Set 4 Flashcards
(12 cards)
antecedent
An antecedent is a thing that comes before something else. You might think rap music has no historical antecedent, but earlier forms of African American spoken verse go back for centuries.In logic, mathematics, and grammar, the word antecedent (from Latin ante-, “before” + cedere, “to yield”) has the meaning “the first part of a statement.” More generally, it means “something that came before, and perhaps caused, something else.” The word is also an adjective: a lawyer or judge might talk about the “antecedent events” leading up to someone committing a crime.
dilatory
Something dilatory creates a delay. If you are a high school student, once in a while you might have used dilatory tactics if you forgot to do your homework.The adjective dilatory comes from the Latin root word dilator, a noun that means someone who puts off things, or a procrastinator. If you are always late to appointments, people may accuse you of being dilatory, especially if they think you don’t have a good excuse.
dispassionate
Dispassionate describes someone who is not getting carried away by—or maybe not even having—feelings. It’s something you’d want to see in a surgeon, who keeps cool under pressure, but not in a romantic partner.Dispassionate is the opposite of passionate, and while passions are said to run “hot,” dispassionate people are often described as “cold.” A city marshal whose job is it to evict people behind on their rents must conduct their job with dispassionate fairness, but still, no one wants to be their friend.
egregious
Something that is egregious stands out, but not in a good way — it means “really bad or offensive,” like a tattoo on a man misspelling his girlfriend’s name.”My massage therapist gave me bruises,” someone complained recently on Twitter, asking, “When does it cease to be deep tissue massage therapy and become egregious and unabashed manhandling?” An egregious error is hardly forgivable. Some synonyms are shocking, appalling, and intolerable. The word has made a 180-degree turn from its original sense in Latin, when it meant “exceptionally good.” Word historians have speculated that the negative usage was originally meant to be ironic, but it is the only sense that has survived. Be careful not to use it to mean “outstanding,” since no one wants to be called egregious.
expostulate
The verb expostulate means to reason with someone against an intended course of action. Your parent you always expostulate about your really cool money-making ideas. They just don’t understand!Expostulate comes from the Latin word expostulare, meaning to demand urgently. The English word has lost its sense of demanding insistence. Synonyms for expostulate include object, protest, and remonstrate. Only expostulate, however, has the sense that the objection to the action and the argument against the action are offered in a friendly, reasonable manner. To expostulate is not to harangue into a different course of action, but to persuade.
halcyon
An old man watching his grandchildren play might look back fondly on his halcyon days, remembering the peaceful, happy time of his youth.The word halcyon comes from a story in Greek mythology about the halcyon bird, which had the power to calm the rough ocean waves every December so she could nest. Like those calm waters, halcyon has come to mean a sense of peace or tranquility. People often use the phrase halcyon days to refer idyllically to a calmer, more peaceful time in their past.
imposing
Imposing is an adjective reserved for those things that are impressive in the sense that they are large or serious, as in the US Capitol Building or even, say, a professional wrestler.When you look at the word imposing you see the word pose, which is useful in remembering what it means. A person who is imposing might strike a pose because they feel they have a lot to show. In fact, imposing is derived from the French verb imposer, which means “to inflict.” Its French roots may inspire you to envision the enormous and expensive wigs worn by members of the French court. The larger the wig, the more imposing it was. And all the more reason to strike a pose!
portend
Portend means to show a sign that something calamitous is about to happen. The teetering, tottering, pile of fine china piled up after the dinner party portends an imminent crash of broken plates and dishes.Portend is a verb warning of omens, or bad signs. Dark clouds rumbling in over a county fair in Kansas portend the thunderstorm and even tornado that is likely to ruin the festivities. Portend is a helpful way for authors to foreshadow dark events ahead in their stories.
Pyrrhic
Use the adjective pyrrhic to describe a victory that is won, but at too great a cost. In this use as an adjective, the word is often capitalized.The word pyrrhic comes from the Greek general, Pyrrhus, who defeated the Romans at the Battle of Asculum but lost so many troops that he couldn’t defeat Rome itself. If you are the winner in an argument with your brother, but the fight ends up ruining your relationship with him, it’s a Pyrrhic victory. An ancient Greek war dance is also called a pyrrhic.
sine qua non
Use the expression sine qua non as an impressive way of describing something that’s essential.Chocolate chips are the sine qua non of chocolate chip cookies, for example, and wind is a sine qua non for flying a kite. The term literally means “without which not” in Latin, and it was originally a legal term. These days, it’s used more generally to talk about anything that’s necessary.
sublimate
When you’re at a lecture and you feel restless, you’ve got to sublimate the desire to move around. That means you force the desire to be more subtle so you can continue listening — even if you don’t want to.Psychologists use the verb sublimate to describe the process of channeling intense energy into something useful or appropriate. Freud sublimated his desire to live at home with his mother, and he moved into his own apartment. Sublimate is related to the word sublime — both words come from the Latin word sublimare, which means “to raise up” or “to exalt.” So Freud’s finally getting his own place is, arguably, a superior — a more exalted — living situation.
succinct
short anSomething that is succinct is short and clear. If you’re going to be interviewed on television about your new book and only have a five minute slot, you’ll need to come up with a succinct version of your story.Succinct, meaning “short and to the point,” is from the Latin succingere, “to tuck up.” Often after you write a long essay, you realize you probably could have said the same thing in one or two succinct pages. If something is too succinct, we might call it terse. Another synonym is concise, which implies that unnecessary material has been removed. It’s the opposite of wordy.d clear; unnecessary material has been removed
