Word Smart 4Th Edition (Set 8)

Front 1

COMPLACENT (kum PLAY sunt) adj

Back 1

self-satisfied; overly pleased with one self; contented to a fault

The football team won so many games that it became complacent, and the worst team in the league snuck up and beat it.

Front 2

COMPLEMENT (KAHM pluh munt) v

Back 2

to complete or fill up; to be the perfect counterpart

The flower arrangement complemented the table decorations.

Not to be confused with compliment, which means to praise.

Front 3

COMPLICITY (kum PLIS uh tee) n

Back 3

participation in wrong doing; the act of being an accomplice

There was complicity between the bank robber and the dishonest teller. The teller neglected to turn on the alarm, and the robber rewarded him by sharing the loot.

Front 4

COMPREHENSIVE (kahm pruh HEN siv) adj

Back 4

covering or including everything

The insurance policy was comprehensive; it covered all possible losses.

Front 5

COMPRISE (kum PRYZE) v

Back 5

to consist of

A football team comprises eleven players on offense and eleven players on defense.

Players do not “comprise” a football team, and employees do not “comprise” a company. Nor can a football team be said to be “comprised of” players, or a company to be “comprised of” employees.

Front 6

CONCILIATORY (kun SIL ee uh tor ee) adj

Back 6

making peace; at tempting to resolve a dispute through goodwill

The formerly warring countries were conciliatory at the treaty conference.

Front 7

CONCISE (kun SYSE) adj

Back 7

brief and to the point; succinct

The scientist’s explanation was concise; it was brief and it helped us understand the difficult concept.

Front 8

CONCORD (KAHN kord) n

Back 8

harmony; agreement

The war between the neighboring tribes ended thirty years of
con cord.

Front 9

CONCURRENT (kun KUR unt) adj

Back 9

happening at the same time; parallel

The criminal was sentenced to two concurrent fifteen-year sentences; the sentences will run at the same time, and he will be out of jail in fifteen years.

Front 10

CONDESCEND (KAHN duh send) v

Back 10

to stoop to someone else’s level, usually in an offensive way; to patronize

I was surprised that the president of the company had condescended to talk with me, a mere temporary employee.

Front 11

CONDONE (kun DOHN) v

Back 11

to overlook; to permit to happen

The principal condoned the hoods’ smoking in the bathroom; he simply ignored it.

Front 12

CONDUCIVE (kun DOO siv) adj

Back 12

promoting

The chairs in the library are conducive to sleep. If you sit in them to study, you will fall asleep.

Front 13

CONFLUENCE (KAHN floo uns) n

Back 13

a flowing together, especially of rivers; the place where they begin to flow together

The confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers is at St. Louis; that’s the place where they join together.

Front 14

CONGENIAL (kun JEEN yul) adj

Back 14

agreeably suitable; pleasant

The little cabin in the woods was congenial to the writer; he was able to get a lot of writing done there.

Front 15

CONGENITAL (kun JEN uh tul) adj

Back 15

describing a trait or condition acquired between conception and birth; innate

A congenital birth defect is one that is present at birth but was not caused by one’s genes.

Front 16

CONGREGATE (KAHN grih gayt)

Back 16

to come together

Protestors were granted permission to congregate peacefully on the plaza.

Front 17

CONJECTURE (kun JEK chur) v

Back 17

to guess; to deduce or infer on slight evidence

If forced to conjecture, I would say the volcano will erupt in twenty-four hours.

Front 18

CONJURE (KAHN jur) v

Back 18

to summon or bring into being as if by magic

The chef conjured (or conjured up) a fabulous gourmet meal using nothing more than the meager ingredients in Lucy’s kitchen.

Front 19

CONNOISSEUR (kahn uh SUR) n

Back 19

an expert, particularly in matters of art or taste

The artist’s work was popular, but connoisseurs rejected it as amateurish.

Front 20

CONSECRATE (KAHN suh krayt) v

Back 20

to make or declare sacred

The Veterans Day speaker said that the battlefield had been consecrated by the blood of the soldiers who had died there.

Front 21

CONSENSUS (kun SEN sus) n

Back 21

unanimity or general agreement

When there is a consensus, everybody feels the same way.

Front 22

CONSONANT (KAHN suh nunt) adj

Back 22

harmonious; in agreement

Our desires were consonant with theirs; we all wanted the same thing.

Front 23

CONSTRUE (kun STROO) v

Back 23

to interpret

Preston construed his contract as giving him the right to do anything he wanted.

Front 24

CONSUMMATE (kun SUM it) adj

Back 24

perfect; complete; supremely skillful

A consummate pianist is an extremely good one. Nothing is lacking in the way he or she plays.

Front 25

CONTENTIOUS (kun TEN shus) adj

Back 25

argumentative; quarrelsome

Liz figured that her contentious style would make her a perfect litigator; after law school, however, the would-be trial attorney discovered that passing the bar requires more than a will to argue.

Front 26

CONTIGUOUS (kun TIG yoo us) adj

Back 26

side by side; adjoining

Two countries that share a border are contiguous; so are two events that happened one right after the other.

Front 27

CONTINGENT (kun TIN junt) adj

Back 27

dependent; possible

Our agreement to buy their house is contingent upon the sellers’ finding another house to move into. That is, they won’t sell their house to us unless they can find another house to buy.

Front 28

CONTRITE (kun TRYTE) adj

Back 28

admitting guilt; especially feeling remorseful

Mira was contrite about her mistake, so we forgave her.

Front 29

CONTRIVED (kun TRYVED) adj

Back 29

artificial; labored

Sam’s acting was contrived: No one in the audience believed his character or enjoyed his performance.

Front 30

CONVENTIONAL (kun VEN shun nul) adj

Back 30

common; customary; unexceptional

The architect’s conventional designs didn’t win him awards for originality.

Front 31

CONVIVIAL (kun VIV ee ul) adj

Back 31

fond of partying; festive

A convivial gathering is one in which the people present enjoy eating, drinking, and being together.

Front 32

COPIOUS (KOH pee us) adj

Back 32

abundant; plentiful

The champagne at the wedding reception was copious but not very good.

Front 33

COROLLARY (KOR uh ler ee) n

Back 33

something that follows; a natural consequence

Bloodshed and death are corollaries of any declaration of war.

Front 34

CORROBORATE (kuh ROB uh rayt) v

Back 34

to confirm; to back up with evidence

The police could find no evidence of theft and thus could not corroborate Greg’s claim that he had been robbed.

Front 35

COSMOPOLITAN (kahz muh PAHL uh tun) adj

Back 35

at home in many places or situations; internationally sophisticated

Marcello’s interests were cosmopolitan—he liked Greek wine, German beer, Dutch cheese, Japanese cars, and French fries.