Learningexpress Vocabulary Spelling Success 4e

Vocabulary List 5: Foreign Language Terms Used in English

Across

4 a complicated or embarrassing situation

7 animation, spirit, life

9 a naïve young woman

11 unsophisticated and gullible

12 a short, descriptive piece of writing

14 grudge, feud

17 something finished and irreversible

18 quintessence

19 vague feeling of illness

20 first appearance

13

15

20

Down

1an overly familiar, overused phrase

2middle class

3apathetic, uninterested

5bumbling, crude

6cutting edge

8 hands-off

10a statement that has no connection to the previous statement or idea

13someone who takes on a new business challenge or risk

15a buff or devotee

16to meet at an appointed place and time

aficionado (ə·fi·she¯ · na·do¯)

(noun)

a person who likes, knows about, and is devoted to a particular activity or thing

Jonelle has been a baseball ever since she went to her first game with her dad.

avant-garde ( a·vant· ard)

(noun)

a group of people who develop innovative and experimental concepts, especially in the arts

(adj.)

relating to a group of people who develop innovative and experimental concepts, especially in the arts

blasé (bla· za¯)

(adj.)

apathetic to pleasure or excitement as a result of excessive indulgence in something

Because Jon works in the music industry, going to concerts has become , as they are no longer a novelty.

bourgeois ( bu˙rzh·wa)

(adj.)

having the attributes and beliefs of the middle class, marked by materialistic concerns

Pete has never succumbed to values—he is comfortable living a simple life.

(noun)

a phrase or saying which has been overused and, as a result, has little significance or meaning

Try to avoid using in your writing, as they are not as powerful as vivid, fresh language.

debut ( da¯ ·byu)

(noun)

a first appearance

The tennis player was nervous about her as a professional.

(noun)

spirit, enthusiasm, or excitement

The medical resident showed great for medicine; she was always prepared and asked a lot of questions.

entrepreneur (ann·trə·prə· nər)

(noun)

a person who takes on the challenge and risk of starting his or her own business

Being a(n) is nerve-wracking because you can never be certain that your idea will be a hit.

epitome (i· pi·tə·me¯)

(noun)

an exact example of something; someone or something that embodies the essence of a concept or type

He is the of a scientist with his wirerimmed glasses and absent-minded attitude.

fait-accompli ( fa¯ ·tə·kam· ple¯)

(noun)

something that is complete and seemingly irreversible

When she signed the one-year lease for her new apartment, it was a .

gauche ( o¯ sh)

(adj.)

lacking social graces or sophistication

The teenager felt in the company of a more sophisticated crowd.

(noun)

a complicated or embarrassing situation due to a misunderstanding

When David thought that Sally was my girlfriend instead of my sister, it created an

until I cleared up the misunderstanding.

ingénue ( an·jə·nu)

(noun)

a young girl or woman, an actress playing such a role

(noun)

a doctrine opposing government control of economic matters except in the case of maintaining peace and the concept of property

He believed in a policy because he thought that the government should not interfere with economic matters.

malaise (mə· la¯ z)

(noun)

the vague feeling of illness

She went to the doctor because she felt a general and thought she was coming down

with something.

naïve (na· e¯v)

(adj.)

innocent, simple, lacking knowledge of the world I told him he was to think that his

landlord would offer to fix his sink without a written or verbal request.

non sequitur ( nan· se·kwə·tər)

(noun)

a statement that has no connection to the previous statement or idea

My grandmother made such a yesterday. She was telling me about her wedding and then in the next breath said her car needed to be fixed.

rendezvous ( ran·da¯ ·vu)

(noun)

a meeting place (verb)

to meet at a meeting place

They decided the school would be their , and then they would go to the park.

vendetta (ven· de·tə)

(noun)

a grudge or feud characterized by acts of retaliation He had a against the man who killed his father and vowed he would seek revenge.

vignette (vin· yet)

(noun)

a short descriptive written piece The teacher asked the class to write a

about their home so they could practice writing short but clear descriptive pieces.

Words in Context

The following exercise will help you figure out the meaning of some words from Vocabulary List 5 by reading context clues. After you have read and understood the paragraph, explain the context clues that helped you with the meaning of the vocabulary word. Refer to the answer section at the end of this chapter for an explanation of the clues.

At the party, I watched as a young man introduced himself as an entrepreneur to a naïve young woman, and then continued to brag about the business he recently opened. The young woman was so innocent that she didn’t even realize that the man was flirting with her. For her sake, I joined the conversation rather abruptly by making a political comment about our government’s laissez-faire policy regarding economic regulation. I explained that it was ridiculous that our government did not see itself as responsible for regulating economic relations in our country because many low-income people suffered as a result. The young entrepreneur seemed confused at first by my apparent non sequitur because it had absolutely nothing to do with his previous statement regarding his business. Yet he did not want to appear gauche in front of the young woman so he smiled and politely asked me to explain my view on laissez-faire policies. At that point, the young woman excused herself and said that she was feeling a slight malaise and thought she should go home to rest. The young entrepreneur quickly suggested that they rendezvous at the park the following day, but the young woman politely declined.

Sentence Completion

Insert the correct word from Vocabulary List 5 into the following sentences.

1.After taking care of my brother, who had been sick with the flu, I started getting a feeling of

and assumed I was get-

ting sick, too.

2. In my favorite movie, the main character, Ray, has a against the mob boss who bankrupted his father.

3. The college graduate was too

to realize that his boss wouldn’t give him a vacation unless he asked for it.

4.The prospective college freshman was so nervous during her interview that she answered her first

question with a ; it was irrelevant to what the admissions officer had asked.

5. We arranged that if we got lost, we would in the lobby of the

hotel.

6. On the first day of class, he wrote a

about his house to practice his descriptive writing.

7.The young actress hated playing a(n)

,but she always got

those parts because she was young and attractive.

8.She went to dinner with some friends at a very fancy restaurant and felt

because she didn’t know which fork to use for her salad.

9. My dad always speaks in

when he gives me advice. For example, the other day, he told me not to count my chickens before they hatch.

10. My mother is a car ; she knows everything there is to know about cars and loves to test drive different models.

11. Her art teacher said her sculpture was

because she used both metal and plastic in a way he had never seen done before.

12.When Kathy asked Sylvia if she wanted to go to the World Series with her, she was surprised that

Sylvia was about it, but Sylvia explained that she had been to the World Series five years in a row, and it was starting to get boring.

13. The young musician showed such

when he played the guitar; he played very difficult pieces without missing a note and seemed to enjoy himself immensely.

14. The was very proud when he opened the doors of his new pet supply store on the first day of business.

15.She had just graduated from law school, but she already looked like the

of a lawyer with her expression, briefcase and nononsense professional suit.

16.The politician argued against the

policy because she felt that if economic matters were not regulated in the country, large companies would take advantage of consumers.

17. The plot of many TV sitcoms seems to revolve around a(n) ; there is some big misunderstanding, which results in an embarrassing situation, but it is usually resolved by the end of the show.

18.When she graduated from high school, it was a

;she had completed all

of the requirements.

19. At the ballet, the young dancer made her in the second act.

20. Most advertisements seem to include

values because middle class people are able to buy the items being advertised.

Synonyms

The following exercise lists vocabulary words from this chapter. Each word is followed by five answer choices. Four of them are synonyms of the vocabulary word is bold. Your task is to choose the one that is NOT a synonym.

21.blasé

a.bored

b.enthusiastic

c.apathetic

d.neutral

22.avant-garde

a.creative

b.cutting edge

c.conventional

d.innovative

23.naïve

a.innocent

b.simple

c.knowledgeable

d.trusting

38.excitement, enthusiasm, wide-eyed, naïve

39.friendship, peaceful relationship, reconciliation

40.retirement, seclusion, final appearance

Matching Questions

Match the word in the first column with the corresponding word in the second column.

42.aficionado b. lacking social graces

43.avant-garde c. a meeting place

51.entrepreneur k. a short descriptive piece

52.epitome l. a feud characterized by

acts of retaliation

53.fait-accompli m. a fan or devotee

54.rendezvous n. artistically innovative

56.laissez-faire p. first appearance

57.imbroglio q. one who starts his/her

own business

58. bourgeois r. an example or the embodiment of something

59. non sequitur s. a political doctrine, which supports government deregulation of economic matters

Practice Activities

Many or the words from this chapter are used in articles about art, politics, and history. Read a newspaper or magazine article about art or architecture, and an article about contemporary or historical politics, and write down all of the foreign words you come across. How do you know if a word is a foreign word? How is it being used in the article? Add these words to your vocabulary list and look up the definition.

Now that you know these words, make a note when and where you see them. Think about the following questions: When do people use these words? What effect does it have on the piece of writing you are reading? Why have these particular words become such a regular part of our vocabulary?

Answers

Words in Context

In the first sentence, we learn that the young man is an entrepreneur and that he is talking about a business he started, so we can conclude that being an entrepreneur has something to do with starting one’s own business. The young woman is described as naïve and then in the next sentence described as very innocent. The narrator also explains that she enters this conversation “for her sake” so we can conclude that naïve means young and innocent and possibly in need of help. The next word we encounter is laissez-faire, which is used to describe our government’s economic policy, so we know that it refers to something political and relates to economics. In the next sentence, it becomes clearer that the narrator is using the word to mean that our government is not regulating economic matters. Non sequitur is used to refer to the narrator’s comment and the fact that it is completely unrelated to the entrepreneur’s previous statement, so we can deduce that non sequitur means an unrelated statement. The entrepreneur does not want to appear gauche, so he is polite even though he is confused by the comment. We can conclude that gauche must mean impolite or lacking social graces. We can deduce that malaise must mean feeling ill or tired because the young woman needs to go home and rest. Finally, the entrepreneur asks the young woman to “rendezvous at the park the next day,” so we can conclude that rendezvous must mean meet.

Sentence Completion

1.malaise. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

2.vendetta. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

3.naïve. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

4.non sequitur. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

5.rendezvous. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

6.vignette. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

7.ingénue. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

8.gauche. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

9.clichés. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

10.aficionado. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

11.avant-garde. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

12.blasé. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

13.élan. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

14.entrepreneur. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

15.epitome. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

16.laissez-faire. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

17.imbroglio. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

18.fait-accompli. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

19.debut. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

20.bourgeois. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word’s definition.

Synonyms

21.b. enthusiastic. Blasé means apathetic about something due to over indulgence. Enthusiastic would not be a synonym because it means to be excited about something.

22.c. conventional. Avant-garde means original and creative, so conventional is not a synonym because it means lacking originality.

23.c. knowledgeable. Naïve means simple and innocent, so knowledgeable is not a synonym because it means having knowledge.

24.a. disinterest. Élan means spirit or enthusiasm so disinterest is not a synonym because it means lacking interest.

25.b. novice. An aficionado is an expert or devotee to something. A novice is someone who is new to something, so it is not a synonym.

26.c. clear line of thought. A non sequitur is a statement that is not connected to the previous statement. A clear line of thought refers to several statements that follow each other, so it is not a synonym.

27.d. truce. A vendetta is grudge or feud characterized by acts of retaliation. A truce is not a synonym because it means to settle or end a fight or disagreement.

28.a. novel. A vignette is a short descriptive piece, but a novel is a long written story, so it is not a synonym.

29.c. original statement. A cliché is a statement or saying that has been so overused that it lacks meaning. An original statement is not a synonym because it means a statement that is new and has not been used before.

30.c. healthy. Malaise means a feeling of sickness, but healthy means to feel well, so it is not a synonym.

Antonyms

31.gauche. Gauche means lacking social grace or sophistication, the opposite of the meaning of the words in the group.

32.naïve. Naïve means simple and innocent, the opposite of the meaning of the words in the group.

33.bourgeois. Bourgeois means characteristics of the middle class and materialistic, the opposite of the words in the group.

34.fait-accompli. Fait accompli means a completed fact that is irreversible, the opposite of the words in the group.

35.ingénue. An ingénue is a young naïve girl, the opposite of the words in the group.

36.élan. Élan means spirit, enthusiasm, the opposite of the words in the list.

37.imbroglio. An imbroglio is a complicated situation or an embarrassing misunderstanding, the opposite of the words listed.

38.blasé. Blasé means apathetic due to over indulgence in something, the opposite of the words listed.

39.vendetta. Vendetta means a feud or grudge characterized by retaliation.

40.debut. Debut means first appearance, usually relating to one’s entrance into society, the opposite of the words in the list.

Matching Questions

41.p

42.m

43.n

44.e

45.b

46.t

47.l

48.k

49.j

50.i

51.q

52.r

53.h

54.c

55.a

56.s

57.f

58.o

59.g

60.d