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Word set 9
Politics and Tradition
| Term | Definition | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|
| accost (verb) | confront | He was accosted by a thief who demanded all of his money and valuables. |
| adamant (adj.) | unyielding, stubborn, determined | Robert, a first year physics student, is adamant in his decision to pursue a career in engineering. |
| apathetic (adj.); apathy (noun) | lacking interest | The employee's apathetic attitude was apparent in the rude way he greeted customers. |
| ascendancy (noun) | influence, domination | when Beatriz became an elected official, she gained an ascendancy that allowed her to change the lives of many people in her community. |
| ascetic (noun/adj.); asceticism (noun) | one who practices self-denial as a spiritual discipline | When Simon was a monk, he lived an ascetic lifestyle that excluded worldly goods. |
| august (adj.) | dignified | Everyone wanted the chance to dine with the august president. |
| autocrat (noun); autocratic (adj.) | dictator, dictatorial | Because Helen managed her company like an autocrat, she strongly frowned upon employee suggestions. |
| automaton (noun) | a person who acts like a robot | Hank felt like a mindless automaton stuck in a boring job completing the same tasks every day. |
| banal (adj.) | common, lacking in originality | Because the movie’s plot was banal, we knew exactly how the film would end. |
| bipartisan (adj.) | supported by two opposing groups (such as political parties) | It will take a bipartisan effort to turn the bill into a law. |
| depose (verb) | dethrone, remove from power | The king sent soldiers to locate the rebels who sought to depose him from his rule. |
| derivative (adj.) | not original | Because the film is a derivative of a novel, it cannot be entered into the original screenplay competition. |
| desecration (noun); desecrate (verb) | violate the sacredness of | Having a party in a cemetery at night is one way to desecrate the resting place of the dead. |
| despot (noun) | dictator | The young prince killed everyone who challenged his authority and became the despot of his country. |
| doctrine (noun) | religious, political, or philosophical principles or teachings | It is up to the judge to decide how the legal doctrine should be applied to this case. |
| dogmatic (adj.) | tending to force one's own opinions on other people | The surgeon was dogmatic in his opinion and refused to listen even when the nurse warned him of possible problems during the operation. |
| eclectic (adj.) | from diverse sources | Because Leslie has travelled all over the world, her home is filled with many eclectic furnishings. |
| egalitarian (adj.) | belief in equality | Before new laws granted all citizens equal rights, our country was not an egalitarian nation. |
| exhibitionist (noun); exhibitionistic (adj.) | deliberately behaving a certain way to attract attention | Since the singer is an exhibitionist, she loves to wear outrageous outfits on stage. |
| faction (noun) | group within a larger group | The candidate who wins the election will be the one who can get the most voters to join his faction. |
| fanaticism (noun) | excessive enthusiasm | For hundreds of years, two countries have been involved in a war stemming from religious fanaticism. |
| hackneyed (adj.) | common | When it comes to writing, teachers frown on students using hackneyed phrases. |
| heresy (noun); heretic (adj.) | belief contrary to the established opinion | Centuries ago, heresy charges were brought upon any person who dared to disagree with church leaders. |
| idiosyncrasy (noun); idiosyncratic (adj.) | unique personal trait; quirky | An idiosyncratic genius, the quirky student didn’t fit in well with peers his own age. |
| orthodox (adj.) | conservative, traditional | The tenured professors who had taught their orthodox ideas for years did not appreciate questions from the newly hired professor. |
| pacifist (noun) | one who completely opposes violence | Since he was a pacifist, he was hoping not to be drafted into the Armed Forces. |
| partisan (adj.) | someone with biased beliefs | Because of your partisan views, you are unwilling to look at other options. |
| piety (noun); pious (adj.) | religious devotion | My Aunt Jane’s pious devotion led her to donate all of her lottery winnings to the church. |
| polemic (noun); polemical (adj.) | controversial | The cartoonist’s latest sketch is a polemic that illustrates the island dictator as a toddler who constantly has tantrums. |
| renounce (verb) | reject | After the man was tortured by his government for many years, he decided to renounce his citizenship and move to a new country. |
| reverent (adj.) | respectful, pious | During the funeral, humble and reverent silence filled the air of the sanctuary. |
| sanctity (noun) | holiness | Although I place great value on my job, I put nothing above the sanctity of my family. |
| staunch (adj.) | strong and loyal | The political candidate lost the favor of many voters when he announced he was a staunch advocate of the war that had been going on for years. |
| stock (adj.) | standard, hackneyed | The boring stock characters in the author’s debut novel led to harsh criticisms from readers. |
| strident (adj.) | loud and harsh | Even through the apartment walls, Jack was able to hear the strident argument between his neighbors. |
| subversive (adj.) | undermining, riotous, treasonous | The group published a subversive magazine that contained nothing but negative articles about the current government. |
| supplant (verb) | to take the place of | The army is here to support the local police not to supplant its position as a body of authority. |
| sycophant (noun) | flatterer | My sister is a shallow sycophant who will flatter anyone for a free designer handbag. |
| toady (noun) | flatterer | At our bank, Henry is the toady who constantly flatters the branch manager. |
| totalitarian (adj.) | undemocratic, rigid political control | Under the dictator’s totalitarian rule, the citizens of the country had no say in how their nation was governed. |
| trite (adj.) | common | I did not finish the novel because the story’s plot was trite and uninspiring. |
| usurp (verb) | seize power without authority | After the king dies, his brother will usurp the throne from the prince. |
| zealot (noun) | fanatic | The security camera caught the health zealot vandalizing the soft drink manufacturer’s office. |
| Aberration (noun) | Deviation, not normal | Since I did not properly adjust my camera settings, all of my pictures have a blurry aberration on them. |
Created by:
WiseStranger
Popular English Vocabulary sets