wordlist4 Flashcards
apothegm
DADI NI PHOTI MA NI PROVERB – N. pithy, compact saying. Proverbs are apothegms that have become familiar sayings.
apotheosis
N. elevation to godhood; an ideal example of something. The apotheosis of a Roman emperor was designed to insure his eternal greatness: people would worship at his altar forever. The hero of the musical How to Succeed in Business … was the apotheosis of yuppieness: he was the perfect upwardly-bound young man on the make.
appall
SOCKED – V. dismay; shock. We were appalled by the horrifying conditions in the city’s jails.
apparatus
N. equipment. Firefighters use specialized apparatus to fight fires.
apparition
APPEARING (DEAD) SON N. ghost; phantom. On the castle battlements, an apparition materialized and spoke to Hamlet, warning him of his uncle’s treachery. In Ghostbusters, hordes of apparitions materialized, only to be dematerialized by the specialized apparatus wielded by Bill Murray.
appease
V. pacify or soothe; relieve. Tom and Jody tried to appease the crying baby by offering him one toy after another, but he would not calm down until they appeased his hunger by giving him a bottle.
appellation
APPLE NATION N. name; title. Macbeth was startled when the witches greeted him with an incorrect appellation. Why did they call him Thane of Cawdor, he wondered, when the holder of that title still lived?
append
V. attach. When you append a bibliography to a text, you have just created an appendix.
application
HIS APPLICATION TO THE TASK N. diligent attention. Pleased with how well Tom had whitewashed the fence, Aunt Polly praised him for his application to the task. apply, V. (secondary meaning)
apposite
APPROPRIATE POSITIONED ADJ. appropriate; fitting. He was always able to find the apposite phrase, the correct expression for every occasion.
appraise
V. estimate value of. It is difficult to appraise the value of old paintings; it is easier to call them priceless. appraisal, N.
appreciate
V. be thankful for; increase in worth; be thoroughly conscious of. Little Orphan Annie truly appreciated the stocks Daddy Warbucks gave her, which appreciated in value considerably over the years.
apprehend
UPPER HAND - ARREST V. arrest (a criminal); dread; perceive. The police will apprehend the culprit and convict him before long.
apprehensive
ADJ. fearful. discerning. His apprehensive glances at the people who walking in the street revealed his nervousness.
apprise
V. inform. When he was apprised of the dangerous weather conditions, he decided to postpone his trip.
approbation
in PROBATION, YOU BETTER KEEP SEEING SIGN OF APPROBATION FROM YOUR BOSS. approval or praise.N. approval. She looked for some sign of approbation from her parents, hoping her good grades would please them.
appropriate
AAPNO PRIYET - ACQUIRE - OWNER APPROPRIATED THE LANDS V. acquire; take possession of for one’s own use. The ranch owners appropriated the lands that had originally been set aside for the Indians’ use.
appurtenances
EVERYTHING PERTAINING TO N. subordinate possessions. He bought the estate and all its appurtenaces.
apropos
APPROPRIATELY POSITIONED – APROPOS COMMENTS – ADJ. to the point and timely.When Bob spoke out against drunk driving, some of our crowd called him a spoilsport, but the rest of us found his comments extremely apropos.
aptitude
N. fitness; talent. The counselor gave him an aptitude test before advising him about the career he should follow.
aquiline
WATERY LINE AROUND EAGLE’S NOSE - curving like an eagle’s beak (the bill)..ADJ. curved, hooked. He can be recognized by his aquiline nose, curved like the beak of the eagle.
arabesque
AARAB ASS QU – N. style of decoration involving intertwined plants and abstract curves; ballet position with one leg supporting the weight of the body, while the other legs is extended in back. Because the Koran prohibits the creation of human and animal images, Moorish arabesques depict plants but no people. The statue of winged Mercury stands poised on on foot, frozen in an eternal arabesque.
arable
AIR IN FERTILE LAND - CULTIVABLE ADJ. fit for growing crops. The first settlers wrote home glowing reports of the New World, praising its vast acres of arable land ready for the plow.
arbiter
N. a person with power to decide a dispute; judge. As an arbiter in labor disputes, she has won the confidence of the workers and the employers.
arbitrary
ADJ. unreasonable or capricious; randomly chosen; tyrannical. The coach claimed the team lost because the umpire made some arbitrary calls.
arbitrate
V. act as judge. She was called upon to arbitrate the dispute between the union and the management.
arboretum
N. place where different varieties of trees and shrubs are studied and exhibited. Walking along the tree-lined paths of the arboretum, Rita noted poplars, firs, and some particularly fine sycamores.
arcade
N. a covered passageway, usually lined with shops. The arcade was popular with shoppers because it gave them protection from the summer sun and the winter rain.
arcane
HOW TO MAKE R FROM CANE? ONLY FEW PEOPLE KNOWS THAT SECRET. ADJ. secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated. Secret brotherhoods surround themselves with arcane rituals and trappings to mystify outsiders. So do doctors. Consider the arcane terminology they use and the impression they try to give that what is arcane to us is obvious to them.
archaeology
ARCH-OLD N. study of artifacts and relics of early mankind. The professor of archaeology headed an expedition to the Gobi Desert in search of ancient ruins.
archaic
ARCH - OLD ADJ. antiquated. “Methinks,” “thee,” and “thou” are archaic words that are no longer part of our normal vocabulary.
archetype
ARCH -OLD N. prototype; primitive pattern. The Brooklyn Bridge was the archetype of the many spans that now connect Manhattan with Long Island and New Jersey.
