Vocab - 76

1.       Chimera (n): It is something you’ve imagined that’s bits and pieces of others things mashed together into a new horrible fantasy, something impossible in real life that only exists in your mind.

In Greek mythology, a chimera is a monster that has a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail. And it breathes fire. No creature like this has ever existed, but the idea seemed real and terrifying to Greeks, and that’s another meaning: an idea that feels real but is impossible, like the idea of a world without evil.

2.       Assassinate (v): To kill someone famous or important.

E.g: Anwar Sadat was assassinated because many people did not like his peace politics with Israel.

3.       Rectitude (n): It refers to behavior that is correct, upright and honorable. You have moral rectitude if you refuse to be involved with a plan that some kids in your class have to cheat on a test.

E.g: Everyone in the world knows that our PM is a person of rectitude and honesty.

4.       Taint: To spoil something, especially food or blood, by adding a harmful substance, or to spoil people’s opinion of someone.

E.g: His reputation was permanently tainted by the financial scandal.

5.       Bribe (n): You pay a bribe to get someone to do something they wouldn’t do otherwise. It’s usually dishonest and often criminal.

Bribes can be utterly corrupt and illegal – like when you offer a bribe to a politician so she’ll make a decision in your favour.

6.       Recuperate (v): It is to get something back that you have lost – could be good health, or money lost in a bad investment. When you recuperate, you heal and recover.

E.g: She spent a month in the country recuperating from/after the operation.

7.       Missive (n): It usually refers to the old-school style of hand-written communication on paper (remember that?), but these days you also might hear an email called a missive too. No matter how you deliver it, a missive is a message.

E.g: She sent a ten-page missive to the council, detailing her objections.

8.         Massacre (n): It is a bloody mess of killing, and usually for no good reason. Not that there’s ever a good reason for killing, but massacres are especially pointless and gory.

E.g: He ordered the massacre of 2,000 women and children.

9.       Transgress (v): To break a law or moral rule.

E.g: Those are the rules, and anyone who transgresses will be severely punished. (Transgressor: one who does it).

10.   Cognitive (adj): Connected with thinking or conscious mental processes.

E.g: Some of her cognitive functions have been impaired.

11.   Impair (v): When something is impaired, it’s diminished or damaged. Someone who can’t see very well has impaired sight.

When something is broken and isn’t working at 100%, it’s impaired. People with impaired hearing are deaf, and people who are physically impaired have to use crutches or wheelchairs. If you break your ankle, your ability to walk is impaired.

12.   Scavenge (v): To look for or get food or other objects in other people’s rubbish.

E.g: We managed to scavenge a lot of furniture from the local rubbish dump.

13.   Enact (v): You often hear that Congress is going to enact a new statue, which means that they will make it into a law. But enact also means to perform, like in a play.

E.g: A law banning scavenging was enacted in 1993.

14.   Feigned (adj): It is an adjective that means “not genuine,” like your feigned interest in your friends’ discussion of celebrity hairstyle trends.

Feigned emotions are not real, and therefore, they are a bit dishonest. You act like care but you really don’t.

E.g: Everyone knows that your friendship is feigned.

15.   Diarist (n): Someone who is known for writing or having written a diary.

E.g: Anne Frank was a famous diarist of the Second World War.

Compiled By: Chaudhary Amit V.