Chapter 1 Flashcards
Stentorian adj.
Of or pertaining to a stentor; extremely loud; powerful; as, a stentorian voice; stentorian lungs.
Stentor: A herald, in the Iliad, who had a very loud voice; hence,
any person having a powerful voice.
Cognoscenti n.
kon-yuh-‘shen-tee, kog-nuh-
persons who have superior knowledge and understanding of a particular field, especially in the fine arts, literature, and world of fashion.
remuneration n.
an equivalent given, as
for services, loss, or sufferings.
Hieratic adj.
hahy-uh-‘rat-ik, hahy-rat-
Consecrated to sacred uses; sacerdotal; pertaining to
priests.
Galvanized vb. n.
- to subject to the action of electric currents
2. To plate, as with gold, silver, etc., by means of electricity
missive n.
a message written
verisimilitude n.
ver-uh-si-‘mil-i-tood, -tyood
The quality or state of being verisimilar; the appearance of truth; probability; likelihood.
Crapulent, Crapulous adj.
‘krap-yuh-luh s
Surcharged with liquor; sick from excessive indulgence in liquor; drunk; given to excesses.
Moribund adj.
In a dying state; dying; at the point of death
Inviolate adj
in-‘vahy-uh-lit, -leyt
- Not violated; uninjured; unhurt; unbroken.
2. Not corrupted, defiled, or profaned; chaste; pure.
Dithyrambic adj
dith-uh-‘ram-bik
Pertaining to, or resembling, a dithyramb - a poem written in a wild irregular strain; wild and
boisterous. ``Dithyrambic sallies.’’ –Longfellow.
saturnine adj
Heavy; grave; gloomy; dull; – the opposite of
{mercurial}; as, a saturnine person or temper. –Addison.
Superannuate v
soo-per-‘an-yoo-‘eyt
- impair or disquality on account of age or infirmity.
- -Sir T. Browne. - To give a pension to, on account of old age or other infirmity; to cause to retire from service on a pension.
Polity n. with usage
- The form or constitution of the civil government of a
nation or state; the framework or organization by which
the various departments of government are combined into a
systematic whole. –Blackstone. Hooker. - Hence: The form or constitution by which any institution is organized; the recognized principles which lie at the
foundation of any human institution.
Nor is possible that any form of polity, much less polity ecclesiastical, should be good, unless God himself be author of it. –Hooker.
- Policy; art; management. [Obs.] –B. Jonson.
Syn: Policy.
Usage: {Polity}, {Policy}. These two words were originally the same. Polity is now confined to the structure of a
government; as, civil or ecclesiastical polity; while policy is applied to the scheme of management of
public affairs with reference to some aim or result; as, foreign or domestic policy. Policy has the further
sense of skillful or cunning management.
Depredations n.
the act of preying upon or plundering; robbery; ravage.
Byword n.
- a word or phrase associated with some person or thing; a characteristic expression, typical greeting, or the like.
- A common saying; a proverb; a saying that has a general
currency.
I knew a wise man that had it for a byword. –Bacon.
- An epithet, often of scorn
- The object of a contemptuous saying.
Thou makest us a byword among the heathen. –Ps.
xliv. 14
quay n.
kee, kwey
A mole, bank, or wharf, formed toward the sea, or at the side of a harbor, river, or other navigable water, for convenience in loading and unloading vessels.
comportment n.
Manner of acting; behavior; bearing.
tendentious adj.
having or showing a definite tendency, bias, or purpose: a tendentious novel.
locus n.
‘loh-kuhs
- a place; locality.
2. a center or source, as of activities or power: locus of control.
chancery n.
‘chan-suh-ree, chahn-
- In England, formerly, the highest court of judicature next to the Parliament, exercising jurisdiction at law, but chiefly in equity; but under the jurisdiction act of 1873 it became the chancery division of the High Court of Justice, and now exercises jurisdiction only in equity.
- In the Unites States, a court of equity; equity; proceeding in equity
farthing n.
a former bronze coin of Great Britain, equal to one-fourth of a British penny: withdrawn in 1961.
saccharine adj.
cloyingly agreeable or ingratiating
cloying adj.
- causing or tending to cause disgust or aversion through excess. filling to satiety, or disgust.
- overly ingratiating or sentimental.
surfeit adj. n.
‘sur-fit
an excessive amount, esp drinking or eating
Now comes the sick hour that his surfeit made. Shak.
Matter and argument have been supplied abundantly, and even to surfeit. Burke.
They are as sick that surfeit with too much as they that starve with nothing. Shak.
foment v.
foh-‘ment
- To apply a warm lotion to; to bathe with a cloth or sponge wet with warm water or medicated liquid.
- To cherish with heat; to foster.
Which these soft fires . . . foment and warm. Milton.
- To nurse to life or activity; to cherish and promote by excitements; to encourage; to abet; to instigate; – used
often in a bad sense; as, to foment ill humors. Locke.
But quench the choler you foment in vain. Dryden.
Exciting and fomenting a religious rebellion. Southey.
carping adj. n.
- fault-finding; censorious caviling
2. characterized by fussy or petulant faultfinding; querulous
captious adj.
- Apt to catch at faults; disposed to find fault or to cavil; eager to object; difficult to please.
A captius and suspicious. Stillingfleet.
I am sensible I have not disposed my materials to abide the test of a captious controversy. Bwike.
- Fitted to harass, perplex, or insnare; insidious; troublesome.
Captious restraints on navigation. Bancroft.
substratum n.
‘suhb-strey-tuh m
- That which is laid or spread under; that which underlies something, as a layer of earth lying under another; specifically (Agric.), the subsoil.
- (Metaphysics) the matter or substance supposed to furnish the basis in which the perceptible qualities inhere.
jingo -oes n.
- A statesman who pursues, or who favors, aggressive, domineering policy in foreign affairs.
- A word used as a jocular oath.
diction n.
- Choice of words for the expression of ideas; the construction, disposition, and application of words in discourse, with regard to clearness, accuracy, variety, etc.; mode of expression; language; as, the diction of Chaucer’s poems.
His diction blazes up into a sudden explosion of prophetic grandeur. De Quincey.
Usage. Style relates both to language and thought; diction, to language only; phraseology, to the mechanical structure of sentences, or the mode in which they are phrased. The style of Burke was enriched with all the higher graces of composition; his diction was varied and copious; his phraseology, at times, was careless and cumbersome. Diction is a general term applicable alike to a single sentence or a connected composition. Errors in grammar, false construction, a confused disposition of words, or an improper application of them, constitute bad diction; but the niceties, the elegancies, the peculiarities, and the beauties of composition, which mark the genius and talent of the writer, are what is comprehended under the name of style.” Crabb.
phraseology n.
frey-zee-‘ol-uh-jee
- expressions; manner of expression; phrases;
expansionist adj.
- characterized by a policy of expansion, as of territory or currency
tableau n.
- A striking and vivid representation; a picture.
- A representation of some scene by means of persons grouped in the proper manner, placed in appropriate postures, and remaining silent and motionless.
puckish adj.
resembling Puck, merrily mischevious
Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, is a character in William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream that was based on the ancient figure in English mythology, also called Puck.
dearth n.
- Scarcity which renders dear; want; lack; specifically, lack of food on account of failure of crops; famine.
He with her press’d, she faint with dearth. Shak.
Dearth of plot, and narrowness of imagination. Dryden.
sententious adj.
- Abounding with sentences, axioms, and maxims; full of meaning; terse and energetic in expression; pithy; as, a sententious style or discourse; sententious truth.
How he apes his sire, Ambitiously sententious! Addison.
- given to excessive moralizing; self-righteous.
- Comprising or representing sentences; sentential
shadow economy n.
black market transactions and other illicit commercial activity
neologism n.
nee-‘ol-uh-jiz-uh m
- The introduction of new words, or the use of old words in a new sense. Mrs. Browning.
- A new word, phrase, or expression.
- A new doctrine; specifically, rationalism.
platitude n.
- The quality or state of being flat, thin, or insipid; flat commonness; triteness; staleness of ideas of language.
To hammer one golden grain of wit into a sheet of infinite platitude. Motley.
- A thought or remark which is flat, dull, trite, or weak; a truism; a commonplace.
expurgate v.
To purify; to clear from anything noxious, offensive, or erroneous; to cleanse; to purge; as, to expurgate a book.
natter v.
to talk incessantly
cosset v.
To treat as a pet; to fondle.
She was cosseted and posseted and prayed over and made much of. O. W. Holmes.
plutocrat n.
One whose wealth gives him power or influence
omnium gatherum n.
a collection of miscellaneous people or things
cadge v.
- to obtain by imposing on another’s generosity or friendship.
- to borrow without intent to repay.
- to beg or obtain by begging.
dowager n.
‘dou-uh-jer
- a woman who holds some title or property from her deceased husband, especially the widow of a king, duke, etc. (often used as an additional title to differentiate her from the wife of the present king, duke, etc.):
a queen dowager; an empress dowager. - an elderly woman of stately dignity, especially one of elevated social position:
circumlocution n.
- The use of many words to express an idea that might be expressed by few; indirect or roundabout language.
The plain Billingagate way of calling names . . . would save abundance of time lost by circumlocution. Swift.
insolvent adj.
- unable to satisfy creditors or discharge liabilities, either because liabilities exceed assets or because of inability to pay debts as they mature.
2 .pertaining to bankrupt persons or bankruptcy.
upbraiding adj. n.
- The acts or words of a person who upbraids. severe reproof or censure
- A charging with something wrong or disgraceful; the act of reproaching or reproving.
I have too long borne your blunt upbraidings.
- The reproaches or accusations of conscience.
precepts n.
- a commandment or direction given as a rule of action or conduct.
- an injunction as to moral conduct; maxim.
- a procedural directive or rule, as for the performance of some technical operation.
bilking n.
- A thwarting an adversary in cribbage by spoiling his score; a balk.
- A cheat; a trick; a hoax. Hudibras.
- Nonsense; vain words. B. Jonson.
- A person who tricks a creditor; an untrustworthy, tricky person. Marryat.
toadying n.
- obsequious flattery; sycophancy
obsequious adj.
- Promptly obedient, or submissive, to the will of another; compliant; yielding to the desires of another; devoted.
His servants weeping, Obsequious to his orders, bear him hither. Addison.
- Servilely or meanly attentive; compliant to excess; cringing; fawning; as, obsequious flatterer, parasite.
xenophobia n.
an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.
fatuous adj.
‘fach-oo-uh s
- Feeble in mind; weak; silly; stupid; foolish; fatuitous. Glanvill.
- Without reality; illusory, like the ignis fatuus.
Thence fatuous fires and meteors take their birth. Danham.
jaunty adj.
- airy, showy, easy and sprightly in manner or bearing
2. smartly trim, as clothing
inhume v.
- To deposit, as a dead body, in the earth; to bury; to inter.
Weeping they bear the mangled heaps of slain, Inhume the natives in their native plain. Pope.
- To bury or place in warm earth for chemical or medicinal purposes.
leaden v. n.
- inertly heavy like lead; hard to lift or move:
a leaden weight; leaden feet. - dull, spiritless, or gloomy, as in mood or thought:
leaden prose; a leaden atmosphere. - of a dull gray color
- oppressive; heavy
- sluggish; listless
- of poor quality or little value.
- made or consisting of lead.
rend v.
- to separate into parts with force or violence
- to tear apart, split, or divide
- to pull or tear violently (often followed by away, off, up, etc.).
- to tear (one’s garments or hair) in grief, rage, etc.
excision n.
- the act of removal
- (Eccl.) The act of cutting off from the church; excommunication.
Such conquerors are the instruments of vengeance on those nations that have . . . grown ripe for excision. Atterbury.
- (Surgery.) the surgical removal of a foreign body or of tissue.
umbrageous adj.
- Forming or affording a shade; shady; shaded; as, umbrageous trees or foliage.
Umbrageous grots and caves Of cool recess, o’er which the mantling vine Lays forth her purple grape. Milton.
- Not easily perceived, as if from being darkened or shaded; obscure. [Obs.] Sir H. Wotton.
- Feeling jealousy or umbrage; taking, or disposed to take, umbrage; suspicious.
wistful adj.
- Longing; wishful; desirous.
Lifting up one of my sashes, I cast many a wistful, melancholy look towards the sea. Swift.
- Full of thought; eagerly attentive; meditative; musing; pensive; contemplative.
That he who there at such an hour hath been, Will wistful linger on that hallowed spot. Byron.
augur v.
- To conjecture from signs or omens; to prognosticate; to foreshow.
My auguring mind assures the same success. Dryden.
- To anticipate, to foretell, or to indicate a favorable or an unfavorable issue; as, to augur well or ill.
epithet n.
- An adjective expressing some quality, attribute, or relation, that is properly or specially appropriate to a person or thing; as, a just man; a verdant lawn.
A prince [Henry III.] to whom the epithet worthless” seems best applicable. Hallam.
- Term; expression; phrase.
Stiffed with epithets of war.” Shak. Syn. – Epithet, Title.
The name epithet was formerly extended to nouns which give a title or describe character (as the epithet of liar”), but is now confined wholly to adjectives. Some rhetoricians, as Whately, restrict it still further, considering the term epithet as belonging only to a limited class of adjectives, viz., those which add nothing to the sense of their noun, but simply hold forth some quality necessarily implied therein; as, the bright sun, the lofty heavens, etc. But this restriction does not prevail in general literature. Epithet is sometimes confounded with application, which is always a noun or its equivalent.
consternation n.
Amazement or horror that confounds the faculties, and incapacitates for refletion; terror, combined with amazement; dismay.
querulous adj.
- Given to quarreling; quarrelsome.
- Apt to find fault; habitually complaining; disposed to murmur; as, a querulous man or people.
Enmity can hardly be more annoying that querulous, jealous, exacting fondness. Macaulay.
- Expressing complaint; fretful; whining; as, a querulous tone of voice. Syn. – Complaining; bewailing; lamenting; whining; mourning; murmuring; discontented; dissatisfied.
decorous adj.
Suitable to a character, or to the time, place, and occasion; marked with decorum; becoming; proper; seemly; befitting; as, a decorous speech; decorous behavior.
A decorous pretext the war. Motley.
partiality n.
- The quality or state of being partial; inclination to favor one party, or one side of a question, more than the other; undue bias of mind.
- A predilection or inclination to one thing rather than to others; special taste or liking; as, a partiality for poetry or painting. Roget.
condoling n.
- Expressing grief at another’s loss
2. Grieving at another’s distress
wanton adj.
- Untrained; undisciplined; unrestrained; hence, loose; free; luxuriant; roving; sportive.
In woods and wanton wilderness.” Spenser.
A wild and wanton herd.” Shak.
A wanton and a merry [friar]. Chaucer.
[She] her unadorned golden tresses wore Disheveled, but in wanton ringlets waved. Milton.
How does your tongue grow wanton in her praise! Addison.
- Wandering from moral rectitude; perverse; dissolute.
Men grown wanton by prosperity.” Roscommon.
- Specifically: Deviating from the rules of chastity; lewd; lustful; lascivious; libidinous; lecherous.
Not with wanton looking of folly. Chaucer.
[Thou art] froward by nature, enemy to peace, Lascivious, wanton. Shak.
- Reckless; heedless; as, wanton mischief.
dipsomaniac n.
One who has an irrepressible desire for alcoholic drinks.
prince-nez n.
pansˌnā
a pair of eyeglasses with a nose clip instead of earpieces
venery n.
the gratification of sexual desire
habitué n.
a frequent or habitual visitor to a place
raffish adj.
mildly or sometimes engagingly disreputable or nonconformist; rakish:
A sad, raffish, disreputable character. Thackeray.
profligacy adj.
a state of being abandoned in moral principle and in vice; dissoluteness.
bated adj.
Reduced; lowered; restrained; as, to speak with bated breath. Macaulay.
promissory n.
prom-uh-sawr-ee, -sohr-ee
Containing a promise or binding declaration of something to be done or forborne
risible adj.
- Having the faculty or power of laughing; disposed to laugh.
Laughing is our business, . . . it has been made the definition of man that he is risible. Dr. H. More.
- Exciting laughter; worthy to be laughed at; amusing.
Risible absurdities.” Johnson.
I hope you find nothing risible in my complaisance. Sir W. Scott.
disconsulate adj.
- Destitute of consolation; deeply dejected and dispirited; hopelessly sad; comfortless; filled with grief; as, a bereaved and disconsolate parent.
One morn a Peri at the gate Of Eden stood disconsolate. Moore.
The ladies and the knights, no shelter nigh, Were dropping wet, disconsolate and wan. Dryden.
- Inspiring dejection; saddening; cheerless; as, the disconsolate darkness of the winter nights. Ray.
morass n.
muh-‘ras
A tract of soft, wet ground; a marsh
demur v. n.
dih-‘mur
- To linger; to stay; to tarry. [Obs.]
Yet durst not demur nor abide upon the camp. Nicols.
- To delay; to pause; to suspend proceedings or judgment in view of a doubt or difficulty; to hesitate; to put off the determination or conclusion of an affair.
Upon this rub, the English embassadors thought fit to demur. Hayward.
- To scruple or object; to take exception; as, I demur to that statement.
putative adj.
Commonly thought or deemed; supposed; reputed; as, the putative father of a child.
Thus things indifferent, being esteemed useful or pious, became customary, and then came for reverence into a putative and usurped authority. Jer. Taylor.
legitimist n.
a supporter of legitimate authority, especially of a claim to a throne based on direct descent.
lubricity n.
- Smoothness; freedom from friction; also, property, which diminishes friction; as, the lubricity of oil. Ray.
- Shiftiness; slipperiness; instability; fleeting nature;
as, the lubricity of fortune. L’Estrange.
- lewdness; lustfulness: lasciviousness; salaciousness.
chastened adj.
Corrected; disciplined; refined; purified; toned down.
Of such a finished chastened purity. Tennyson.
boîte n.
bwaht
a nightclub, cabaret
spate n.
a sudden, almost overwhelming, outpouring; inundation
teetotaler n.
One pledged to entire abstinence from all intoxicating drinks.
longueur n.
a long and boring passage in a literary work, drama, musical composition, or or the like
morpheme n.
any of the minimal grammatical units of a language, each constituting a word or meaningful part of a word, that cannot be divided into smaller independent grammatical parts, as the, write, or the -ed of waited.
phoneme n.
(Linguistics) any of a small set of units, usually about 20 to 60 in number, and different for each language, considered to be the basic distinctive units of speech sound by which morphemes, words, and sentences are represented. They are arrived at for any given language by determining which differences in sound function to indicate a difference in meaning, so that in English the difference in sound and meaning between pit and bit is taken to indicate the existence of different labial phonemes, while the difference in sound between the unaspirated p of spun and the aspirated p of pun, since it is never the only distinguishing feature between two different words, is not taken as ground for setting up two different p phonemes in English.
fungible adj.
(especially of goods) being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind.
euphonious adj.
Pleasing or sweet in sound; euphonic; characterized by euphony; smooth-sounding.
jejune adj.
- Lacking matter; empty; void of substance.
2. Void of interest; barren; meager; dry; as, a jejune narrative.
cant n.
- insincere, especially conventional expressions of enthusiasm for high ideals, goodness, or piety.
- An affected, singsong mode of speaking.
endemic adj.
- natural to or characteristic of a specific people or place; native; indigenous
- belonging exclusively or confined to a particular place
slipshod adj.
‘slip-shod
- Careless in dress, manners, style, etc.; slovenly; shuffling; as, slipshod manners; a slipshod or loose style of writing.
jeune premier n.
‘zhœn pruh-myey
- the male juvenile lead in a play or movie
sacrosanct
- Sacred; inviolable.
uppish adj.
- Proud; arrogant; assuming; putting on airs of superiority.
pugilism n.
- the art or practice of fighting with the fists; boxing.
barrister
- Counselor at law; a counsel admitted to plead at the bar, and undertake the public trial of causes, as distinguished from an attorney or solicitor.
- Any lawyer.
prattle v.
- To talk much and idly; to prate; hence, to talk lightly and artlessly, like a child; to utter child’s talk.
- to talk in a foolish or simple-minded way; chatter; babble.
finery n.
- Fineness; beauty.
Don’t choose your place of study by the finery of the prospects. I. Watts.
- Ornament; decoration; especially, excecially decoration; showy clothes; jewels.
pandemic adj. n.
- Affecting a whole people or a number of countries; everywhere epidemic.
- General; universal.
contrite adj.
- Caused by or showing sincere remorse.
- Broken down with grief and penitence; deeply sorrowful for sin because it is displeasing to God; humbly and thoroughly penitent.
abetted adj.
- Incited, aided, encouraged to a crime.
pluralism
- Philosophy.
a. a theory that there is more than one basic substance or principle.
b. a theory that reality consists of two or more independent elements.
2. Ecclesiastical. the holding by one person of two or more offices at the same time.
rococo adj.
- a style of architecture and decoration, originating in France about 1720, evolved from Baroque types and distinguished by its elegant refinement in using different materials for a delicate overall effect and by its ornament of shellwork, foliage, etc.
- a homophonic musical style of the middle 18th century, marked by a generally superficial elegance and charm and by the use of elaborate ornamentation and stereotyped devices.
- (initial capital letter) Fine Arts. noting or pertaining to a style of painting developed simultaneously with the rococo in architecture and decoration, characterized chiefly by smallness of scale, delicacy of color, freedom of brushwork, and the selection of playful subjects as thematic material.
designating a corresponding style of sculpture, chiefly characterized by diminutiveness of Baroque forms and playfulness of theme. - of, pertaining to, in the manner of, or suggested by rococo architecture, decoration, or music or the general atmosphere and spirit of the rococo:
rococo charm. - ornate or florid in speech, literary style, etc.
pantomime
pantomime
congeries
congeries
prosaic
prosaic
