series 9

ritual

1. A series of actions that are always performed in the same way, especially as part of a religious ceremony.

Ex. The roda was a . It was an event, not a show. What's the difference? A show's done for those watching. The roda was done for those of us playing and singing and composing.

2. Something that is done regularly and always in the same way.

Ex. Coffee and the newspaper are part of my morning .

indifference

Lack of interest in someone or something.

Ex. Newcomers were always treated with ________. Even if you were the best guitar player, or cuica player, or composer, or cavaquinho player, in the world, you had to be invited to join the circle.

pathetic

Causing feelings of sadness, sympathy, or sometimes lack of respect, especially because a person or an animal is suffering.

Ex. Two such examples of realistic and _______ racial film melodramas were released in 1915 with an unprecedented nationwide success.

blasphemy

Irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless.

Ex. There, it was ________ to speak of a song's catchiness, or to call it a hit. In order to be a "true sambista" you were required to pretend that samba was not a product.

salient

Most noticeable or important.

Ex. The six to eight different maps in the interest-map sum were each _______ features in themselves, such as skin-colour, motion, edges or colour saturation.

arbitrary

1\. Using unlimited personal power without considering other people's rights or wishes.

Ex. From such examples, social psychologists inferred that humans were, indeed, so spontaneously groupish that they would favor their group even if the group was entirely _________, even if groups were arbitrarily constructed by an experimenter.

2\. Based on a desire or idea or chance rather than reason.

Ex. Her outfit was an ________ choice but was just perfect.

paradigm

A model of something, or a very clear and typical example of something.

Ex. To summarize: the two dimensions of modeling (the distributed / non distributed nature of representation and the chosen _______) are independent.

spurious

False, although seeming to be real or true.

Ex. He had managed to create the entirely ______ impression that the company was thriving.

irrationality

The fact of not using reason or clear thinking.

Ex. The book is full of amusing examples that illustrate the ______ of consumers.

reciprocate

1\. To do something for someone because the person has done something similar for you.

Ex. Hemingway loved Stein and she _______d his love.

2\. To share the same feelings as someone else, or to behave in the same way as someone else.

Ex. We invited them to dinner and a week later they _________d.

allocate

To give something to someone as their share of a total amount, to use in a particular way.

Ex. The president has agreed to ________ further funds to develop the new submarine.

peril

Great danger, or something that is very dangerous.

Ex. The main ______s covered are fire, lightning, explosion, and earthquake.

allude

To mention someone or something without talking about him, her, or it directly.

Ex. The lyrics also ________ to Swift's tumultuous life in the spotlight.

luster

= lustre

1\. The shining quality of a surface.

Ex. The shell had a beautiful pearly ______.

2\. The quality of being special in a way that is exciting.

Ex. The presence of the prince added ______ to the occasion.

penetrate

To move into or through something.

Ex. Our president, with his wisdom and astuteness, has helped us to _______ new problems, to analyze situations, to make fine distinctions.

endeavor

To try to do something.

Ex. Today there are men and women in every field of _______ who are bending all their energies toward a realization of this dream of universal justice.

contemplate

To spend time considering a possible future action, or to consider one particular thing for a long time in a serious and quiet way.

Ex. On the other hand, new translations, computer technology, electronic databases and the feasibility of word searches make such enterprises easier to _________.

prosecution

The act of taking part in a planned set of activities, especially a war.

Ex. The key witness for the _______ was offered police protection after she received death threats.

suffrage

The right to vote in an election, especially to vote for representatives in a government.

Ex. She wrote a book about the women's ________ movement in America.

protestation

A strong statement that something is true, especially when other people do not believe you.

Ex. Their _______s of loyalty seem rather hollow in view of the way they behaved.

enshrine

To contain or keep something as if in a holy place.

Ex. A lot of memories are ______d in this photograph album.

grasp

1\. To quickly take something in your hand(s) and hold it firmly.

Ex. We must ______ every opportunity to strengthen economic ties with other countries.

2\. To understand something, especially something difficult.

Ex. The government has acknowledged that homelessness is a problem but it has failed to _____ the scale of the problem.

intervention

Action taken to improve or help a situation.

Ex. In the second group of states, direct ______ in the economy was limited.

patriotic

Showing love for your country and being proud of it.

Ex. Many Americans felt it was their _______ duty to buy bonds to support the war effort.

magnitude

The great size or importance of something; the degree to which something is large or important.

Ex. Using detailed models they developed of the interior of massive terrestrial, Valencia and her group determined how the mass of a super-Earth is related to the thickness of its plates and the _______ of the stresses the plates experience.

subduction

A situation in which one of the earth's plates slides under another, often causing an earthquake or volcano.

Ex. These stresses, part of the slow, slow convection of Earth's mantle, are the driving force behind the deformation and ________ (when one plate sinks below another) of the plates.