1984 Vocabulary
1. Lift- elevator
2. Flat-apartment
3. Various ulcer-open sore
caused by swollen veins
4. Sanguine-ruddy; reddish
5. Sordid- dirty
6. Tableaux- dramatic
scene
7. Ramification-divisions or
branches
8. Truncheons-club/heavy
stick
9. Quarto-sized- 9.5*12
10. Perverse- Improper
11. Dissemble- to conceal
12. Equivocal-
13. Discountenanced-
disapproved
14. Impedimenta-hidrances
15. Statutory- fixed by law
16. Partisanship- strong
support to one group or
person
17. Purges- acts to rid a
nation or group of disloyal
or undesirable people
18. Fathoms-measurement
(6 feet)
19. Tube- subway
20. Pneumatic- worked by
compressed air
21. Categorical- absolute
without conditions
22. Palimpsest- paper
which writing is partially
erased to make room for
another text
23. Superseded- dropped
from use and replaced by
something else
24. Proletariat- working
class
25. Pedantic- scholarly
knowledge about trivial
matters
26. Dispatches- official
messages variant of
dispatches
27. Charlemagne- emperor of
Holy Roman Empire 800-814
28. Julius Cesar- Roman
general; Roman Dictator
49-44 B.C.
29. Queue-line of people
waiting
30. Philologist- specialist in
science of language
31. Pannikin- metal cup or
small pan
32. Subsidiary- secondary
33. Fulminating- shouting
accusation
34. Venerated- respected
deeply
35. Reverie- daydreaming
36. Tic- an involuntary
muscle spasm or twitch
37. Inextricably- in a way
that can’t be disentangled
38. Debauchery- excessive
indulgence of one’s
appetite for pleasure
39. Aquiline- like an eagle
40. Pillory- a wooden
device
41. Stocks- a wooden frame
42. Treadmill- wheel turned
by persons treading steps
around its circumference
43. Cat o’nine tails- a whip
made of nine knotted cords
attached to a handle
44. Sinecures- offices or
positions that provide
income or other benefits
but require a little work
45. Posterity- succeeding
generations
46. Tacitly- in an unspoken
implied manner
47. Camaraderie- feeling of
warmth and loyalty among
comrades
48. Concertina-like- similar to
an accordion; without many
folds
49. Anodyne- something
that relieves pain
50. Deal-fir or pie wood
51. Lackeys- people who
act as servant to others
52. Bourgeoisie- the middle
class
53. Slatternly- sloppy; untidy
54.Hob- a shelf at the back or
side of a fireplace
55. Incongruous-
inappropriate; unsuitable
56. Reconnoitering- making
an examination, as to seek
out information
57.Obeisance- a bow or
other similar gesture of
respect
58. Munition work- the
making of weapons and
ammunition
59. Infallible- sure, incapable
of making a mistake
60. Privation- lack;
deprivation
61. fender- a low screen
placed in front of a fireplace
62. Gratuitous- uncalled-
for; unnecessary
63. Effigies- likenesses or
representations of a
person or persons
64. febrile- feverish
65. gramophone- an early
device used to play records
66. impending- about to
happen
67. detachments- groups of
troops
68. sodden- soaked through,
also drunk
69. simian- like a monkey
70. pathos- arouses pity or
sympathy
71. pilfering- stealing items of
little value
72. reclamation- rescuing or
bringing back to the right
way of thinking
73. demur- objection
74. catechism- a series of
formal questions put as a
test
75. persiflage- frivolity in
writing of speaking
76. prodigies- acts that, due
to their extraordinary
nature, inspire awe
77. feral- wild, untamed
78. tepid- lukewarm
79. oligarchial- having to do
with a form of govt. in which
power belongs to a few
people
80. collectivism- socialism;
collective ownership
81. Chivalrous- courteous,
honorable
82. empirical- based entirely
on experimentation and
observation not theory
83. hierarchal- of a system of
persons or things arranged
in order of importance
84. preponderance- that
which is greater in amount
of influence
85. inquisitor- prying
questioner
86. Indefatigably-
inexhaustibly; untiring
87. ruminant- relating to the
cud-chewing animals
88. hoardings- (Brt.)
temporary fences around a
construction site
89. titular- existing in name
only
90. Lingua franca- common,
widely used langauge
91. respites- rests from work
92. ossified- became rigidly
fixed, like bone
93. racketeering- the act of
obtaining money illegally
through blackmailing or
extortion
94. seditious- relating to the
stirring up of rebellion or
revolt
95. metaphysician- a person
who seeks to explain the
nature of reality
96. wantonness- deliberate
maliciousness
97. Inquisition- the tribunal set
up in the 13 th century to
discover and punish those
who did not follow the
doctrines of the Roman
Catholic Church
98. erroneous- based on error
99. despotisms- absolute
rules, as by leaders with
unlimited powers
100. solipsism- the theory
that nothing is real but the
self
101. hedonistic- of the theory
that happiness is the
principle aim of action
102. Utopias- idealized places
of perfection
103. Abasement- the act of
humiliating onself
104. vitriol- acid, caustic
sulfates of metals (burning)
105. baize- woolen cloth
made in such a way that it
resembles felt
106. premonitory- in a
warning manner
107. didactically- in a way
meant to be morally
instructive; often used in a
negative sense
108. bolster- long cushion
109. colossus- huge
important person/thing