Term
| arbitrary (adj.) [är bf trer e] |
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Definition
| determined by whim or caprice; based on individual judgment; dictatorial. The umpire’s arbitrary decision to call the game drew strong objection from both coaches. |
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Term
| arrogance (n) [ar f gfns] |
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Definition
| haughtiness and pride; feeling self important. The saying that ar-rogance goes before a fall is intended to show that pride blinds people to upcoming threats. |
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Term
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Definition
| expressing much in few words; succinct. In concise terms, the negotia-tors outlined the exact steps that the two belligerents were to take to end the war. |
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Term
| diminution (n) [dim f noo shfn] |
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Definition
| process of making small; decrease. The amateur inventor made a device which resulted in the diminution of his children to the point that they were smaller than insects. |
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Term
| discerning (adj.) [di sur ning] |
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Definition
| being able to see fine distinctions; astute. Although the wine tasted fine to me, my discerning dinner companion announced that the vintage was inferior. |
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Term
| discordant (adj.) [dis kor dfnt] |
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Definition
| not in agreement or accord; conflicting; harsh or dissonant. The sound of auto horns, truck and bus engines, fire and police sirens combined for a discor-dant symphony of the city. |
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Term
| equivocal (adj.) [i kwiv f kfl] |
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Definition
| capable of two interpretations; cryptic; evasive; uncertain. The research seemed promising, but the results were equivocal and the scientists could not be posi-tive they had solved the problem. |
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Term
| erratic (adj.) [f rat ik] |
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Definition
| withouth a fixed or regular course; straying, wandering. “The tears coursed their erratic way down her cheeks” (Elizabeth Bowen) |
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Term
| frivolity (n) [fri vol f te] |
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Definition
| lack of seriousness; triviality. The seriousness of graduation was re-lieved by the good humor frivolity of the grad night activities. |
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Term
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Definition
| extremely small; beneath notice. Although the minute particles of pollen carried by the spring winds were too small to observe, they produced conspicuous aller-gic reactions. |
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Term
| pedantic (adj.) [pf dan tik] |
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Definition
| spending too much attention to book learning and rules without having an understanding of practical affairs; acting like a schoolmaster. In a protest against the pedantic methods of instruction practiced by the faculty, the students put their heads on their desks and snored loudly. |
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Term
| peripheral (adj.) [pf rif fr fl] |
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Definition
| pertaining or located on the outermost boundary. My peripheral vision enables me to see students sitting on the side rows as well as those in the middle. |
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Term
| scrutinize (v) [skroot n iz] |
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Definition
| to examine with great care. The cautious child scrutinized the piece of candy carefully for some minutes, turning it over and over and sniffing it suspiciously. |
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Term
| tedious (adj.) [te de fs] |
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Definition
| tiresome, boring, monotonous. The tedious music lesson seemed much longer than the half hour indicated by the clock. |
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Term
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Definition
| to regard with respect or reverence. Saint Patrick is venerated in Irel-and for introducing Christianity, although some respect his removal of snakes from the island as equally worthy of respect. |
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Term
| articulate (adj.) [är tik yf lit] |
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Definition
| able to speak; spoken clearly and distinctly. The speaker’s arti-culate delivery made it possible for even those listeners in the rear of the hall to hear every word. |
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Term
| ascendance (n) [f sen dfns] |
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Definition
| rising upward; gaining domination. The ascendance of the labor unions in the automotive industry enabled worker organizations to become dominant in other industries. |
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Term
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Definition
| someone who gives up the comforts of society and lives a life of austere self-discipline. Although born into luxury, the ascetic chose to live in poverty in order to fulfill his religious conversion. |
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Term
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Definition
| to agree; to cooperate; coincide. Although I don’t agree with everything you said, I must concur with most of your statements. |
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Term
| erroneous (adj.) [i ro ne fs] |
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Definition
| containing mistakes; false. The suspect was released after it was discovered that by mistake the dispatcher had given an erroneous description of the get-away car. |
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Term
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Definition
| shifty; surreptitious; sneaky. The student’s furtive glance at his neigh-bor’s paper did not escape the notice of the alert proctor. |
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Term
| gullible (adj.) [gul f bfl] |
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Definition
| able to be tricked or deceived; credulous. I am not so gullible to be-lieve your excuse that your paper is late because Martians held you prisoner over the weekend. |
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Term
| hypothetical (adj.) [hi pf thet i kfl] |
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Definition
| uncertain; based on an unproved assertion. Economic predictions are often based on certain hypothetical situations which seem reasonable, even if not proved. |
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Term
| repudiate (v) [ri pyoo de at] |
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Definition
| to reject; disown; refuse to recognize or pay. When it was re-vealed that the witness had lied on the stand, the attorney was quick to repudiate the testimony. |
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Term
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Definition
| temporary postponement; interval of rest or relief. The two days of sun-shine gave the Jones’ a respite from the week of rain which had damped their Hawaiian vaca-tion. |
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Term
| servile (adj.) [sur vfl, -vil] |
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Definition
| acting like a slave; submissive. “freed from servile bonds / of hope to rise or fear to fall” (Bunyan) |
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Term
| sporadic (adj.) [spo rad ik] |
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Definition
| occurring at irregular time intervals; isolated. The sporadic out-breaks of the disease baffled the epidemiologists who could not explain why the disease ap-peared how it was transmitted or predict where the next outbreak would occur. |
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Term
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Definition
| motionless. Early astronomers had trouble convincing people that the solar system was not static, but actually in constant motion. |
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Term
| steadfast (adj.) [sted fast] |
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Definition
| firm; unfaltering; controlled; reliable. A true and steadfast compa-nion, the little terrier returned every day to the grave of his former master. |
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Term
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Definition
| a fanatically committed person. “an uncompromising zealot, a passionate seeker after truth” (Louis Untermeyer) |
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Term
| assessment (n) [f ses mfnt] |
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Definition
| the act of estimating or setting the value of property; an evalua-tion. With the addition of the swimming pool and game court, the increased assessment on his property meant higher taxes. |
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Term
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Definition
| to make less severe or burdensome; ease. “to assuage the anguish of your bereavement” (Lincoln) |
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Term
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Definition
| keen in judgment, crafty. Her astute business sense enabled her see op-portunities that other CEO’s overlooked. |
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Term
| condescend (v) [kon di send] |
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Definition
| to patronize, to look down upon; to come down to the level of inferiors. Having been accepted into the Honor Society, Harriet would not condescend to hav-ing lunch with us anymore. |
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Term
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Definition
| to forgive, overlook or disregard without protest. If we condone bla-tant acts of racism and bigotry we give the appearance of approving of such behaviors. |
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Term
| conspicuous (adj.) [kfn spik yoo fs] |
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Definition
| easy to notice; obvious. Wearing a bright orange stock-ing cap enabled Fred to be conspicuous enough to be seen at the crowded airport. |
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Term
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Definition
| scorn, disdain, disrespect. The IRA prisoners showed their con-tempt for the British troops by opening firing a salute with their illegal weapons during the fu-neral of one of their colleagues. |
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Term
| discretion (n) [dis kresh fn] |
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Definition
| reserved; prudent; freedom to act on one’s own. Because he had shown himself to be responsible and reliable, Bruce was given considerable discretion in mak-ing decisions for the committee. |
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Term
| discriminating (adj.) [dis krim f na ting] |
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Definition
| able to make fine distinctions; selective. Priding himself on his discriminating tastes, Bud only would patronize the finest restaurants and ho-tels. |
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Term
| discursive (adj.) [dis kur siv] |
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Definition
| rambling; digressive. It was difficult to follow the train of argu-ment since the instructor’s discursive lecture style seemed to lead nowhere in particular. |
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Term
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Definition
| feeling of superiority; scorn. “a cold stare of lionlike disdain.” (Bram Stoker, author of Dracula [1897]) also (v) |
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Term
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Definition
| to regard with respect; prize. “Oysters were not too much esteemed in the Baltimore of my youth.” (H.L. Mencken) also (v) |
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Term
| evasive (adj.) [i va siv] |
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Definition
| characterized by avoidance, dodging. Excuses, lies, apologies and other evasive strategies give Evan the three additional days he needed to complete his orni-thology project. |
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Term
| impoverished (adj.) [im pov fr ishd] |
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Definition
| poverty stricken; deprived of strength. After years of intense farming, the impoverished land lacked nutrients to support the population |
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Term
| tentative (adj.) [ten tf tiv] |
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Definition
| uncertain; experimental. With a tentative smile, the young man held out the fresh red rose to the girl whose affection he hoped to win. |
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Term
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Definition
| a place offering protection; an institution for the care of the mentally ill; sanctuary. It is the practice of the US to grant entry to foreign citizens seeking asylum from oppressive governments. |
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Term
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Definition
| to cause to wither or waste away. After having her arm in a cast for many weeks, the muscles had atrophied to the extent that she could not lift her hand to her head. |
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Term
| contrite (adj.) [kfn trit] |
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Definition
| humbled by guilt and repentant for one’s sins. The ashamed and con-trite Speaker of the House asked for forgiveness for his “oversight” in misusing public money. |
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Term
| conviction (n) [kfn vik shfn] |
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Definition
| a strong belief; the process of proving guilty. Despite the evi-dence that the world was round, people in Medieval times clung to the conviction that it was flat. |
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Term
| disinclination (n) [dis in klf na shfn] |
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Definition
| lack of willingness; reluctance. During the weekend, I battled a strong disinclination to leave the comfort of my hammock. |
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Term
| disparage (v) [dis par ij] |
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Definition
| to slight; belittle; criticize. It is sometimes hard to give criticism without simultaneously appearing to disparage good and honest efforts. |
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Term
| inadvertently (adv) [in fd vut tfnt le] |
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Definition
| unintentionally; accidentally. Because I was not paying attention to my driving, I inadvertently drove right through the stop sign. |
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Term
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Definition
| lacking sense or substance. At first we thought his inane comments were intended as jokes; then we realized he really was an idiot. |
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Term
| pessimism (n) [pes f miz fm] |
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Definition
| tendency to take the gloomiest possible view of a situation. It was hard for veterans of World War I to view the future with anything except pessimism since they had witnessed scenes of the most horrible destruction since the world had begun. |
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Term
| petty (adj.) [pet e] [from the French petit] |
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Definition
| trivial; narrow; spiteful. Since the dollar value of the items he lifted from Long’s was only $25, he was only charged with petty larceny. |
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Term
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Definition
| to void; repeal. Pressured by the citizens of Thebes, Creon finally decided to rescind his order to have Ismene executed and allowed her to be released. |
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Term
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Definition
| one who instinctively doubts or habitually disagrees. As a child, I ac-cepted whatever I was told; with adolescence I became a skeptic |
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Term
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Definition
| to spend wastefully. Overwhelmed with winning the lottery, the family quickly squandered their fortune on unnecessary and trivial purchases. |
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Term
| truculent (adj.) [truk yf lfnt] |
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Definition
| savage and cruel; inclined to fight. The swaggering gait and surly snarl was an attempt by the gang leader to appear truculent enough scare off rival gang members. |
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Term
| ubiquitous (adj.) [yoo bik wf tfs] |
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Definition
| being everywhere; omnipresent. “He plodded through the shadows fruitlessly like an ubiquitous spook.” (Joseph Heller) |
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Term
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Definition
| a false story (French canard, “duck”, from the expression vendre des ca-nards à moitié “to half-sell ducks,” swindle, deceive) Don’t believe the canard that the school authorities are lacing the lunches with saltpeter on Fridays. |
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Term
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Definition
| grossly ignorant; coarse; indelicate. The more sensitive patrons of the pub were distressed by the crass jokes and jibes of the two inebriated lumberjacks. |
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Term
| disparity (n) [dis par f te] |
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Definition
| unlike or unequal. Companies can no longer tolerate the gross dis-parity in the wages of its male and female executives. |
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Term
| dispassionate (adj.) [dis pash fn it] |
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Definition
| lack of emotions; impartial. The dispassionate row of judges held up their score cards, ignoring the roar of approval from the partisan crowd. |
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Term
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Definition
| to rid or dispense with. “The effect of his tone was to dispel her shyness” (Henry James) |
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Term
| exacerbate (v) [eg zas fr bat] |
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Definition
| to make worse, as with pain, emotion, disease. Getting a park-ing ticket after losing his car keys exacerbated an already stressful shopping trip. |
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Term
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Definition
| to raise in position or power, status or the like. “Do away with masters, exalt the will of the people.” (D. H. Lawrence) |
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Term
| execute (v) [ek si kyoot] |
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Definition
| to carry out, to put into effect. The contestant received a low score for failure to execute the compulsory dive. |
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Term
| incidental (adj.) [in sf dent l] |
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Definition
| accidental; or minor importance. The budget allowed a small amount of money for incidental expenses. |
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Term
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Definition
| to provoke action; to stir up. Voiding the elections was sufficient reason to incite riots in the streets of Belgrade. |
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Term
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Definition
| supple; limber; graceful. The lithe and delicate figure of the prepubescent gymnast captured the hearts of the audience as she frolicked through her floor routine. |
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Term
| nepotism (n) [nep f tiz fm] |
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Definition
| favoritism granted by persons in high office to relatives. Congress decried the blatant nepotism of the President’s appointment of his nephew to the Ambas-sadorship. |
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Term
| predilection (n) [pred f lek shfn] |
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Definition
| a personal preference for something. Although some mod-ern art appeals to me, my predilection is for the Impressionists and Neo-Classical paintings. |
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Term
| ruminate (v) [roo mf nat] |
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Definition
| to chew cud; to mediate or muse. With a glazed look, the student looked over my head, occasionally ruminating her gum. |
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Term
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Definition
| lacking taste, spirit, life, or animation. If this autobiographical essay is accurate, then you must have the most vapid and boring life of any student at Monte Vista. |
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Term
| auspicious (adj.) [ô spish fs] |
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Definition
| favorable. Sailors consider a red sunset to be an auspicious indi-cation of good weather on the morrow. |
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Term
| concomitant (adj.) [kfn kom f tfnt] |
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Definition
| occurrence together or in connection with another; ac-companiment. The concomitant disasters of earthquake and fire destroyed most of San Fran-cisco in 1906. |
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Term
| debauchery (n) [ di o chf re] |
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Definition
| indulgence in sensual pleasures; intemperance. Nights of riotous debauchery were not uncommon among members of the Sigma Epsilon Chi fraternity. |
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Term
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Definition
| very cold; icy. The fisherman, entangled in his nets, was drawn beneath the gelid waters of the North Atlantic. |
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Term
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Definition
| to kill as a sacrifice; to slaughter or destroy. Nothing can lessen the grief of the survivors whose families were immolated by the thousands during the war. |
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Term
| incompatible (adj.) [in kfm pat f bfl] |
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Definition
| antagonistic; incapable of getting along together. The better the couple got to knew each other, the more they realized how incompatible they really were. |
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Term
| incongruous (adj.) [in kong groo fs] |
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Definition
| not corresponding; inconsistent. The plan to build a twenty story office building is incongruous with the residential nature of the community. |
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Term
| incorrigible (adj.) [in kor f jf bfl] |
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Definition
| incapable of being correct or reformed. “Even the most in-corrigible maverick has to be born somewhere.” (James Baldwin) |
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Term
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Definition
| excessively sentimental. “Goering and Hitler displayed an almost maudlin concern for the welfare of animals” (Aldous Huxley) |
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Term
| nefarious (adj.) [ni far e fs] evil |
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Definition
| ; infamous. The seniors devised a nefarious plot to hack into the school’s PA system and flood the school with bagpipe music. |
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Term
| perfunctory (adj.) [pfr fungk tf te] |
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Definition
| done or acting routinely and with little interest or care. The homework was done in a perfunctory manner and contained mostly incorrect answers. |
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Term
| prosaic (adj.) [pro za ik] |
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Definition
| matter of fact; straightforward; dull; ordinary. Used to challenging and imaginative work as a designer, the fashion creator looked down on the prosaic task of as-sembling the dressed. |
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Term
| revulsion (n) [ri vul shfn] |
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Definition
| strong feeling of disgust or loathing. His revulsion at having to take out the garbage was not helped by putting the task off for several days. |
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Term
| solemnity (n) [sf lem nf te] |
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Definition
| a solemn observance; seriousness. The solemnity of the gradua-tion ceremony was marred by the entrance of the Valedictorian wearing a clown costume. |
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Term
| termagant (adj.) [tur mf gfnt] |
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Definition
| a brawling, quarrelsome person; esp. a scolding or nagging woman. Joe tolerated his wife’s termagant bullying because he feared being like his own ab-usive and brutal father. |
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Term
| acerbity (n) [f sur be te] |
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Definition
| sourness of taste or manner; acrimony. Badger’s acerbity toward Toad’s behavior contrasts to Mole’s delighted acceptance of Toad’s whimsical antics. |
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Term
| contentious (adj.) [kfn ten shfs] |
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Definition
| given to argument; quarrelsome. Mrs. Joe was quite conten-tious until her injury made her complacent and mild mannered. |
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Term
| credulity (n) kri doo lf te] |
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Definition
| tendency to believe too readily; gullible. Preying on the senior citi-zen’s credulity, the swindler boasted of unbelievable returns from the investment. |
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Term
| dexterity (n) [dek ster f te] |
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Definition
| skill in the use of the hands. “He admired the dexterity with which their host directed the conversation.” (Joyce) |
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Term
| disputatious (adj.) [dis pyoo ta shfs] |
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Definition
| inclined to dispute or debate. The committee’s discus-sion was disputatious and the debate continued long into the night. |
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Term
| disseminate (v) [di sem f nat] |
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Definition
| to scatter; distribute or disperse; to spread, as seeds. By the 1940’s, ownership of radios by nearly every American made it possible to disseminate war in-formation in a timely manner. |
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Term
| exhaustive (adj.) [eg zos tiv] |
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Definition
| thorough, comprehensive. After an exhaustive study involving examining thousands of pieces of evidence, the investigators still had no clue to the cause of the crash. |
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Term
| expedient (adj.) [ek spe de fnt] |
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Definition
| appropriate to the purpose at hand; serving to promote one’s interest (perhaps unprincipled). Although it was probably illegal, it proved expedient for the departing employee to make a copy of his client list before he turned in his files. |
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Term
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Definition
| a complete failure. The “Gay 90’s” dance was a fiasco because it wasn’t clear to the attendees that the intended theme was the “Gay 1890’s”, not the 1990’s. |
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Term
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Definition
| to accuse or charge of a crime. The evidence was sufficient for the Grand Jury to indict the accused of participating in the murder. |
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Term
| indifferent (adj.) [in dif fr fnt] |
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Definition
| having no marked feelings one way of the other; apathetic; neutral. I am indifferent to the issue of which design should be adopted for the replacement Bay Bridge span; either proposal would suit me. |
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Term
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Definition
| to overwhelm; as if with a flood; to swamp. When it was rumored that she was no longer going with Ted, Elizabeth was inundated with dozens of invitations to the Junior Prom. |
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Term
| nostalgia (n) [no stal jf] |
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Definition
| a longing for things, persons, or situations that are not present. “[He harbored] a vague nostalgia for ancient aesthetic battles only dimly defined through the mists of memory” (Andrew Sarris) |
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Term
| paroxysm (n) [par fk siz fm] |
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Definition
| a sudden outburst or emotion or action. After reading the first line of the telegram from the War Department, “Dear Madam, We regret to inform you…,” the young woman threw herself to the floor in a paroxysm of sobbing. |
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Term
| redolent (adj.) [red f lfnt] |
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Definition
| having or emitting a fragrance. The boatyard was redolent with the smell of tar and varnish. |
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Term
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Definition
| disagree; differ. A true test of democracy is the tolerance of people who dissent from the majority opinion. (also n.) |
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Term
| dubious (adj.) [doo be fs] |
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Definition
| questionable; doubtful. He had the dubious distinction of being the school’s biggest flirt. |
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Term
| exuberance (adj.) [eg zoo bfr fns] |
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Definition
| demonstrating unrestrained high spirits; joyous. The class’s exuberance at the postponement of the quarter final vocabulary test produced cheers and shouts of glee. |
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Term
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Definition
| New England. to choose sides for a children’s game. “Come on, everyone,” shouted little Jeptha. “Let’s hosey up for a game of capture the flag.” |
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Term
| indiscriminate (adj.) [in dis krim f nit] |
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Definition
| random; haphazard; confused; not restrained. Her reading was indiscriminate but eclectic; she enjoyed all kinds of books. |
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Term
| indolent (adj.) [in df lfnt] |
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Definition
| habitually lazy. The duchess, bloated and indolent, rang impatient-ly for her servant girl to bring her another piece of chocolate cake. |
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Term
| indulgent (adj.) [in dul jfnt] |
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Definition
| lenient. My boss at the warehouse where I worked during high school was an indulgent employer who allowed me to do my homework if there were no orders to fill. |
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Term
| insipid (ajd) [in sip id] |
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Definition
| vapid; lacking flavor or zest. “I have no taste of these insipid dry dis-courses.” (Congreve) |
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Term
| insolvent (adj.) [in sol vfnt] |
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Definition
| unable to meet debts; bankrupt. Unless I can get a loan from the credit union, I will shortly find myself insolvent. |
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Term
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Definition
| civilian dress, especially when worn by one who normally wears a uni-form. It is somewhat of a shock to see the General on weekends, puttering around the yard in mufti as if he were a hired gardener instead of a decorated officer. |
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Term
| prolific (adj.) [pro lif ik] |
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Definition
| fertile; producing abundant works or results. Zane Gray was a prolific writer of American Western novels; authoring well over a hundred books during his lifetime. |
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Term
| sanctimonious (adj.) [sang tf mo ne fs] |
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Definition
| pretended piety or righteousness. The sanctimonious attitude of New England Puritans masked a society of religious intolerance and bigotry. |
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Term
| subterfuge (n) [sub tfr fyooj] |
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Definition
| a tactic to avoid criticism or awkward confrontation. Forging his mom’s signature on the absence note was weak subterfuge to avoid getting a cut. |
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Term
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Definition
| to spread through or over, as with liquid, color, or light. “The sky above the roof is suffused with deep colors” [Eugene O’Neill] |
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Term
| viridity (n) [vf rid i te] |
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Definition
| quality of being the color green; innocence or inexperience. The virid-ity of the fairways during the summer is due to the almost nightly watering by the groundskee-pers. |
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