Vocab Unit 4 Flash Cards

Front 1

absolve

Back 1

v. to pronounce clear of guilt or blame; to relieve of a requirement or obligation; to pardon (a sin).

Front 2

arbitrate

Back 2

v. to make a settlement between parties with a view to end their differences; to submit to such a settlement or judgement; to serve as a judge with a view to resolving differences

Front 3

augment

Back 3

v. to make (something already developed or well under way) greater,as in size, extent, or quantity; to increase or become greater.

Front 4

calamity

Back 4

n. an event that brings terrible loss,lasting distress,or severe affliction; disaster.

Front 5

catharsis

Back 5

n. A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity or fear; a release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.

Front 6

conduit

Back 6

n. a pipe or channel for conveying fluids or, such as water; tube or duct for enclosing electric wires or cable; any means by which something is transmitted.

Front 7

covert

Back 7

adj. Not openly practiced, engaged in,admitted to, or shown; secret; covered or covered over; sheltered. n. A covering or cover; a covered place or shelter; hiding place; thick underbrush used to cover.

Front 8

cull

Back 8

v. to pick out from others; to gather or collect; to remove reject members or parts from (a herd, for example).

Front 9

digress

Back 9

v. to turn aside, stray or swerve, especially from the main subject in writing or speaking; to stray from the subject; to swerve from the subject.

Front 10

ebb

Back 10

n. a period of decline or receding as in ebb tide.v. to fall back from the flood stage; to fall away or back; decline, or recede.

Front 11

entreat

Back 11

v. to make a sincere request of; to ask for earnestly; petition for.

Front 12

indignity

Back 12

n. Humiliating, degrading, or abusive treatment,; a source of offense, as to a person's pride r sense of dignity; an affront.

Front 13

inundate

Back 13

v. to cover with water, especially with flood waters; to overwhelm as if with a flood; to swamp.

Front 14

lament

Back 14

v. to express grief for or about; to mourn; to regret deeply; to grieve audibly; to express sorrow or regret.

Front 15

lavish

Back 15

adj. characterized by or produced with extravagance and excess; excessive in givig or bestowing. v. to give or bestow in abundance

Front 16

penury

Back 16

n. extreme want or poverty; destitution; barrenness; or insufficiency.

Front 17

pretentious

Back 17

adj. claiming or demanding a position of distinction or merit, especially when unjustified;making or marked by an extravagant outward show; ostentatious;showy.

Front 18

prostrate

Back 18

v. to put or throw flat with the face down, as in submission or adoration; to cause to lie flat; to reduce extreme weakness or incapacitation; to overcome.
adj. lying face down, as in submission or adoration; lying flat or at full length; to reduce to extreme weakness or incapacitation; over come.

Front 19

supplant

Back 19

v. to usurp or take the position of another, especially intrigue or underhand tactics; to replace; to displace and submit for (another)

Front 20

transgress

Back 20

v. to go beyond or over (a limit or boundary); to exceed or over step; to act in violation of ( the law, for example).