NBT Academic Literacy: Vocabulary in Context Flashcards

"The new evidence **refuted** the long-held theory that ancient humans first arrived in the Americas via a land bridge." In this context, 'refuted' most nearly means:

Answer: disproved

'Refuted' means proved to be wrong or false; stronger than merely 'questioned'.

"The **hegemony** of English in global business has led to concerns about the loss of linguistic diversity." 'Hegemony' most closely means:

Answer: dominant influence

'Hegemony' refers to the dominance or leadership of one country, group, or language over others.

"His **verbose** report could easily have been half the length without losing any of its substance." As used here, 'verbose' means:

Answer: using more words than necessary

'Verbose' means using or expressed in more words than are needed.

"The organisation works to **empower** marginalised communities by providing access to legal resources and financial literacy training." 'Empower' most nearly means:

Answer: give authority and confidence to

'Empower' means to give power, confidence, or the means to take action, especially to a disadvantaged group.

"The audit revealed a **discrepancy** between the declared income and the actual bank deposits." The best replacement for 'discrepancy' is:

Answer: difference

'Discrepancy' refers to a lack of compatibility or similarity between two or more facts.

"The government's **tacit** approval of the practice — evidenced by its failure to legislate against it — emboldened the industry." 'Tacit' most nearly means:

Answer: understood without being stated

'Tacit' means understood or implied without being directly expressed.

"The author uses **irony** throughout the text to expose the **disparity** between official rhetoric and lived reality." As used here, 'disparity' means:

Answer: a great difference

'Disparity' means a great difference, especially one regarded as unfair or unjustifiable.