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35 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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CATHOLIC (KATH lik) adj
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universal; embracing everything
Da Vinci was a catholic genius who excelled at everything he did. Catholic with a "c" means universal. Catholic with a "C" means Roman Catholic or pertaining to an ancient, undivided Christian church. |
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CAUSTIC (KAW stik) adj
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like acid; corrosive
Paint remover is a caustic substance; if you spill it on your skin, your skin will burn. |
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CELIBACY (SEL uh buh see) n
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abstinence from sex
People who practice celibacy don’t practice sex. Celibacy is one of the requirements for Catholic priesthood. |
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CENSURE (SEN shur) v
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to condemn severely for doing some thing bad
The Senate sometimes censures senators for breaking laws or engaging in behavior unbecoming to an elected official. |
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CEREBRAL (suh REE brul) adj
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brainy; intellectually refined
Sebastian was too cerebral to be a baseball announcer; he kept talking about the existentialism of the outfield. |
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CHAGRIN (shuh GRIN) n
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humiliation; embarrassed disappointment
Much to my chagrin, I began to giggle during the eulogy at the funeral. |
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CHARISMA (kuh RIZ muh) n
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a magical-seeming ability to attract followers or inspire loyalty
The glamorous presidential candidate had a lot of charisma; voters didn’t seem to support him so much as be entranced by him. |
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CHARLATAN (SHAR luh tun) n
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fraud; quack; con man
The flea market usually attracts a lot of charlatans who sell phony products that don’t do what they claim they will. |
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CHASM (KAZ um) n
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a deep, gaping hole; a gorge
Mark was so stupid that his girlfriend wondered whether there wasn’t a chasm where his brain should be. |
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CHASTISE (chas TYZE) v
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to inflict punishment on; to discipline
Mother chastised us for firing our bottle rockets through the living-room window. |
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CHICANERY (shi KAY nuh ree) n
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trickery; deceitfulness; artifice, especially legal or political
Political news would be dull were it not for the chicanery of our elected officials. |
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CHIMERA (kye MEER uh) n
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an illusion; a foolish fancy
Jie’s dream of becoming a movie star was just a chimera. |
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CHOLERIC (KAHL ur ik) adj
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hot-tempered; quick to anger
The choleric watchdog would sink his teeth into anyone who came within biting distance of his doghouse. |
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CHRONIC (KRAHN ik) adj
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constant; lasting a long time; inveterate
Tom's chronic back pains often kept him from football practice, but the post-game internal bleeding lasted only a day. |
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CHRONICLE (KRAHN uh kul) n
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a record of events in order of time; a history
Sally’s diary provided her mother with a detailed chronicle of her daughter’s extracurricular activities. |
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CIRCUITOUS (sur KYOO uh tus) adj
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roundabout; not following a direct path
The circuitous bus route between the two cities went here, there, and everywhere, and it took an extremely long time to get anywhere. |
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CIRCUMLOCUTION (sur kum loh KYOO shun) n
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an indirect expression; use of wordy or evasive language
The lawyer’s circumlocution left everyone in the courtroom wondering what had been said. |
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CIRCUMSCRIBE (SUR kum skrybe) v
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to draw a line around; to set the limits; to define; to restrict
The Constitution clearly circumscribes the restrictions that can be placed on our personal freedoms. |
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CIRCUMSPECT (SUR kum spekt) adj
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cautious
The circumspect general did everything he could not to put his soldiers at unnecessary risk. |
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CIRCUMVENT (sur kum VENT) v
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to frustrate as though by surrounding
Our hopes for an early end of the meeting were circumvented by the chairperson’s refusal to deal with the items on the agenda. |
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CIVIL (SIV ul) adj
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polite; civilized; courteous
Our dinner guests conducted themselves civilly when we told them we weren’t going to serve them dinner after all. They didn’t bang their cups on the table or throw their plates to the floor. |
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CLEMENCY (KLEM un see) n
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mercy; forgiveness; mildness
The governor committed an act of clemency when he released all the convicts from the state penitentiary. |
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CLICHÉ (klee SHAY) n
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an overused saying or idea
The expression “you can’t judge a book by its cover” is a cliché; it’s been used so many times, that freshness has been worn away. |
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CLIQUE (kleek) n
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an exclusive group bound together by some shared quality or interest
The high school newspaper staff was a real clique; they all hung out together and wouldn’t talk to anyone else. |
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COALESCE (koh uh LES) v
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to come together as one; to fuse; to unite
The people in our neighborhood coalesced into a powerful force for change in the community. |
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COERCE (koh URS) v
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to force someone to do or not to do some thing
Darth Vader tried flattery, Darth Vader tried gifts, Darth Vader even tried to coerce, but Darth Vader was never able to make Han Solo reveal the hidden rebel base. |
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COGENT (KOH junt) adj
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powerfully convincing
The lawyer’s argument on his client’s behalf was not cogent, so the jury convicted his client. The jury was persuaded by the cogency of the prosecuting attorney’s argument. |
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COGNITIVE (KAHG nu tiv) adj
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dealing with how we know the world around us through our sens es; mental
Scientists study the cognitive apparatus of human beings to pattern how computers should gather information about the world. |
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COGNIZANT (KAHG nu zunt) adj
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aware; conscious
Al was cognizant of the dangers of sword swallowing, but he tried it anyway and hurt himself quite badly. |
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COHERENT (koh HEER unt) adj
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holding together; making sense
After puzzling over Grace’s disorganized Holy Roman Empire essay for almost an hour, Ms. Fabricius needed only twenty minutes to read Arjun’s coherent paper on the Defenestration of Prague. |
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COLLOQUIAL (kul OH kwee ul) adj
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conversational; informal in language
A writer with a colloquial style is a writer who uses ordinary words and whose writing seems as informal as common speech. |
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COLLUSION (kuh LOO zhun) n
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conspiracy; secret cooperation
The increase in oil prices was the result of collusion by the oil-producing nations. |
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COMMENSURATE (kuh MEN sur it) adj
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equal; proportionate
Ryan’s salary is commensurate with his ability; like his ability, his salary is small. |
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COMPELLING (kum PEL ing) adj
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forceful; causing to yield
A compelling argument for buying a digital video recorder is one that makes you go out and buy a digital video recorder. |
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COMPENDIUM (kum PEN dee um) n
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a summary; an abridgment
A yearbook often contains a compendium of the offenses, achievements, and future plans of the members of the senior class. |
