or fruit stone contained within its shell.
“the kernel of a walnut”
2.
the central or most important part of something.
“this is the kernel of the argument”
paean…
a song of praise or triumph.
“a paean of praise for the great poets”
a creative work expressing enthusiastic praise.
“he’s created a filmic paean to his hero”
culpability…
responsibility for a fault or wrong; blame.
“a level of moral culpability”
pantheon…
1.
a group of particularly respected, famous, or imp ppl
“the pantheon of the all-time greats”
2.
all the gods of a people or religion collectively.
“the deities of the Hindu pantheon”
subservient…
prepared to obey others unquestioningly.
“she was subservient to her parents”
Similar:
acquiescent
duteous
docile
ductile
pliant
servile
slavish
grovelling
truckling
self-effacing
self-abasing
snivelling
cowering
longanimous
Opposite:
domineering
less important; subordinate.
“he expected her career to be subservient to his”
Similar:
ancillary
auxiliary
serving as a means to an end.
“the whole narration is subservient to the moral plan of exemplifying twelve virtues in twelve knights”
burgeoning…
beginning to grow or increase rapidly; flourishing.
“manufacturers are keen to cash in on the burgeoning demand”
explicit…
stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.
“the arrangement had not been made explicit”
liturgy
1.
form or formulary acc to which public religious worship, especially Christian worship, is conducted.
“the Church of England liturgy”
implicit…
1.
suggested though not directly expressed.
“comments seen as implicit criticism of the policies”
2.
always to be found in; essentially connected with.
“the values implicit in the school ethos”
illicit…
forbidden by law, rules, or custom.
“illicit drugs”
elicit…
evoke/draw out (reaction, answer, fact) from smne
“I tried to elicit a smile from Joanna”
complicit…
involved w others in activity i.e. unlawful/morally wrong
“careers of those complicit in cover-up were blighted
Resurge=come back from a low point to rise again. Old fads can resurge, as can old romances.
Resurrection or anastasis is concept of coming back to life after death. In a no. of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected.
ordain…
1.
make (smne) priest/minister; confer holy orders on.
“he was ordained a minister before entering Parliament”
Similar:
induct
anoint
consecrate
2.
order (something) officially.
“equal punishment was ordained for the two crimes”
tenuous…
very weak or slight.
“the tenuous link between interest rates and investment”
very slender or fine; insubstantial.
“a tenuous cloud”
tenacious…
tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely.
“a tenacious grip”
Similar:
glutinous
viscid
mucilaginous
claggy
clarty
not readily relinquishing a position, principle, or course of action; determined.
“this tenacious defence of local liberties”
persisting in existence; not easily dispelled.
“a tenacious local legend”
inordinately…
to unusually/disproportionately large degree; excessively.
“information was inordinately vetted and censored”
debilitating…
(of a disease or condition) making someone very weak and infirm.
“debilitating back pain”
tending to weaken something.
“the debilitating effects of underinvestment”
intrinsic…
belonging naturally; essential.
“access to the arts is intrinsic to a high quality of life”
extrinsic…
1.
not part of the essential nature of someone or something; coming or operating from outside.
“complex interplay of extrinsic and intrinsic factors”
extraneous
adjective
1.
irrelevant/unrelated to the subject being dealt with.
“one is obliged to wade through many pages of extraneous material”
2.
of external origin.
“when the transmitter pack is turned off no extraneous noise is heard”
pertinent…
relevant/applicable to a particular matter; apposite.
“she asked me a lot of very pertinent questions”
apposite…
apt in the circumstances or in relation to something.
“an apposite quotation”
influx…
1.
arrival or entry of large numbers of people or things.
“a massive influx of tourists”
2.
an inflow of water into a river, lake, or the sea.
“the lakes are fed by influxes of meltwater”
coherence…
1.
the quality of being logical and consistent.
“raises further ques on coherence of state policy”
2.
the quality of forming a unified whole.
“grp lose coherence & artists took diff directions”
disenfranchise…
deprive (someone) of the right to vote.
“the law disenfranchised some 3,000 voters on the basis of a residence qualification”
deprive (someone) of a right or privilege.
“we strongly oppose any measure which would disenfranchise people from access to legal advice”
deprive (someone) of the rights and privileges of a free inhabitant of a borough, city, or country.
supplant…
supersede and replace.
“domestic production has been supplanted by imports and jobs have been lost”
supersede…
take the place of (a person or thing previously in authority or use); supplant.
“older models of car have now been superseded”
effectuate…
put into force or operation.
“this would effectuate a substantive change to bankruptcy law”
depraved…
morally corrupt; wicked.
“he was a depraved lecher”
comatose…
relating to or in a state of coma.
“she had been comatose for seven months”
Similar:
insentient
insensate
soporose
soporous
extremely lethargic or sleepy.
“she lay comatose in the sun listening to a personal stereo”
dither…
1.
be indecisive.
“I can’t bear people who dither”
bulwark…
1.
a defensive wall.
Similar:
palisade
berm
vallum
circumvallation
2.
an extension of ship’s sides above level of the deck.
“the ships met, their crews lining the bulwarks”
buoy…
1.
keep (someone or something) afloat.
“creatures swim, buoyed up and cooled by water”
2.
mark with a buoy.
“the wreck is often buoyed during summer months”
preclude…
prevent from happening; make impossible.
“secret nature of work precluded official recognition
(of situation/condition) prevent smne from doing sth
“difficulties preclude him from leading a normal life”
sacrosanct…
(especially of a principle, place, or routine) regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with.
“the individual’s right to work has been upheld as sacrosanct”
allay…
diminish or put at rest (fear, suspicion, or worry).
“report attempted to educate public and allay fears”
relieve or alleviate (pain or hunger).
“some stale figs partly allayed our hunger”
obliterate…
destroy utterly; wipe out.
“memory was painful; he obliterated it from mind”
make invisible or indistinct; conceal or cover.
“clouds were darkening, obliterating the sun”
cancel (sth, esp postage stamp) prevent further use.
“special stamp should be placed on left-hand side and not be used to obliterate the postage stamp”
precarious…
not securely held or in position; dangerously likely to fall or collapse.
“a precarious ladder”
dependent on chance; uncertain.
“he made a precarious living as a painter”
vie
compete eagerly w smne to do or achieve sth
“athletes were vying for a place in the British team”
severance…
1.
the action of ending a connection or relationship.
“severance and disestablishment of Irish Church”
2.
division by cutting or slicing.
redundant…
not or no longer needed or useful; superfluous.
“many of the old skills had become redundant”
commensurate…
corresponding in size or degree; in proportion.
gauge…
1.
instrument that measures and gives a visual display of the amount, level, or contents of something.
“a fuel gauge”
perusal…
the action of reading or examining something.
“I continued my perusal of the instructions”
audacious…
1.
showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks.
“a series of audacious takeovers”
2.
showing an impudent lack of respect.
“he made an audacious remark”
accrue…
(of benefit or sum of money) be received by smne in regular or increasing amounts over time.
“financial benefits will accrue from restructuring”
make provision for (a charge) at the end of a financial period for work that has been done but not yet invoiced.
“at 31 December the amount due for the final quarter is accrued”
accumulate/receive (payments/benefits) over time.
“they accrue entitlements to holiday pay”
nebulous…
1.
in the form of a cloud or haze; hazy.
“a giant nebulous glow”
2.
(of a concept) vague or ill-defined.
“nebulous concepts like quality of life”
reverberation…
1.
prolongation of a sound; resonance.
“electronic effects have been added, such as echo and reverberation”
2.
a continuing effect; a repercussion.
“attack has had reverberations around the world”
unbridled…
uncontrolled; unconstrained.
“a moment of unbridled ambition”
pantheon…
1.
grp of respected, famous, or important people.
“the pantheon of the all-time greats”
2.
all the gods of a people or religion collectively.
“the deities of the Hindu pantheon”
diaspora…
dispersion/spread of people from original homeland
“the diaspora of boat people from Asia”
people who have spread/dispersed from homeland.
“Latin American diaspora has spread across the US
the dispersion of the Jewish people beyond Israel.
“a secular interpretation of Jewish history in antiquity and during the Diaspora”
revamp…
give new and improved form, structure, or appearance to.
“an attempt to revamp the museum’s image”
douse…
1.
pour a liquid over; drench.
“he doused the car with petrol and set it on fire”
2.
extinguish (a fire or light).
“stewards appeared and the fire was doused”
markedly short and abrupt. a brusque reply. blunt in manner or speech often to the point of ungracious harshness. was brusque with customers
piecemeal…
characterized by unsystematic partial measures taken over a period of time.
“village is slowly being killed off by piecemeal dev
pliable…
1.
easily bent; flexible.
“quality leather is pliable and will not crack”
2.
easily influenced.
“pliable teenage minds”
locus….
1.
a particular position or place where something occurs or is situated.
“it is impossible to specify the exact locus in the brain of these neural events”
uncharted…
(of an area of land or sea) not mapped or surveyed.
“the plane landed on a previously uncharted islet”
benefactor…
person who gives money/other help to person,cause
“a low-interest loan from a benefactor allowed them to build a floor for the exhibition hall”
posit…
1.
put forward as fact or as a basis for argument.
“Confucian view posits a perfectible human nature”
aka…..propound
2.
put in position; place.
“Professor posits Cohen in his 2nd category of poets
fraught…
1.
(of a situation or course of action) filled with or likely to result in (something undesirable).
“marketing any new product is fraught with danger”
2.
causing or affected by anxiety or stress.
“there was a fraught silence”
vet….
make careful/critical examination of (something).
“proposals for vetting large takeover bids”
rife…
sth undesirable) of common occurrence; widespread
“male chauvinism was rife in medicine”
Similar:
endemic
insidious
immanent
suffusive
permeant
in an unchecked or widespread manner.
“speculation ran rife that he was an arms dealer”
concerted…
1.
jointly arranged or carried out; coordinated.
“a concerted attempt to preserve religious unity”
Similar:
synergetic
2.
(of music) arranged in several parts of equal imp
“concerted secular music for voices”
concede…
1.
admit or agree that something is true after first denying or resisting it.
“I had to concede that I’d overreacted”
2.
surrender or yield (a possession, right, or privilege).
“in 475 emperor conceded the Auvergne to Euric”
accede…
1.
agree to a demand, request, or treaty.
“authorities did not accede to the strikers’ demands”
2.
assume an office or position.
“Elizabeth I acceded to the throne in 1558”
overweening…
showing excessive confidence or pride.
“overweening ambition”
perverse…
1.
showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable.
Kate’s perverse decision not to cooperate held good
Similar:
obstreperous
recalcitrant
refractory
capricious
obstinate
obdurate
pertinacious
intractable
intransigent
thrawn
bolshie
stroppy
balky
froward
contumacious
2.
contrary to accepted/expected standard or practice.
in 2 general elections the outcome was perverse
pervasive…
(of an unwelcome influence or physical effect) spreading widely thru-out area or a group of people
“ageism is pervasive and entrenched in our society
nascent…
(of a process or org) just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential.
“the nascent space industry”
dissemination…
action/fact of spreading something, esp info, widely.
“the dissemination of public information”
obdurate…
stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action.
“I argued this point with him, but he was obdurate”
shepherd….guide or direct in a particular direction.
“I shepherded them through the door”
proselytize…
convert or attempt to convert (someone) from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.
“programme had tremendous evangelical effect, proselytizing many”
aka evangelize…
advocate or promote (a belief or course of action).
Davis to share concept and proselytize ideas”
macabre…
disturbing ‘coz concerned w/causing a fear of death.
“a macabre series of murders”
zeitgeist…
defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by ideas and beliefs of the time.
“the story captured the zeitgeist of the late 1960s”
“In politics, radicals in a political group are referred to as leftists. Socialists and communists are considered leftists. In the French National Assembly of 1789, the reactionaries sat on the right, the moderates in the middle and extremists on the left and this seems to be the origin of the terms.”
as likely as not’.”
“It means ‘with equal chances of happening or not happening’.
cannot have one’s cake and eat it’ or ‘cannot eat one’s cake and have it’. It means that you cannot enjoy ‘both alternatives’. When you eat the cake, you cannot expect to retain it. You can’t eat it and also keep it. You cannot spend your money and yet keep it. You cannot eat the cake and have it.
She wants to go to America but doesn’t want to leave her parents in Madras. She can’t eat the cake and have it.”
Conglomeration’ = ‘no. of things or parts stuck together in a mass.’ ‘Conglomeration’ is a heterogeneous mixture, a mixture of things of different kinds.
recidivate: go back to bad behaviour
sometimes those who come out of jail receive no support so they have no choice but to recidivate
“Walking on eggshells is an idiom mostly used in informal contexts. When you walk on eggshells, you are being extra careful about what you say and how you behave. You do this because…”
“You probably do this because you don’t want to upset the person you’re talking to. The individual probably has a bad temper.”
“Or it could be the person is very sensitive, and therefore gets upset easily. As a result, you try to be as diplomatic as possible. Here’s an example. I always feel that I’m walking on eggshells when I’m around my new boss.”
“My uncle is very short tempered. So, whenever he visits us, all of us at home are walking on eggshells.”
roil: be agitated, make turbid by stirring up the sediments of
a fierce storm roiled the sea
aplomb….self-confidence or assurance, especially when in a demanding situation.
“Diana passed the test with aplomb”
contingent…
1.
subject to chance.
“the contingent nature of the job”
2.
occurring or existing only if (certain circumstances) are the case; dependent on.
“his fees were contingent on the success of his search”
…group of people sharing a common feature, forming part of a larger group.
contingent of Japanese businessmen attending a conference
