Princetonreview - Week 1 Part 2

Front 1

arcane
(ar KAYN)

Back 1

known or understood by only a few

The dusty archive includes an arcane treasure trove of nautical charts from the Age of Discovery.

Front 2

assimilate
(uh SIM uh layt)

Back 2

to absorb or become absorbed; to make or become similar

Keisha assimilated so quickly to herr new school that she was named head of the social committee a month after enrolling.

Front 3

autonomy
(aw TAHN uh mee)

Back 3

independence; self-determination

Candice gained autonomy upon moving out of her parents' house into her own apartment.

Front 4

cosmopolitan
(koz mo PAHL i tun)

Back 4

worldly, widely sophisticated

Inga was suprisingly cosmopolitan considering that she had never left her tiny hometown in Norway.

Front 5

derivative
(duh RIV uh tiv)

Back 5

something that comes from another source

Sepcial Victims Unit and Criminal Intent are derivatives of the original Law and Order drama series.

Front 6

entourage
(AHN ter azh)

Back 6

a group of attendants of associates; a retinue

The TV show Entourage is named for the people who go everywhere with Vince and help him with everything.

Front 7

esoteric
(es oh TAIR ik)

Back 7

intended for or understood by only a small group

Esme's play is extremely esoteric; someone not raised in Esotonia would find it difficult to follow.

Front 8

gaffe
(GAF)

Back 8

a clumsy social error; a faux pas

Geoff committed the gaffe of telling his date that he'd gone out with her sister the night before.

Front 9

idiosyncrasy
(ID ee oh SINK ruh see)

Back 9

characteristic peculiar ro an individual or group

She had many idosyncrasies, one of which was washing her socks in the dishwasher.

Front 10

insular
(IN suh ler)

Back 10

isolated; narrow or provincial

The family was so insular that no one else could get near them.

Front 11

orthodox
(OR thuh doks)

Back 11

adhering to the traditional and established, especially in religion

My father held an orthodox view of baseball; he believed that the field whould be outside and made of real grass.

Front 12

potentate
(PO tun tayt)

Back 12

one who has the power and position to rule over others; monarch

An omnipotent potentate is a person to be reckoned with; great power in the hands of a great leader is a powerful combination.

Front 13

castigate
(KAS tih gayt)

Back 13

to scold, rebuke, or harshly criticize

Mr. Castile preferred not to castigate student misbehavior publicly; instead, he would quietly send the troublemaker to the principal's office.

Front 14

censure
(SEN shur)

Back 14

to issue official blame

In recent years the FCC has censured networks for the provocative antics of Super Bowl halftime acts; what goes on during the game, however, usually escapes the organization's notice.

Front 15

denounce
(duh NOWNTS)

Back 15

to condemn openly

In many powerful speeches throughout his lifetime, Martin Luther King, Jr. denounced racism as immoral.

Front 16

reclusive
(ree KLOO siv)

Back 16

seeking or preferring seclusion or isolation

Our neighbors were quite reclusive, hardly ever emerging from behind the closed doors of their home.

Front 17

relinquish
(ree LING kwish)

Back 17

to retire from; give up or abandon

Ricky relinquished his career in order to search for the source of the world's best relish.

Front 18

renounce
(ree NOWNTS)

Back 18

to give up (a title, for example), especially by formal announcement

Nancy renounced her given name and began selling records under the moniker "Boedicia."

Front 19

vituperitive
(vie TOOP ur uh tiv)

Back 19

marked by harshly abusive condemnation

The vituperitive speech was so cruel that the members left feeling completely abused.

Front 20

circumscribe
(SER kum skryb)

Back 20

to draw a circle around; to restrict

The archeologist circumscribed the excavation area on the map.

Front 21

contiguous
(kun TIG yoo us)

Back 21

sharing an edge or boundary; touching

The continental United States consistes of 48 contiguous states.