Monday, July 16, 2007

Rescue Words 7

Social Sciences

aberrant: deviating from what is normal or typical. It comes from the Latin aberrare (“to go astray”)

anthropomorphism: attributing human shape to gods, objects, animals. The Greek anthropo is a combining form that means “man” or “human”

archetype: model; original pattern; prototype. One meaning of the Greek prefix arch is “main” or chief.”

authoritarian: characterized by unquestioning obedience to authority. An authoritarian figure is one who rejects individual freedom of judgment and action.

cathedrals: the relieving of the emotions by art; the alleviation of fears by bringing them to consciousness. This Greek word has played an important role in theater, as well as in paychiatry.

demography: the science of vital statistics, as of births, deaths, population, etc. It comes from the Greek root demos (“the people”) and graph (“to write”)

epidemiology: the branch of medicine that investigates the causes and controls of epidemics. This word is composed of two Greek roots meaning “among the people”

euthanasia: method of causing death painlessly, mercy killing. In Greek, it means “happy death”

extrovert: a person who is active and expressive, a person who is outgoing. The opposite is introvert.

psychic: of the psyche or mind, beyond natural or known physical processes. All of our words that begin with psych comes from the Greek word pyschikos (“of the soul”)

psychopath: a person afflicted with a mental disorder. The Greek root path means “suffering” or “diseases”

psychotherapy: using forms of mental treatment to cure nervous disorders. Therapy comes from the Greek therapeia (“one who serves or treats medically”)

schizophrenia: a mental disorder characterized by delusions of persecution and omnipotence. Some victims of this disease are said to have a “split personality”

subliminal: below the threshold of apprehensions subconscious. Limen is a Latin word meaning “threshold”

traums: an emotional experience that has a lasting psychic effect. The Greek word trauma means “wound”

Exercises

I. Which word comes to Mind?

In each of the following, read the statement, then circle the word that comes to mind.

A nurse is suspected of having given an overdoes of drugs to a cancer-ridden patient
(subliminal, euthanasia, anthropomorphism)
Researchers examine the tissues of the corpses.
(epidemiology, psychotherapy, psychic)
Man bites dog
(aberrant, authoritarian, catharsis)
The government issues statistics on the ten fastest growing cities
(schizophrenia, extrovert, demography)
A citizen of Hiroshima continues to have nightmares
(archetype, trauma, psychopath)
The life of the party
(catharsis, extrovert, trauma)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(schizophrenia, epidemiology, demography)
Commands from a dictator
(subliminal, psychic, authoritarian)
A family asks the doctors to “pull the plug”
(archetype, catharsis, euthanasia)
A Walt Disney show
(trauma, anthropomorphism, subliminal)

II. True or False?

In the space provided, indicate whether each statement is true or false.

____ 1. Psychotherapy is used to treat muscles that have atrophied

____ 2. Aberrant behavior is always welcomed by society.

____ 3. Subliminal suggestions tend to be subtle ones.

____ 4. Psychopaths and schizophrenics can be cured quickly today.

____ 5. Jupiter throwing his lightning bolts across the sky is an example of
anthropomorphism.
____ 6. Her lawyer claimed that camp experiences led to Helen’s trauma.

____ 7. Our family operates on democratic principles because Dad is an authoritarian
figure.
____ 8. The supermarket owners studied the neighborhood’s demography before building
the new store.
____ 9. Europe’s Black Plague is a fruitful study for epidemiologists.

____ 10. Euthanasia deals with young people in China.

III. Fill in the Blank

Insert one of the new words in the proper space in each sentence below.

It was obvious to the emergency room doctor that the patient had undergone a serious _____________.
Concern over the so-called “mercy killing” led the clergyman to organize a symposium on _______________.
The classroom was run in an ______________ fashion because the teacher scorned democratic principles.
We were confounded by the _______________ results of the test in which the poorest students received the highest grades.
Study of our neighborhood’s projected _______________ will to help us to plan for the influx of new families.
We usually refer to people with multiple personalities as suffering from ______________.
The psychologist advanced the theory that the deranged murderer was a ________________.
As an uninhibited ______________. Larry was the life of the party.
Since I am dedicated to eliminating infectious diseases, I plan to major in ______________.
Following a _____________ in the final act, the playwright created a happy ending.

IV. What’s the Antonym?

Which of the new words is most nearly opposite in meaning to the one provided?

1. democrat _____________
2. normal _____________
3. conscious _____________
4. shy one _____________
5. poor example ______________

1. Odium - The state or quality of being odious. Strong dislike, contempt, or aversion. A state of disgrace resulting from hateful or detestable

2. Glut - To fill beyond capacity, especially with food; satiate

3. Nervy - Arrogantly impudent; brazen. Showing or requiring courage and fortitude; bold.

4. Pallid - Having an abnormally pale or wan complexion; lacking intensity of color or luminousness

5. Diaphanous - So light and insubstantial as to resemble air or a thin film; fine, see-through

6. Dishevelled - Being in loose disarray; unkempt, as hair or clothing; marked by disorder; untidy; wrinkled, unkempt in appearance

7. Disconsolate - Seeming beyond consolation; extremely dejected; cheerless; gloomy; depressed, unhappy

8. Batten - Grow fat,thrive upon others

9. Conch - Large seashell

10. Ingenue - An artless girl;an actress who plays such parts

11. Orison - Prayer

12. Rambunctious - Boisterous and disorderly

13. Hellion - A mischievous, troublesome, or unruly person

14. Carpophagous - Feeding on fruit; fruit-eating

15. Rancor - Bitter, long-lasting resentment; deep-seated ill will

16. Derivative - Resulting from or employing derivation; copied or adapted from others

17. Spurn - To be unwilling to accept, consider, or receive; to kick at or tread on disdainfully

18. Quatrain - A stanza or poem of four lines

19. Fustian - A coarse sturdy cloth made of cotton and flax; pretentious speech or writing; pompous language; pompous, bombastic, and ranting

20. Bombastic - Pompous, grandiloquent; boastful in speech or writing

21. Bootless - Without advantage or benefit; useless; unproductive of success

22. Futile - Having no useful result; trifling and frivolous; idle

23. Debase - To lower in character, quality, or value; degrade; adulterate

24. Compunction - A strong uneasiness caused by a sense of guilt; a feeling of regret for one’s sins or misdeeds; a feeling of uncertainty about the fitness or correctness of an action; regret, sorrow

25. Yokel - An uneducated country person; clumsy, unsophisticated persona rustic; a bumpkin

26. Bumptious - Crudely or loudly assertive; pushy; self-important, conceited; offensively self-assertive

27. Chimera - A fantastic, impracticable plan or desire; dream, fantasy

28. Circumspect - Heedful of circumstances and potential consequences; prudent; trying attentively to avoid danger, risk, or error; cautious, discreet

29. Turpitude - Depravity; baseness; a base act

30. Infinitude - The state or quality of being infinite; an immeasurably large quantity, number, or extent

31. Cistern - A receptacle for holding water or other liquid, especially a tank for catching and storing rainwater

32. Dulcet - Pleasing to the ear; melodious; having a soothing, agreeable quality; archaic; sweet to the taste

33. Phlegmatic - Without emotion or interest; having or suggesting a calm, sluggish temperament; unemotional

34. Heresy - A controversial or unorthodox opinion or doctrine, as in politics, philosophy, or science; adherence to such controversial or unorthodox opinion; unorthodoxy

35. Anarchic - Lacking order or control; without law or control

36. Current - A steady, smooth onward movement; a general tendency, movement, or course; the amount of electric charge flowing past a specified circuit point per unit time; running; flowing

37. Gall - The quality or state of feeling bitter; the state or quality of being impudent or arrogantly self-confident; to make (the skin) raw by or as if by friction; to trouble the nerves or peace of mind of, especially by repeated vexations

38. Hirsute - Having a hairy covering

39. Malady - Any physical disease or disorder; a disease, a disorder, or an ailment; an unwholesome condition

40. Fickleness - The quality of being fickle; instability; inconsonancy

41. Resonant - Echoing; full in sound; vibrant in sound; having or producing a full, deep, or rich sound

42. Glacier - A huge mass of ice slowly flowing over a land mass, formed from compacted snow in an area where snow accumulation exceeds melting and sublimation

43. Saga - A long detailed report; epic tale, long story

44. Afferent - Carrying inward to a central organ or section, as nerves that conduct impulses from the periphery of the body to the brain or spinal cord; transmitting impulses from sense organs to nerve centers

45. Castigate - To inflict severe punishment on; to criticize severely

46. Lull - To make or become calm; pause, calm; ease off; to cause to sleep or rest

47. Malevolent - Having or exhibiting ill will; wishing harm to others; malicious

48. Imminent - About to occur; impending; at hand, on the way

49. Abate - To lessen; to subside; in metalwork, to cut away or beat down so as to show a pattern or figure in low relief

50. Stultify - To allege or prove insane and so not legally responsible; cause to appear foolish; deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless; cripple

51. Demur - To express opposition, often by argument; disagree; to delay

52. Munificent - Very liberal in giving; generous; showing great generosity

53. Tractable - Easily managed or controlled; governable; willing to carry out the wishes of others; manageable

54. Obsequious - Full of or exhibiting servile compliance; fawning; excessively eager to serve or obey; submissive

55. Slothful - Disinclined to work or exertion; lazy

56. Assiduity - Persistent application or diligence; unflagging effort; great and constant diligence and attention

57. Impel - To urge to action through moral pressure; drive; to drive forward; propel; prompt, incite

58. Prescience - Knowledge of actions or events before they occur; foresight; unusual or creative discernment or perception

59. Unswerving - Constant; steady

60. Vacillate - To sway from one side to the other; oscillate

61. Cajole - To urge with gentle and repeated appeals, teasing, or flattery; wheedle; attempt to coax; flatter

62. Obdurate - Stubborn and unfeeling

63. Allay - To reduce the intensity of; relieve; to calm or pacify; set to rest

64. Pelf - Wealth or riches, especially when dishonestly acquired

65. Effuse - To cause (a liquid) to flow in a steady stream; give out or emit; to spread or flow out

66. Bootless - Without advantage or benefit; useless; unproductive of success

67. Legerdemain - The use of skillful tricks and deceptions to produce entertainingly baffling effects; manual dexterity in the execution of tricks

68. Instate - To establish in office; install; to admit formally into membership or office, as with ritual

69. Blanket - To extend over the surface of; cover; a layer that covers or encloses

70. Denude - To divest of covering; make bare; to expose (rock strata) by erosion

71. Shrivel - To become or make much less or smaller; dwindle; to become or make shrunken and wrinkled, often by drying; to lose or cause to lose vitality or intensity; dehydrate, dry up

72. Grovel - To behave in a servile or demeaning manner; cringe; abase, demean oneself

73. Referee - One to whom something is referred, especially for settlement, decision, or an opinion as to the thing’s quality

74. Caginess - Having or showing a clever awareness and resourcefulness in practical matters; secretive; wary; careful; shrewd

75. Excise - An internal tax imposed on the production, sale, or consumption of a commodity or the use of a service within a country; a licensing charge or a fee levied for certain privileges; remove, delete

76. Conciliatory - Tending to conciliate; pacific; mollifying; propitiating; placid, yielding

77. Prolixity - Words or the use of words in excess of those needed for clarity or precision; using or containing an excessive number of words; long-winded; wordy

78. Semitic - Of, relating to, or constituting a subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic language group that includes Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic; of or relating to the Semites or their languages or cultures

79. Cadge - To beg or get by begging

80. Futon - A thin mattress of tufted cotton batting or similar material, placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame; mattress consisting of a pad of cotton batting that is used for sleeping on the floor or on a raised frame

81. Toady - A person who flatters or defers to others for self-serving reasons; a sycophant; tray to gain favor by cringing or flattering

82. Rapprochement - A reestablishing of cordial relations, as between two countries; the state of reconciliation or of cordial relations; restoration of harmony

83. Obliterate - To destroy all traces of; to wipe out, rub off, or erase

84. Timorous - Full of apprehensiveness; timid; easily frightened

85. Ecumenical - Of worldwide scope or applicability; universal; non-denominational; of or relating to the worldwide Christian church; concerned with establishing or promoting unity among churches or religions

86. Bibulous - Given to or marked by the consumption of alcoholic drink; very absorbent, as paper or soil; inclined to drink; of or relating to drink or drinking

87. Fustian - Pretentious, pompous speech or writing; a coarse sturdy cloth made of cotton and flax; pompous or pretentious talking or writing

88. Impugn - To attack as false or questionable; challenge in argument; criticize, challenge

89. Pristine - Remaining in a pure state; uncorrupted by civilization. Remaining free from dirt or decay; clean

90. Vociferous - Offensively loud and insistent

91. Convoy - The act of accompanying or escorting, especially for protective purposes; an accompanying and protecting force, as of ships or troops; a group, as of ships or motor vehicles, traveling together with a protective escort or for safety or convenience; to accompany, especially for protection; escort

92. Belie - To give a false representation to; misrepresent; to show to be false; contradict; deceive

93. Nullify - To make null; invalidate; to counteract the force or effectiveness of; cancel, revoke

94. Dissembler - One who dissembles; one who conceals his opinions or dispositions under a false appearance; a hypocrite

95. Forthright - Direct and without evasion; straightforward; directly and frankly; manifesting honesty and directness, especially speech

96. Abhorrence - One that is disgusting, loathsome, or repellent; an object of extreme dislike; the act of detesting extremely; hate coupled with disgust

97. Allegory - The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form; a story, picture, or play employing such representation; a symbolic representation

98. Gossamer - So light and insubstantial as to resemble air or a thin film; gauzy, thin; soft light delicate material

99. Flag - To lose strength or power; droop

100. Thunderous - Producing thunder or a similar sound; loud and unrestrained in a way that suggests thunder; extremely ominous

101. Tempestuous - Violently disturbed or agitated, as by storms; tumultuous; stormy; wild

102. Haughty - Scornfully and condescendingly proud; arrogant

103. Chastise - To punish, as by beating; to criticize severely; rebuke; scold, discipline; to purify

104. Abhorrence - One that is disgusting, loathsome, or repellent; a feeling of repugnance or loathing; hate coupled with disgust; the act of detesting extremely

105. Irascible - Prone to outbursts of temper; easily angered. Characterized by or resulting from anger

106. Appendix - A collection of supplementary material, usually at the end of a book

107. Sumptuous - Of a size or splendor suggesting great expense; lavish; luxurious, splendid; rich and superior in quality

108. Fallow - Land left unseeded during a growing season; inactive; plowed but left unseeded during a growing season: fallow farmland

109. Plummet - To decline suddenly and steeply; to fall straight down; plunge; fall hard and fast

110. Benign - Of a kind and gentle disposition; having little or no detrimental effect; harmless

111. Immure - To confine within or as if within walls; imprison; lock up or confine, in or as in a jail

112. Voluble - Marked by a ready flow of speech; fluent; turning easily on an axis; rotating; talkative

113. Berate - To rebuke or scold angrily and at length; to reprimand loudly or harshly; criticize hatefully

114. Stolid - Having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; impassive; apathetic, stupid; without emotion or interest

115. Delineate - To draw or trace the outline of; sketch out. To represent pictorially; depict

116. Fracas - A noisy, disorderly fight or quarrel; a brawl; disturbance, fight

117. Gall - To become irritated, chafed, or sore; nerve, brashness; upset, irritate

118. Lampoon - A work, as a novel or play, that exposes folly by the use of humor or irony; ridicule, make fun of

119. Dwell - To live as a resident; reside; to fasten one’s attention; to speak or write at length; expatiate; live in

120. Vicissitudinous - Full of, or subject to, changes

121. Martinet - A rigid military disciplinarian; one who demands absolute adherence to forms and rules; one who demands strict obedience

122. Lenient - Inclined not to be harsh or strict; merciful, generous, or indulgent; not strict or severe; not harsh or strict in dealing with others

123. Anecdote - A short account of an interesting or humorous incident; an entertaining and often oral account of a real or fictitious occurrence; a short, interesting, and amusing story

124. Voluptuous - Giving, characterized by, or suggesting ample, unrestrained pleasure to the senses; well-developed, erotic; having fullness of beautiful form

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