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.A house in the suburbs, two children, two cars, and three TVs are key indicators of a bour-geois lifestyle.Resources CHAPTER 2 VOCABULARY FOR CIVIL SERVICE TESTS29bravado (br
· vah·doh) n.false courage, a show of pretended bravery.Kyle s bravado often got him introuble with other kids in the neighborhood.broach (brohch) v.1.to bring up, introduce, in order to begin a discussion of 2.to tap or pierce, as into draw off liquid.It was hard for Sarah to broach the subject of her mother s weight gain.bumptious ( bump·shm
s) adj.arrogant, conceited.The bumptious man couldn t stop talking about himselfor looking in the mirror.buoyant ( boi·
nt) adj.1.able to float 2.light-hearted, cheerful.In science class, the children tried to iden-tify which objects on the table would be buoyant.burgeon ( bur·jO
n) v.to begin to grow and flourish; to begin to sprout, grow new buds, blossom.Thetulip bulbs beneath the soil would burgeon in early spring, providing there was no late frost.burnish ( bur·nish) v.to polish, rub to a shine.When Kathryn began to burnish the old metal teapot, sherealized that it was, in fact, solid silver.cabal (k
· bal) n.1.a scheme or conspiracy 2.a small group joined in a secret plot.With Antonio astheir leader, the members of the unit readied themselves to begin the coup.cadge (kaj) v.to beg, to obtain by begging.Their dog Cleo would cadge at my feet, hoping I would throwhim some table scraps.capricious (k
· prish·m
s) adj.impulsive, whimsical and unpredictable.Robin Williams, the comedian, demon-strates a most capricious nature even when he is not performing.careen (k
· reen) v.1.to lurch from side to side while in motion 2.to rush carelessly or headlong.Watching the car in front of us careen down the road was very frightening.caste (kast) n.a distinct social class or system.While visiting India, Michael was fascinated to learn theparticulars of each caste and the way they related to each other.castigate ( kas·tØ· ayt) v.to inflict a severe punishment on; to chastise severely.When she was caughtstealing for the second time, Maya knew her mother would castigate her.catharsis (k
· thahr·sis) n.the act of ridding or cleansing; relieving emotions via the experiences ofothers, especially through art.Survivors of war often experience a catharsis when viewing Picasso s paintingGuernica, which depicts the bombing of a town during the Spanish civil war.censure ( sen·shm
r) n.expression of strong criticism or disapproval; a rebuke or condemnation.Afterthe senator was found guilty of taking bribes, Congress unanimously agreed to censure him.chastise (chas· t to punish severely, as with a beating; to criticize harshly, rebuke.Charles knew¯z) v.that his wife would chastise him after he inadvertently told the room full of guests that she had just had a face-lift.VOCABULARY FOR CIVIL SERVICE TESTS CHAPTER 2 Resources30chauvinist ( shoh·vØn·ist) n.a person who believes in the superiority of his or her own kind; an extremenationalist.Though common in the early days of the women s movement, male chauvinists are pretty rare today.churlish ( chur·l ill-mannered, boorish, rude.Angelo s churlish remarks made everyone at the tableØsh) adj.uncomfortable and ill at ease.circumspect ( sur·km
m·spekt) adj.cautious, wary, watchful.The captain was circumspect as she guided theboat through the fog.coeval (koh· ee·v
l) adj.of the same time period, contemporary.The growth of personal computers andCD players were coeval during the twentieth century.cogent ( koh·j
nt) adj.convincing, persuasive, compelling belief.Ella s cogent arguments helped the debateteam win the state championship.collusion (kO
· loo·zhO
n) n.a secret agreement between two or more people for a deceitful or fraud-ulent purpose; conspiracy.The discovery of the e-mail proved that collusion existed between the CEO and CFOto defraud the shareholders.complaisant (kO
m· play·s
nt) adj.tending to comply, obliging, willing to do what pleases others.Topreserve family peace and harmony, Lenny became very complaisant when his in-laws came to visit.conciliatory (kO
n· sil·i·
·tohr·ee) adj.making or willing to make concessions to reconcile, soothe, orcomfort; mollifying, appeasing.Abraham Lincoln made conciliatory gestures toward the South at the end ofthe Civil War.conclave ( kon·klav) n.a private or secret meeting.The double agent had a conclave with the spy he wassupposed to be observing.consternation (kon·st
r· nay·shO
n) n.a feeling of deep, incapacitating horror or dismay.The look ofconsternation on the faces of the students taking the history exam alarmed the teacher, who thought he had pre-pared his students for the test.contentious (kO
n· ten·shm
s) adj.1.quarrelsome, competitive, quick to fight 2.controversial, causingcontention.With two contentious candidates on hand, it was sure to be a lively debate.conundrum (kO
· nun·drm
m) n.a hard riddle, enigma; a puzzling question or problem.Alex s logic pro-fessor gave the class a conundrum to work on over the weekend.cornucopia (kor·nym
· koh·pi·
) n.abundance; a horn of plenty.The first-graders made cornucopias forThanksgiving by placing papier-mache vegetables into a hollowed-out horn.countenance ( kown·t
·n
ns) n.the appearance of a person s face, facial features and expression.Asshe walked down the aisle, Julia s countenance was absolutely radiant.craven ( kray·v
n) adj.cowardly. This craven act of violence will not go unpunished, remarked the policechief.Resources CHAPTER 2 VOCABULARY FOR CIVIL SERVICE TESTS31credulous ( krej·m
·lm
s) adj.gullible, too willing to believe things [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]