Sunday, September 23, 2012

Vocabulary: Fall List #7

aberration
ad hoc
bane
bathos
cantankerous
casuistry
de facto
depredation
empathy
harbinger
hedonism
lackluster
malcontent
mellifluous
nepotism
pander
peccadillo
piece de resistance
remand
syndrome

7 comments:

  1. Its always a race to do this, so I claim victory this round.

    aberration - (noun) an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image; a disorder in one's mental state; a state or condition markedly different from the norm

    Ad hoc- (adverb) for the special purpose or end presently under consideration

    bane - (noun) something causes misery or death

    bathos - (noun) triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos

    cantankerous - (adj.) having a difficult and contrary disposition; stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate

    casuistry - (noun) moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas; argumentation that is specious or excessively subtle and intended to be misleading

    de facto - (noun) in fact; in reality

    depredation - (noun) an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding; (usually plural) a destructive action

    empathy - (noun) understanding and entering into another's feelings

    harbinger - (noun) an indication of the approach of something or someone; verb foreshadow or presage

    hedonism - (noun) an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good; the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle

    lackluster - (adj.) lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality

    malcontent - (adj.) discontented as toward authority; noun a person who is discontented or disgusted

    mellifluous - (adj.) pleasing to the ear
    nepotism - noun favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)

    pander - (noun) someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce); verb arrange for sexual partners for others; yield (to); give satisfaction to

    peccadillo - (noun) a petty misdeed

    piece de resistance - (noun) the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.

    remand - (noun) the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial); verb refer (a matter or legal case) to another committee or authority or court for decision; lock up or confine, in or as in a jail

    syndrome - (noun) a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease

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    1. I didn't check, but I'm pretty sure 15 minutes is a new record. :)

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    2. I guess I'm just really lucky to have checked the blog at the right time.

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    3. There is no such thing as luck. This time it was simply skills.(:

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  2. I'm a little unclear on how an aberration is different from an optical illusion, so if somehow that could be cleared up, that would be fantastic.

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  3. I'm not too sure on how to use de facto in a sentence..?

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    1. "De facto racism often exists in societies where discrimination based on race is illegal."

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