English Vocab Lessons 1-4

Front 1

holocaust

Back 1

N. In general, any conflagration where there is widespread destruction by fire.
Also, term referring to actions against Jews in Nazi Germany.

Front 2

chagrin

Back 2

N. Distress of mind caused by humiliation, disappointment, or failure. Also connotes a sense of embarrassment.

(From identical French word meaning sad)

Front 3

vacillate

Back 3

V. To waver in decision or in opinion; to fudge, to act in an indecisive manner.

(Latin: vacillare- to sway to and fro)

Front 4

catharsis

Back 4

Purging, cleansing, spiritual purification that brings with it release from tension or emotional stress.
Ex: Confession for Catholics.

Front 5

ennui

Back 5

N. Listlessness, dissatisfaction, or a feeling of discontent that usually results from boredom.

(Old French- enui: displeasure)

Front 6

caveat

Back 6

A warning or caution "to take care, to be heedful of consequences".
(caveat emptor- 'Let the buyer beware')
*Also has a meaning attached to jurisprudence.

(From Latin: cavere, to take care)

Front 7

caprice

Back 7

N. A sudden and unpredictable change or turn of mind; Capriciousness- characterized by impulsive behaviour such as changing one's mind.

*Different from fickle.
(from Latin caput- 'head')

Front 8

palliate

Back 8

V. -To cover by excuses and/or apologies.
-To lessen the violence of, to abate.
ex. To palliate a child's tantrum by giving them candy.

**More selfish than assuage.

(From Latin palliare- 'to cloak or to conceal')

Front 9

assuage

Back 9

V. To mollify, to pacify, to lessen the intensity of pain.

(Latin suavis- 'sweet', like suave)
**similar to palliate, but the difference is in intention. Assuage implies selflessness, palliate usually selfishness.

Front 10

axiom

Back 10

N. A proposition regarded as a self-evident truth. A maxim widely accepted on its intrinsic merits.

(from Greek axioun- 'think, worthy')

Front 11

foible

Back 11

N. A fault, minor character flaw which implies a kind of human weakness.

(from Old French feble- 'weak')

Front 12

fortnight

Back 12

Fourteen nights / two weeks.

(Old English- fewwertyne nigt)

Front 13

ecdysiast

Back 13

N. Stripper.

(Coined by H.L Mencken in 40's, from science & Greek roots, ecdysis is a shedding of the outer coat, like snakes/ crabs)

Front 14

grotesque

Back 14

Adj. Bizarre, absurdly incongruous, departing from the natural, the typical.

(from Old Italian grottesco- of a cave/ 'pittura grottesca'- cave painting)

Front 15

fickle

Back 15

Adj. Capricious; casually changeable; not constant in loyalty or affection.

**Don't confuse w/ capricious. Refers more to one's relationships with people.

Front 16

fulminate

Back 16

V. Implies an explosion, but the eruption is more emotional/ figurative than it is real.
Send forth censures or invectives, figuratively to do so as though throwing lightning bolts.

(Middle Latin, fulimnare= 'to flash/strike with lightning')

Front 17

dotage

Back 17

N. -A state of feeblemindedness, especially in old age. -> do/ say things that give a foolish appearance.
-Also, foolish affection.

(Middle Low German- dotten: 'to be foolish')

Front 18

expurgate

Back 18

V. To remove that which is morally harmful, offensive, or erroneous.
Also purge/ cleanse or edit, usually censorship.

Front 19

specious

Back 19

Adj. Deceptively attractive, or having the ring of truth but actually being false.

Front 20

ostracize

Back 20

V. To ban; to exclude from a group by popular consent.

(Greek- ostrakon 'shell', 'potsherd'. In Ancient Greece banishment would be voted upon using such shells.)

Front 21

turgid

Back 21

-To be swollen. ex. A limb, or a river.
-Bombastic, pompous, inflated. 'Turgid prose.'

Front 22

calumniate

Back 22

V. To utter false charges maliciously to damage another's reputation. Requires deception.

Front 23

chimera

Back 23

N. (ka-MEER-a)
An illusion of the mind, an unrealisable dream.

(Greek chimaira- an imaginary animal with a flaming lion's head, goat's body and serpent's tail.)

Front 24

nirvana

Back 24

N. Extinguishing of desire and individual consciousness.
-More general meaning attached to the word: an ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy.

(from Sanskrit)

Front 25

avuncular

Back 25

Characteristic of an uncle, can relate to any one who behaves in a kindly, uncle-like fashion. ex. some teachers.

(Latin: avuncul(us)- mother's brother)

Front 26

alpha and omega

Back 26

N. The beginning and the end.

Front 27

nebulous

Back 27

Adj. Hazy, vague, indistinct. Unclear, lack of clarity.

Front 28

bane

Back 28

N. A person or thing that ruins or spoils; noxious, poisonous. Not always harmful in a physical sense.

Front 29

imprecation

Back 29

N. Evil praying; to invoke evil upon, to curse.
ex: "May God strike you down."

Front 30

frenetic

Back 30

Adj. frenzied, frantic.
Also might characterize the behavior of someone suffering from a mental disorder.

Front 31

cenotaph

Back 31

N. A tomb or monument erected in honor of a person whose body is buried elsewhere.

Front 32

unctuous

Back 32

Oily, greasy, excessively smooth.
ex: A person who fawns another in hopes of gaining something.

Front 33

vicissitude

Back 33

N. One of the sudden or unexpected turns often encountered in one's life. / "Life's ups and downs"
Shift, change.

Front 34

titillate

Back 34

V. To tickle the senses. To excite pleasurably, agreeably.

Front 35

moribund

Back 35

Adj. The point of death, about to die.

ex: Communism languished in a moribund state decades before its demise.

Front 36

badinage

Back 36

N. Light playful banter or a playful kind of teasing. Good-natured.

Front 37

sesquipedalian

Back 37

N/ Adj. One and one-half feet;
A word that is unusually long.
Can also refer to a person who is given to using long words.

Front 38

extirpate

Back 38

V. Exterminate; wipe out; pull up by the root leaving no trace. Sym: expunge.

Front 39

apotheosis

Back 39

N. exalted; perfect example; deification, glorified.

ex: M. Teresea is the apotheosis of the Christian life.

Front 40

swastika

Back 40

N. Symbol of Nazi tyranny and unspeakable crimes against humanity.

(Sanskrit svastika- 'good luck charm') Irony.