notorious (nƏ-TAWR′-ee-Əs)
Widely and unfavorably known; famous for wrongdoing or bad qualities
Sessions 14–17 · Source
What kind of liar are you if you:
Work through the sessions to discover the answers.
Let us pretend that you are a liar. The question is, what kind of liar are you?
Everybody knows your propensity for avoiding facts. You have built so solid and unsavory a reputation that only a stranger is likely to be misled—and then, not for long.
A notorious liar
Your ability is top-drawer—rarely does anyone lie as convincingly or as artistically as you do. Your skill has, in short, reached the zenith of perfection. Indeed, your mastery of the art is so great that your lying is almost always crowned with success.
A consummate liar
You are impervious to correction. Often as you may be caught in your fabrications, there is no reforming you—you go right on lying despite the punishment, embarrassment, or unhappiness that your distortions of truth may bring upon you.
An incorrigible liar
You are the victim of firmly fixed and deep-rooted habits. Telling untruths is as frequent and customary an activity as brushing your teeth in the morning, or having toast and coffee for breakfast, or lighting up a cigarette after dinner. And almost as reflexive.
An inveterate liar
You have such a long history of persistent falsification that one can only suspect that your vice started when you were reposing in your mother's womb. In other words, and allowing for a great deal of exaggeration for effect, you have been lying from the moment of your birth.
A congenital liar
You never stop lying. While normal people lie on occasion, and often for special reasons, you lie continually—not occasionally or even frequently, but over and over.
A chronic liar
You are not concerned with the difference between truth and falsehood; you do not bother to distinguish fact from fantasy. In fact, your lying is a disease that no antibiotic can cure.
A pathological liar
You are completely without a conscience. No matter what misery your fabrications may cause your innocent victims, you never feel the slightest twinge of guilt. Totally unscrupulous, you are a dangerous person to get mixed up with.
An unconscionable liar
Possessed of a lively imagination and a ready tongue, you can distort facts as smoothly and as effortlessly as you can say your name. But you do not always get away with your lies. Ironically enough, it is your very smoothness that makes you suspect: your answers are too quick to be true.
A glib liar
Almost all lies are harmful; some are no less than vicious. If you are one type of liar, all your lies are vicious—calculatedly, predeterminedly, coldly, and advisedly vicious. In short, your lies are so outstandingly hurtful that people gasp in amazement and disgust at hearing them.
An egregious liar
Click a word on the left, then click its matching definition on the right.
Matched: 0 / 10
1. Do people become notorious for good acts?
2. Is Beethoven considered a consummate musical genius?
3. If a criminal is truly incorrigible, is there any point in attempting rehabilitation?
4. Does an inveterate smoker smoke only occasionally?
5. Is a congenital deformity one that occurs late in life?
6. Is a chronic invalid ill much of the time?
7. Is a pathological condition normal and healthy?
8. If a person commits an unconscionable act of cruelty, is there any regret, remorse, or guilt?
9. Is a glib talker awkward and hesitant in speech?
10. Is an egregious error very bad?
1. outstandingly vicious; so bad as to be in a class by itself
E________________
2. starting at birth
C________________
3. happening over and over again; continuing for a long time
C________________
4. widely and unfavorably known (as for antisocial acts, character weaknesses, immoral or unethical behavior, etc.)
N________________
5. beyond correction
I________________
6. smooth and persuasive; unusually, almost suspiciously, fluent
G________________
7. long addicted to a habit
I________________
8. perfect in the practice of an art; extremely skillful
C________________
9. unscrupulous; entirely without conscience
U________________
10. diseased
P________________
Write the word that best fits each blank.
1. This person has gambled, day in and day out, for as long as anyone can remember—gambling has become a deep-rooted habit.
An __________________ gambler
2. Born with a clubfoot
A __________________ deformity
3. Someone known the world over for criminal acts
A __________________ criminal
4. An invading army kills, maims, and tortures without mercy, compunction, or regret.
__________________ acts of cruelty
5. The suspect answers the detective's questions easily, fluently, almost too smoothly.
__________________ responses
6. A person reaches the acme of perfection as an actress or actor.
A __________________ performer
7. No one can change someone's absurdly romantic attitude toward life.
An __________________ romantic
8. A mistake so bad that it defies description
An __________________ blunder
9. Drunk almost all the time, again and again and again—periods of sobriety are few and very, very far between
A __________________ alcoholic
10. Doctors find a persistent, dangerous infection in the bladder
A __________________ condition
"Widely but unfavorably known" is the common definition for notorious. A notorious gambler, thief, or killer has achieved a wide reputation for some form of antisocial behavior. The noun is notoriety (nō-tƏ-RĪ′-Ə-tee).
The derivation is from Latin notus, known, from which we also get noted.
The top of a mountain is called the summit, derived from Latin summus, highest, which also gives us the mathematical term sum. A consummate artist has reached the very highest point of perfection; and to consummate (v.) (KON′-sƏ-mayt′) a marriage, a business deal, or a contract is, etymologically, to bring it to the highest point—to put the final touches to it, to bring it to completion.
To make a noun: add -ness → consummateness (KAHN′-sƏ-mƏt-nƏs), or add -acy → consummacy (kƏn-SUM′-Ə-see). The verb form yields consummation (kon′-sƏ-MAY′-shƏn).
Call people incorrigible if they do anything to excess, and if all efforts to correct or reform them are to no avail. The word derives from Latin corrigo, to correct or set straight, plus the negative prefix in-. The noun is incorrigibility (in-kawr′-Ə-jƏ-BIL′-Ə-tee), or alternatively, incorrigibleness.
Inveterate, from Latin vetus, old, generally indicates disapproval. The noun is inveteracy (in-VET′-Ə-rƏ-see) or inveterateness.
A veteran (VET′-Ə-rƏn), as of the Armed Forces, grew older serving the country; otherwise a veteran is an old hand at the game (and therefore skillful). The word is both a noun and an adjective: a veteran actor, teacher, diplomat.
Greek genesis, birth or origin, is the source of a great many English words. Genetics (jƏ-NET′-iks) is the science that treats of the transmission of hereditary characteristics from parents to offspring. The scientist specializing in the field is a geneticist (jƏ-NET′-Ə-sist), the adjective is genetic (jƏ-NET′-ik). The particle in the chromosome of the germ cell containing a hereditary characteristic is a gene (JEEN).
Genealogy (jee′-nee-AL′-Ə-jee) is the study of family trees or ancestral origins (logos, study). The practitioner is a genealogist (jee′-nee-AL′-Ə-jist); the adjective is genealogical (jee′-nee-Ə-LOJ′-Ə-kƏl).
The genital (JEN′-Ə-tƏl), or sexual, organs are involved in the process of conception and birth. The genesis (JEN′-Ə-sis) of anything is its beginning, birth, or origin. Hereditary (hƏ-RED′-Ə-tair′-ee) characteristics are acquired at the moment of conception.
Write the English word derived from each prefix, root, or suffix.
1. notus — known
2. summus — highest
3. corrigo — to correct, set straight
4. vetus — old
5. senex — old
6. genesis — birth, origin
7. logos — science, study
8. in- — negative prefix
Click a word on the left, then click its matching definition on the right.
Matched: 0 / 11
1. Does notoriety usually come to perpetrators of mass murders?
2. Is the product of a consummately skillful counterfeiter likely to be taken as genuine?
3. Is incorrigibility in a criminal a sign that rehabilitation is possible?
4. Is a geneticist interested in your parents' characteristics?
5. Does inveteracy suggest that a habit is new?
6. When you consummate a deal, do you back out of it?
7. Is a veteran actress long experienced at her art?
8. Do genes determine heredity?
9. Is a genealogist interested in your family origins?
10. Are the genital organs used in reproduction?
11. Is the genesis of something the final point?
12. Are hereditary characteristics derived from parents?
1. sexual; reproductive
G________________
2. to complete
C________________
3. wide and unfavorable reputation
N________________
4. particle in the chromosome of a cell that transmits a characteristic from parent to offspring
G________________
5. completion
C________________
6. inability to be reformed
I________________
7. the science that deals with the transmission of characteristics from parents to children
G________________
8. referring to a quality or characteristic that is inherited (adj.)
H________________
9. beginning or origin
G________________
10. student of family roots or origins
G________________
11. height of skill or artistry
C________________ or C________________
12. transmitted by heredity
G________________
13. quality of a habit that has been established over many years
I________________ or I________________
14. a person long experienced at a profession, art, or business
V________________
15. pertaining to a study of family origins (adj.)
G________________
A chronic liar lies constantly, again and again and again; a chronic invalid is ill time after time, frequently, repeatedly. The derivation of the word is Greek chronos, time. The noun form is chronicity (krƏ-NIS′-Ə-tee).
An anachronism (Ə-NAK′-rƏ-niz-Əm) is someone or something out of time, out of date, belonging to a different era, either earlier or later. (The prefix ana-, like a-, is negative.) The adjective is anachronous (Ə-NAK′-rƏ-nƏs) or anachronistic (Ə-nak′-rƏ-NIS′-tik).
An anachronism is out of time; something out of place is incongruous (in-KONG′-grōō-Əs), a word combining the negative prefix in-, the prefix con-, with or together, and a Latin verb meaning to agree or correspond. The noun form is incongruity (in′-kƏng-GRōō′-Ə-tee).
Chronological (kron′-Ə-LOJ′-Ə-kƏl), in correct time order, comes from chronos. Chronology (krƏ-NOL′-Ə-jee) is the science of time order and the accurate dating of events (logos, science)—the expert in this field is a chronologist (krƏ-NOL′-Ə-jist).
A chronometer (krƏ-NOM′-Ə-tƏr), combining chronos with metron, measurement, is a highly accurate timepiece, especially one used on ships. Chronometry (krƏ-NOM′-Ə-tree) is the measurement of time—the adjective is chronometric (kron′-Ə-MET′-rik).
Add the prefix syn-, together, plus the verb suffix -ize, to chronos, and you have constructed synchronize (SIN′-krƏ-nīz′), etymologically to time together, or to move, happen, or cause to happen, at the same time or rate. The adjective is synchronous (SIN′-krƏ-nƏs); the noun form is synchronization (sin′-krƏ-nƏ-ZAY′-shƏn).
Pathological is diseased (a pathological condition)—this meaning of the word ignores the root logos, science, study.
Pathology (pƏ-THOL′-Ə-jee) is the science or study of disease—its nature, cause, cure, etc. However, pathology may also be any morbid, diseased, or abnormal physical condition; in short, simply disease.
A pathologist (pƏ-THOL′-Ə-jist) is an expert who examines tissue, often by autopsy or biopsy, to diagnose disease and interpret the abnormalities in such tissue that may be caused by specific diseases.
Pathos occurs in some English words with the additional meaning of feeling. If you feel or suffer with someone, you are sympathetic (sim-pƏ-THET′-ik)—sym- is a respelling before the letter p of the Greek prefix syn-, with or together. The noun is sympathy (SIM′-pƏ-thee), the verb sympathize (SIM′-pƏ-thīz).
Antipathy (an-TIP′-Ə-thee), combining anti-, against, with pathos, is a feeling of hostility, dislike, or aversion—the adjective is antipathetic (an′-tƏ-pƏ-THET′-ik).
Combine the negative prefix a- with pathos and you have apathy (AP′-Ə-thee), absence of feeling, lack of emotional responsiveness, indifference—adjective: apathetic (ap-Ə-THET′-ik).
When you empathize (EM′-pƏ-thīz′) with someone, you identify so strongly with that person's feelings that you actually experience those feelings yourself. The prefix em- (a form of en-, in) plus pathos forms the noun empathy (EM′-pƏ-thee)—adjective: empathetic (em-pƏ-THET′-ik) or empathic (em-PATH′-ik).
A pathetic (pƏ-THET′-ik) person or situation obviously arouses feelings of pity, sympathy, or sorrow.
Telepathy (tƏ-LEP′-Ə-thee) is communication of feelings or thoughts from one person to another over a distance, without the use of the senses—adjective: telepathic (tel′-Ə-PATH′-ik).
Write the English word derived from each prefix, root, or suffix.
1. chronos — time
2. ana-, a- — negative prefix
3. con- — with, together
4. in- — negative prefix
5. logos — science, study
6. metron — measurement
7. syn-, sym- — with, together
8. -ize — verb suffix
9. pathos — disease, suffering, feeling
10. anti- — against
11. en-, em- — in
12. tele- — distance
Click a word on the left, then click its matching definition on the right.
Matched: 0 / 10
Click a word on the left, then click its matching definition on the right.
Matched: 0 / 11
1. Are these dates in chronological order? 1492, 1941, 1586
2. Is pathology the study of healthy tissue?
3. Is telepathic communication carried on by telephone?
4. Does a sympathetic response show an understanding of another's feelings?
5. Is one antipathetic to things, ideas, or people one finds agreeable?
6. Do apathetic people react strongly?
7. Does an empathic response show identification with the feelings of another?
8. Is a swimsuit incongruous attire at a formal ceremony?
9. Is an anachronistic attitude up to date?
10. Are synchronous movements out of time with one another?
1. in order of time
C________________
2. out of place
I________________
3. out of time (two forms — adj. 1)
A________________
4. out of time (two forms — adj. 2)
A________________
5. something, or state of being, out of place
I________________
6. lack of feeling
A________________
7. measurer of time
C________________
8. study of disease
P________________
9. feeling of hostility or dislike
A________________
10. to occur, or cause to occur, at the same time or rate
S________________
11. evoking sorrow or pity
P________________
12. something out of time
A________________
13. state of recurring again and again
C________________
14. extrasensory perception
T________________
15. one who examines tissue to diagnose disease
P________________
16. identification with the feelings of another
E________________
17. happening at the same time or rate (adj.)
S________________
18. skillful at thought transference without sensory communication
T________________
19. calendar of events in time sequence
C________________
20. referring to the measurement of time (adj.)
C________________
Psychopaths commit antisocial and unconscionable acts—they are not troubled by conscience, guilt, remorse, etc. over what they have done.
Unconscionable and conscience are related in derivation—the first word from Latin scio, to know, the second from Latin sciens, knowing, and both using the prefix con-, with, together. Etymologically, your conscience is your knowledge with a moral sense of right and wrong; if you are unconscionable, your conscience is not (un-) working, or you have no conscience. The noun form is unconscionableness or unconscionability (un-kon′-shƏ-nƏ-BIL′-Ə-tee).
Conscious, also from con- plus scio, is knowledge or awareness of one's emotions or sensations, or of what's happening around one. Science, from sciens, is systematized knowledge as opposed to belief, faith, intuition, or guesswork.
Add Latin omnis, all, to sciens, to construct omniscient (om-NISH′-Ənt), all-knowing, possessed of infinite knowledge. The noun is omniscience (om-NISH′-Əns).
Add the prefix pre-, before, to sciens, to construct prescient (PREE′-shƏnt)—knowing about events before they occur, i.e., psychic, or possessed of unusual powers of prediction. The noun is prescience (PREE′-shƏns).
And, finally, add the negative prefix ne- to sciens to produce nescient (NESH′-Ənt), not knowing, or ignorant. The noun is nescience (NESH′-Əns).
Glib is from an old English root that means slippery. Glib liars or glib talkers are smooth and slippery; they have ready answers, fluent tongues, a persuasive air—but, such is the implication of the word, they fool only the most nescient, for their smoothness lacks sincerity and conviction. The noun is glibness.
Egregious (remember the pronunciation? Ə-GREE′-jƏs) is from Latin grex, gregis, herd or flock. An egregious lie, act, crime, mistake, etc. is so exceptionally vicious that it conspicuously stands out (e-, a shortened form of the prefix ex-, out) from the herd or flock of other bad things. The noun is egregiousness (Ə-GREE′-jƏs-nƏs).
A person who enjoys companionship, who likes to be with the herd, who reaches out for friends and is happiest when surrounded by people—such a person is gregarious (grƏ-GAIR′-ee-Əs). The noun is gregariousness (grƏ-GAIR′-ee-Əs-nƏs).
Add the prefix con-, with, together, to grex, gregis, to get the verb congregate (KONG′-grƏ-gayt′); add the prefix se-, apart, to build the verb segregate (SEG′-rƏ-gayt′); add the prefix ad-, to, toward (ad- changes to ag- before a root starting with g-), to construct the verb aggregate (AG′-rƏ-gayt′).
The noun of congregate is congregation (kong′-grƏ-GAY′-shƏn), one of the meanings of which is a religious "flock." The noun of segregate is segregation (seg′-rƏ-GAY′-shƏn). Aggregate also serves as a noun (AG′-rƏ-gƏt), meaning a group or mass of individuals considered as a whole. The noun aggregation (ag′-rƏ-GAY′-shƏn) means the act of aggregating, or the mass formed.
Write the English word derived from each prefix, root, or suffix.
1. grex, gregis — herd, flock
2. e-, ex- — out
3. -ness — noun suffix
4. con- — with, together
5. ad-, ag- — to, toward
6. un- — negative prefix
7. scio — to know
8. sciens — knowing
9. omnis — all
10. pre- — before
11. ne- — negative prefix
12. se- — apart
13. -ion — noun suffix added to verbs
Click a word on the left, then click its matching definition on the right.
Matched: 0 / 10
1. Is unconscionability one of the signs of the psychopath?
2. Can anyone be truly omniscient?
3. Does a prescient fear indicate some knowledge of the future?
4. Is nescience a result of learning?
5. Does glibness make someone sound sincere and trustworthy?
6. Is egregiousness an admirable quality?
7. Do gregarious people enjoy parties?
8. Do spectators congregate at sports events?
9. Do we often segregate hardened criminals from the rest of society?
10. Is an aggregation of problems a whole mass of problems?
1. enjoying groups and companionship
G________________
2. ignorant
N________________
3. state of not being held back from antisocial behavior by one's conscience
U________________
4. having knowledge of an event before it occurs (adj.)
P________________
5. a religious "flock"
C________________
6. a total, whole, or mass
A________________
7. to separate from the rest
S________________
8. suspiciously smooth fluency
G________________
9. all-knowing (adj.)
O________________
10. to come together into a group or mass
C________________
1. Highly skilled:
2. Beyond reform:
3. Dating from birth:
4. Outstandingly bad:
5. Science of heredity:
6. Out of time:
7. Study of disease:
8. Fond of company, friends, group activities, etc.:
9. Indifferent:
10. Long accustomed in habit:
11. Study of family ancestry:
12. To complete, finish, top off:
13. Accurate timepiece:
14. Identification with the feelings of another:
15. Thought transference; extrasensory perception:
16. Ignorance:
17. To gather into a group:
Write the meaning of each root:
1. notus (example: notorious)
2. summus (example: summit)
3. corrigo (example: incorrigible)
4. vetus (example: veteran)
5. senex (example: senile)
6. genesis (example: congenital)
7. logos (example: genealogy)
8. chronos (example: chronic)
9. metron (example: chronometer)
10. pathos (examples: pathology / pathetic / empathy)
11. grex, gregis (example: gregarious)
12. scio (example: unconscionable)
13. sciens (example: prescience)
14. omnis (example: omniscient)
A well-known person; a celebrity or person of distinction.
Notify: to make known. Notice: to perceive, to take note of. -fy: to make, to cause to be (cf. simplify, clarify, liquefy).
A device that records (writes) time; an instrument for recording time intervals with great accuracy.
Generate: to produce, to bring into being. Regenerate: to produce again. re-: again, back.
Omnipotent: all-powerful (noun: omnipotence). Omnipresent: present everywhere at the same time (noun: omnipresence).
anaphrodisiac
(Answers in Chapter 18.)
Chapter 7 introduces 65 words organized across four sessions covering types of liars, word origins and related forms, words of time and feeling, and words of conscience and community.
Widely and unfavorably known; famous for wrongdoing or bad qualities
Supremely accomplished or skilled; perfect; of the highest degree (adj.)
Beyond correction or reform; not responsive to punishment; persistently bad
Firmly established by long habit; deep-rooted; habitual; settled in a practice or attitude
Dating from birth; present at birth; existing since one was born
Continuing for a long time; recurring habitually; of long duration; persistent
Relating to or caused by disease; morbid; beyond normal control; compulsive
Not controlled by conscience; showing no moral scruples; unreasonably excessive
Fluent in a shallow, insincere way; suspiciously smooth; lacking depth or sincerity
Outstandingly bad or vicious; flagrant; conspicuously offensive
A person with long experience; a long-time practitioner; an old hand at any activity
The science that studies heredity and the transmission of inherited characteristics from parents to offspring
A scientist who specializes in genetics
Of or relating to genetics or genes; inherited; determined by heredity
The unit of heredity; a segment of DNA in a chromosome that transmits a hereditary characteristic
The study of family ancestry and descent; a family's line of descent traced through history
A person who studies or traces family ancestry and lines of descent
Of or relating to genealogy; having to do with the tracing of ancestry
Of or relating to reproduction or the reproductive and sexual organs
A beginning; an origin; the coming into being of anything
Passed down from parents to offspring through the genes; inherited; transmitted genetically
Something or someone out of its proper time; an error in time; a person or thing belonging to a different era
Out of the proper time period; anachronistic; not belonging to the era in which it appears
Involving or containing an anachronism; out of date with the current time; belonging to a different period
Not fitting; out of place; not in harmony with the surroundings; incompatible with the context
The state or quality of being incongruous; something out of place or out of context
Arranged in order of time; relating to chronology; in the sequence in which events occurred
The science of arranging events in order of time; a sequential record of events with their dates
A specialist in chronology; a person who arranges events in chronological order
A highly accurate timepiece, especially one used in navigation at sea
The science or technique of measuring time accurately
Of or relating to chronometry; measured or timed by a chronometer
To cause to occur at the same time or rate; to coordinate in timing; to happen simultaneously
The act or process of synchronizing; coordination so that things happen at the same time
Occurring at the same time; simultaneous; operating in perfect unison
The science or study of diseases — their nature, causes, and effects; any morbid or diseased condition
A physician who specializes in examining tissue (often by autopsy or biopsy) to diagnose disease
Sharing or understanding the feelings of another; compassionate concern for the suffering of others
Showing or feeling sympathy; compassionate; favorably inclined toward another
To feel or express sympathy; to share in the feelings of another; to be in accord
A strong feeling of dislike or aversion; hostility; deep-seated opposition to a person or thing
Having or showing antipathy; strongly opposed; relating to a feeling of dislike
Absence of feeling or emotion; indifference; lack of interest or concern
Showing or feeling apathy; indifferent; emotionally unresponsive; uninterested
Deep identification with and understanding of another's feelings; the ability to experience another's emotions as if they were one's own
To feel or show empathy; to identify with and understand another person's feelings
Characterized by empathy; showing the ability to identify with and feel another's emotions
Of or relating to empathy; empathetic
Arousing feelings of pity or sorrow; miserably inadequate; touching; pitiable
Communication of thoughts or feelings from one person to another without normal sensory channels; extrasensory perception
Of, relating to, or involving telepathy; communicated by thought transference
Having infinite or unlimited knowledge; all-knowing
Infinite knowledge; the quality or state of knowing everything
Having foreknowledge of events; knowing what will happen before it occurs; prophetically aware
Foreknowledge; knowledge of events before they occur; prophetic foresight
Ignorant; lacking knowledge; unaware; not knowing
Ignorance; lack of knowledge; the state of not knowing
Fond of company; sociable; enjoying being with others; living in groups or flocks
The quality of being gregarious; sociability; fondness for company and group activities
To come together into a group; to gather into a crowd or assembly; to flock together
A group gathered together; a religious assembly or community; a gathered flock
To separate from the main group; to set apart; to isolate from others
The act or practice of segregating; enforced separation of groups; exclusion from the herd
To gather or collect into a mass or whole; to amount to in total; to combine into a group
The act of aggregating; a mass or collection of individuals or units gathered together