Words I Don't Know 4 Flashcards
Promulgate
Verb, to promote or make widely known
Ex: I wanted my new blog post to get as many views in its first 24 hours as possible, so I promulgated it across 4 social media websites.
Vicissitude
Noun, a change of circumstances or fortune, generally importune, unwelcome, or unfortunate
Ex: Her husband‘a vicissitudes of fortune.
Liveried (liver-ed)
Adjective, a special uniforms, color scheme, etc that makes a person or object distinct from others (see livery)
Ex: We assumed out liveried server was the head of the waitstaff.
Stultify
Verb, to cause to lose interest, enthusiasm, or initiative, especially as the result of a tedious or restrictive routine
Ex: My boring class schedule gradually stultified my enthusiasm for teaching.
Oeuvre (uhv-ruh)
Noun, the works of an artist considered collectively
Ex: I was excited to find out the local museum had the oeuvre of Junji Ito.
Importune
1) Verb, to harass someone persistently to get them to do something
Ex: I had to importune my roommates to ensure all chores got done on time.
2) Verb, to approach someone to request or offer sexual services, especially as a prostitute
Ex: The streetwalker importuned me yet again as I left for work.
Militate
Verb, be a powerful or conclusive factor in preventing something.
Ex: His obstinate refusal to change his behavior militated the healing of their marriage.
Elision
1) Noun, the omission of a sound or syllable when speaking or the omission of a passage in a book, speech, or film
Ex: The hypocritical pastor‘a willful elisions of inconvenient verses didn’t go unnoticed by his flock.
2) Noun, the process of joining together or merging things, especially abstract ideas
Ex: My elision of Marxism and Jungian philosophy was not well-received by academia at large.
Arcana
Noun, secrets and mysteries
Ex: The arcana of science is misunderstood by most people.
Fugacious
Adjective, tending to disappear, fleeting
Ex: Youth is a fugacious factor, but true beauty is eternal.
Exegesis (eck-seh-jee-sis)
Noun, the critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially scripture. Done by an exegete (ex-eh-jeet)
Ex: The exegesis produced by the small town preacher spoke of a loving, caring, forgiving god.
Abrogate
Verb, to repeal or do away with, or to evade
Ex: Using one of his getaway tunnels, he again abrogated his pursuers.
Puerile (pure-uhl)
Adjective, Childishly silly and trivial
Ex: His puerile interpretation of the primary literature belied his fundamental misunderstanding of basic biochemistry.
Assiduous
Adjective, showing great care and perseverance
Ex: I was assiduous in the restoration of my Craigslist bike.
Pastiche (pah-steesh)
Noun, an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period.
Ex: Modern surrealist art is a pastiche of Picasso’s later work.
