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27 Cards in this Set

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accretion
The growth in size of increase in amount

Sea floor spreading is a process in which the new crust in the ocean is continually generated by igneous processes at the crest of the mid-ocean ridges causing a steady accretion of the crust.
aggregate
amounting to a whole

The aggregate wealth of a country includes private as well as public resources and possesions.
ambrosia
something delicious; the food of the gods

The combination of flavors n the moroccan backed eggplant was pure ambrosia
anomalous
Irregula; diviating fromt the norm

The psychologist discouted the anomalous behavior of the soldier, saying it was merely a short-term effect of the stress of battle.
apposite
strikingly appropriate or relevant

The writer searched two dictionaries and a thesaurus before finding the perfectly apposite word he was looking for.
atavism
In biology the reappearance of a characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence

Some morden political theories reject nationalism as a tribal atavism.
bacchanalian
pertaining to riutous or drunken festivity; pertaining to revelry

for some people New Year's Eve is an occasion for bacchanalian
burgeon
to flourish

After world war II the increased speed of industrialization and the burgeoning world population resulted in such an increased speed of pollution.
cantankerous
irritable, ill-humoured

Many of us have in our mind the stereotype of the cantankerous old man who is constantly complaining about something or other.
catalyst
Something causing change

Among the catalysts of the romantic movement were the libertarian ideals of the French Revolution.
chicanery
trickery; fraud

The governor ordered an audit to investigate alleged financial chicanery.
coda
Concluding part of a literary or musical composition; something that summarizes or concludes

The coda of the danish composer Per Norgard's Sixth Symphony seems to return to the serene souds of the opening.
compumction
uneasiness caused by guilt

They feel no compunction over being violent to women, children, and one another.
conscript
person complusorily erolled for millitary service

The position of NOW is that having male-only conscripts violates the principle of gender equality.
converge
To approach; come together; tend to meet

Although the People's Republic of China and India are rivals in many ways, in certain areas their interests converge
cozen
To mislead by trick or fraud ; deceive

The writer HLM pointed out that a common strategy of politicians is to cozen the people by exaggeration the seriousness of a problem.
deference
respect; regard for another's wish

There was a movement to condemn slavery among some of the writers of the Declaration of Independence, but despite many misgivings, the proposal was dropped in deference to the objections of a number of people.
discretion
Quality ofshowing self-restraint in speech or actions; circumspection;freedom to act on one's own

In 19th century Britain gentlemen were expected to behave with discretion.
dissolution
disintegration; debauchery

some Philosophers maintain that the dissolution of the body does not mean the destruction of the mind.
doggerel
poor verse

In his book Poetic Meter and Poetic Form, the literary critic paul Fussell quotes this bit of doggerel from a U.S. Army Latrine during World war II.
epistemology
branch of philosophy that examines the nature of knowledge

A major question in epistemology is whether the mind can ever gain objective knowledge.
explicate
The explain; intercept; clarify

The literary exam requires students to explicate three poems they studied in class and one they have not studied.
factotum
a person who does all sort of work; a a handyman

The character M aspires to become more than merely a factotum in the house of Lady Olivia.
fetter
to bind; confine

The poet William Blake believed that each person creates "Mind-forged manacles," fettering his or her natural instincts and spirit.
Flourish
an embellishment or ornamentation

The sophists often gave interminable speeches full of rhetorical flourishes.
gambol
to frolic; leap playfully

The children gamboled on the lawn while their parents ate lunch
inconoclastic
Attacking cherished traditions

The linguist and political commentator Noam Chomsky has been described as gleefully iconoclastic.