Burgoni - Ch2 Context

ameliorate

become better; make better; improve; enhance

amelioration

improvement (ant. degradation)

conserve

keep from waste, loss, or decay; save

conservation

preservation from loss, injury, or waste

conservationist

one who advocates the conservation of natural resources

detriment

injury, damage, or something that causes it; disadvantage

detrimental

harmful; damaging

exotic

1. introduced from another country; foreign (ant. native; indigenous)
2. strikingly unusual; strange

folly

lack of good sense; foolish action or undertaking (ant. wisdom)

formerly

in an earlier period; previously

former

preceding; previous

harmony

peaceable or friendly relations; accord; agreement; tranquility; concord

harmonious

friendly; amicable

ignore

refuse to take notice of; disregard (ant. heed)

ignoramus

ignorant, stupid person; dunce; dolt; dullard; nincompoop

impediment

something that hinders or obstructs; hindrance; obstacle

impede

interfere with or slow the progress of; hinder; obstruct

indolent

disposed to avoid exertion; lazy; idle; lethargic (ant. industrious)

indolence

idleness; laziness

intact

untouched by anything that damages or diminishes; left complete or entire; uninjured

invalid

1. not binding in law; having no force or effect; void; nugatory
2. sickly or disabled person

invalidate

abolish; annul

noncarcinogenic

not producing, or tending to produce, cancer (ant. carcinogenic)

parsimonious

unduly sparing in the spending of money; stingy; miserly; tightfisted

parsimony

stinginess; parsimoniousness (ant. generosity; liberality)

raze

destroy utterly by tearing down; demolish; level

reticent

inclined to be silent or secretive; uncommunicative; reserved

reticence

restraint in communicating (ant. frankness)

retire

1. withdraw from active duty or business
2. go to bed (ant. rise)

retort

1. answer; reply sharply or angrily
2. quick, witty, or sharp reply; answer

subvert

overturn or overthrow from the foundation; undermine (ant. uphold)

subversion

sabotage; undermining

tractable

easily led, taught, or controlled; yielding; docile; amenable

tractability

obedience

baffle

bewilder; perplex; fill with confusion; puzzle; frustrate

baffling

frustrating; bewildering

cinema

movies; motion-picture industry

cinematography

art of making motion pictures

despise

look down on with contempt or disgust; loathe; regard as inferior

despicable

worthy of contempt; contemptible (ant. laudable)

ebullient

overflowing with enthusiasm; exuberant; effervescent; high-spirited; vivacious

ebullience

exuberance

exaggerate

overstate; go beyond the limits of the actual truth; magnify

exaggeration

overstatement

exhort

arouse by words; advise strongly

exhortation

urgent recommendation or advice

expertise

specialized skill or technical knowledge; know-how; expertness

finicky

excessively concerned with trifles or details; hard to please; fussy; particular; fastidious; persnickety

gall

1. make sore; irritate mentally; annoy; vex
2. brazen boldness; nerve (ant. meekness)

inane

lacking significance or sense; pointless; silly; insipid; jejune; vapid (ant. deep; profound)

inanity

foolishness; shallowness

indemnify

compensate for loss, damage, or injury; reimburse; repay

Occident

west; countries of America and Europe (ant. Orient)

occidental

western (ant. oriental)

peruse

read; look at fairly attentively; study

perusal

reading; study

scuffle

1. struggle at close quarters in a rough and confused manner; wrestle; grapple
2. brawl; fight

spurn

thrust aside with disdain or contempt; reject

stipend

fixed pay for services; salary; regular allowance awarded a scholarship winner

surveillance

close watch over a person, group, or area; supervision

tepid

moderately warm; lukewarm

tepidly

unenthusiastically; lukewarmly

wager

1. risk (something) on the outcome of a contest or uncertain event; gamble; bet
2. bet

wane

decrease in power or size; dwindle; decline; sink (ant. wax)

abhorrent

(followed by to) in conflict; utterly opposed; loathsome; repugnant; odious; abominable

abhor

utterly detest; loathe; hate

admonish

reprove gently but seriously; warn of a fault; caution

admonition

gentle warning; friendly reproof

ambrosial

extremely pleasing to taste or smell; delicious; like ambrosia (the food of the gods); heavenly

confine

shut up; imprison; keep in narrow, cramped quarters

confinement

imprisonment

decade

a period of ten years

detonate

explode with suddenness and violence; cause (something) to explode

detonation

explosion

ephemeral

lasting one day only; fleeting; transitory; short-lived; transient

gullible

easily deceived or cheated; credulous (ant. astute)

gull

to deceive, cheat

haggle

dispute or argue over a price in a petty way; bargain; wrangle

immerse

1. plunge or place into a liquid; dip; duck
2. engross; absorb

immersion

state of being deeply engrossed; absorption

insomnia

inability to sleep; abnormal wakefulness; sleeplessness

insomniac

person suffering from insomnia

lapse

1. slip; error; accidental mistake; trivial fault
2. interval
3. cease being in force; become invalid

probe

critical inquiry into suspected illegal activity; investigation

prober

investigator

render

hand down officially; deliver (as a verdict); give

rendering

presentation; interpretation

repast

food for one occasion of eating; meal

replenish

bring back to condition of being full; refill

score

group or set of twenty; twenty

snub

1. act or instance of snubbing (treating with contempt); rebuff; slight; insult
2. treat with disdain or contempt; slight

suture

strand or fiber used to sew parts of the living body; also, stitch made with such material

unwittingly

unintentionally; by accident; inadvertently; unknowingly

acquit

1. relieve from an accusation; pronounce not guilty; discharge; exculpate; exonerate
2. perform one's part; conduct oneself

acquittal

exculpation; discharge (ant. conviction)

complex

having varied interrelated parts, and therefore hard to understand; complicated; intricate

complexity

difficulty; intricacy (ant. simplicity)

consign

give, transfer, or deliver, as if by signing over; hand over; commit

consignee

person to whom something is shipped

effrontery

shameless boldness; insolence; gall; temerity; nerve; chutzpah