Unit22 Flashcards
acerbic
Sharp or biting in temper, mood, or tone.
eg. She had enjoyed his acerbic humor for years, but then a friend told her about the nasty jokes he was making about her behind her back.
acrid
Unpleasantly sharp and harsh; bitter.
eg. The acrid odor of gunpowder hung in the air long after the shots’ echoes had died away.
acrimony
Harsh or bitter sharpness in words, manner, or temper.
eg. Town meetings here were usually civilized, and no one could recall an issue that had ever aroused such intense acrimony as the new pulp mill.
exacerbate
To make worse, more violent, or more severe.
eg. The increase in coal-burning power plants has greatly exacerbated the buildup of greenhouse gases.
stricture
(1) A law or rule that limits or controls something; restriction.
(2) A strong criticism.
eg. There are severe legal strictures on the selling of marijuana in almost every state.
restrictive
(1) Serving or likely to keep within bounds.
(2) Serving or tending to place under limits as to use.
eg. The deed to the property had a restrictive covenant forbidding any development of the land for 50 years.
constrict
(1) To draw together or make narrow.
(2) To limit.
eg. She felt that small towns, where everyone seems to know every move you make and is just waiting to gossip about it, can constrict your life terribly.
vasoconstrictor
Something such as a nerve fiber or a drug that narrows a blood vessel.
eg. For operations like this, my dentist likes to use a vasoconstrictor to keep bleeding to a minimum.
deconstruction
Analysis of texts, works of art, and cultural patterns that is intended to expose the assumptions on which they are based, especially by exposing the limitations of language.
eg. Deconstruction has been performed on Huckleberry Finn by English professors so many times that it’s a wonder there’s anything left of it.
infrastructure
(1) The underlying foundation or basic framework.
(2) A system of public works.
eg. The public loved her speeches about crime but dozed off when she brought up highway repair and infrastructure deterioration.
construe
(1) To explain the arrangement and meaning of words in a sentence.
(2) To understand or explain; interpret.
eg. She asked how I had construed his last e-mail, and I told her that something about it had left me very worried.
instrumental
(1) Acting as a means, agent, or tool.
(2) Relating to an instrument, especially a musical instrument.
eg. His mother had been instrumental in starting the new arts program at the school, for which she was honored at the spring ceremony.
proprietary
(1) Relating to an owner or proprietor; made or sold by one who has the sole right to do so.
(2) Privately owned and run as a profit-making organization.
eg. The local hospital was a not-for-profit institution, whereas the nearby nursing homes were proprietary.
propriety
(1) The state of being proper; appropriateness.
(2) Acting according to what is socially acceptable, especially in conduct between the sexes.
eg. Propriety used to forbid a young unmarried man and woman to go almost anywhere without an adult.
appropriate
(1) To take exclusive possession of, often without right. (2) To set apart for a particular purpose or use.
eg. It was one of those insulting words that sometimes get appropriated by a group that it’s meant to insult, which then starts using it proudly and defiantly.
expropriate
(1) To take away the right of possession or ownership. (2) To transfer to oneself.
eg. It was only when the country’s new government threatened to expropriate the American oil refineries that Congress became alarmed.
tort
A wrongful act that does not involve breach of contract and for which the injured party can receive damages in a civil action.
eg. The manufacturer was almost bankrupted by the massive tort actions brought by employees harmed by asbestos.
extort
To obtain from a person by force, threats, or illegal power.
eg. She had tried to extort money from a film star, claiming that he was the father of her baby.
contort
To twist in a violent manner.
eg. The governor’s explanation of his affair was so contorted that it only made matters worse for him.
tortuous
(1) Having many twists, bends, or turns; winding.
(2) Crooked or tricky; involved, complex.
eg. The road over the mountains was long and dangerously tortuous, and as you rounded the sharp corners you could never see whether a huge truck might be barreling down toward you.
vivacious
Lively in an attractive way.
eg. For the cheerleading squad, only the most outgoing, energetic, and vivacious of the students get chosen.
bon vivant
A sociable person with a love of excellent food and drink.
eg. My uncle and aunt were bons vivants, and could usually be found in the evening at a swank midtown bar surrounded by a crowd of tipsy merrymakers.
revivify
To give new life to; bring back to life.
eg. All their efforts to revivify the boys’ club seemed to be getting them nowhere, till one of the board members had a great idea.
vivisection
Operation on living animals, often for experimental purposes.
eg. The lab attempts to avoid vivisection in its research, concentrating instead on alternative methods that have been developed.
