notes in class

 
1.      ignominy (n.)
-public embarrassment
-example: The Workers' Coalition experienced the ignominy of total defeat in the last election.
 

 
2.      appease (v.)
-to prevent further disagreement in arguments or war by giving to the other side an advantage that they have demanded 
-example: She claimed that the government had only changed the law in order to appease their critics.
    
 
 
3.      poignant (adj.)
- causing or having a very sharp feeling of sadness 
-example: The photograph awakens poignant memories of happier days.
 
 

4.      bleak (adj.)
-If weather or a place is bleak, it is cold, empty and not welcoming or attractive 
-example: The house stands on a bleak, windswept moor.
 

 
5.      ingenuity (n.)
- someone's ability to think of clever new ways of doing something 
-example: Drug smugglers constantly use their ingenuity to find new ways of getting drugs into a country.
 

 
6.      lapse (n.)
-a temporary failure
-example: The management's decision to ignore the safety warnings demonstrated a remarkable lapse of judgment.
 

 
7.      tenacious (adj.)
-holding tightly onto something, or keeping an opinion in a determined way 
-example: The baby took my finger in its tenacious little fist.
 

   
8.      ambivalent (adj.)
-having two opposing feelings at the same time, or being uncertain about how you feel 
-example: I felt very ambivalent about leaving home.
 
 

9.      panorama (n.)
-a view of a wide area 
-example: From the hotel roof you can enjoy a panorama of the whole city.
 
 

10.     analogy (n.)
-a comparison between things which have similar features, often used to help explain a principle or idea 
-example: He drew an analogy between the brain and a vast computer.
 

 
11.     interrogate (v.) 
-to ask someone a lot of questions for a long time in order to get information, sometimes using threats or violence
-example: Thousands of dissidents have been interrogated or imprisoned in recent weeks.
   
 

12.     ocular (adj.)
-related to the eyes or sight
-example: He has ocular problem.
 
 

13.     plank (n.)
-a long narrow flat piece of wood or similar material, of the type used for making floors
-example: We used a plank to cross the ditch.
               

 
14.    umpteenth (pron.)
- very many; a lot (of)
-example: We've been there umpteen times and she still can't remember the way.
 

 
15.     speck (n.)
-a very small mark, piece or amount
-example: He'd been painting the door and there were specks of paint all over the floor.
 

  
16.     tremor (n.)
-a slight shaking movement in a person's body, especially because of nervousness or excitement
-example: The disease mostly affects people over 50, causing paralysis and uncontrollable tremors.

17.     vault (v.)

-(1) Leap or spring while supporting or propelling oneself with one or both hands or with the help of a pole

-(2) Jump over (an obstacle) in such a way

-example: He vaults.

18.     irrigate (v.)

-(1)to supply (something, such as land) with water by using artificial means (such as pipes)

-(2)medical : to clean (a wound or a part of the body) with flowing liquid (such as water)

-example: The surgeon irrigated the wound.

19.     hieroglyphics (n.)

-(1)writing that uses pictures and symbols to represent sounds and words, especially Ancient Egyptian writing

-(2)written words or symbols that are difficult to read or understand

-example: Do you know the hieroglyphics.

20.     cuneiform (adj.)

-relating to a writing system used in ancient times in the Middle East. The letters are long and thin and wide at one end and narrow at the other

-example: Those are cuneiform words.

21.     millennium (n.) 

-a period of 1,000 years

-example: The book describes the changes that have occurred in the landscape over many millennia.

22.     onward (adv.)

- to or toward what is ahead in space or time

-example: They have lived in that house from 1983 onward.

23.     indigenous (adj.)

-produced, living, or existing naturally in a particular region or environment

-example: There are several indigenous groups that still live in the area.

24.     rout (n.)   

-A complete defeat of an opponent in a battle, competition, or election.

-example: And turned the battle into a rout in which Achilles killed every Trojan that crossed his path.

25.     arbitrary (adj)

 -not seeming to be based on a reason, system or plan and sometimes seeming unfair

-example: She married an artist with an arbitrary character.