Upgrade to remove ads
Only $2.99/month

Lang Sem 2 Exam Review

Terms in this set (73)

Bane
(n.) the source or cause of fatal injury, death, destruction, or ruin; death or ruin itself; poison. SYN: spoiler, bete noire; ANT: blessing, comfort, solace, balm.
BAthos
(n.) the intrusion of commonplace or trite material into a context whose tone is lofty or elevated; grossly insincere or exaggerated sentimentality; the lowest phase, nadir; an anticlimax, comedown. SYN: mawkishness, mush, schmaltz.
CASuistry
(n.) the determination of right and wrong in questions of conduct or conscience by the application of general ethical principles; specious argument. SYN: sophistry, quibbling.
de FACto
(adj.) actually existing or in effect, although not legally required or sanctioned; (adv.) in reality, actuality. SYN: in actuality, in point of fact; ANT: de jure, by right
HARbinger
(n.) a forerunner, herald; (v.) to herald the approach of. SYN: (n.) precursor, (v.) presage; ANT: (n.) aftermath, epilogue, sequel.
HEdonism
(n.) the belief that the attainment of pleasure is life's chief aim; devotion to the pursuit of pleasure. SYN: pleasure-seeking, sensuality, sybaritism; ANT: asceticism, puritanism, self-denial.
peccaDILLo
(n.) a minor sin or offense; a trifling fault or shortcoming. SYN: indiscretion; ANT: felony, mortal sin, enormity, atrocity.
beATitude
(n.) a state of perfect happiness or blessedness. SYN: bliss, rapture; ANT: misery, despair.
Dank
(adj.) unpleasantly damp or wet. SYN: clammy, moist, soggy; ANT: dry, arid, parched, desiccated.
FERvid
(adj.) burning with enthusiasm or zeal; extremely heated. SYN: ardent, zealous, fervent, earnest; ANT: apathetic, indifferent, cool, blasé.
HEYday
(n.) the period of greatest power, vigor, success, or influence; the prime years. SYN: golden age; ANT: formative years, twilight years, decline.
INcubus
(n.) a demon or evil spirit supposed to haunt human beings in their bedrooms at night; anything that oppresses or weighs upon one, like a nightmare. SYN: hobgoblin, millstone, burden.
INfrastructure
(n.) a basic foundation or framework; a system of public works; the resources and facilities required for an activity; permanent military installations. SYN: base, basis, underpinning; ANT: superstructure.
inVEIgle
(v.) to entice, lure, or snare by flattery or artful inducements; to obtain or acquire by artifice. SYN: induce, beguile, cajole, wheedle.
PROtégé
(n.) someone whose welfare, training, or career is under the patronage of an influential person; someone under the jurisdiction of a foreign country or government. SYN: ward, charge, disciple, trainee; ANT: sponsor, mentor, benefactor.
PROtotype
(n.) an original pattern or model; a primitive or ancestral form. SYN: archetype; ANT: copy, imitation.
SYCophant
(n.) someone who attempts to win favors or advance him- or herself by flattery or servile behavior; a slanderer, defamer. SYN: yes-man, toady, flunky, bootlicker.
tauTOLogy
(n.) needless repetition of an idea by using different but equivalent words; a redundancy. SYN: pleonasm.
TRUCKle
(v.) to yield or submit tamely or submissively. SYN: kowtow, stoop, grovel; ANT: resist, defy, stand up to.
aCUmen
(n.) keenness of insight; quickness or accuracy of judgement. SYN: perspicacity, shrewdness, acuity; ANT: ignorance, stupidity, obtuseness.
disSIMulate
(v.) to hide or disguise one's true thoughts, feelings, or intentions. SYN: dissemble, pretend, misrepresent; ANT: reveal.
emPIRical
(adj.) derived from, dependent upon, or guided by practical experience, observation, or experiment, rather than by theory. SYN: observed, experiential, pragmatic; ANT: theoretical, hypothetical, conjectural.
flamBOYant
(adj.) highly elaborate or ornate; vividly colored; strikingly brilliant or odd. SYN: showy, ostentatious, florid; ANT: staid, sedate, decorous, seemly, sober.
IMmolate
(v.) to kill as a sacrifice, especially by fire; to destroy or renounce for the sake of another. SYN: slay, kill; ANT: save, rescue, preserve.
imperCEPtible
(adj.) extremely slight; incapable of being perceived by the senses or the mind. SYN: minimal, undetectable; ANT: conspicuous, noticeable, flagrant.
LACKey
(n.) a uniformed male servant; a servile follower. SYN: footman, toady, flunky, hanger-on; ANT: lord, liege, employer, boss.
monoLITHic
(adj.) characterized by massiveness, solidness, and total uniformity. SYN: undifferentiated, massive, dense; ANT: diversified, variform, multifarious.
NIhilism
(n.) total rejection of existing laws, institutions, and moral values; extreme radicalism. ANT: conservatism.
Sic
(adv.) thus so, intentionally written so.
braVAdo
(n.) a display of false or assumed courage. SYN: swagger, bluster, braggadocio; ANT: mettle, bravery, pluck.
conSTRICT
(v.) to make smaller or narrower, draw together, squeeze; to stop or cause to falter. SYN: contract, curb, restrain; ANT: enlarge, dilate, expand.
diCHOTomy
(n.) a division into two contradictory or mutually exclusive parts; a branching or forking in an ancestral line. SYN: schism, division, bifurication; ANT: uniformity, oneness.
euPHORia
(n.) a feeling of great happiness or well-being, often with no objective basis. SYN: elation, bliss, ecstasy, rapture; ANT: melancholy, depression, gloom.
GOTHic
(adj.) characterized by or emphasizing a gloomy setting and a grotesque or violent events; such a literary or artistic style; a type of medieval architecture. SYN: sinister, eerie.
MetaMORphosis
(n.) a complete transformation, as if by magic. SYN: change, makeover.
PARlous
(adj.) full of danger or risk, perilous. SYN: hazardous, risky, dangerous. ANT: safe, secure, risk-free.
QUAGmire
(n.) soft, soggy mud or slush; a difficult or entrapping situation. SYN: fen, marsh, bog, morass; ANT: bedrock, solid footing, terra firma.
quiXOTic
(adj.) extravagantly or romantically idealistic; visionary without regard to practical considerations. SYN: fanciful, impractical, utopian; ANT: realistic, down-to-earth, pragmatic.
sine qua NON
(n.) an essential or indispensable element or condition. SYN: necessity, requisite, desideratum.
EXecrable
(adj.) utterly detestable, hateful, or abhorrent; extremely inferior. SYN: odious, abominable, reprehensible; ANT: commendable, praiseworthy, meritorious.
imPINGE
(v.) to strike against or collide with violently; to encroach or obtrude upon; to make an impression upon. SYN: horn in, affect.
LAByrinth
(n.) a bewildering maze; any confusing or complicated situation. SYN: tangle, mystery, enigma.
NARcissism
(n.) excessive self-love; absorption in oneself. SYN: egotism, conceit, vanity, amour prope.
rapPORT
(n.) a close and harmonious relationship. SYN: bond, tie, affinity, understanding.
utiliTARian
(adj.) stressing practicality over other considerations; relating to the belief that what is good or desirable is determined purely by its usefulness. SYN: practical, functional, pragmatic; ANT: nonfunctional, ornamental, decorative.
VACuous
(adj.) devoid of matter, substance, or meaning; lacking ideas or intelligence; purposeless. SYN: inane, insipid, fatuous, void, empty. ANT: incisive, trenchant, perceptive, intelligent.
aCERbity
(n.) sourness, or bitterness of taste; harshness or severity of manner or expression. SYN: acidity, astringency, mordancy, asperity; ANT: blandness, mellowness, mildness.
atTRITIon
(n.) the process of wearing down by friction, or gradual impairment. SYN: abrasion, erosion, exhaustion, reduction; ANT: augmentation, proliferation, enlargement.
BROmide
(n.) a trite or commonplace remark; a tiresome or boring person; a sedative. SYN: cliché, platitude.
impreCAtion
(n.) a curse; the act of cursing. SYN: execration, malediction; ANT: blessing, benediction.
merCURial
(adj.) characterized by rapid and unpredictable changes of mood; fickle or inconsistent. SYN: erratic, flighty, capricious, volatile; ANT: phlegmatic, sluggish, constant, steady.
sub ROsa
(adv.) in secret; confidentially; privately; (adj.) secretive. SYN: (adv.) secretly, covertly, stealthily, furtively; ANT: (adv.) overtly, openly.
VAINglory
(n.) excessive pride in and boastfulness about one's own accomplishments or qualities; a vain show or display. SYN: vanity, conceit, swagger, pretentiousness; ANT: humility, modesty, diffidence.
Cull
(v.) to pick out or select; to gather or collect. SYN: glean, choose, pluck.
dogMATic
(adj.) certain of the truth of one's own ideas; inclined to state opinions as if they were indisputable facts. SYN: opinionated, doctrinaire, authoritarian; ANT: open-minded, disinterested, dispassionate.
liCENtious
(adj.) morally or sexually unrestrained; having no regard for accepted rules, customs, or laws. SYN: wanton, dissolute, lascivious; ANT: chaste, modest, restrained, prudish.
NOXious
(adj.) harmful to physical health or morals. SYN: pernicious, noisome, deleterious, toxic; ANT: wholesome, salubrious, beneficial.
POPulous
(adj.) full of people; filled to capacity; densely populated; having a large population. SYN: crowded, teeming, swarming; ANT: uninhabited, unpeopled, deserted, barren.
PRObity
(n.) complete and confirmed honesty; total integrity. SYN: uprightness, rectitude; ANT: corruption, venality, immorality, iniquity.
reparTEE
(n.) a swift, witty reply; conservation full of such remarks; skill in making such replies or conversation. SYN: retort, comeback, banter, verbal sparring.
superVENE
(v.) to take place or occur as something additional or unexpected; to follow immediately after. SYN: ensue, succeed; ANT: precede, antecede.
TRUNcate
(v.) to shorten by or as if by cutting off, lop. SYN: trim, abbreviate, curtail; ANT: lengthen, elongate, extend, protract.
ADumbrate
(v.) to outline or sketch broadly; to foreshadow or prefigure; to disclose partially. SYN: indicate.
asCETic
(adj.) practicing strict self-denial for the sake of personal or spiritual discipline; (n.) one who leads a life of self-discipline, especially to express religious divination. SYN: (adj.) austere, spartan, (n.) celibate; ANT: (adj.) wanton, dissolute, (n.) hedonist.
BAUble
(n.) a small, showy ornament of little value or use. SYN: trifle, gewgaw, knickknack, bagatelle; ANT: gem, precious jewel, treasure.
beGUILE
(v.) to mislead or deceive; to cheat; to divert; to cause to vanish unnoticed. SYN: delude, dupe, lure, while away.
BURgeon
(v.) to put forth new buds, leaves, or greenery; to develop rapidly or suddenly. SYN: sprout, blossom, bloom, flourish; ANT: atrophy, wither, shrivel, diminish.
diDACtic
(adj.) intended to instruct, especially morally; inclined to moralize too much. SYN: educational, instructional, moralistic.
faux PAS
(n.) a slip in manners or conduct, a social blunder. SYN: indiscretion, gaffe; ANT: coup, tour de force.
FUStian
(n.) inflated or pretentious language in speech or writing; a cloth made of cotton and flax. SYN: rant, claptrap, bombast, grandiloquence.
inHIBit
(v.) to restrain or hold back; to hinder or arrest; to prohibit. SYN: repress, check, suppress; ANT: foster, promote, expedite, facilitate.
jereMIad
(n.) an elaborate or prolonged lamentation; any tale of woe. ANT: paean, song of praise.
unCONscionable
(adj.) not guided or restrained by conscience, prudence, or reason; unscrupulous; immoderate. SYN: unjustifiable, indefensible, unforgivable; ANT: justifiable, reasonable, honorable.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...