Thursday, February 25, 2010

Review Items No. 1-100




pellucid:

- allowing for the passage of light without diffusion; transparent (Example: The air was strangely still, the sky pellucid and speckled with stars except where the swelling clouds massed to the west. [Reference: Conan and the Emerald Lotus by John C. Hocking])

- easy to understand; clear




coeval:
of the same age or antiquity; contemporary




affranchise:
to make or set free from obligation or service




eremite:
a religious recluse; hermit




de jure:
- by right
- in accordance with the laws or the actions of the state




gregarious:
- tending or enjoying to be in crowds and socializing
- traveling or living in herds, flock, or crowd (as animals)




brut:
- very dry
- a sweetness measure for dry sparkling wines




ides:
originally referred to the day of the full moon; but then, in the ancient Roman calendar, refers to the 15th day of March, May, July, or October, or the 13th of the other months




eddy:
- a current of water or air running contrary to the main current and with a circular motion; small whirlpool or whirlwind
- an unimportant contrary movement or trend
- a contrary current as of thought or policy




mortification:
- the control of physical desires and bodily passions and appetites by self-denial, abstinence, fasting, etc.
- something causing shame, humiliation, etc. as it wounds one's pride or self-respect
- the sense of shame and humiliation due to something that wounds one's pride or self-respect




jovial: good-humored, hearty convivial, or genial




abba:
- father
- title of a bishop in some Arabic churches




kame: an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till




scuttlebutt: rumour; gossip




wordmonger
- a writer or speaker who uses words pretentiously
- a writer or speaker who uses words carelessly disregarding for meanings




wean:
- to cause a child or a young animal to get accustomed gradually to food other than its mother's milk
- to detach gradually from a source of dependence




elide:
leave out; suppress; omit; ignore; to strike out, e.g. some word written; slur over, e.g. a vowel, syllable, etc. (Example: "Did you know that dragons elide riders' names?" [Reference: The Chronicles of Pern written by Anne McCaffrey])




elide:
leave out; suppress; omit; ignore; to strike out, e.g. some word written; slur over, e.g. a vowel, syllable, etc. (Example: "Did you know that dragons elide riders' names?" [Reference: The Chronicles of Pern written by Anne McCaffrey])




ewe - a female sheep especially when mature




drudge:
- a person who does hard, menial, tedious, or unpleasant work
- to do hard, menial, tedious, or unpleasant work
- to force to do hard, menial, tedious, or unpleasant work




sabotage:
- destruction of property or obstruction of normal operations in time of war
- destruction of an employer's equipments, tools and materials or hindering of production by discontented workers




hoodlum: a gangster; a thug; a ruffian




yowl:
- to utter a loud and long mournful cry of grief or distress; wail
- to complain with yowls




raver: a person who frequently speaks wildly and irrationally




sempre: always; used in music directions as without varying




turmoil: a state of extreme commotion; tumult




oblivion: the state of forgetting or being forgotten (Example: "Oblivion is a kind of annihilation." [Reference: The Life Of Johnson book])




pooh bah: a pompous ostentatious official especially one that holds many offices and jobs but fulfills none of them




epigrammatic: relating to or resembling an epigram; where an epigram is a short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation, as an example the following is an epigram by John Donne entitled as A Lame Beggar:

I am unable, yonder beggar cries,
To stand, or move; if he say true, he lies.




topsy-turvy:
- with the head downward; upside down; in a reversed condition
- in confusion or disorder




beleaguerment:
- surrounding with troops; besiege
- harassment




algorithm:
- a step by step procedure to solve a problem
- a set of instructions for solving a problem on a computer in a finite number of steps




lexicon: dictionary; a dictionary especially for of an ancient language




vex: disturb; annoy (Eample: "Vex not your mind on that," the prince answered, smiling. [Reference: The White Company book])




maim: to deprive of a necessary part of the body; cripple (Example: I couldn't, didn't, couldn't believe that Ellis could maim - and effectively kill - a child's pony and three young racehorses. [Reference: Come To Grief book])




womanizer:
- a man who philanders
- to be sexually promiscuous with women
- to make effeminate




duad: pair; couple; unit of two objects




downtrodden: figuratively oppressed; subjugated (Example: He is not a spokesman for the downtrodden, much less those who seek just solutions to real dilemmas [Reference: America and the War by Tony Judt])




oodles: - a great quantity; a great amount; lots; an unspecified large number (Example: I just met her this morning and I could already think of oodles of stuff that I wanted to tell her about.)




foreknowlege: - prescience - awareness of something before its existence or occurrence




looby: someone awkward and clumsy




novemdecillion: The number equal to 1060; one with 60 zeros






foolhardy: heady, reckless




goo goo:
- loving (mostly used in the phrase: goo-goo eyes)
- an advocate of a political reform movement




umpirage: mediation by an umpire; the act of umpiring; refereeing




vorticity:
- the state of a fluid in swirling or vortical motion
- a measure of vortical motions




quackery:
- charlatanism
- medical practice and advice based on observation and experience and ignoring scientific findings




mooch:
- ask for and get free as being a parasite
- someone who cadges and tries to get something free




ultramundane: being beyond the world or the limits of the universe




almsgiving: something such as money, food, etc. given freely to relieve the poor




lorn: desolate; forsaken




idiographic: relating to or concerned with concrete or unique

facts or events




cade: left by its mother and reared by hand (e.g. a cade lamb)




zoolatry: animal worship




baksheesh: munificence (baksheesh is originally a Persian word)




kabbalah (variant of cabala):
- a medieval and modern system of Jewish theosophy, mysticism and thaumaturgy marked by belief in creation through emanation and a cipher method of interpreting Scripture
- a traditional esoteric matter
- esoteric doctrine or mysterious art




cabala:
- a medieval and modern system of Jewish theosophy, mysticism and thaumaturgy marked by belief in creation through emanation and a cipher method of interpreting Scripture
- a traditional esoteric matter
- esoteric doctrine or mysterious art




iconoclast:
- someone who destroys religious images or opposes their veneration
- someone who attacks settled beliefs or institutions




amulet: a small object worn to ward off evil, harm, or illness or to bring

good fortune




balk: to refuse abruptly

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Detailed Definition:

noun
- a ridge of land left unplowed as a dividing line or through carelessness
- a hindrance
- a ridge between furrows
- a wooden beam or rafter
- failure of a player to complete a motion, especially an illegal motion of the pitcher

in baseball while in position

intransitive verb
- to refuse abruptly [is used with 'at'] (e.g. He balked at putting up the promised

money)
- to stop and refuse to proceed
- to commit a balk in sports

transitive verb
- to check or stop by or as if by an obstacle




artiodactyl: having an even number of toes on each foot (as

camel or pig)




neuston: minute organisms that float in the surface film of water




vatic:
- of or related to a prophet or a prophecy
- prophetic




gelid: extremely cold, icy




litany:
- a liturgical prayer consisting of a series of petitions recited by a leader alternating

with fixed responses by the congregation
- a repetitive or incantatory recital




rorqual: any of a family of large baleen whales having the skin of

the throat marked with deep longitudinal furrows




endocarp: the inner, usually woody, layer of the pericarp of a

fruit, such as the stone of a cherry or peach




pedantic:
- like a pedant, overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning
- being showy of one’s knowledge, often in a boring manner
- being finicky or picky with language




euphemism: the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive

expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant




derision:
- the use of ridicule or scorn to show contempt
- an object of ridicule or scorn




doppelganger (Doppelgänger): the ghostly double of a living

person




subintelligitur:

- something that is implied even though not expressed
- something that is not stated but understood




endemic: native to a particular region

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Detailed Definition:

adjective
- constantly present in a particular region
- native to a particular country, nation, or region

noun
- an endemic organism





pneuma: - soul - spirit




interdigitate: to become interlocked like the fingers of folded

hands




nanocephalous: having abnormally small head




firmament: - the arch of the sky - the heavens




magniloquent: bombastic in style or expression

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- speaking by a bombastic style or manner
- characterized by a bombastic style or manner
- inflated in style or expression
- pompous in style or expression




sapid: - having a strong pleasant flavor - pleasing to the mind




lumpen: one cut off from his/her normal socioeconomic class

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- relating to displaced people who have been cut off from the socioeconomic class

with which they would ordinarily be identified (e.g. lumpen intellectuals unable to

find jobs in their fields)
- plebeian
- stupid
- unthinking

noun
- a member of the uneducated lowest class of society




socioeconomic: relating to, or involving both economic and

social factors




gadabout: one roaming about in search of amusement or social

activity




languor: mental or physical weariness or fatigue

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

noun
- mental or physical weariness or fatigue
- physical or mental laziness or weariness
- weakness or weariness of body or mind
- listless indolence
- indolence of one satiated by a luxury life




obtrude: to impose oneself or one's idea on others without

request

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Detailed Definition:

transitive verb
- to impose oneself or one's idea without request
- to force oneself or one's idea without warrant or invitation
- to thrust out

intransitive verb
- to become unduly prominent
- to interfere unduly
- to intrude




exemplar: one that serves as a model or example

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

noun
- one that serves as a model or example
- a copy of a book or writing
- a model to be copied
- a model to be imitated
- a pattern to be copied
- a pattern to be imitated
- a typical or standard specimen
- an ideal model or type




penchant: - a strong liking - a strong inclination




incongruous: - not harmonious - inconsistent




precarious: dependent on circumstances beyond one's control

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- depending on the will or pleasure of another
- dependent on uncertain premises
- dubious
- having insufficient foundation (a precarious belief)




esoteric: intended only for a particular group

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- limited to a small circle
- private
- confidential (an esoteric target)
- of rare interest (esoteric construction materials)




vexatious: distressing

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- full of stress
- full of disorder
- full of annoyance
- causing vexation
- annoying
- intended to vex
- intended to annoy




pecuniary: monetary

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- relating to money
- consisting of or measured in money
- requiring payment of money (e.g. a pecuniary offense)




propitious: presenting favorable conditions

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- favorable
- being a good omen
- auspicious
- benevolent




chicanery: deception by trickery or sophistry




jocund: merry

----------------------
Detailed Definition:

adjective
- full of high-spirited merriment
- marked by high spirits
- marked by lively mirthfulness
- of a humorous temperament
- showing high-spirited merriment





languish: to be or become feeble

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Detailed Definition:

intransitive verb
- to be or become feeble
- to be or become weak
- to be or become enervated
- to be or live in a state of depression
- to be or live in a state of decreasing vitality
- to lose strength or vigor




machination: a crafty action intended to accomplish a sinister

end




surcease: to desist from action

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Detailed Definition:

1. intransitive verb
- to desist from action
- to come to an end
- to cease
- to stop

2. transitive verb
- to put an end to
- to discontinue

3. noun
- cessation
- a temporary respite or end
- intermission




chapfallen: cast down in spirit

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Detailed Definition:

adjective
- dejected
- downhearted
- crestfallen
- depressed




heliolatry: worship of the sun




wrangle: to dispute something angrily

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Detailed Definition:

1. intransitive verb
- to dispute angrily, noisily or peevishly
- to engage in argument or controversy
- to quarrel noisily or angrily

2. transitive verb
- to win or obtain by argument
- to herd livestock, especially horses

3. noun
- the act of wrangling
- an angry, noisy dispute or argument