Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 39 - Day 2

Word List
  • staunch [stônch]
    strong, trusty, firm
    → “Known as a staunch supporter of the Republican agenda, the young politician astounded us all by his defection.” Monte Halperin, “Party Turncoat?”
  • opprobrium [ə prō´ brē əm]
    scorn, insult
    → “General Sherman is still viewed with opprobrium in these parts of the South he once destroyed.” Edmund Wilson, Patriotic Gore
  • Machiavellian [Mak´ ē ə vel ē ən]
    governed by opportunity, not principled
    → “Is there any clearer example of Machiavellian plotting than that of Iago in ‘Othello’?” John Simon, Reverse Angle
  • unconscionable [un kon´ shə ne bəl]
    without conscience, unreasonable
    → “Viewers of TV’s coverage of disasters find it unconscionable for mourning family members to be shown and interviewed so close up we can see the tears.” John Stephens, New York, 4/16/98
  • pandemonium [pan´ də mō´ nē əm]
    disorder, uproar
    → “Then, summoning the wild courage of despair, in pandemonium, a throng of revellers at once threw themselves into the black apartment.” Edgar Allan Poe, “The Masque of the Red Death”

The international adventure stories prevalent* on television follow meticulously* a plot that is inexorable* in its development. Those on the side of law and justice face perfidious* men and organizations. These are anathema* to those values the staunch heroes would defend. These infamous* men have no capacfity for compassion,* and they treat the lovely women with opprobrium. The intrepid* heroes are placed in deleterious* situations as a result of the Machiavellian maneuvers of their opponents. One unconscionable act of duplicity* follows another until the total destruction of the “good guys” seems at hand. At the last moment, usually amidst the pandemonium of a battle, the cause for which the heroes strive triumphs. However, evil is ubiquitous,* and next week another fracas* will erupt.

Sample Sentences s Use the new words in these sentences.

  1. The coach heaped __________ upon the fledgling* ball player.
  2. We are ready to rationalize* __________ activities on the part of our side if they are to the detriment* of our adversary.*
  3. It was __________ to Abraham Lincoln to keep a book he had borrowed without making tenacious* efforts to return it.
  4. There was __________ as the presidential nominee entered the convention site.*
  5. She is such a __________ friend, my reprehensible* actions do not cause a schism* between us.

Definitions Match the new words with their definitions.

  1. a. scorn, insult
  2. b. strong, trusty, firm
  3. c. without conscience, unreasonable
  4. d. governed by opportunity, not principled
  5. e. disorder, uproar
  1. staunch __________
  2. opprobrium __________
  3. Machiavellian __________
  4. unconscionable __________
  5. pandemonium __________

Answer Key
through thick and thin—in spite of all sorts of difficulties
He decided to stick with his fairweather friends* through thick and thin.

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