vocab + concepts

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up.

Physiological Needs: The essential biological requirements, such as air, food, and sleep, that keep the human body alive.

1. Safety Needs: The desire for a predictable and secure life, including protection from danger, financial stability, and health.

2. Love and Belongingness: The emotional need for connection through friendships, intimacy, and being part of a supportive group.

3. Esteem Needs: The pursuit of self-respect and the desire for status, recognition, and appreciation from the people around you.

4. Self-Actualization: The personal drive to reach your full potential, grow your talents, and find true self-fulfillment.

As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.

Henry David Thoreau. Our time is precious and should not be spent wasting away on things that erode life.

facetious (fuh-see-shuhs)

(adjective) treating serious issues with deliberate, often inappropriate humor or making light of a situation. joking or sarcastic especially in a way regarded by others as silly, annoying, or inappropriate.

Ex) the essay is a facetious commentary on the absurdity of war as a solution for international disputes
Ex) I was just being facetious when I said my dog ate my homework—I just didn't finish it in time

perforated

(adjective) having a hole or a series of holes punched or bored through something. In a medical context, refers to a dangerous puncture, rupture, or hole in a body part or organ.

Ex) The perforated box allowed the mice to breathe.
Ex) He was taken to the hospital to have emergency surgery for a perforated stomach ulcer.

slavish

(adjective) describes behavior, attitudes, or actions characterized by extreme, unthinking obedience or a complete lack of originality. Used to describe subservience and blind imitation.

Ex) The artist was criticized for his slavish imitation of Picasso’s later works.
Ex) He has been criticized for his slavish devotion to the rules.
Ex) a politician and his slavish followers

ephemeral (uh-feh-mer-uhl)

(adjective) lasting for only a short time

Ex) Fame in the pop star world is ephemeral.
Ex) the ephemeral nature of journalism

evanescent

(adjective) lasting for only a short time, then disappearing quickly and being forgotten

interlocutor (in-TR-uh-locutor)

(noun) someone who is involved in a conversation and/or who is representing someone else

austere (aa-steer)

(adjective) very simple, with only the things that are absolutely necessary, especially because of severe limits on money or goods

vivacious

(adjective) especially a woman or girl, is attractively energetic and enthusiastic; lively in temper, conduct, or spirit

indomitable

(adjective) strong, brave, determined, and difficult to defeat or frighten; unable to be subdued

eminent

(adjective) famous, respected, or important

erudite (eh-rudite)

(adjective) having or containing a lot of knowledge that is known by very few people; having or showing knowledge that is gained by studying

ostentatious (pronounced aa-sten-tay-shuhs)

(adjective) too obviously showing your money, possessions, or power, in an attempt to make other people notice and admire you; attracting or seeking to attract attention, admiration, or envy often by gaudiness or unnecessary show

gauche (pronounced “go-sh”)

(adjective) awkward and uncomfortable with other people, especially because young and without experience; acking social experience or grace

garish

(adjective) unpleasantly bright; clothed in vivid colors; excessively or disturbingly vivid

intrepid

(adjective) extremely brave and showing no fear of dangerous situations; characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance

portmanteau (prounounced port-man-tow)

(noun) word created by blending the sounds and meanings of two distinct words.

Ex) Brunch, smog, hangry, glamping

genial (pronounced genie - ll)

(adjective) friendly and pleasant; expressing sympathy or friendliness

discursive

(adjective) talking about or dealing with subjects that are only slightly connected with the main subject for longer than necessary; moving from topic to topic without order (like rambling)

romanization (roman-ization)

(noun) the act of changing a writing system, or a word or character from that writing system, into roman script

Ex) the Chinese word for "hello" (你好) is romanized as nǐ hǎo

understated

(adjective) not trying to attract attention or impress people; avoiding obvious emphasis or embellishment

ignoramus

(noun) a person who knows nothing; a stupid and silly person

ebullient (ebb-bull-ient)

(adjective) very energetic, positive, and happy; having or showing liveliness and enthusiasm;

effusive

(adjective) marked by the expression of great or excessive emotion or enthusiasm; expressing welcome, approval, or pleasure in away that shows very strong feelings

prescriptivist

(adjective) believing there are strictly “correct” and “incorrect” ways to use language, advocating for established grammatical rules.

obstinate (obs-stin-it)

(adjective) unreasonably determined, especially to act in a particular way and not to change at all, despite what anyone else says; tubbornly holding to an opinion, purpose, or course in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion

vituperation

(noun) language that is full of hate, or angry criticism; harsh, abusive, critical language

loquacious

(adjective) talks a lot; full of excessive talk;

impregnable

(adjective) so strongly built and/or defended that it cannot be entered by force; powerful and impossible to beat; incapable of being taken by assault; (unconquerable)

deteriorate

(verb) to become worse; to make lower in quality or value;

degenerate

(adjective) to become worse in quality; having sunk to a condition below that which is normal to a type; having sunk to a lower and usually corrupt and vicious state, having low moral standards

atrophy (at-truh-fee)

(verb) (a part of the body) to be reduced in size and therefore strength - to become weaker. decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue

sanctimonious

(adjective) active if morally better than others; hypocritically pious or devout

pious (pie-is)

(adjective) strongly believing in religion, and living in a way that shows this belief; strongly believing in religion, and living in a way that shows this belief

appreciable (ap-preesh-uh-ble)

(adjective) a change or amount large or noticeable enough to have an important effect; capable of being perceived or measured

licentious (lie-cent-chess)

(adjective) lacking legal or moral restraints, especially sexual restraints; sexual in an uncontrolled and socially unacceptable way

impetuous

(adjective) likely to do something suddenly, without considering the results of your actions; impulsive passion

machiavellian (mack-ee-uh-vell-ian)

(adjective) using clever but often dishonest methods that deceive people so that you can win power or control

exogenous (exah-gen-es)

(adjective) found or coming from outside something, for example a system or a person's body or mind

incumbent

(adjective) officially having the named position

emblematic

(adjective) representing a particular person, group, or idea

Ex) A sword is emblematic of power gained by violence.

flaccid

(adjective) not firm or stiff; lacking vigor or force; soft or weak rather than firm

inimical

(adjective) harmful or limiting

Ex) Excessive managerial control is inimical to creative expression.

despot (des-pit) → despotically (des-potically)

despot (noun)
despotically (adverb)
in a way that shows that you have unlimited power over other people, and often use it unfairly and cruelly

idiosyncratic

(adjective) having strange or unusual habits, ways of behaving, or features;

connive

(verb) to pretend ignorance of or fail to take action against something one ought to oppose; to plan secretly and dishonestly for something to happen that will be to your advantage; to allow something bad to happen although you know about it;

clandestine (clan-dest-in)

(adjective) planned or done in secret, especially describing something that is not officially allowed; marked by, held in, or conducted in secrecy;

magnanimous (mag-nan-imous)

(adjective) showing or suggesting a generous and kind nature; noble, generous, forigiving spirit

verisimilitude

(noun) the quality of seeming true or of having the appearance of being real;

antithesis

(noun) the direct opposite; contrast; rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, and sentences (ex) “action, not words”)

analgesia (anal-geezuh)

(noun) an inability to feel pain; drugs that stop you from feeling pain

inordinate (in-ordin-it)

(adjective) exceeding reasonable limits; much more than usual or expected

sumptuous

(adjective) extremely costly, rich, luxurious, or magnificient; impressive in a way that seems expensive;

copacetic (copa-set-ic)

(adjective) very satisfactory; very good or going very well

cognizant

(adjective) understanding or realizing something; knowledgeable of something especially through personal experience

deplore

(verb) to feel or express grief for; to regret strongly; to say or think that something is very bad; condemn;

reticent

(adjective) inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech; unwilling to speak about your thoughts or feelings

intransigent (in-transi-gent)

(adjective) characterized by refusal to compromise or to abandon an often extreme position or attitude; uncompromising; refusing to change your opinions or behavior

aphorism (ah-fur-ism)

(noun) a short clever saying that is intended to express a general truth; a concise statement of a principle

hedonic (head-don-ic)

(adjective) connected with feelings of pleasure

hedonic treadmill

conjecture that humans quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness (or sadness) despite major positive or negative events or life changes. According to this theory, as a person makes more money, expectations and desires rise in tandem, which results in no permanent gain in happiness.

those who don’t learn from history are doomed to

repeat it

languid

(adjective) moving or speaking slowly with little energy, often in an attractive way; drooping or flagging from or as if from exhaustion; sluggish in character or disposition; lacking force or quickness of movement

indolent

(adjective) showing no real interest or effort; averse to activity, effort, or movement; habitually lazy; showing an inclination to laziness

chintz

(noun) cotton cloth, usually with patterns of flowers, that has a slightly shiny appearance; a usually glazed printed cotton fabric;

or the cat: a printed calico from India

apoplectic (ahpup-lectic)

(adjective) extremely and obviously angry; so extremely enraged, of a kind to cause or apparently cause stroke

apoplexy (stroke)

Winner will lose more than losers ever will

winners focus on wining, losers focus on winners

deign (dayn)

(adjective) to do something unwillingly and in a way that shows that you think you are too important to do it; to condescend reluctantly and with a strong sense of the affront to one's superiority that is involved

flummoxed

(adjective) so confused that you do not know what to do; completely unable to understand : utterly confused or perplexed;

Code of Hammurabi

Ancient Babylonian text from 1700 BC.
If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. [ An eye for an eye ]

admonish

(verb) to express warning or disapproval to (someone) about a fault or oversight especially in a gentle but serious way; to tell someone that they have done something wrong; to advise someone to do something;

apocryphal (uhpock-ra-full)

(adjective) an apocryphal story is probably not true although it is often told and believed by some people to have happened; of doubtful authenticity