English Vocab Sem 2 2006
Terms
undefined, object
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- Agenda
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1. a list or outline of things to be considered or done
2. an underlying often ideological plan or program - Apoplectic
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1. of relating to or causing stroke
2. affected with, inclined to, or showing symptoms of stroke
3. of a kind to cause or apparently cause stroke - Circumspect
- careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences
- Denuded
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1. to deprive of something important
2. to strip of all covering or surface layers; to lay bare by erosion; to strip (land) of forests - Dotes
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1 : to exhibit mental decline of or like that of old age : be in one's dotage
2 : to be lavish or excessive in one's attention, fondness, or affection -- used especially with on - Emote
- to give expression to emotion especially in or as if in acting
- Exacerbate
- to make more violent, bitter, or severe
- Fey
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1 a chiefly Scottish : fated to die : DOOMED b : marked by a foreboding of death or calamity
2 a : able to see into the future : VISIONARY b : marked by an otherworldly air or attitude c : CRAZY, TOUCHED
3 a : PRECIOUS 3 b : UNCONVENTIONAL, CAMPY - Insatiable
- incapable of being satisfied
- Laity
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1 : the people of a religious faith as distinguished from its clergy
2 : the mass of the people as distinguished from those of a particular profession or those specially skilled - Mordant
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1 : biting and caustic in thought, manner, or style : INCISIVE <a mordant wit>
2 : acting as a mordant
3 : BURNING, PUNGENT - Opprobrium
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1 : something that brings disgrace
2 a : public disgrace or ill fame that follows from conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious b : CONTEMPT, REPROACH - Precipitous
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1 : PRECIPITATE 2
2 a : very steep, perpendicular, or overhanging in rise or fall b : having precipitous sides c : having a very steep ascent - Reinstate
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1 : to place again (as in possession or in a former position)
2 : to restore to a previous effective state - Throes
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1 : PANG, SPASM
2 plural : a hard or painful struggle - Vicissitudes
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1 a : the quality or state of being changeable : MUTABILITY b : natural change or mutation visible in nature or in human affairs
2 a : a favorable or unfavorable event or situation that occurs by chance : a fluctuation of state or condition <the vicissitudes of daily life> b : a difficulty or hardship attendant on a way of life, a career, or a course of action and usually beyond one's control c : alternating change : SUCCESSION - Acolyte
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1 : one who assists the clergyman in a liturgical service by performing minor duties
2 : one who attends or assists : FOLLOWER - Atavism
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1 a : recurrence in an organism of a trait or character typical of an ancestral form and usually due to genetic recombination b : recurrence of or reversion to a past style, manner, outlook, or approach <architectural atavism>
2 : one that manifests atavism : THROWBACK - Bedizened
- to dress or adorn gaudily
- Cantos
- one of the major divisions of a long poem
- Crevice
- a narrow opening resulting from a split or crack (as in a cliff)
- Deify
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1 a : to make a god of b : to take as an object of worship
2 : to glorify as of supreme worth - Ductile
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1 : capable of being drawn out or hammered thin <ductile iron>
2 : easily led or influenced
3 : capable of being fashioned into a new form - Ennoble
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1 : to make noble : ELEVATE <seemed ennobled by suffering>
2 : to raise to the rank of nobility - Flotsam
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1 : floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo; broadly : floating debris
2 a : a floating population (as of emigrants or castaways) b : an accumulation of miscellaneous or unimportant stuff - Gubernatorial
- of or relating to a governor
- Lionized
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1 : to treat as an object of great interest or importance
2 British : to show the sights of a place to - Moratorium
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1 a : a legally authorized period of delay in the performance of a legal obligation or the payment of a debt b : a waiting period set by an authority
2 : a suspension of activity - Obituary
- a notice of a person's death usually with a short biographical account
- Prognosticate
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1 : to foretell from signs or symptoms : PREDICT
2 : PRESAGE - Raconteur
- a person who excels in telling anecdotes
- Sybaritism
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1 [from the notorious luxury of the Sybarites] : VOLUPTUARY, SENSUALIST
2 capitalized : a native or resident of the ancient city of Sybaris - Unwonted
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1 : being out of the ordinary : RARE, UNUSUAL
2 : not accustomed by experience - Aborted
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1 : to bring forth premature or stillborn offspring
2 : to become checked in development so as to degenerate or remain rudimentary
transitive senses
1 a : to induce the abortion of or give birth to prematurely b : to terminate the pregnancy of before term
2 a : to terminate prematurely : CANCEL <abort a project> <abort a spaceflight> b : to stop in the early stages <abort a disease> - Anomalous
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1 : inconsistent with or deviating from what is usual, normal, or expected : IRREGULAR, UNUSUAL
2 a : of uncertain nature or classification b : marked by incongruity or contradiction : PARADOXICAL - Captious
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1 : marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections
2 : calculated to confuse, entrap, or entangle in argument - Coadjutors
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1 : one who works together with another : ASSISTANT
2 : a bishop assisting a diocesan bishop and often having the right of succession - Educe
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1 : to bring out (as something latent)
2 : DEDUCE - Empirical
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1 : originating in or based on observation or experience <empirical data>
2 : relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory
3 : capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment <empirical laws>
4 : of or relating to empiricism - Exculpate
- to clear from alleged fault or guilt
- Firmament
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1 : the vault or arch of the sky : HEAVENS
2 obsolete : BASIS
3 : the field or sphere of an interest or activity <the international fashion firmament> - Iridescent
- having or exhibiting iridescence
- Macerate
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transitive senses
1 : to cause to waste away by or as if by excessive fasting
2 : to cause to become soft or separated into constituent elements by or as if by steeping in fluid; broadly : STEEP, SOAK
intransitive senses : to soften and wear away especially as a result of being wetted or steeped - Mores
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1 : a greater quantity, number, or amount <liked the idea better the more I thought about it>
2 : something additional : an additional amount
3 obsolete : persons of higher rank - Norm
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1 : an authoritative standard : MODEL
2 : a principle of right action binding upon the members of a group and serving to guide, control, or regulate proper and acceptable behavior
3 : AVERAGE: as a : a set standard of development or achievement usually derived from the average or median achievement of a large group b : a pattern or trait taken to be typical in the behavior of a social group c : a widespread practice, procedure, or custom : RULE <standing ovations became the norm>
4 a : a real-valued nonnegative function defined on a vector space and satisfying the conditions that the function is zero if and only if the vector is zero, the function of the product of a scalar and a vector is equal to the product of the absolute value of the scalar and the function of the vector, and the function of the sum of two vectors is less than or equal to the sum of the functions of the two vectors; specifically : the square root of the sum of the squares of the absolute values of the elements of a matrix or of the components of a vector b : the greatest distance between two successive points of a set of points that partition an interval into smaller intervals - Optimum
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1 : the amount or degree of something that is most favorable to some end; especially : the most favorable condition for the growth and reproduction of an organism
2 : greatest degree attained or attainable under implied or specified conditions - Probity
- adherence to the highest principles and ideals : UPRIGHTNESS
- Scion
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1 : a detached living portion of a plant joined to a stock in grafting and usually supplying solely aerial parts to a graft
2 : DESCENDANT, CHILD - Turpitude
- inherent baseness : DEPRAVITY <moral turpitude>; also : a base act
- Autocrat
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1 : a person (as a monarch) ruling with unlimited authority
2 : one who has undisputed influence or power - Commiserate
- to feel or express sorrow or compassion for
- Defeatist
- acceptance or expectation of or resignation to defeat
- Disquisition
- a formal inquiry into or discussion of a subject : DISCOURSE
- Efficacy
- the power to produce an effect
- Excerpt
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1 : to select (a passage) for quoting : EXTRACT
2 : to take or publish extracts from (as a book) - Hansom
- a light 2-wheeled covered carriage with the driver's seat elevated behind -- called also hansom cab
- Idiosyncrasy
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1 a : a peculiarity of constitution or temperament : an individualizing characteristic or quality b : individual hypersensitiveness (as to a drug or food)
2 : characteristic peculiarity (as of temperament); broadly : ECCENTRICITY - Infiltrate
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1 : to cause (as a liquid) to permeate something by penetrating its pores or interstices
2 : to pass into or through (a substance) by filtering or permeating
3 : to pass (troops) singly or in small groups through gaps in the enemy line
4 : to enter or become established in gradually or unobtrusively usually for subversive purposes <the intelligence staff had been infiltrated by spies>
intransitive senses : to enter, permeate, or pass through a substance or area by filtering or by insinuating gradually - Metamorphosis
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1 a : change of physical form, structure, or substance especially by supernatural means b : a striking alteration in appearance, character, or circumstances
2 : a marked and more or less abrupt developmental change in the form or structure of an animal (as a butterfly or a frog) occurring subsequent to birth or hatching - Monotheism
- the doctrine or belief that there is but one God
- Obsidian
- a dark natural glass formed by the cooling of molten lava
- Patronize
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1 : to act as patron of : provide aid or support for
2 : to adopt an air of condescension toward : treat haughtily or coolly
3 : to be a frequent or regular customer or client of - Raffish
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1 : marked by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity or crudeness
2 : marked by a careless unconventionality : RAKISH - Retract
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1 : to draw back or in <cats retract their claws>
2 a : TAKE BACK, WITHDRAW <retract a confession> b : DISAVOW
intransitive senses
1 : to draw or pull back
2 : to recant or disavow something
synonym see ABJURE, RECEDE - Toreador
- TORERO, BULLFIGHTER