100 Words Every High Schooler Should Know
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- vehement
- marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently; fervid, characterized by great force or energy
- photosynthesis
- synthesis of compounds with the aid of radiant energy (especially in plants)
- metamorphosis
- a complete change of physical form or substance especially as by magic or witchcraft, a striking change in appearance or character or circumstances, the marked and rapid transformation of a larva into an adult that occurs in some animals
- winnow
- the act of separating grain from chaff, remove by a current of air, treat by exposure to a current of air so that waste matter is eliminated, separate from chaff, blow on
- abjure
- formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure
- nihilism
- a revolutionary doctrine that advocates destruction of the social system for its own sake, complete denial of all established authority and institutions, the delusion that things (or everything, including the self) do not exist; a sense that everything is unreal
- tectonic
- of or pertaining to construction or architecture, pertaining to the structure or movement of the earth's crust
- thermodynamics
- the branch of physics concerned with the conversion of different forms of energy
- omnipotent
- having unlimited power
- polymer
- a naturally occurring or synthetic compound consisting of large molecules made up of a linked series of repeated simple monomers
- pecuniary
- relating to or involving money
- gerrymander
- an act of gerrymandering (dividing a voting area so as to give your own party an unfair advantage), divide unfairly and to one's advantage
- oligarchy
- a political system governed by a few people
- sanguine
- inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life, confidently optimistic and cheerful
- parameter
- a constant in the equation of a curve that can be varied to yield a family of similar curves, a quantity (such as the mean or variance) that characterizes a statistical population and that can be estimated by calculations from sample data, any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits) its performance
- epiphany
- a divine manifestation, [Epiphany] Twelve days after Christmas; celebrates the visit of the three wise men to the infant Jesus
- recapitulate
- summarize briefly, repeat an earlier theme of a composition, repeat stages of evolutionary development during the embryonic phase of life
- tautology
- useless repetition, (logic) a statement that is necessarily true
- loquacious
- full of trivial conversation, full of trivial conversation
- hubris
- overbearing pride or presumption
- orthography
- a method of representing the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols
- irony
- incongruity in between what might be expected and what actually occurs, witty language used to convey insults or scorn, a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs
- moiety
- one of two basic subdivisions of a tribe, one of two (approximately) equal parts
- kinetic
- supplying motive force, characterized by motion, relating to the motion of material bodies and the forces associated therewith
- churlish
- having a bad disposition; surly, rude and boorish
- parabola
- a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the curve
- infrastructure
- the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area, the basic structure or features of a system or organization
- impeach
- bring an accusation against, charge with a crime or misdemeanor, charge with an offense or misdemeanor, challenge the honesty or credibility of
- wrought
- shaped to fit by or as if by altering the contours of a pliable mass (as by work or effort)
- expurgate
- edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
- hemoglobin
- a hemoprotein composed of globin and heme that gives red blood cells their characteristic color
- fiduciary
- a person who holds assets in trust for a beneficiary, relating to or of the nature of a legal trust (i.e. the holding of something in trust for another)
- auspicious
- attended by favorable circumstances, tending to favor or bring good luck
- deleterious
- harmful to living things
- chromosome
- a threadlike body in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order
- totalitarian
- characterized by a government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control, of or relating to the principles of totalitarianism according to which the state regulates every realm of life
- subjugate
- put down by force or intimidation, make subservient; force to submit or subdue
- euro
- the basic monetary unit of most members of the European Union (introduced in 1999)
- laissez faire
- the doctrine that government should not interfere in commercial affairs
- quotidian
- found in the ordinary course of events
- lugubrious
- excessively mournful
- antebellum
- belonging to a period before a war especially the American Civil War
- ziggurat
- a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians
- bellicose
- having or showing a ready disposition to fight
- evanescent
- tending to vanish like vapor
- obsequious
- attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner, attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
- feckless
- generally incompetent and ineffectual, not fit to assume responsibility
- bowdlerize
- edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
- oxidize
- add oxygen to or combine with oxygen, enter into a combination with oxygen or become converted into an oxide
- nomenclature
- a system of words used in a particular discipline
- jejune
- displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity, lacking interest or significance, lacking in nutritive value
- tempestuous
- (of the elements) as if showing violent anger
- unctuous
- unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech
- xenophobe
- an irrational fear of foreigners or strangers
- precipitous
- extremely steep, characterized by precipices, done with very great haste and without due deliberation
- suffragist
- an advocate of the extension of voting rights (especially to women)
- abstemious
- sparing in consumption of especially food and drink, marked by temperance in indulgence
- reparation
- something done or paid in expiation of a wrong, the act of putting something in working order again, (usually plural) compensation exacted from a defeated nation by the victors, compensation (given or received) for an insult or injury
- acumen
- shrewdness shown by keen insight, a tapering point
- interpolate
- insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby, estimate the value of
- nanotechnology
- the branch of engineering that deals with things smaller than 100 nanometers (especially with the manipulation of individual molecules)
- yeoman
- in former times was free and cultivated his own land, officer in the (ceremonial) bodyguard of the British monarch
- kowtow
- a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission, try to gain favor by cringing or flattering, bend the knees and bow in a servile manner
- paradigm
- a standard or typical example, the generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time, the class of all items that can be substituted into the same position (or slot) in a grammatical sentence (are in paradigmatic relation with one another), systematic arrangement of all the inflected forms of a word
- respiration
- the metabolic processes whereby certain organisms obtain energy from organic moelcules; processes that take place in the cells and tissues during which energy is released and carbon dioxide is produced and absorbed by the blood to be transported to the lungs, the bodily process of inhalation and exhalation; the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide by exhalation
- soliloquy
- a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections, speech you make to yourself
- inculcate
- teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions
- quasar
- a starlike object that may send out radio waves and other forms of energy; large red shifts imply enormous recession velocities
- belie
- represent falsely, be in contradiction with
- vacuous
- devoid of significance or point, complacently or inanely foolish
- vortex
- a powerful circular current of water (usually the resulting of conflicting tides), the shape of something rotating rapidly
- incontrovertible
- necessarily or demonstrably true, impossible to deny or disprove
- homogeneous
- all of the same or similar kind or nature
- equinox
- (astronomy) either of two points on the celestial sphere at which the ecliptic intersects the celestial equator, either of the two times during a year when the sun crosses the celestial equator and when day and night are approximately equal length
- filibuster
- a tactic for delaying or obstructing legislation by making long speeches, a legislator who gives long speeches in an effort to delay or obstruct legislation that he (or she) opposes, obstruct deliberately by delaying
- nonsectarian
- not restricted to one sect or school or party
- circumlocution
- an indirect way of expressing something, a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things
- deciduous
- (of plants and shrubs) shedding foliage at the end of the growing season, (of teeth, antlers, etc.) being shed at the end of a period of growth
- diffident
- lacking self-confidence, showing modest reserve
- mitosis
- cell division in which the nucleus divides into nuclei containing the same number of chromosomes
- hegemony
- the domination of one state over its allies
- usurp
- seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession, take the place of
- gamete
- a mature sexual reproductive cell having a single set of unpaired chromosomes
- plasma
- colorless watery fluid of blood and lymph containing no cells and in which erythrocytes and leukocytes and platelets are suspended, (physical chemistry) a fourth state of matter distinct from solid or liquid or gas and present in stars and fusion reactors, a green slightly translucent variety of chalcedony used as a gemstone
- notarize
- authenticate as a notary
- chicanery
- the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)
- reciprocal
- hybridization involving a pair of crosses that reverse the sexes associated with each genotype, (mathematics) one of a pair of numbers whose product is 1: the reciprocal of 2/3 is 3/2; the multiplicative inverse of 7 is 1/7, something (a term or expression or concept) that has a reciprocal relation to something else, of or relating to the multiplicative inverse of a quantity or function, concerning each of two or more persons or things; especially given or done in return, of or relating to or suggestive of complementation
- lexicon
- a language user's knowledge of words, a reference book containing an alphabetical list of words with information about them
- gauche
- lacking social polish
- enervate
- weaken mentally or morally, disturb the composure of
- facetious
- cleverly amusing in tone
- incognito
- with your identity concealed, without revealing one's identity
- plagiarize
- take without referencing from someone else's writing or speech; of intellectual property
- abrogate
- revoke formally
- fatuous
- complacently or inanely foolish
- supercilious
- expressive of contempt, having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy
- hypotenuse
- the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
- taxonomy
- practice of classifying plants and animals according to their presumed natural relationships, (biology) study of the general principles of scientific classification, a classification of organisms into groups based on similarities of structure or origin etc
- circumnavigate
- travel around, either by plane or ship
- enfranchise
- grant voting rights, grant freedom to; as from slavery or servitude