Wednesday, May 30, 2007

So how did I do?

Below is the list of words that according to the publisher of the American Heritage Dictionary I should be able to define and my attempt to do so:

abjure
abrogate
abstemious
acumen -- great skill
antebellum -- After the war
auspicious -- a situation deserving of great fanfare and attention
belie -- to give away
bellicose -- warlike
bowdlerize -- to make up
chicanery -- shady dealings
chromosome -- a collection of DNA
churlish -- grumpy
circumlocution -- to talk around
circumnavigate -- to navigate around
deciduous -- trees that loose their leaves in the winter. as opposed to conifers
deleterious -- speaking in such a way as to show something or someone in a poor light
diffident -- indifferent to
enervate -- to bring feeling into with nerves
enfranchise -- to give the vote to
epiphany -- a great realization
equinox -- the longest day of the year
euro -- the currency used by many members of the European Union.
evanescent -- the characteristic of seeming to have an internal light
expurgate -- to throw out
facetious -- exaggeration for the purpose of humor.
fatuous -- having little substance
feckless -- having few morals
fiduciary -- having to do with money
filibuster -- the act of not surrendering the floor during debate in order to prevent a vote.
gamete -- a unit of a gene
gauche -- overly decorated
gerrymander -- the act of drawing political district lines to strengthen or weaken a political interest
hegemony -- the collection of power in a single entity
hemoglobin -- a part of blood.
homogeneous -- a collection of things are considered to be homogeneous if they are all the same in a specific characteristic.
hubris -- pride
hypotenuse -- the side of a right triangle that is opposite of the 90 degree angle
impeach -- to bring up on charges
incognito -- in disguise
incontrovertible -- indisputable
inculcate
infrastructure -- a substructure of a larger whole that is critical to the workings of the larger structure.
interpolate -- to draw conclusions about a phenomenon when you have data that occurs on either side of the point in question
irony -- the use of a word or phrase in a scenario that implies the opposite meaning of that word
jejune
kinetic -- pertaining to motion
kowtow -- to bow before or to show subjugation to
laissez faire -- a policy of non-intervention
lexicon -- a dictionary
loquacious -- prone to extended speech
lugubrious --
metamorphosis -- a change in shape or character
mitosis -- a form of cell division
moiety --
nanotechnology -- an extremely small technology.
nihilism -- the absence of belief in something
nomenclature -- a system of naming
nonsectarian -- a concern that is not between sects of a religion.
notarize -- the process by which the apparent and actual signatory of a document is confirmed to be one in the same.
obsequious --
oligarchy -- The rule by a small class of people
omnipotent -- all powerful
orthography --
oxidize -- the process by which something reacts to oxygen
parabola -- the shape traced when graphing a function that takes the form y = mx^2 + b
paradigm -- a system of thought or ideas
parameter -- a parameter is an input to a process whose value if changed might have an effect on the outcome of the process
pecuniary -- having to do with money
photosynthesis -- the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy for use and storage by the plant
plagiarize -- to steal the written work of another.
plasma -- Plasma is a form of matter where the electrons become disassociated with their nuclei. It is also a component of blood.
polymer
precipitous -- a situation that is susceptible to drastic change given a slight change in the state
quasar -- A quasi stellar object. It is essentially a collapsed star that emits radiation
quotidian
recapitulate
reciprocal -- having the nature of equality between two entities
reparation -- the payment of money for a wrongdoing
respiration -- the act of exchanging carbon dioxide from within the body for oxygen outside the body by way of the lungs.
sanguine -- appropriate in nature or having to do with blood depending on the context
soliloquy -- a long speech given within a play
subjugate -- the act of completely dominating and pacifying a group
suffragist -- a person interested in acquiring the vote for a group of people.
supercilious -- extraneous
tautology -- a truism or a statement that is impossible to prove false
taxonomy -- a system of classification
tectonic -- having to do with the crust of the planet
tempestuous -- a system that is violent and unpredictable in nature. Having the characteristics of a storm or tempest.
thermodynamics -- the study of the movement of energy within a medium
totalitarian -- a form of government where all aspects of a citizens life are subject to government control
unctuous -- to speak in soothing and persuasive tones
usurp -- to take the rightful place of someone else.
vacuous -- empty
vehement -- the violent expression of something
vortex -- a circular disturbance of a medium
winnow -- to pare down by making small slices
wrought -- either to be filled with or when speaking of metalurgy it is the process of hammeringing a piece of metal into a shape.
xenophobe -- a person who fears outsiders
yeoman -- someone skilled in something.
ziggurat -- a stepped pyramid

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