8 • Lesson 17 Word List

(n) A feeling of agreement or harmony; a formal agreement.
The members of the jury were in accord when the vote was taken.

(v) To declare positively.
My brother will affirm that the signature is mine.

(v) 1. To pass on to others.
Through her example of hard work, our mother has bequeathed to all her children an outstanding work ethic.

2. To leave to another in one?s will.
This necklace was bequeathed to me by my grandmother.

bequest (n) Something bequeathed; a legacy.
The will contains a bequest of a thousand dollars to a friendly neighbor.

(n) A fortress on a hill; a stronghold.
The old section of Quebec City is surrounded by walls and dominated by a citadel.

(v) 1. To grant or bestow.
The school board president conferred diplomas upon all the high school graduates.

2. To consult.
The surgeon conferred with her colleague before deciding not to operate on the patient.

(n) 1. A successful action that brings about a striking change.
Developing the new arts program was a coup for the young principal.

2. The overthrow of a government, especially by a group that has military or political power.
Fidel Castro?s 1959 coup brought communism to the island nation of Cuba.

(n) A person who holds a high rank or position of honor.
Dignitaries from the United Nations attended the White House dinner.

(v) To involve in an argument or conflict.
The two countries were embroiled in a bitter dispute over where the border between them lay.

(n) An extended period of time marked by a series of related events.
The epoch known as the Cold War, a period of hostility without military conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, began around 1945 and ended in 1991.

(adj) Free from fault or flaw; perfect.
The ballet dancer?s impeccable execution of a midair turn elicited cries of ?Bravo!? from the audience.

(v) To establish, organize, or put into effect; to begin.
The new principal instituted important changes in class schedules and lunch times.

(n) An organization set up to promote education or a particular cause.
Scholars at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, conduct research in mathematics, physics, and historical and social sciences.

(n) The male founder or ruler, such as of a family or tribe.
The Bedouins, nomadic desert tribes of Northern Africa, form extended families headed by patriarchs.

(n) A feeling of harmonious connection between people or groups of people.
Successful speakers quickly establish a rapport with the audience.

(v) To give up a right to, abandon; reject.
We renounced eating meat when we became vegetarians.

renunciation (n) The act of renouncing.
Acceptance into the animal-rights group meant the renunciation of wearing leather and fur clothing.

(n) 1. The art of using language skillfully.
We studied rhetoric to improve our debating skills.

2. Exaggerated or insincere language that is without real meaning or worth.
Because it offered no practical solutions to inner-city housing problems, the mayor?s speech was mere rhetoric.