Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 31 - Day 1

Word List
  • heresy [her´ ə sē]
    unbelief, dissent, lack of faith
    → “Calvin had written that heresy was not an evil, deserving death.” Herbert Brucker, Journalist
  • prudent [prüd´ nt]
    wise, cautious
    → “Those who thought the prudent thing to do at the end of 1999 was to stay away from flying resulted in the slowest day of the year for every airline.” TIME, 1/12/00
  • ostensible [o sten´ sə bəl]
    outward, pretended, seeming
    → “The race was ostensibly to test the reliability of the automobiles.” Keith Ayling, The Race Around the World
  • fervid [fėr´ vid]
    intense, enthusiastic, passionate
    → “I’m a mixture of my mother’s determination and my father’s fervid optimism.” Gwen Robyns, Light of A Star
  • spurious [spyůr´ ē əs]
    false, counterfeit, specious*
    → “The only known picture, albeit a spurious one, had been printed some years earlier.” James Monaghan, Diplomat in Carpet Slippers

Today, the paramount* influence in the forming of public opinion is propaganda. It is not a heresy to our democratic beliefs to state that pressure groups play an important part in our lives. Propaganda makes one vulnerable* to the influences of others. The prudent person will choose between cogent* and specious propaganda efforts. While propaganda has the ostensible purpose of informing the public, the most fervid propagandists use methods that must be examined by the thoughtful citizen. The ability to distinguish the spurious from the true facts requires more than a perfunctory* examination of prevalent* propaganda efforts.

Sample Sentences Use care. The words have many meanings.

  1. His __________ appeal for action threw his adherents* into a frenzy*.
  2. He accused the leader of the opposition of political __________, and the mob was exhorted* to burn his effigy*.
  3. In the bedlam* that followed it was not __________ to appear too apathetic*.
  4. While the __________ enemy was the opposition leader, the main purpose of this rash* behavior was the eradication* of all opponents.
  5. In the conflagration* that followed, no one questioned whether the original charge had been __________.

Definitions Study the fine differences. Be sure how to use them.

  1. a. intense, enthusiastic, passionate
  2. b. false, counterfeit, specious*
  3. c. unbelief, dissent, lack of faith
  4. d. wise, cautious
  5. e. outward, pretended, seeming
  1. heresy __________
  2. prudent __________
  3. ostensible __________
  4. fervid __________
  5. spurious __________

Answer Key
cold shoulder—to disregard or ignore
She was so piqued* at his uncouth behavior, she gave him the cold shoulder for over a week.

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