RC Vocabulary: Commonly Used Words

Suffrage: Right to vote

Forage: (of a person or animal) search widely for food or provisions: the birds forage for aquatic invertebrates, insects, and seeds.

Status quo: Existing state of affairs

Status quo ante: the previously existing state of affairs.

Perpetuate: keep alive or make (something) continue indefinitely: a monument to perpetuate the memory of those killed in the war

Gentry: The upper class: a member of the landed gentry.

Advent: arrival | the advent of television

Renegade: he was denounced as a renegade: traitor, defector, deserter

Scholarship:
1 Prague became one of the centres of medieval scholarship | a woman of great scholarship: learning, book learning, knowledge, erudition, education
2 a scholarship of £200 per term: grant, award

Alike: all the doors looked alike: similar, the same

20th Century: 1901 – 2000

Adversaries: he parried the strokes of his adversary with almost contemptuous ease: opponent, rival

White collar: relating to the work done or those who work in an office or other professional environment.
clerical, administrative, professional, executive, salaried, office

Blue collar: relating to manual work or workers, particularly in industry.
manual, wage, industrial, factory;

Radical:
1 radical reform is long overdue: thoroughgoing, thorough, complete, total ANTONYMS  superficial.
2 the apparently radical differences between logic and natural language: fundamental, basic, essential ANTONYMS minor.
3 a radical political movement: revolutionary, progressive, reforming, reformist, progressivist; leftist, left-wing, socialist, anti-capitalist; extreme, extremist ANTONYMS  conservative, reactionary; moderate.

Dogma: a dogma of the Sikh religion: teaching, belief, conviction

Social contract: an actual or hypothetical agreement among the members of an organized society or between a community and its ruler that defines and limits the rights and duties of each.

Surmise: she surmised that he was keen to leave: guess, deduce

Imminent: coming, impending

Reverence: deep respect for someone or something

Disdainful: showing contempt or lack of respect: with a last disdainful look, she turned towards the door.

Wariness: the issue should be treated with a degree of wariness: caution

Preclude: difficulties preclude him from leading a normal life: prevent, make it impossible for

Propagate: reproduce, spread, cultivate, grow

Albeit: though: he was making progress, albeit rather slowly. 

Insofar as: to the extent that
I shall help you insofar as you allow me to = I shall help you to the extent you allow me to. The extent (or amount) of my help depends on how much you allow me.

Impetus 
1 the flywheel lost all its impetus: momentum, impelling force, 
2 new products were introduced to give the sales force fresh impetus: motivation, stimulus

Objective: 1) adjective (of a person or their judgement) not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts: historians try to be objective and impartial. Contrasted with subjective.

Decreed: the government decreed that a new national stadium should be built: order, command

Secular: secular music | a secular building: non-religious, non-church

Condone: we cannot condone such dreadful behaviour: deliberately ignore, not take into consideration

Repudiate: a world that repudiated aggression and violence as a way of resolving disputes: reject, renounce

Enumerate: mention (a number of things) one by one: there is not space to enumerate all his works.

Sedition: conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch.
Partisan: a strong supporter of a party, cause, or person: partisans of the exiled Stuarts.

Reconcile: the news reconciled us: reunite, bring (back) together (again)

Delineate: describe or portray (something) precisely: the law should delineate and prohibit behaviour which is socially abhorrent.

Ubiquitous: present, appearing, or found everywhere: his ubiquitous influence

Inept: having or showing no skill; clumsy: the referee's inept handling of the match.

Fervent: having or displaying a passionate intensity: a fervent supporter of the revolution.

Bleak: the future looks bleak: unpromising, unfavourable

Statesmen: a skilled, experienced, and respected political leader or figure