160-161, 254-255 Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in 160-161, 254-255 Deck (85)
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1
Q

luc - light

A

elucidate- enlighten
lucid-clear
translucent- allowing some light to pass through

2
Q

magn - great

A

magnify- enlarge
magnanimity- generosity, greatness of soul
magnitude- greatness, extent

3
Q

mal - bad

A

malevolent- wishing evil
malediction- curse
malefactor- evil doer

4
Q

man - hand

A

manufacture- create (make by hand)
manuscript- written by hand
emancipate- free (let go from the hand)

5
Q

mar - sea

A

maritime- connected with seafaring
submarine - undersea craft
mariner- seaman

6
Q

mater, matr - mother

A

maternal- pertaining to motherhood
matriarch- female ruler of a family, group, or state
matrilineal- descending on the mother’s side

7
Q

mit, miss - to send

A

missile- projectile
dismiss- send away
transit- send across

8
Q

mob, mot, mov - move

A

mobilize- cause to move
motility- ability to move
immovable- not able to be moved

9
Q

mon, monit - to warn

A

admonish- warn
premonition- foreboding
monitor- watcher (warner)

10
Q

mori, mort - to die

A

mortuary- funeral parlor
moribund- dying
immortal- not dying

11
Q

morph - shape, form

A

amorphous- formless, lacking shape
metamorphosis- changing of shape
anthropomorphic- in the shape of a man

12
Q

mut - change

A

immutable- not able to be changed
mutate- undergo a great change
mutability- changeableness, inconstancy

13
Q

nat - born

A

innate- from birth
prenatal- before birth
nativity- birth

14
Q

nav - ship

A

navigate- sail a ship
circumnavigate- said around the world
naval- pertaining to ships

15
Q

grad, gress - go,step

A

digress- go astray (from the main point)
regress- go backwards
gradual- step by step, by degrees

16
Q

graph, gram - writing

A

epigram- pithy statement
telegram- instantaneous message over great distance
stenography- shorthand (writing narrowly)

17
Q

greg - flock, herd

A

gregarious- tending to group together as in a herd
aggregate- group, total
egregious- conspicuously bad; shocking

18
Q

helio - sun

A

heliotrope- flower that faces the sun

heliograph- instrument that uses the sun’s rays to send signals

19
Q

it, itiner - journey, road

A

exit- way out

itinerary- plan of journey

20
Q

jac, jact, jec - to throw

A

projectile- missile; something thrown forward
trajectory- path taken by thrown object
ejaculatory- casting or throwing out

21
Q

jur, jurat - to swear

A

perjure- testify falsely
jury- group of men and women sworn to seek the truth
adjuration- solemn urging

22
Q

labor, laborat - to work

A

laboratory- place where work is done
collaborate- work together with others
laborious- difficult

23
Q

leg, lect, lig - to choose, to read

A

election- choice
legible- able to read
eligible- able to be selected

24
Q

leg - law

A

legislature- law-making body
legitimate- lawful
legal- lawful

25
Q

liber, libr - book

A

library- collection of books
libretto- the “book” of a musical play
libel- slander (originally found in a little book)

26
Q

liber - free

A

liberation- the fact of setting free

liberal- generous (giving freely); tolerant

27
Q

log - work, study

A

entomology- study of insects
etymology- study of words parts and derivations
monologue- speech by one person

28
Q

loqu, locut - to talk

A

soliloquy- speech by one individual
loquacious - talkative
elocution - speech

29
Q

brevity (n.) - conciseness

A

Brevity is essential when you send a telegram or cablegram; you are charged for every word.
Ex: shortness, briefness

30
Q

bristling (adj.) - rising like bristles; showing irritation

A

The dog stood there, bristling with anger.

Ex: become upset

31
Q

brittle (adj.) easily broken; difficult.

A

My employer’s self-control was as brittle as an egg-shell. Her brittle personality made if difficult for me to get along with her.
Ex: fragile, irritable

32
Q

broach (v.) introduce; open up.

A

Jack did not even try to broach the subject of religion with his in-laws. If you broach a touchy subject, it may cause a breach.
Ex: bring up a topic, mention

33
Q

brunt (n.) main impact or shock.

A

Tom Sawyer claimed credit for painting the fence, but the brunt of the work fell on others. However, he bore the brunt of Aunt Polly’s complaints when the paint began to peel.
Ex: bad end of a situation

34
Q

brusque (adj.) blunt; abrupt

A

Was Bruce too brusque when he brushed off Bob’s request with a curt “Not now!”?
Ex: brief

35
Q

buccaneer (n.) pirate

A

At Disneyland the Pirates of the Caribbean sing a song about their loves as bloody buccaneers.
Ex: pirates raid, steal loot

36
Q

bucolic (adj.) rustic; pastoral

A

Filled with browsing cows and bleating sheep, the meadow was charmingly bucolic sight.
Ex: rural

37
Q

buffet (v.) slap, batter; knock about.

A

To buffet something is to rough it up. (Buffet rhymes with Muffett. Was Miss Muffett buffeted by the crowd on the way to the buffet tray?

38
Q

buffoonery (n.) clowning

A

In the Ace Ventura movies, Jim Carrey’s buffoonery was hilarious: like Bozo the Clown, he’s a natural buffoon.

39
Q

bulwark (n.) earthwork or other strong defenses; person who defends.

A

The navy is our principal bulwark against invasion.

40
Q

Bumptious (adj.) self-assertive

A

His classmates called him a show-off because of his bumptious airs.

41
Q

Bungle (v.) mismanage; blunder.

A

Don’t botch this assignment, Bumstead; if you bungle the job, you’re fired!

42
Q

Buoyant (adj.) able to float; cheerful and optimistic.

A

When the boat capsized, her buoyant life jacket kept Jody afloat. Scrambling back on board, she was still buoyant mood, certain that despite the delay she’d win the race.

43
Q

burgeon (v.) grow forth; send out buds.

A

In the spring plants that burgeon are a promise of the beauty that come.

44
Q

burlesque (v.) give an imitation that ridicules.

A

In Space Rick Moranis burlesques Darth Vader of Star Wars, ingeniously parodying Vader’s stiff walk and hollow voice.

45
Q

burly (adj.) husky; muscular.

A

The burly mover lifter a packing crate with ease.

46
Q

burnish (v.) make shiny by rubbing; polish.

A

The maid burnished the brass fixtures until they reflected the lamplight

47
Q

bustle (v.) move about energetically; teem

A

David and his children bustled about the house getting in each other’s way as they tried to pack for the camping trip. The whole house bustled with activity

48
Q

buttress (v.) support; prop up

A

The attorney came up with several far-fetched arguments in a vain attempt to buttress his weak case

49
Q

buxom (adj.) plump; full bosomed

A

Fashion models, and usually slim and willowy rather than buxom

50
Q

cabal (n.) small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests

A

The cabal was defeated when the scheme was discovered.

51
Q

cache (n.) hiding place.

A

The detectives followed the suspect until he led them to the cache where he has stored his loot. He had cached the cash in a bag for trash: it was a hefty sum.

52
Q

cacophonous (adj.) discordant; inharmonious

A

Do the students in the orchestra enjoy the cacophonous sound they can stand the racket. cacophony.

53
Q

cadaver (n.) corpse

A

In some states, it is illegal to dissect cadavers.

54
Q

cadence (n.) rhythmic rise and fall ( of words or sounds); beat

A

Marching down the road, the troops sang out, following the cadence set by the sergeant.

55
Q

cajole (v.) coax; wheedle

A

Diane tired to cajole her father into letting her drive the family car. cajolery.

56
Q

calamity (n.) disaster; misery.

A

As news of the calamity spread,offers of relief poured in to the stricken community.

57
Q

caldron (n.) large kettle

A

“why, Mr. Crusoe,” said the savage heating the giant caldron, “wed love to have you for dinner!”

58
Q

caliber (n.) ability; quality

A

The scholarship commitee searched for students of high caliber, ones with the intelligence and ability to be a credit to the school.

59
Q

callous (adj) hardened; unfeeling

A

He had worked in the hospital for so many years that he was callous to the suffering in the wards.

60
Q

callow (adj) youthful; immature, inexperienced

A

As a freshman Jack was sure he was a man of the world; as a sophomore, he made fun of freshmen as callow youths. In both cases, his judgment showed just how callow he was.

61
Q

calorific (adj.) heat-producing

A

Coal is much more calorific than green wood

62
Q

calumny (n.) malicious, ,misrepresentation; slander

A

he could endure his financial failure, but he could not bear the calumny that his foes heaped upon him.

63
Q

camaraderie (n.) good-fellowship.

A

what he loved lest about his job was the sense of camaraderie he and his coworkers shared.

64
Q

candor (n.) frankness; open honesty.

A

Jack can carry candor too far; when he told Jill his honest opinion of her, she nearly slapped his face

65
Q

canny (adj.) shrewd thrifty

A

The canny Scotsman was more than a match for the swindlers

66
Q

cant (n.) insincere expressions of piety; jargon of thieves

A

Shocked by the news of minister’s extramarital love affairs, the worshippers dismissed his talk about the sacredness of marriage as mere cant. Cant is a form of hypocrisy; those who can, pray; those who cant, pretend.

67
Q

cantankerous (adj.) ill humored; irritable.

A

Constantly complaining about his treatment and refusing to cooperate with hospital staff, he was a cantankerous patient.

68
Q

canter (n) slow gallop

A

Because the race horse had outdistanced its competition so easily, the reporter wrote that the race was won in a canter

69
Q

capitulate (v.) surrender.

A

The enemy was warned to capitulate or face annihilation.

70
Q

capricious (adj.) unpredictable, fickle, fanciful

A

The storm was capricious: it changed course constantly, Jill was capricious too, she changed boyfriends almost as often as she hanged clothes.

71
Q

captivate (v.) charm or enthrall.

A

Bart and Lisa were captivated by their new nanny;s winning manner.

72
Q

cardinal (adj.) chief.

A

If you want to increase your word power, the cardinal rule of vocabulary building is to read.

73
Q

careen (v.) lurch; sway from side to side

A

The taxicab careened wildly as it rounded the corner.

74
Q

caricature (n.) exaggerated picture or description; distortion

A

The cartoonist’s caricature of President Bush grossly exaggerated the size of the president;s ears.

75
Q

carnal (adj.) fleshly

A

Is the public more interested in carnal pleasures than in spiritual matters? Compare the number of people who read PLayboy daily to the number of those who read the Bible or Koran every day.

76
Q

carnivorous (adj.) meat-eating

A

The lion’s a carnivorous beast A hunk of meat makes up his feast. A cow is not a carnivore. She likes the taste of grain, not gore.

77
Q

carping (adj.) finding fault.

A

A carping critic is a nit-picker: he loves to point out flaws. If you don’t like this definition, feel free to carp.

78
Q

castigate (v.) criticize severely; punish

A

When the teacher threathened that she would castigate the mischievous boys if they didn’t behave, they shaped up in a hurry.

79
Q

cataclysm (n.) violent upheaval, deluge

A

The Russian Revolution was a political and social cataclysm that overturned czarist society.

80
Q

catalyst (n.) agent which brings about a chemical change while it remains unaffected and unchanged

A

Many chemical reactions cannot take place without the presence of a catalyst.

81
Q

cataract (n.) great waterfall; eye abnormality

A

She gazed with awe at the mighty cataract known as Niagara Falls.

82
Q

canto (n.) division of a long poem

A

DAnte’s poetic masterpiece The Divine Comedy is divided into cantos.

83
Q

canvass (v.) determine votes, etc,

A

After cavassing the sentments of his constituents, the congrssman was confident that he represented the majority option of his districts.

84
Q

capacious (adj.) spacious.

A

In the capacious rotunda of the railroad terminal, thousands of travelers lingered while waiting for their train.

85
Q

browbeat (v.) bully; intimidate

A

Billy resisted Ted’s attempts browbeat him into handing over his lunch money.