English Vocabulary Words Page 4

Front 1

auteur

Back 1

an artist whose style and practice are distinctive
The movie's director was easily recognizable because the auteur's style was so individual.

Front 2

leitmotiv

Back 2

a dominant recurring idea, person, situation, or theme
In Lord of the Rings, each culture or major character had a leitmotiv, which was generally a simple melodic phrase.

Front 3

deus ex machine

Back 3

"god from the machine;" an improbably agent introduced to solve a dilemma
In "Romeo and Juliet," the lovers are stopped from being together by their families, but the deus ex machine is the poison that Juliet takes, which is not alluded to as a solution earlier in the story.

Front 4

pathos

Back 4

an element in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion
The advertisement used pathos by picturing a crying baby, hoping to evoke sympathy from viewers.

Front 5

rapport

Back 5

relation (especially marked by harmony, conformity, accord, or affinity)
The teacher's rapport with her her student developed more during her conference with him.

Front 6

double entendre

Back 6

"double meaning;" a word or expression capable of two interpretations
Shakespeare's witty incorporation of double entendres has led his work to take on multiple interpretations.

Front 7

segue

Back 7

to proceed to what follows without pause
At the dinner table, the girl segued smoothly into the next story without stopping to take a breath.

Front 8

plebeian

Back 8

one of the common people; crude or coarse in manner or style
The law of the Twelve Tables disallowed intermarriage between the plebeians and the higher-class patricians.

Front 9

terra incognita

Back 9

"unknown territory;" an unexplored country or field of knowledge
The phrase "terra incognita" was used in cartography for regions that had not been mapped or documented.

Front 10

tabula rasa

Back 10

"smothered/erased table;" something existing in its original pristine state
Usually, a student will come to school as a tabula rasa, ready to receive outside impressions from teachers and peers.

Front 11

savoir-faire

Back 11

"knowing how to do;" capacity for appropriate action
The tourists had great confidence in his savoir-faire, and followed in his path as if he were a tour guide.

Front 12

sine qua non

Back 12

"without which not;" something absolutely indispensable or essential
Reliability is a sine qua non for success.

Front 13

roman à clef

Back 13

"novel with a key;" a novel in which real persons or actual events figure under disguise
Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, is a roman à clef, as it reflects the author's own journey up the Congo.

Front 14

sonata

Back 14

an instrumental musical composition typically of three or four movements in contrasting forms and keys
Though the sound of sonatas has changed since the Classical Era, 20th century sonatas still maintain the same structure and build.

Front 15

protégé

Back 15

one who is protected or trained or whose career is furthered by a person of experience, prominence, or influence
Socrates's protégé was Plato and Plato's protégé was Aristotle.

Front 16

raison d’être

Back 16

reason or justification for existence
My raison d’être is still undetermined.

Front 17

modus vivendi

Back 17

"manner of living;" a feasible arrangement or practical compromise
When two sides reach a modus vivendi regarding the territories disputed, even though they may not agree with each other's values or attitude, they have worked out a way of living with their differences.

Front 18

carpe diem

Back 18

"pluck/seize the day;" the enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment without concern for the future
The woman lived with a carpe diem philosophy - she took every opportunity even if the long-term consequences were not so advantageous.

Front 19

tempus fugit

Back 19

time flies
The man's realization that tempus fugit was an epiphanic experience for him.

Front 20

jejune

Back 20

lacking nutritive value; dull
The student had sat through many jejune lectures throughout the year.

Front 21

proselytize

Back 21

to induce someone to convert to one's faith, party, or cause
A student club tried to proselytize atheism, debating and challenging theistic assumptions.

Front 22

acolyte

Back 22

one who attends or assists; follower
One of the acolyte's tasks is to light the candles on the altar.

Front 23

ingénue

Back 23

a naive girl or young woman
The experienced, conceited actress refused the role of the ingénue but was criticized for her lack of ability to take on roles contrasting her own personality.

Front 24

weltschmerz

Back 24

mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state
"Relentless skepticism can blur into despair, and despair into Weltschmerz."

Front 25

atelier

Back 25

an artist's or designer's studio or workroom; workshop
The artist's atelier was located above his bedroom, overlooking a lush landscape that never ceased to inspire.

Front 26

memento mori

Back 26

a reminder of mortality (especially death's-head)
The depiction of a human skull symbolizing death was an ominous memento mori for the man.

Front 27

peccadillo

Back 27

a slight offense; a minor sin or fault
The dramatic Pecola lamented a peccadillo for days.

Front 28

farrago

Back 28

a confused mixture; hodgepodge
The blind followers were constantly spouting a farrago of enthused nonsense.

Front 29

zeitgeist

Back 29

the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era
Studying the amalgamation of search queries that people type into Google's search boxes offers a glimpse into the zeitgeist of the times.