190 likes | 366 Views
SAT/ACT PREP. UNIT 9 VOCABULARY REVIEW. Imbroglio. An intricate or complicated situation; painful or embarrassing misunderstanding; a confused mass (noun) Italian root imbrogliare = embroil. Dilettante.
E N D
SAT/ACT PREP UNIT 9VOCABULARY REVIEW
Imbroglio • An intricate or complicated situation; painful or embarrassing misunderstanding; a confused mass (noun)Italian root imbrogliare = embroil
Dilettante • Someone who takes up an art, activity or subject merely for amusement or a pastime; dabbler (noun)Italian root dilettare = to delight
Virtuoso • One skilled in the fine arts; one who excels in the technique of an art, especially a highly skilled musical performer (noun)Directly from the Italian word meaning skilled
Cognoscente • A connoisseur; a person of special knowledge in some field, esp. the fine arts (noun)Italian word with Greek root GNO = know
Avatar • An embodiment or personification, as a principle, attitude or view of life; an incarnation of a Hindu god (noun)Sanskrit roots AVA = down + TARATI = (he) crosses over
Juggernaut • Massive inexorable force or object that crushes anything in its path; anything that exacts blind devotion or terrible sacrifice; relentless, destructive, irresistible force (noun)Hindu word JAGANNATH = lord of the world; roots are JAGAT=world + NATHA = lord
Alchemy • Power or process of transforming something common into something precious (noun)Arabic word with root KIMIYA = black land
Nirvana • Any place or condition of great peace and bliss; the final beatitude reached by the extinction of desire (Hinduism, Buddhism); place or state of oblivion to care, pain or external reality (noun)Directly from the Sanskrit word meaning "act of extinguishing"
Peccadillo • A slight offense or fault; a minor sin (noun)Spanish root PECADO = sin
Chaparral • A dense impenetrable thicket of shrubs, thorny bushes (noun)Spanish root PARRO = dwarf evergreen oak
Aficionado • BAn ardent devotee; a fan; a person who is very enthusiastic about a sport or hobby (noun)Spanish root AFICIONAR = to be devoted to, to likeeing everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent (adjective)Root UBIQU = everywhere
Junta • A council or committee for political or governmental purposes esp. after a revolutionary seizure of power; an assembly or council, esp. a Spanish or Latin American legislative or administrative body (noun)Spanish root JUNTO = joined
Raconteur • Person skilled at telling stories or anecdotes or someone who excels in telling them (noun)Directly from the French word meaning "tell, recount"
Malaise • A vague feeling of physical discomfort, uneasiness or mental disorder (noun)Directly from the French word meaning "discomfort" and Latin root MAL = bad
Ambiance • An environment or its distinct atmosphere; a feeling or mood associated with a particular place, person or thing (noun)Directly from the French word meaning "surrounding" and Latin AMBI = around, both
Bourgeois • Relating to or characteristic of town dwellers or of the middle class; marked by concern for material interests and leaning towards mediocrity (adjective)Directly from the French word and French root BOURG = town
Connoisseur • A person qualified to act as a judge involving taste and appreciation; expert (noun) Directly from the French word and Greek root GNO-NOSC = know
Vignette • A small decorative design or picture at the beginning or end of a chapter; a brief word picture; sketch or short literary sketch (scene in a play, film etc.) (noun)Directly from the French word and French root VIGNE = vine