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80 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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RECT
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"straight" or "right"
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rectitude (n)
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moral integrity; correctness of procedure
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The school superintendent was not popular, but no one could question her rectitude
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rectify (v)
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to set right; remedy; to correct by removing errors; revise
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John must rectify the unfortunate copying incident at school before his teacher calls home and tells his parents
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rectilinear (adj)
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Moving in or forming a straight line; having many straight lines
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After admiring Frank Lloyd Wright’s highly rectilinear buildings for years, the public was astonished by the giant spiral of the Guggenheim Museum
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rector (n)
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A clergyman in charge of a church or parish; the head of a university or school
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Jack and Jill asked the rector of their church to perform their marriage ceremony
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VID/VIS
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having to do with seeing and sight
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visage (n)
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The face or appearance of a person
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A kindly man, he had a bright, cheerful visage that people found attractive
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envision (v)
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To see something with the imagination
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After many years of learning how to be a chef, Aaron could clearly envision his future in his own restaurant in New York City
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visionary (n)
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A person with foresight and imagination; a dreamer whose ideas are often impractical
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His followers regarded him as an inspired visionary; his opponents saw him as either a con man or a lunatic
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visitation (n)
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A visit or short stay, often for some definite, official purpose such as an inspection; a parent’s privilege to have temporary access to or care of a child
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The local ministers dreaded the annual visitation from the bishop’s evaluation committee
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VOC/VOK
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has to do with speaking and calling and the use of the voice
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equivocate (v)
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To use ambiguous language, especially in order to deceive; to avoid giving a direct answer.
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As the company directors equivocated, the union prepared to return to the picket lines
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irrevocable (adj)
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impossible to call back or retreat
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By throwing her hat into the presidential race, the young governor made the irrevocable decision to put her family into the public eye
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provoke (v)
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To call forth or stimulate a feeling or action; to anger
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Before every boxing match, Muhammad Ali would provoke his opponent with poetic taunts
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vociferous (adj)
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Making noisy or emphatic outcries
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Parents at soccer games are often known to make vociferous protests when they think the referee has made a bad call
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PHON
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"sound", "voice", or "speech"
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cacophony (n)
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harsh or unpleasant sound
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To some people, a lot of recent jazz sounds more like cacophony than like smooth traditional jazz
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phonetic (adj)
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Relating to or representing the sounds of the spoken language
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Some school systems teach first-graders to read by the phonetic method
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polyphonic (adj)
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Referring to a style of music in which two or more melodies are sung or played against each other in harmony
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The polyphonic chants of the monks punctuated the ceremony at important intervals
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symphony (n)
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A usually long and complex musical composition for orchestra
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Beethoven, Bruckner, Mahler, and possibly Schubert completed nine symphonies each before their deaths
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CUR
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"care for"
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curative (adj)
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Having to do with curing diseases
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As soon as the antibiotic entered his system, he imagined he could begin to feel its curative effects.
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curator (n)
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Someone in charge of something where things are on exhibit, such as a collection, a museum, or a zoo
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Curators of zoos continually try to make the animals’ surroundings more and more like their natural homes.
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procure (v)
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To get possession of; obtain
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In an era of Defense Department cutbacks, military planners must procure the supplies they need in more economical ways.
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sinecure (n)
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A job or position requiring little work but usually providing some income
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The job of Dean of Students at any college is no sinecure; the hours can be long and the work draining.
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PERI
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"going around something"
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perimeter (n)
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The boundary or distance around a body or figure
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All along the city’s perimeter the guerrillas kept up their attack night after night.
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periodontal (adj)
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Surrounding the teeth; concerning or affecting the tissues around the teeth
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Years of bad living had filled his teeth with cavities, but it was periodontal disease that finished them off.
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peripatetic (adj)
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Having to do with walking; moving or traveling from place to place
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She spent her early adult years as a peripatetic musician, traveling from one engagement to another
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peripheral (adj)
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Having to do with the outer edges, especially of the field of vision; auxiliary or supplemental
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The teacher seemed to have eyes inn the back of her head, but what she really had was excellent peripheral vision and a thorough knowledge of how ten-year-olds behave.
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SOPH
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"wise", "wisdom"
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sophistry (n)
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Cleverly deceptive reasoning or argument
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The defendant’s claim that he was not guilty of the crime because he did not actually pull the trigger was dismissed as pure sophistry.
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sophisticated (adj)
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Having a thorough and refined knowledge of the ways of society; highly complex or developed
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In Woman of the Year, Katherine Hepburn plays a sophisticated newspaperwoman who can handle everything except Spencer Tracy
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sophomoric (adj)
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Overly impressed with one’s own knowledge, but, in fact, under educated and immature.
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The kids at summer camp played the usual sophomoric pranks: short-sheeted beds, salt in the sugar bowl, shaving cream on the light switch, and a water bucket balanced on the door.
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theosophy (n)
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A set of teachings about God and the world based on mystical insights into their nature and workings.
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She experimented with a number of beliefs, starting with theosophy and ending with a variety of Hinduism
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TEND/TENT
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“to stretch, extend, or spread”
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contentious (adj)
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Having a tendency to pick fights; quarrelsome
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The school board meeting lasted late into the night as contentious parents argued over every detail of the new bus routes.
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distend (v)
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To swell or become expanded
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The stomachs of young children who suffer from malnutrition and starvation distend, giving uninformed observers the impression that they are actually well fed
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portend (v)
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To give a sign or warning beforehand; to indicate or signify
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Although the warm spell in February was welcome, the huge puddles by the melting snowbanks portended the spring floods that were likely to follow
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tendentious (adj)
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Leaning toward a particular point of view; biased
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In his later years, the professor wrote a series of tendentious essays attacking many modern novelists and praising authors from earlier eras
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PEND/PENS
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“to hand, weigh, or cause to hang down”
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appendage (n)
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Something joined on to a larger or more important body or thing; a subordinate body part, such as an arm or a leg.
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Some babies are born with six toes on one foot even though there seems to be no reason for this extra appendage to be there.
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expend (v)
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To pay out; to use up
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The company expended too much money on health-care costs and disability benefits last year, so they are looking to cut back in the future
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propensity (n)
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An often intense natural inclination or preference
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In-laws have a propensity to offer advice, especially when it has not been requested by anyone.
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stipend (n)
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A sum of money paid at regular intervals in return for services or to cover expenses
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David’s fellowship to graduate school included a stipend to cover his basic living expenses
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PAN
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"all", "completely", "whole", or "general"
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panacea (n)
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A remedy for all ills or difficulties; cure-all
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Educational reform is sometimes viewed as the panacea for all of society’s problems
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pandemonium (n)
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A wild uproar or commotion
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Pandemonium erupted in the football stadium as the underdogs scored an upset victory in the final seconds.
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panegyric (n)
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A formal speech or statement giving high praise to someone or something
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Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” is as much a panegyric celebrating American democratic ideals as it is a eulogy for the brave soldiers who died on the battlefield
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panoply (n)
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A magnificent or impressive array; a display of all appropriate accessory items
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The full panoply of a royal coronation was a thrilling sight for the throngs of sidewalk onlookers and the millions of television viewers.
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EXTRA
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outside or beyond their usual or routine territory
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extramundane (adj)
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Situated in or relating to a region beyond the material world
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Communism is atheistic and admits no extramundane authority
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extrapolate (v)
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To extend or project facts or data into an area not known in order to make assumptions or to predict facts or trends.
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As an economist, Earl extrapolated future buying trends from current economic data
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extrovert (n)
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A person mainly concerned with things outside him- or herself; a sociable and outgoing person
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A complete extrovert, Esther made friends easily and was always surrounded by lots of people.
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extraneous (adj)
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Existing or coming from the outside; not forming an essential part; irrelevant.
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Your essay should be well-focused and should not contain any extraneous material
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PHOS/PHOT
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"light"
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phosphorescent (adj)
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Giving off a glow that continues after an energy source has stopped transmitting energy; giving off a glow over a period of time without producing noticeable heat.
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The boat’s wake glittered in the night with phosphorescent sea creatures stirred up by its passing
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photogenic (adj)
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Very suitable for being photographed
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Visitors to New England are often disappointed to find that the photogenic small towns with white churches and tidy houses are actually few and far between
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photon (n)
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A tiny particle or bundle of radiant energy
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The idea that light consists of photons was difficult for Christy to accept until she began to think of a ray of light as being caused by a stream of very small particles
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photosynthesis (n)
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The process by which green plants use light to produce organic matter from carbon dioxide and water
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Sagebrush survives in harsh climates because it is capable of carrying on photosynthesis at very low temperatures
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MOR/MORT
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"to die", "death"
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immortality (n)
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Deathless or unending existence; lasting fame
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Michelangelo achieved immortality with his painting and sculpture, Beethoven with his music.
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moribund (adj)
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In the process of dying or approaching death; inactive or being outmoded
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Many economists believe that America must replace its moribund smokestack industries with businesses based on new technology
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mortician (n)
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A person who prepares the dead for burial or cremation and manages the funeral.
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Every town needs a mortician, but the job is not always a popular choice among young students
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mortify (v)
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To subdue or deaden (the body) especially by self-discipline or self-inflicted pain; to embarrass greatly; humiliate
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The parents’ attempts to act in a youthful manner while at the school fundraiser mortified their teenage children
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HER/HES
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"to stick", "to get stuck", "sticking", "stuck in one place"
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adherent (n)
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Someone who follows a leader, a part, or a profession; one who believes in a particular philosophy or religion
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The general’s adherents heavily outnumbered his opponents and managed to shot them down repeatedly
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cohesion (n)
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The act or state of sticking together
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Successful athletic teams usually achieve their victories through tight cohesion among the players
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incoherent (adj)
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Unclear or difficult to understand; loosely organized or inconsistent
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She was tired of her boss’s angry lectures, which usually turned into incoherent ranting and raving.
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inherent (adj)
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Part of something by nature or habit
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A guiding belief behind the Constitution is that individuals have certain inherent rights that ought to be protected from governmental interference
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FUG
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"to flee or escape"
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centrifugal (adj)
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Moving outward from a center or central focus
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Their favorite ride was the Round-up, in which centrifugal force flattened them against the outer wall of a rapidly spinning cage
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fugitive (n)
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A person who flees or tries to escape
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The United States sometimes makes special allowances for refugees who are fugitives from persecution in their homelands
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fugue (n)
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A musical form in which a theme is echoed and imitated by voices or instruments that enter one after another and interweave as the piece proceeds
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For his debut on the new organ, the church organist chose a fugue from Johann Sebastian Bach
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subterfuge (n)
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A trick designed to help conceal, escape, or evade; a deceptive trick
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The students employed every kind of subterfuge they knew to keep the substitute teacher from assigning homework
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COSM
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"ornament" and "order"
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cosmetic (adj)
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Done or made for the sake of beauty or appearance
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Renovating the house would involve more than just cosmetic changes such as fresh paint and new curtains
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cosmology (n)
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A theory that describes the nature of the universe; a branch of astronomy that deals with the origin and structure of the universe
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Many New Age philosophies propose a cosmology that differs greatly from the traditional Jewish, Christian, or Islamic ways of viewing the universe
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cosmopolitan (adj)
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Having international sophistication and experience; made up of persons, elements, or influences from many different parts of the world
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New York, like most cosmopolitan cities, offers a wonderful array of restaurants featuring cooking styles from around the world
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cosmos (n)
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The universe, especially when it is viewed as orderly and systematic; any orderly system that is complete in itself
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The biologist, the philosopher, and the astronomer all try in their own ways to understand the mysteries of the cosmos 24
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