Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 24 - Day 3

Word List
  • universal [yü´ nə vėr´ səl]
    to detest, to despise
    → “With the approach of the new millennium we see an almost universal fear of major disruptions.” TIME, 9/19/99
  • contemptuous [kən temp´ chü əs]
    ridiculous
    → “It is not difficult to feel contemptuous when studying the ugly behavior of some of the powerful figures of motion pictures.” Pauline Kael, I Lost It at the Movies
  • absurd [ab sėrd´]
    a person who is intolerant of other people or ideas
    → “Many rules in the English language are absurd because they are based on Latin rules.” Bill Bryson, Mother Tongue
  • bigot [big´ ət]
    expressing a feeling that something is worthless
    → “For only by claiming the limelight can the bigot draw followers and an income.” S. Andhil Fineberg, “Deflating the Professional Bigot”
  • abhor [ab hôr´]
    present everywhere
    → “I abhor the process of hiring public servants.” Senator Wayne Morse, speech, 4/17/61

Although it is probably universal human behavior to be contemptuous of the bizarre* superstitions practiced by inhabitants of unfamiliar cultures, it seems to be somewhat imprudent* to laugh at others before one takes a good, hard look at the absurd taboos* and fetishes* one accepts as part of one’s everyday life. Isn’t it somewhat absurd when the “dyedin-the-wool” bigot, who illogically fears the taint* of close association with blacks (behavior that resembles fear of a taboo), spends most of the summer lying in the sun trying to acquire the color he claims to abhor? Since doctors tell us that excessive sun-tanning may be a cause of skin cancer, our strange yearning for sun-darkened skin has all the qualities of a fetish.*

Sample Sentences Did the starred review words seem familiar to you? Yet, how many were totally foreign several days ago? Keep up the good work now by using your new words in the following sentences.

  1. Bob felt __________ of his best friend after he saw him cheating during an exam.
  2. The teacher felt like laughing after he heard Sally’s __________ excuse for not having done her homework.
  3. One politician, a notorious __________ , hopes to get support as a presidential candidate on the basis of his prejudices and intolerance.
  4. I __________ some one who is constantly changing channels with a remote while I’m trying to read in the same room.
  5. Would relations between countries be simpler if a __________ language were spoken rather than hundreds of separate ones?

Definitions Match your new words with their definitions.

  1. a. ridiculous
  2. b. present everywhere
  3. c. expressing a feeling that something is worthless
  4. d. a person who is intolerant of other people or ideas
  5. e. to detest, to despise
  1. abhor __________
  2. absurd __________
  3. bigot __________
  4. contemptuous __________
  5. universal __________

Answer Key
dyed-in-the-wool—set in one’s ways
He was a dyed-in-the-wool Republican who would not consider voting for a Democrat.

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