Lesson 1 Vocabulary (Blue Group)

(adjective) utterly or obviously senseless, illogical, or untrue; contrary to all reason or common sense; laughably foolish or false:an absurd explanation. Ex: But it would be ______ to suppose that we could reach those conclusions by simple reference to the trades themselves. (noun) the quality or condition of existing in a meaningless and irrational world. Ex: Complex machines, films, live music and an acute sense of the ______ combine in creating images of striking originality.

absurd

(adjective) sharp or biting to the taste or smell; bitterly pungent; irritating to the eyes, nose, etc.; extremely or sharply stinging or bitter; exceedingly caustic Ex: The _____ smell of cigarette ashes burned her nose and brought tears to her eyes.

acrid

(verb) to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly; to act as a defender Ex: He sees insoluble contradictions in every mode of conceiving God as real, yet he ________s religious belief, though the object of that belief have but an abstract or imaginary existence. (noun) a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc. (followed by of), pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor, or pleads the cause of another in a court of law Ex: Abraham Lincoln hated slavery and became an ________ of abolitionism.

advocate

(adjective) characterized by or expressing goodwill or kindly feelings; desiring to help others; charitable; pertaining to or concerned with charity Ex: The __________ gentleman left a further sum of $5000 to be divided among the poor.

benevolent

(noun) the act or state of binding, uniting, or sticking together into a united whole; [physics] the molecular force between particles within the same body or substance that acts to unite them Ex: Thus among the city-states as well as among scattered villages the principle of ________ was not unknown. Water, the carbonates and sulfates, and probably phosphates, and the metals platinum, gold, silver, cadmium, tin and copper have a specific ________ double that of mercury.

cohesion

(noun) action in accord with prevailing social standards, attitudes, practices, rules, laws, etc.; correspondence in form, nature, or character; agreement, congruity, or accordance; compliance or acquiescence; obedience Ex: Knowledge is of ideas and is in __________ with the necessary laws of thought.

conformity

(verb) to give the meaning or intention of; explain; interpret; to deduce by inference or interpretation; infer; to translate, especially orally; to admit of grammatical analysis or interpretation Ex: If the dog is allowed to play with certain stuffed toys, it may ________ that to mean that any play thing is an acceptable target. (noun) the act of interpreting; something that is defined. Ex: Treating others differently because of race, sex, or any other social factor, can be taken as a ________ of misconduct in the workplace.

construe

(adjective) causing irritation, vexation, or annoyance; easily provoked or annoyed Ex: Couldn't Chinese leaders address inflation and the __________ American pressures at the same time by increasing the value of the yuan? (sentencedict.com)

nettlesome

(adjective) obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine; acting in a stealthy way; obtained by subreption Ex: He made a _____________ recording with a concealed hand-held machine.

surreptitious

(adjective) easily managed or controlled; docile; yielding; easily worked, shaped, or otherwise handled; malleable Ex: These men seldom use vitrifiable enamels, pigments being much more _________ and less costly.

tractable