Vocabulary, Ch3, 16-25

Front 1

adolescent (adj.)

Back 1

growing from childhood to adulthood; roughly, of the teenage period.

Front 2

adolescent (noun)

Back 2

teenager

Front 3

antediluvian (adj.)

Back 3

antiquated; belonging to the time before the Biblical Flood (when all except Noah and his family perished)

Front 4

archaic (adj.)

Back 4

no longer used, except in a special context; old-fashioned

Front 5

callow (adj.)

Back 5

young and inexperienced; unfledged

Front 6

contemporary (adj.)

Back 6

of the same period or duration

Front 7

contemporary (n.)

Back 7

person who lives at the same time as another

Front 8

crone(noun)

Back 8

withered old woman

Front 9

decrepit (adj.)

Back 9

weakened by old age

Front 10

defunct (adj.)

Back 10

dead; deceased; extinct

Front 11

forebear (noun)

Back 11

forefather, ancestor

Front 12

hoary (adj.)

Back 12

1. white or gray with age
2. ancient

Front 13

infantile (adj.)

Back 13

of or like an infant or infancy; childish

Front 14

inveterate (adj.)

Back 14

1. firmly established by age; deeprooted

2. habitual

Front 15

juvenile (adj.)

Back 15

1. of or for youth; youthful

2. immature

Front 16

longevity (noun)

Back 16

1. long life

2. length of life

Front 17

matriarch (noun)

Back 17

1. mother and ruler of a family

2. highly respected elderly lady

Front 18

mature (adj.)

Back 18

1. full-grown; ripe

2. carefully thought out

Front 19

nonage (noun)

Back 19

legal minority; period before maturity

Front 20

nonagenarian (noun)

Back 20

person in his or her 90's (Note also octogenarian, person in the 80's, and septugenaarian, person in the 70's.

Front 21

obsolescent (adj.)

Back 21

going out of use; becoming obsolete.

Front 22

obsolete (adj.)

Back 22

no longer in use; out-of-date.

Front 23

patriarch (noun)

Back 23

1. venerable old man

2. father and ruler of a family or tribe; founder

Front 24

posthumous (adj.)

Back 24

1. published after the author's death

2. occurring after death

Front 25

primeval (adj.)

Back 25

pertaining to the world's first ages; primitive.

Front 26

primordial (adj.)

Back 26

1. existing at the very beginning

2. elementary; primary; first in order

Front 27

pristine (adj.)

Back 27

in original, long-ago state; uncorrupted

Front 28

puberty (noun)

Back 28

physical beginning of manhood (at about age 14) or womanhood (at about age 12)

Front 29

puerile (adj.)

Back 29

foolish for a grown person to say or do; childish.

Front 30

senile (adj.)

Back 30

showing the weakness of age

Front 31

superannuated (adj.)

Back 31

retired on a pension; extremely old

Front 32

venerable (adj.)

Back 32

worthy of respect because of advanced age, achievement, virtue or historical importance.

Front 33

veteran (noun)

Back 33

1. person experienced in some occupation, art or profession.

2. ex-member of the armed forces

Front 34

yore (noun)

Back 34

(always preceded by of) long ago

Front 35

abstemious (adj.)

Back 35

sparing in eating and drinking; temperate; abstinent

Front 36

carousal (noun)

Back 36

jovial feast; drinking party

Front 37

dipsomania (noun)

Back 37

abnormal, uncontrollabe craving for alcohol; alcoholism

Front 38

inebriated (adj.)

Back 38

drunk; intoxicated

Front 39

sober (adj.)

Back 39

not drunk; temperate
(antonym - drunk; intoxicated)

Front 40

sobriety (noun)

Back 40

temperance; abstinence

Front 41

sot (noun)

Back 41

person made foolish by excessive drinking; drunkard

Front 42

teetotaler (noun)

Back 42

person who totally abstains from intoxicating beverages

(antonym - dipsomaniac)

Front 43

bow (noun)

Back 43

forward part of a ship; prow
(antonym - stern)

Front 44

brine (noun)

Back 44

1. salty water

2. ocean; sea; the deep

Front 45

doldrums (noun, plural)

Back 45

1. calm, windless part of the ocean near the equator

2. listlessness

Front 46

flotsam(noun)

Back 46

wrckage of a ship or its cargo found floating in the sea; driftage.

Front 47

jetsam (noun)

Back 47

goods cast overboard to lighten a ship in distress

Front 48

jettison (verb)

Back 48

throw (goods) overboard to lighten a ship or plane; discard

Front 49

leeward (adj.)

Back 49

in the direction away from the wind
(antonym - windward)

Front 50

marine (adj.)

Back 50

of the sea or shipping; nautical; maritime

Front 51

mariner (noun)

Back 51

sailor; seaman

Front 52

starboard (adj.)

Back 52

pertaining to the right-hand side of a ship when you face the bow (forward)
antinym - port

Front 53

carrion (noun)

Back 53

decaying flesh of a carcass

Front 54

contaminate (verb)

Back 54

make impure by mixture; pollute
antonym - decontaminate

Front 55

dross (noun)

Back 55

waste; refuse

Front 56

expurgate (verb)

Back 56

remove objectionable material from a book; bowdlerize; purify

Front 57

immaculate (adj.)

Back 57

spotless; absolutely clean; pure; faultless

Front 58

offal (noun)

Back 58

waste parts of a butchered animal; refuse; garbage.

Front 59

purge (verb)

Back 59

cleanse; purify; rid of undesired element or person.

Front 60

slatternly (adj.)

Back 60

untidy; dirty from habitual neglect; slovenly

Front 61

sloven (noun)

Back 61

person habitually untidy, dirty, or careless in dress habits, etc.

Front 62

sordid (adj.)

Back 62

filthy; vile

Front 63

squalid (adj.)

Back 63

filthy from neglect; dirty; degraded

Front 64

squalor (noun)

Back 64

filth; degradation; sordidness

Front 65

sully (verb)

Back 65

tarnish; besmirch; defile

Front 66

adjacent (adj.)

Back 66

lying near or next to; bordering; adjoining

Front 67

approximate (adj.)

Back 67

nearly correct
(antonym - exact; precise)

Front 68

contiguous (adj.)

Back 68

touching; adjoining

Front 69

environs (noun, plural)

Back 69

districts surrounding a place; suburbs

Front 70

juxtapose (verb)

Back 70

put side by side; put close together

Front 71

juxtaposition (noun)

Back 71

close or side-by-side position

Front 72

propinquity (noun)

Back 72

1. kinship

2. nearness of place; proximity

Front 73

analogy (noun)

Back 73

likeness in some respects between things otherwise differnet; similarity; comparison

Front 74

arbitrary (adj.)

Back 74

autocratic; despotic; tyrannical; proceeding from a whim or fancy
(antonym - legitimate)

Front 75

arbitrate (verb)

Back 75

1. decide a dispute, acting as an arbiter or arbitrator

2. submit a dispute to arbitration

Front 76

axiom (noun)

Back 76

self-evident truth; maxim

Front 77

axiomatic (adj.)

Back 77

self-evident; universally accepted as true

Front 78

bias (noun)

Back 78

opinion formed before there are grounds for it; prejudice; predilection; partiality

Front 79

bigoted (adj.)

Back 79

intolerant; narrow-minded

Front 80

bigotry (noun)

Back 80

views or behavior of a buigot (one intolerantly devoted to one's own beliefs and prejudices); narrow-mindedness; intolerance

Front 81

cogitate (noun)

Back 81

think over; consider with care; ponder.

Front 82

criterion (noun)

Back 82

standard; ruleor test for judging (plural - criteria)

Front 83

crux (noun)

Back 83

most important point; essential part

Front 84

deduce (noun)

Back 84

derive be reasoning; infer

Front 85

dilemma (noun)

Back 85

situation requiring a choice between two equally bad altenatives; predictament

Front 86

dogmatic (adj.)

Back 86

asserting opinions as if they were facts; opinionated; asserted without proof

Front 87

eclectic (adj.)

Back 87

choosing (ideas, methods, etc. ) from various sources

Front 88

fallacious (adj.)

Back 88

based on a fallacy (erroneous idea); misleading; deceptive
(antonym - sound; valid)

Front 89

fallible (adj.)

Back 89

liable to be mistaken
(antonym - infallible)

Front 90

heterodox (adj.)

Back 90

rejecting regularly accepted beliefs or doctrines; heretical; nonconformist
(antonym - orthodox)

Front 91

hypothetical (adj.)

Back 91

supposed; having the characteristics of a hypothesis, a suppossition made as a basis for reasoning or research. (If supported by considerable evidence, a hypothesis becomes a theory, and eventually, if no exceptions are found, a law.)

Front 92

illusion (noun)

Back 92

misleading appearance; false impression; misconception

Front 93

indubitable (adj.)

Back 93

certain, incontrovertible; indisputable
(antonym - questionable; doubtful)

Front 94

orthodox (adj.)

Back 94

generally accepted, especially in religion; conventional; approved
(antonym - heterodox; unorthodox)

Front 95

paradoxical (adj.)

Back 95

having the characteristics of a paradox (a self-contradictory statement which may nevertheless be true)

Front 96

plausible (adj.)

Back 96

superficially true or reasonable; apparently trustworthy

Front 97

preposterous (adj.)

Back 97

senseless; absurd; irrational

Front 98

rational (adj.)

Back 98

1. able to think clearly; intelligent; sensible
(antonym - absurd; irrational)

2. based on reason

Front 99

rationalize (verb)

Back 99

invent excuses for one's actions, desires, failures, etc.

Front 100

sophistry (noun)

Back 100

clever but deceptive reasoning

Front 101

specious (adj.)

Back 101

apparently reasonable, but not really so

Front 102

speculate (verb)

Back 102

1. reflect; meditate; conjecture

2. buy or sell with the hope of profiting by price fluctuations

Front 103

tenable (adj.)

Back 103

capable of being maintained or defended

antonym - untenable

Front 104

amorphous (adj.)

Back 104

shapeless; having no definite form; unorganized

Front 105

concave (adj.)

Back 105

curved inward, creating a hollow space

(antonym - convex)

Front 106

contour (noun)

Back 106

outline of a figure

Front 107

distort (verb)

Back 107

1. twist out of shape

2. chenge from the true meaning

Front 108

malleable (adj.)

Back 108

1. capable of being shaped by hammering, as a metal

2. adaptable

Front 109

rotund (adj.)

Back 109

1. rounded out; plump

2. full-toned

Front 110

sinuous (adj.)

Back 110

bending in and out; winding; serpentine

Front 111

symmetrical (adj.)

Back 111

balanced in arrangement; capable of division by a central line into similar halves

(antonym - asymmetrical)

Front 112

symmetry (noun)

Back 112

balance; harmony

Front 113

grave (adj.)

Back 113

deserving serious attention; weighty; momentous

Front 114

nugatory (adj.)

Back 114

of little or no value; trifling; worthless; useless

Front 115

paltry (adj.)

Back 115

practically worthless; trashy; piddling; petty

Front 116

paramount (adj.)

Back 116

chief; above others; supreme

Front 117

relevant (adj.)

Back 117

bearing upon the matter in hand; pertinent

(antonym - irrelevat; extraneous)

Front 118

coy (adj.)

Back 118

pretending to be shy

Front 119

demure (adj.)

Back 119

1. falsely modest or serious; coy

2. grave; prim

Front 120

diffident (adj.)

Back 120

lacking self-confidence; unduly timid; shy

(antonym - confident)

Front 121

modest (adj.)

Back 121

not thinking too highly of one's merits; unpretentious; humble

(antonym - ambitious)

Front 122

modesty (noun)

Back 122

freedom from conceit or vanity; unpretentiousness; humility

Front 123

staid (adj.)

Back 123

of settled, quiet disposition; sedate

Front 124

brazen (adj.)

Back 124

1. shameless; impudent

2. made of brass or bronze

Front 125

egoism (noun)

Back 125

excessive concern for oneself; selfishness; conceit

(antonym - altruism)

Front 126

ostentatious (adj.)

Back 126

done to impress others; showy; pretentious

Front 127

overweening (adj.)

Back 127

thinking too highly of oneself; arrogant; presumptuous

Front 128

pert (adj.)

Back 128

too free in speech or action; bold; saucy; impertinent

Front 129

vain (adj.)

Back 129

1. conceited; excessively proud or concerned about one;s personal appearance or achievements

2. empty; worhtless

3. futile

Front 130

vainglorious (adj.)

Back 130

excessively proud or boastful; elated by vanity

Front 131

vanity (noun)

Back 131

condition of being too vain about one's appearance or achievements; conceit

(antonym - humility)