Vocabulary Set 5 (23.09.27) Flashcards
lodestone (load stone) (n.)
magnetite possessing polarity // something that strongly attracts
ex: She’s a kind of lodestone that draws out the male animal.
grist (g rist) (n.)
grain for grinding // required amount // something turned to advantage or use —used especially in the phrase grist for one’s mill
ex: Other travelers, other efforts within the Gadrobi Hills, all grist for Master Baruk’s mill of news.
gild the lily (phrase)
to adorn unnecessarily something already beautiful // to praise someone inordinately
ex: Everybody lies, everybody gilds the lily.
limn (lim) (v.)
- to draw or paint on a surface
ex: The artist limned a portrait. - to outline in clear sharp detail : DELINEATE
ex: He was limned by a streetlight - DESCRIBE
ex: The novel limns the frontier life of the settlers
ululate (uhl you late) (v.)
to utter a loud, usually protracted, high-pitched, rhythmical sound especially as an expression of sorrow, joy, celebration, or reverence : HOWL
ex: He loosed a high-pitched, ululating cry.
accost (a cost) (v.)
to approach and speak to (someone) in an often challenging or aggressive way
ex: He was accosted by a stranger on the street.
snick (snick) (n.)
a slight often metallic sound : CLICK
ex: Rallick heard the snick of metal.
forfend (for fend) (v.)
archaic : FORBID // to ward off : PREVENT
used in phrase – God forfend! Heaven forfend!
facile (fa sigh uhl) (adj.)
If you describe someone’s arguments or suggestions as facile, you are criticizing them because their ideas are too simple and indicate a lack of careful, intelligent thinking.
ex: This subject is admittedly too complex for facile summarization.
leavings (leave ings) (n.)
something remaining, such as food on a plate, residue, refuse, etc
ex: He fell, surrounded by the leavings of their feast.
pharmacogenomics (farm ah co gee no mics) (n.)
the science concerned with understanding how genetic differences among individuals cause varied responses to the same drug and with developing drug therapies to compensate for these differences
ex: There are warnings about pharmacogenomic variation affecting drug response.
epidemiological (ep a deem ee ol ah gee cal) (adj.)
relating to the branch of medicine which deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of diseases.
ex: Epidemiological studies of the effect of pesticides on humans.
clapper (clap purr) (n.)
tongue of a bell
ex: He pulled the clapper three times.
hagiography (hag ee og ra phee) (n.)
biography of saints or venerated persons // idealizing or idolizing biography
ex: It’s an account that smacks of hagiography.
stint (stint) (v.)
to be sparing or frugal
ex: They stinted themselves of luxuries.
ex: I’m sure I’ll not be stinting in my praise.
deadeye (dead eye) (n.)
A deadeye is an item used in the standing and running rigging of traditional sailing ships.
ex: I reached up, grasped the lowest deadeye.
scuttlebutt (scut tul butt) (n.)
a cask on shipboard to contain fresh water for a day’s use
a drinking fountain on a ship or at a naval or marine installation
RUMOR, GOSSIP
ex: The captain was the principal subject of endless scuttlebutt.
betoken (be toke an) (v.)
to typify beforehand : PRESAGE // to give evidence of: SHOW
ex: But what they betokened was terror.
ex: But at the same time he knew that it betokened the end for him.
warp (worp) (v.) (NAUTICAL)
to move (a vessel) by hauling on a rope fixed to a stationary object ashore or (of a vessel) to be moved thus
ex: We warped into the India docks.
tract (track t) (n.)
A tract is a short article expressing a strong opinion on a religious, moral, or political subject in order to try to influence people’s attitudes.
ex: She produced a feminist tract.
obviate (ob vee ate) (v.)
remove (a need or difficulty)
ex: The Venetian blinds obviated the need for curtains.
nerve center (n.)
a source of leadership, organization, control, or energy
ex: The financial nerve center of the nation
exfil (ex fill) (v.)
In military tactics, extraction (also exfiltration or exfil) is the process of removing personnel when it is considered imperative that they be immediately relocated out of a hostile environment and taken to an area either occupied or controlled by friendly personnel.
ex: We’ll repel down the old wall and exfil.
somatic (so mat ick) (adj.)
of or relating to the human body as distinct from the mind
ex: He has a somatic disease.
chimera (ki mare a) (n.)
an illusion or fabrication of the mind // (esp.) an unrealizable dream
ex: It was a fancy, a chimera in my brain, troubles me in my prayer.
forecourt (fore court) (n.)
(generally applied to convenience stores) – the area from the store entrance to the main thoroughfare.
ex: Pulling into the forecourt, he stopped at a pump and got out.
Asseverate (a sav er ate) (v)
Asseveration (a sav er ay shun ) (n.)
to affirm or declare positively or earnestly
Ex: He always asseverated that he did not know.
Beguile (be guy uhl) (v.)
to while away especially by some agreeable occupation // DIVERT
Ex: The seven poems were written to beguile the tedium of a sea voyage.
parsonage (par son eeg) (n.)
the house provided by a church for its pastor
ex: Located near MLK’s parsonage, the house was a haven for freedom riders.
Indigence (in da gence) (n.)
extreme poverty // a level of poverty in which real hardship and deprivation are suffered and comforts of life are wholly lacking
ex: there are various state and federal programs to help relieve indigence.
Countenance (count a nence) (v.)
to extend approval or toleration to : SANCTION
Ex: He refused to countenance any changes in the policy.
rhinestone (rhine stone) (n.)
an imitation stone of high luster made of glass, paste, or gem quartz
ex: Jessica returned to show us the rhinestone jewelry she’d found.
unruffled (un rough fulled) (adj.)
- poised and serene especially in the face of setbacks or confusion
ex: She remained unruffled despite the delays. - not ruffled : SMOOTH
ex: His unruffled voice came from the rocking chair in the corner.
ingenue (An ja new) (n.)
an innocent or unsophisticated young woman, especially in a play or film. (Typically, the ingénue is beautiful, kind, gentle, sweet, virginal and often naïve and often in physical, mental, or emotional danger)
ex: She reminded me of the ingenues of the silent-movie era.
leonine (lee a nine) (adj.)
of, relating to, suggestive of, or resembling a lion
ex: Jasper was there—tall and leonine.
headwaters (head waters) (n.)
a tributary stream of a river close to or forming part of its source
Ex: These paths follow rivers right up into their headwaters.
Weigh anchor (way ank or) (v.) (n.)
to heave up (an anchor) preparatory to sailing
Ex: Slowly the white-winged ships weighed anchor and sailed north.
Parboil (par boil) (v.)
to partly cook something by boiling it as a preliminary step in the cooking process
Ex: Parboil the potatoes before you roast them.
Surmount (sur mount) (v.)
topped, capped
Ex: Each point of the octagonal wall was surmounted by a turret.
Surfeit (sur fit) (n.)
too much of something, an excess
Ex: We ended up with a surfeit of volunteers who simply got in each other’s way.