Week #19 Flashcards
Define
Megalomania
(megˊə lō māˊnēə
Abnormal desire for wealth & power
Hitler’s megalomania was a veneer for his insecurity
and feelings of in
Define
Profligate
(profˊl ə git)
Wasteful
With a singular disregard for his family, the profligate
husband spent
Define
Strife
(stīf)
Discord, disagreement
Each spouse said that the other was culpable for their
conjugal strife
Define
Legion
(lēˊjən)
A large number
”The numbers of my followers is legion,” said the
flamboyant politicia
Define
Coup
(kü)
Revolution
The necessity for executing the leaders of the abortive
coup was obvia
Define
To Play Possum
To try to fool someone; to make believe one
is asleep or dead
Sensing that his life was in jeopardy, the hunter played
possum until t
Define
Amnesty
(amˊnəs tē)
A general pardon
We recognized the dictator’s amnesty as an obvious
feint which would b
Define
Expatriate
(eks pāˊ tri it)
An exile
The itinerant poet, living abroad for twenty years, was
a voluntary ex
Define
Exonerate
(eg zonˊər āt)
To free from guilt
When the jury began to deliberate, they were prepared
to exonerate the
Define
Fiat
(fī ət)
An official order, a decree
One cannot govern by fiat, the sedentary mayor quickly
learned; it is n
Define
Mendacious
(men dāˊshəs)
Lying, untrue
The publisher’s mendacious claims led to a myriad of
law suits.
Define
It’s An Ill Wind That Blows Nobody Good
Someone usually benefits from
another person’s misfortune
When the star quarterback broke his leg, the coach
gave the rookie his
Define
Parsimonious
(pärˊsə mō ni əs)
Miserly
Unless my boss modifies his parsimonious attitude, a
spontaneous picket
Define
Pecuniary
(pi kūˊni erˊi)
Financial
Clarence Day deemed that pecuniary matters are best
handled by men.
Define
Dismantle
(dis manˊtəl)
To strip of covering, take apart
I plan to dismantle the stereo set and clan all the
components.
Define
Sumptuous
(sumpˊchü əs)
Lavish
The sumptuous feast was prepared with impeccable
care.
Define
Underwrite
(unˊdər rīt)
Agree to finance
When our rivals agreed to underwrite the cost of our
trip, a myriad of
Define
To Know the Ropes
To be fully acquainted with the procedures
The president of the senior class knew the ropes and
quickly taught me
Define
Restrictive
(ri strikˊtiv)
Harsh, cofining
The rebel’s innate hatred of restrictive decress led him to crave
freed
Define
Balk (v)
(bôk)
To refuse to move
Jimmy was a lawbreaker, but he would balk at the idea of
carrying a let
Define
Blunt
(blunt)
Plain spoken
A string of caustic epithets was directed at the recruit by his
blunt s
Define
Nostalgia
(nos talˊjə)
Yearning for the past
Although the former farm girl pretended to be urbane, a feeling
of nost
Define
Rife
(rīf)
Widespread
Criticism of the author was rife among the coterie of
intellectuals wh
Define
Behind the Eight Ball
In trouble
Susan found herself behind the eight ball in chemistry when
she failed
