Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 31 - Day 2

Word List
  • propagate [prop´ ə gāt]
    produce, multiply, spread
    → “The Republican leadership planned to propagate their philosophy for a huge tax cut during the summer recess.” Wolf Blitzer, CNN Nightly News, 7/14/99
  • anomaly [ə nom´ ə lē]
    irregularity, abnormality
    → “My mother was American, my ancestors were officers in Washington’s army, and I am an anomaly.” Winston Churchill, speech, 1953
  • innocuous [i nok´ yü əs]
    harmless, mild, innocent
    → “Howell’s seemingly innocuous remark about Tanya’s footware led to a torrent of curses from the petite brunette.” George Sokolsky, “Very Thin Ice”
  • surfeit [sėr´ fit]
    excess, superabundance
    → “A surfeit of the sweetest things The deepest loathing to the stomach brings.” William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  • milieu [mē lyu´]
    environment, setting
    → “In the milieu of a heated baseball championship contest, tickets are being sold at highly inflated prices.” New York Post, 10/10/99

In a free society it is intrinsic* that individuals and groups have the inherent* right to propagate ideas and try to win converts. We do not look upon an idea different from ours as an anomaly that should be precluded*. Nor do we permit only innocuous or congenial* beliefs and forbid those that we believe are dubious* or spurious*. In a country of competing pressures we are accosted* by a surfeit of propaganda that tends to overwhelm us. Thus, we live in a milieu of ubiquitous* bombardment from countless, and often unrecognized, propagandists.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in these sentences.

  1. I must inveigh* against your attempt to __________ the belief that your political system will result in a panacea* for all problems.
  2. It is incongruous* to find an abstemious* person in a __________ of avarice* and affluence*.
  3. Siamese twins are considered a birth __________.
  4. There appears to be no such thing as an __________ heresy*.
  5. When can we expect a respite* from the __________ of TV commercials?

Definitions Match the new words with their definitions.

  1. a. excess, superabundance
  2. b. environment, setting
  3. c. irregularity, abnormality
  4. d. produce, multiply, spread
  5. e. harmless, mild, innocent
  1. propagate __________
  2. anomaly __________
  3. innocuous __________
  4. surfeit __________
  5. milieu __________

Answer Key
without rhyme or reason—making no sense
Without rhyme or reason the pennant-winning baseball team decided to jettison* its manager.

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