Vocabulary Words Flashcards
What does the term ‘monomaniacal’ refer to?
A mental illness when limited to one idea or thought
Example: As the year progressed, my brother became a monomaniacal about his grades, obsessing over them.
Define the term ‘unitary’.
An adjective used to describe something as united, or one
Example: When working in a group, it’s important that their actions are unitary decisions.
What is a ‘duopoly’?
Two companies that have power over most of the market
Example: The most famous examples of a duopoly are the companies ‘Coke’ and ‘Pepsi’.
What does ‘bicameral’ describe?
A government structure involving two separate branches from each other
Example: Congress is a bicameral structure with both the House and Senate holding power in the executive branch.
What is a ‘triptych’?
A group of three pieces of art that are connected in some way and hung together
Example: Some people say that the most beautiful pieces of art are triptychs, groups of three paintings that hang together.
What does ‘quarto’ refer to?
A piece of paper folded into 8 sections, or the size of paper, 10*8 in.
Example: Most people write postcards on quarto pages.
Define ‘decagon’.
Shape with 10 straight sides and angles
Example: My sister is 4, and she can identify a square and triangle, but not a decagon.
What is the meaning of ‘centenary’?
The hundredth anniversary of something, or relating to a hundredth anniversary
Example: The centenary of Skokie School was in 2021, and we celebrated with a new school song.
What does ‘pantheon’ refer to?
A group of respected or important people, or the gods of a religion collectively
Example: A pantheon of celebrities showed up for former president Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
Define ‘omnibus’.
A single book containing many different items that were previously published on their own
Example: If Dr Seuss published an omnibus of his work, it would be very long, and with many, many stories.
What is a ‘holograph’?
An entirely handwritten letter by the author
Example: As soon as she got to her new house, she received a holograph from her friend back home.
What does ‘totalization’ mean?
To total something, or to combine together
Example: The totalization of our team’s efforts ultimately ended up in us winning the game.
What does ‘occlude’ mean?
To close or block something off
Example: The windows of homes in the ghost town occluded sight with slabs of wood.
Define ‘incipit’.
To begin, or the opening words of a book
Example: The incipit of a play or performance is often what gets observer’s hooked on the plot.
What is ‘nihility’?
Non-existence/nothingness
Example: A black hole’s nihility is unimaginable.
What does ‘abnegate’ mean?
To renounce or reject something desired or valuable
Example: During Lent, dedicated Catholics abnegate from something they enjoy for a certain amount of time.
What does ‘vaunt’ mean?
To brag or boast about how great someone or something is
Example: He bragged and vaunted about how good he was at soccer, but was unable to back it up after claiming he sprained his ankle.
What is an ‘aperitif’?
An alcoholic drink before a meal
Example: Many bars serve aperitifs to attract groups waiting for their reservations.
Define ‘microclimate’.
The climate of a particularly small or restricted area
Example: For some reason the microclimate of my room is always colder than the rest of the house.
What does ‘mince’ mean?
To cut up or grind food into small pieces normally using a machine
Example: The recipe says to hand mince your vegetables, but I’m not that good with the knife so I’m using the blender.
What does ‘attenuated’ mean?
To have been reduced in force, effect or value, or to reduce in thickness
Example: Because of inflation, over the years money has attenuated in value.
What is ‘satiation’?
The act of completely satisfying yourself of something
Example: After Thanksgiving dinner, he sighed in satiation. At last, he was full.
What does ‘plenary’ refer to?
A meeting to be attended by everyone who usually meets separately
Example: The UN Council is a plenary meeting between the leaders of many countries.
Define ‘cornucopian’.
Someone who believes the world can provide an endless amount of resources
Example: People who don’t believe in climate change are typically of cornucopian beliefs.
