Word List 15 Flashcards
(103 cards)
expiate
to extinguish the guild incurred by
to make amends for
e.g. Yom Kippur is the holy day on which Jews are expected to expiate sins committed during the past year.
explicate
to give a detailed explanation of
to develop the implications of; analyze logically
e.g. The physicist did his best to explicate the wave theory of light for the audience of laymen.
inchoate
being only partly in existence or operation; incipient; especially, imperfectly formed or formulated; formless, incoherent
e.g. inchoate feelings of affection for a man whom she had, up till now, thought of as only a friend
tacit
expressed or carried on without words or speech
implied or indicated (as by an act or by silence) but not actually expressed
e.g. tacit consent
tacit admission of guilt
immanent
indwelling, inherent
being within the limits of possible experience or knowledge
e.g. Beauty is not something imposed but something immanent.
a question as to whether altruism is immanent in all individuals or is instead acquired from without
exponent
one that expounds or interprets
one that champions, practices, or exemplifies
e.g. She has become one of America’s foremost exponents of the romantic style in interior design.
exposition
a setting forth of the meaning or purpose (as of a writing)
discourse or an example of it designed to convey information or explain what is difficult to understand
a public exhibition or show
e.g. a clear exposition of his ideas
the great Paris Exposition of 1899
repose
to lay at rest; to lie dead; to take a rest
to rest for support; lie
also
e.g. Typically the wealthy socialite spends most of the morning in repose, is served lunch, and then embarks on an exhaustive afternoon of shopping.
Her face in repose is grave and thoughtful.
expository
- exposition
e. g. an expository piece on the workings of the internal-combustion engine
expostulate
express strong disapproval or disagreement
e.g. Jim expostulated with the teacher’s opinion to no avail.
I expostulated with him in vain.
expound
to set forth; state
to defend with argument
to explain by setting forth in careful and often elaborate detail
e.g. The article expounds the virtues of a healthy diet.
expressly
in an express manner; explicitly
for the express purpose; particularly, specifically
e.g. expressly rejected the proposal
a shirt made expressly for me
expunge
to strike out, obliterate, or mark for deletion to efface completely; destroy to eliminate (as a memory) from one's consciousness
e.g. Time and the weather have expunged any evidence that a thriving community once existed here.
expurgate
to cleanse of something morally harmful, offensive, or erroneous; especially, to expunge objectionable parts from before publication or presentation
e.g. The newspaper had expurgate the expletive-laden speech that the criminal made upon being sentenced to life imprisonment.
extant
currently or actually existing
still existing; not destroyed or lost
e.g. the most charming writer extant
There are few extant records from that period.
extemporaneous
composed, performed, or uttered on the spur of the moment; impromptu
skilled at or given to extemporaneous utterance
happening suddenly and without clearly known causes or relationships
provided, made, or put to use as an expedient; makeshift
e.g. Caught by surprise, I had to make an extemporaneous speech at the awards banquet.
an extemporaneous shelter
extemporize
to do something extemporaneously; improvise; especially to speak extemporaneously
to get along in a makeshift manner
e.g. A good talk show host has to be able to extemporize the interviews when things don’t go as planned.
temporal
of or relating to time as opposed to eternity
of or relating to earthly life
of or relating to time (in grammar / as distinct from space)
extenuate
to lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of by making partial excuses; mitigate
to lessen the strength or effect of
e.g. Don't even try to extenuate their vandalism of the cemetery with the old refrain of "Boys will be boys." extenuating circumstances (like ill health, bereavement, etc)
tenuous
not dense; rare
not thick; slender
having little substance or strength; flimsy, weak
shaky
e.g. He has a tenuous grasp on reality.
The local theater has had a tenuous existence in recent years.
a tenuous fluid/rope
externalize
to make external or externally manifest
to attribute to causes outside the self; rationalize
e.g. an actress with an expressive face that wonderfully externalizes a wide range of emotions
externalized his lack of ability to succeed
extirpate
to destroy completely; wipe out
to pull up by the root
to cut out by surgery
e.g. the triumph of modern medicine in extirpating certain diseases
extol
to praise highly; glorify
e.g. campaign literature extolling the candidate’s military record
lambaste
to assault violently; beat, whip
to attack verbally; censure
e.g. They wrote several letters lambasting the new law.
