Yi's Daily English Learning 2

Front 1

abide

Back 1

verb (used without object)
1.
to remain; continue; stay: Abide with me.
2.
to have one's abode; dwell; reside: to abide in a small Scottish village.
3.
to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship, etc.; last.
verb (used with object)
4.
to put up with; tolerate; stand: I can't abide dishonesty!
5.
to endure, sustain, or withstand without yielding or submitting: to abide a vigorous onslaught.
6.
to wait for; await: to abide the coming of the Lord.
7.
to accept without opposition or question: to abide the verdict of the judges.
8.
to pay the price or penalty of; suffer for.

Front 2

contingent

Back 2

adjective
1.
dependent for existence, occurrence, character, etc., on something not yet certain; conditional (often followed by on or upon ): Our plans are contingent on the weather.
2.
liable to happen or not; uncertain; possible: They had to plan for contingent expenses.
3.
happening by chance or without known cause; fortuitous; accidental: contingent occurrences.
4.
Logic. (of a proposition) neither logically necessary nor logically impossible, so that its truth or falsity can be established only by sensory observation.
noun
5.
a quota of troops furnished.
6.
any one of the representative groups composing an assemblage: the New York contingent at a national convention.
7.
the proportion that falls to one as a share to be contributed or furnished.
8.
something contingent; contingency.

Front 3

arithmetic

Back 3

noun
1.
the method or process of computation with figures: the most elementary branch of mathematics.
2.
Also called higher arithmetic, theoretical arithmetic. the theory of numbers; the study of the divisibility of whole numbers, the remainders after division, etc.
3.
a book on this subject.
adjective
4.
Also, ar·ith·met·i·cal. of or pertaining to arithmetic.

Front 4

brute

Back 4

noun
1.
a nonhuman creature; beast.
2.
a brutal, insensitive, or crude person.
3.
the animal qualities, desires, etc., of humankind: Father felt that rough games brought out the brute in us.
adjective
4.
animal; not human.
5.
not characterized by intelligence or reason; irrational.
6.
characteristic of animals; of brutal character or quality.
7.
savage; cruel: brute force.
8.
carnal; sensual.

Front 5

stake

Back 5

noun
1.
a stick or post pointed at one end for driving into the ground as a boundary mark, part of a fence, support for a plant, etc.
2.
a post to which a person is bound for execution, usually by burning.
3.
the stake, the punishment of death by burning: Joan of Arc was sentenced to the stake.
4.
one of a number of vertical posts fitting into sockets or staples on the edge of the platform of a truck or other vehicle, as to retain the load.
5.
Mormon Church . a division of ecclesiastical territory, consisting of a number of wards presided over by a president and two counselors.

Front 6

prescient

Back 6

adjective
having prescience, or knowledge of things or events before they exist or happen; having foresight: The prescient economist was one of the few to see the financial collapse coming.

Front 7

affirm

Back 7

verb (used with object)
1.
to state or assert positively; maintain as true: to affirm one's loyalty to one's country; He affirmed that all was well.
2.
to confirm or ratify: The appellate court affirmed the judgment of the lower court.
3.
to assert solemnly: He affirmed his innocence.
4.
to express agreement with or commitment to; uphold; support: to affirm human rights.
verb (used without object)
5.
Law.
a.
to state something solemnly before a court or magistrate, but without oath.
b.
to ratify and accept a voidable transaction.
c.
(of an appellate court) to determine that the action of the lower court shall stand.

Front 8

pretext

Back 8

noun
1.
something that is put forward to conceal a true purpose or object; an ostensible reason; excuse: The leaders used the insults as a pretext to declare war.
2.
the misleading appearance or behavior assumed with this intention: His many lavish compliments were a pretext for subtle mockery.

Front 9

redlining

Back 9

noun
a discriminatory practice by which banks, insurance companies, etc., refuse or limit loans, mortgages, insurance, etc., within specific geographic areas, especially inner-city neighborhoods.

Front 10

innocuous

Back 10

adjective
1.
not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy.
2.
not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark.
3.
not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid: an innocuous novel.

Front 11

dissembling

Back 11

dis·sem·ble [dih-sem-buh l] Show IPA verb, dis·sem·bled, dis·sem·bling.
verb (used with object)
1.
to give a false or misleading appearance to; conceal the truth or real nature of: to dissemble one's incompetence in business.
2.
to put on the appearance of; feign: to dissemble innocence.
3.
Obsolete . to let pass unnoticed; ignore.
verb (used without object)
4.
to conceal one's true motives, thoughts, etc., by some pretense; speak or act hypocritically.

Front 12

instrumental

Back 12

adjective
1.
serving or acting as an instrument or means; useful; helpful.
2.
performed on or written for a musical instrument or instruments: instrumental music.
3.
of or pertaining to an instrument or tool.
4.
Grammar .
a.
(in certain inflected languages, as Old English and Russian) noting or pertaining to a case having as its distinctive function the indication of means or agency, as Old English beseah blīthe andweitan “looked with a happy countenance.”
b.
noting the affix or other element characteristic of this case, or a word containing such an element.
c.
similar to such a case form in function or meaning, as the Latin instrumental ablative, gladiō, “by means of a sword.”
d.
(in case grammar) pertaining to the semantic role of a noun phrase that indicates the inanimate, nonvolitional, immediate cause of the action expressed by a verb, as the rock in The rock broke the window or in I broke the window with the rock.
noun
5.
Grammar .
a.
the instrumental case.
b.
a word in the instrumental case.
c.
a construction of similar meaning.

Front 13

re·lent

Back 13

verb (used without object)
1.
to soften in feeling, temper, or determination; become more mild, compassionate, or forgiving.
2.
to become less severe; slacken: The winds relented.
verb (used with object)
3.
Obsolete . to cause to soften in feeling, temper, or determination.
4.
Obsolete . to cause to slacken; abate.
5.
Obsolete . to abandon; relinquish.

Front 14

fable

Back 14

noun
1.
a short tale to teach a moral lesson, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters; apologue: the fable of the tortoise and the hare; Aesop's fables.
2.
a story not founded on fact: This biography is largely a self-laudatory fable.
3.
a story about supernatural or extraordinary persons or incidents; legend: the fables of gods and heroes.
4.
legends or myths collectively: the heroes of Greek fable.
5.
an untruth; falsehood: This boast of a cure is a medical fable.

Front 15

consternation

Back 15

noun
a sudden, alarming amazement or dread that results in utter confusion; dismay.