Word List 15 Flashcards
expiate
to extinguish the guild incurred by
to make amends for
e.g. Yom Kippur is the holy day on which Jews are expected to expiate sins committed during the past year.
explicate
to give a detailed explanation of
to develop the implications of; analyze logically
e.g. The physicist did his best to explicate the wave theory of light for the audience of laymen.
inchoate
being only partly in existence or operation; incipient; especially, imperfectly formed or formulated; formless, incoherent
e.g. inchoate feelings of affection for a man whom she had, up till now, thought of as only a friend
tacit
expressed or carried on without words or speech
implied or indicated (as by an act or by silence) but not actually expressed
e.g. tacit consent
tacit admission of guilt
immanent
indwelling, inherent
being within the limits of possible experience or knowledge
e.g. Beauty is not something imposed but something immanent.
a question as to whether altruism is immanent in all individuals or is instead acquired from without
exponent
one that expounds or interprets
one that champions, practices, or exemplifies
e.g. She has become one of America’s foremost exponents of the romantic style in interior design.
exposition
a setting forth of the meaning or purpose (as of a writing)
discourse or an example of it designed to convey information or explain what is difficult to understand
a public exhibition or show
e.g. a clear exposition of his ideas
the great Paris Exposition of 1899
repose
to lay at rest; to lie dead; to take a rest
to rest for support; lie
also
e.g. Typically the wealthy socialite spends most of the morning in repose, is served lunch, and then embarks on an exhaustive afternoon of shopping.
Her face in repose is grave and thoughtful.
expository
- exposition
e. g. an expository piece on the workings of the internal-combustion engine
expostulate
express strong disapproval or disagreement
e.g. Jim expostulated with the teacher’s opinion to no avail.
I expostulated with him in vain.
expound
to set forth; state
to defend with argument
to explain by setting forth in careful and often elaborate detail
e.g. The article expounds the virtues of a healthy diet.
expressly
in an express manner; explicitly
for the express purpose; particularly, specifically
e.g. expressly rejected the proposal
a shirt made expressly for me
expunge
to strike out, obliterate, or mark for deletion to efface completely; destroy to eliminate (as a memory) from one's consciousness
e.g. Time and the weather have expunged any evidence that a thriving community once existed here.
expurgate
to cleanse of something morally harmful, offensive, or erroneous; especially, to expunge objectionable parts from before publication or presentation
e.g. The newspaper had expurgate the expletive-laden speech that the criminal made upon being sentenced to life imprisonment.
extant
currently or actually existing
still existing; not destroyed or lost
e.g. the most charming writer extant
There are few extant records from that period.
extemporaneous
composed, performed, or uttered on the spur of the moment; impromptu
skilled at or given to extemporaneous utterance
happening suddenly and without clearly known causes or relationships
provided, made, or put to use as an expedient; makeshift
e.g. Caught by surprise, I had to make an extemporaneous speech at the awards banquet.
an extemporaneous shelter
extemporize
to do something extemporaneously; improvise; especially to speak extemporaneously
to get along in a makeshift manner
e.g. A good talk show host has to be able to extemporize the interviews when things don’t go as planned.
temporal
of or relating to time as opposed to eternity
of or relating to earthly life
of or relating to time (in grammar / as distinct from space)
extenuate
to lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of by making partial excuses; mitigate
to lessen the strength or effect of
e.g. Don't even try to extenuate their vandalism of the cemetery with the old refrain of "Boys will be boys." extenuating circumstances (like ill health, bereavement, etc)
tenuous
not dense; rare
not thick; slender
having little substance or strength; flimsy, weak
shaky
e.g. He has a tenuous grasp on reality.
The local theater has had a tenuous existence in recent years.
a tenuous fluid/rope
externalize
to make external or externally manifest
to attribute to causes outside the self; rationalize
e.g. an actress with an expressive face that wonderfully externalizes a wide range of emotions
externalized his lack of ability to succeed
extirpate
to destroy completely; wipe out
to pull up by the root
to cut out by surgery
e.g. the triumph of modern medicine in extirpating certain diseases
extol
to praise highly; glorify
e.g. campaign literature extolling the candidate’s military record
lambaste
to assault violently; beat, whip
to attack verbally; censure
e.g. They wrote several letters lambasting the new law.
malign
to utter injuriously misleading or false reports about; speak evil of
e.g. a candidate who believes that it is possible to win an election without maligning anyone
extort
to obtain from a person by force, intimidation, or undue or illegal power; wring
to gain especially by ingenuity or compelling argument
e.g. The criminals extorted large sums of money from their victims.
extract
to obtain by much effort from someone unwilling
e.g. extracted a confession
extraneous
existing on or coming form the outside
not forming an essential or vital part
having no relevance
e.g. She sped up the process by eliminating all extraneous steps.
The architect’s streamlined modern style shuns any sort of extraneous ornamentation.
interpolate
to alter or corrupt (as a text) by inserting new or foreign matter to insert (words) into a text or into a conversation to insert between other things or parts; intercalate
e.g. He smoothly interpolates fragments from other songs into his own.
He interpolated a very critical comment in the discussion.
extrapolate
to project, extend, or expand into an area not known or experienced so as to arrive at a usually conjectural knowledge of the unknown area
to predict by projecting past experience or known data
e.g. extrapolates present trends to construct an image of the future
extrapolate public sentiment on one issue from known public reaction to others
vagrant
one who has no established residence and wanders idly from place to place without lawful or visible means or support
wanderer, rover
wandering about from place to place
having a fleeting, wayward, or inconstant quality
having no fixed course; random
e.g. a vagrant impulse
a vagrant breeze
divagate
to wander or stray from a course or subject; diverge, digress
extricate
to distinguish from a related thing
to free or remove from an entanglement or difficulty
e.g. She hasn’t been able extricate herself from her legal problems.
extricable
- extricate
exuberant
extreme or excessive in degree, size, or extent
joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic
unrestrained or elaborate especially in style; flamboyant
produced in extreme abundance; plentiful
e.g. His exuberant personality makes him fun to be around.
exuberant architecture
exuberant foliage and vegetation
exude
to ooze out
to display conspicuously or abundantly
e.g. Pine trees exude a sticky substance.
exudes charm
sudorific
causing or inducing sweat; diaphoretic
e.g. sudorific herbs
exult
to be extremely joyful; rejoice
e.g. The winners of the Super Bowl spent the next week exulting in their victory.
sultry
very hot and humid; sweltering
hot with passion or anger
exciting or capable of exciting strong sexual desire
e.g. a sultry day/sun
an actress with a sultry voice
facade
the front of a building; also, any face of a building given special architectural treatment
a false, superficial, or artificial appearance or effect
e.g. the windowless facade of the skyscraper
They were trying to preserve the facade of a happy marriage.
facet
a small plane surface
any of the definable aspects that make a subject (as of contemplation) or an object (as of consideration)
e.g. Each facet of the problem requires careful attention.
the different facets of our culture
