| Question |
Answer |
| militia |
army composed of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers |
| millennium |
thousand-year period (as in the New Testament); hoped-for period of happiness and prosperity |
| mime |
pantomime(act without dialogue); mimicry; mimer; V: mimic; pantomime |
| mimicry |
imitation |
| minatory |
menacing; threatening |
| mincing |
affectedly dainty(delicate); V. mince: cut (esp. meat) into very small pieces; walk with exaggerated primness; walk in an unnatural way, taking little short steps; Ex. The actor minced across the stage; CF. mincemeat; CF. mincer |
| mingle |
mix together in close association |
| miniature |
small model; small painting; ADJ: small |
| minion |
servile dependent; obsequious follower |
| minuscule(miniscule) |
extremely small |
| minute |
extremely small; CF. minutes: official record of the proceedings at a meeting |
| minutiae |
petty or trivial details; CF. minutia |
| mirage |
unreal reflection; optical illusion |
| mire |
entangle; stick in swampy ground; stick or sink in mire; N: bog; deep mud; Ex. sucked deeper into the mire |
| mirth |
merriment; laughter |
| misadventure |
mischance; ill luck; Ex. death by misadventure |
| misanthrope |
one who hates mankind; misanthropist |
| misapprehension |
error; misunderstanding; V. misapprehend |
| miscellaneous |
made up of a variety of parts |
| miscellany |
mixture of writings on various subjects; collection of various items |
| mischance |
ill luck |
| mischief |
behavior (of children) causing trouble with no serious harm; damage; harm; Ex. mischief to the crops; ADJ. mischievous: causing mischief; playfully troublesome |
| misconduct |
immoral behavior; bad management; V. |
| misconstrue |
interpret incorrectly; misinterpret; misjudge |
| miscreant |
wretch; wrongdoer; villain; Ex. kindness to the miscreant; CF. believe |
| misdemeanor |
minor crime; misdeed; wrongdoing |
| miserly |
stingy; mean |
| misgivings |
doubts |
| mishap |
unfortunate accident |
| misnomer |
wrong or improper name; incorrect designation |
| misogamy |
hatred of marriage |
| misogynist |
hater of woman; CF. misogyny |
| missile |
object to be thrown or projected |
| missive |
letter; written statement; CF. sent |
| mite |
very small object or insect-like creature; small coin |
| mitigate |
appease; moderate; make or become less in force or intensity |
| mnemonic |
pertaining to memory; assisting the memory; N: device, such as as formula or rhyme, used as a mnemonic aid |
| mobile |
movable; not fixed; N. mobility |
| mock |
ridicule; deride; imitate often in derision |
| mode |
prevailing style; current fashion; manner; way of doing something; Ex. in the latest mode; Ex. simple mode of life |
| modicum |
limited quantity; small amount; Ex. He does not have a modicum of sense; CF. moderate |
| modish |
fashionable; conforming to the current fashion |
| modulate |
tone down in intensity; change the intensity or tone of; regulate; change from one musical key to another; Ex. modulate from E to G |
| mogul |
powerful person; Ex. oil moguls; CF. Mogol, Moghul; CF. Mongolian |
| molecule |
the smallest particle (one or more atoms) of a substance that has all the properties of that substance |
| mollify |
soothe an angry person |
| mollycoddle |
pamper; coddle; baby; indulge excessively |
| molt(moult) |
periodically shed or cast off hairs or feathers (for replacement by a new growth) |
| molten |
melted; Ex. molten lava |
| momentous |
very important; N. moment; CF. momentary |
| momentum |
quantity of motion of a moving body; impetus; moving force |
| monarchy |
government under a single ruler |
| monastic |
related to monks or monasteries; removed from worldly concerns |
| monetary |
pertaining to money |
| mongrel |
plant or animal (esp. a dog) of mixed breed; ADJ. |
| monochromatic |
having only one color |
| monochrome |
painting in only one color; ADJ. |
| monogram |
design composed of one or more initials of a name; V. |
| monograph |
scholarly article |
| monolithic |
solidly uniform; unchangeable; unyielding; N. monolith: large block of stone |
| monotheism |
belief in one God |
| monotony |
sameness leading to boredom; monotonousness; ADJ. monotonous; CF. monotone |
| monumental |
massive; impressively large; built as a monument |
| moodiness |
fits of depression or gloom; ADJ. moody: given to changeable moods; subject to periods of depression; gloomy CF. mood: | state of mind or emotion |
| moratorium |
legal delay of payment or action; Ex. declare moratorium on the building of new houses |
| morbid |
given to unwholesome or unhealthy thought; moody; characteristic of disease; Ex. morbid curiosity; N. morbidity; CF. disease |
| mordant |
biting; sarcastic; stinging; (apprec.) incisive; cutting; Ex. mordant pen/wit |
| mores |
conventions; moral standards; moral customs |
| morgue |
mortuary; place where bodies are kept before burial or cremation |
| moribund |
dying; at the point of death; CF. death |
| morose |
ill-humored; sullen; sullenly melancholy |
| mortar |
vessel in which substances are crushed with a pestle |
| mortician |
undertaker; CF. death |
| mortify |
humiliate by embarassing excessively; shame; punish the flesh; discipline (one's body) by self-denial; Ex. mortified by her blunder; Ex. mortify the flesh; CF. cause to die |
| mosaic |
picture made of small colorful inlaid tiles; ADJ. |
| mote |
small speck (esp. of dust) |
| motif |
theme; recurrent thematic element in a musical or literary work; single or repeated pattern; figure |
| motility |
ability to move spontaneously; ADJ. motile: moving spontaneously |
| motley |
multi-colored (as of a garment worn by a jester); mixed; heterogeneous; CF. jester: one who jests (as a paid fool at medieval courts) |
| mottled |
blotched in coloring; spotted; Ex. mottled face; V. mottle: mark with blotches of different colors |
| motto |
brief statement used to express a principle |
| mountebank |
charlatan; boastful pretender |
| muddle |
confuse; mix up confusedly; N: state of confusion |
| muggy |
(of weather) warm and damp |
| mulct |
defraud a person of something; swindle; Ex. mulct the boy of his legacy |
| multifarious |
varied; greatly diversified; Ex. multifarious activities |
| multiform |
having many forms |
| multilingual |
having many languages; fluent in several languages |
| multiplicity |
state of being numerous or multiple; large number; Ex. multiplicity of details; ADJ. multiple: of more than one element |
| mundane |
worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday; of the ordinary; Ex. mundane existence; CF. world |
| munificent |
very generous in giving; Ex. munificent benefactor; N. munificience |
| mural |
wall painting |
| murky |
dark and gloomy; thick with fog; vague; Ex. murky night/fog; N. murk: partial or complete darkness; gloom |
| murmur |
low, indistinct, continuous sound; V. CF. mumble |
| muse |
ponder at length; N: source of inspiration (esp. of a poet) |
| musky |
having the odor of musk; N. musk: odorous substance secreted by an Asian deer |
| muster |
gather; assemble (troops); Ex. muster up one's strength for the ordeal; N. |
| musty |
stale (in odor or taste); spoiled by age; CF. moist |
| mutablility |
ability to change in form; fickleness; ADJ. mutable: able to change; fickle; CF. mutate; CF. mutant |
| mute |
silent; without speech; not pronounced; unable to speak; N: one who is incapable of speech; V: soften the sound, color, shade of |
Ch.18 LTI-MA 509
