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English Vocab Sem 2 2006

Terms

undefined, object
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Agenda
1. a list or outline of things to be considered or done
2. an underlying often ideological plan or program
Apoplectic
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
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
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
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
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
1 : biting and caustic in thought, manner, or style : INCISIVE <a mordant wit>
2 : acting as a mordant
3 : BURNING, PUNGENT
Opprobrium
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
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
1 : to place again (as in possession or in a former position)
2 : to restore to a previous effective state
Throes
1 : PANG, SPASM
2 plural : a hard or painful struggle
Vicissitudes
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
1 : one who assists the clergyman in a liturgical service by performing minor duties
2 : one who attends or assists : FOLLOWER
Atavism
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
1 a : to make a god of b : to take as an object of worship
2 : to glorify as of supreme worth
Ductile
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
1 : to make noble : ELEVATE <seemed ennobled by suffering>
2 : to raise to the rank of nobility
Flotsam
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
1 : to treat as an object of great interest or importance
2 British : to show the sights of a place to
Moratorium
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
1 : to foretell from signs or symptoms : PREDICT
2 : PRESAGE
Raconteur
a person who excels in telling anecdotes
Sybaritism
1 [from the notorious luxury of the Sybarites] : VOLUPTUARY, SENSUALIST
2 capitalized : a native or resident of the ancient city of Sybaris
Unwonted
1 : being out of the ordinary : RARE, UNUSUAL
2 : not accustomed by experience
Aborted
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
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
1 : marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections
2 : calculated to confuse, entrap, or entangle in argument
Coadjutors
1 : one who works together with another : ASSISTANT
2 : a bishop assisting a diocesan bishop and often having the right of succession
Educe
1 : to bring out (as something latent)
2 : DEDUCE
Empirical
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
1 : marked by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity or crudeness
2 : marked by a careless unconventionality : RAKISH
Retract
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

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