Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 37 - Day 4

Word List
  • erudite [er´ ů dīt]
    very scholarly
    → “The erudite historian, Prof. Garrett Clark, will speak on ‘Evaluating Democracy’ at our April meeting.” Lancaster Library Bulletin, Spring 2000
  • phobia [fō´ bē ə]
    persistent fear, strong dislike
    → “My phobia was such that the slightest touch produced twinges of pain.” Guy De Maupassant, “Looking Back”
  • germane [jər mān´]
    appropriate, in close relationship to
    → “In assigning ratings to films, is it not germane to consider the nature and extent of violence shown?” The Hollywood Reporter, 5/19/97
  • vertigo [vėr´ tə gō]
    dizziness
    → “Iron workers on beams, hundreds of feet above Broadway, were immune to periods of vertigo.” Architectural Digest, 1/93
  • conducive [kən dü´ siv]
    leading, helpful
    → “The quiet calm of this garden is conducive to romance or repose.” “The Sophisticated Traveler,” 9/26/99

The ideas of Freudian psychology have become part of our everyday life. Our language is replete* with clichés* that have their origin in Freud’s writings. There is a surfeit* of amateur psychologists who, with celerity,* analyze an individual’s problems from the slightest evidence. Despite their dubious* education and training in this field, they discuss symptoms and cures on a most erudite fashion. Should a person express a fear of heights, this phobia is examined; events from childhood are considered germane to the problem. Is it possible he or she was dropped as an infant? Perhaps something in a dream is pertinent* to explain the feelings of vertigo that accompany height. For some reason, non-trained people find the Freudian approach to the workings of the human mind most conducive to their practicing as amateur psychologists.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in these sentences.

  1. She could not countenance* the sight of a lethal* weapon; it was tantamount* to a __________ with her.
  2. The __________ man was more than merely bilingual;* he spoke five languages.
  3. I would never have the temerity* to walk across the steel girders high up on a new building; an onset of __________ would surely follow.
  4. The bedlam* in the study hall was not __________ to good work habits.
  5. Epithets* are not __________ when motivating* a child to a task.

Definitions Match the new words with their definitions.

  1. a. very scholarly
  2. b. dizziness
  3. c. persistent fear, strong dislike
  4. d. leading, helpful
  5. e. appropriate, in close relationship to
  1. erudite __________
  2. phobia __________
  3. germane __________
  4. vertigo __________
  5. conducive __________

Answer Key
to upset the apple cart—to overturn or disturb a plan or intention
It was a bitter pill to swallow* when they upset the apple cart and elected a dark horse.

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