Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 15 - Day 2

Word List
  • abrogate [ab´ rə gāt]
    abolish
    → “I decided to abrogate the agreement since General Motors was not living up to its part of the bargain.” Paul Sawyer, Seeking Justice
  • alleged [ə lejd´]
    reported, supposed
    → “I harvested the intelligence that Ricks was alleged to have laid off all that portion of the State of Florida that has been under water into town lots and sold them to innocent investors.” O’Henry, “The Man Higher Up”
  • access [ak´ ses]
    admittance
    → “Everything was simplified, and we were gaining access to infinity: soon the moon, SOON THE MOON!” Editorial, Le Figaro (Paris), 8/14/61
  • invalidate [în val´ ə dāt]
    to deprive of legal force, to nullify
    → “Some Reagan and Bush appointees have proved far too willing to invalidate decisions made by Congress and the Executive branch.” Cass R. Sunstein, New York Times, 6/2/99
  • preclude [pri klüd´]
    prevent
    → “I would be avenged; this was a point definitely settled—but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk.” Edgar Allan Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado”

Barry Kroll, a Chicago lawyer, took an interest in Danny Escobedo’s case. Kroll felt that his client’s rights under the Constitution had been abrogated. Since the alleged accomplice,* Escobedo, had been denied access to an attorney, Kroll asked the courts to invalidate the conviction. He proposed that lawyers be entitled to sit in when the police question a suspect but the Illinois courts rejected that on the grounds that it would effectively preclude all questioning by legal authorities. If such a law were upheld, the police felt that it would play havoc* with all criminal investigations.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in the following sentences.

  1. The manager was distraught* when he realized that the slugger’s sickness would __________ a World Series victory.
  2. It is symptomatic* of some newspapers that an __________ criminal is regarded in print as guilty.
  3. The wealthy uncle decided to __________ his inane* nephew’s sinecure.*
  4. The general was sure to __________ the court-martial’s decision once he learned of the flagrant* bias* of the presiding officer.
  5. Once the druggist had been duped* into opening the store, the addict gained __________ to the pep pills.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

  1. a. admittance
  2. b. reported, supposed
  3. c. to deprive of legal force, to nullify
  4. d. prevent
  5. e. abolish
  1. scrutinize __________
  2. nefarious __________
  3. amicable __________
  4. vexatious __________
  5. malady __________

Answer Key
to whitewash—to conceal defects, to give a falsely virtuous appearance to something
Although a committee was appointed to investigate the corruption, many citizens felt that their report would be a whitewash of the culprits.*

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