Vocab Lesson #1

1) in·sid·i·ous (ĭn-sĭd'ē-əs)
adj.
- Working or spreading harmfully in a subtle or stealthy manner: insidious rumors; an insidious disease.
- Intended to entrap; treacherous: insidious misinformation.
- Beguiling but harmful; alluring: insidious pleasures.
[From Latin īnsidiōsus, from īnsidiae, ambush, from īnsidēre, to sit upon, lie in wait for : in-, in, on; see in–2 + sedēre, to sit.]
insidiously in·sid'i·ous·ly adv.
insidiousness in·sid'i·ous·ness n.

2) a·nath·e·ma (ə-năth'ə-mə)
n., pl. -mas.
- A formal ecclesiastical ban, curse, or excommunication.
- A vehement denunciation; a curse: “the sound of a witch's anathemas in some unknown tongue” (Nathaniel Hawthorne).
- One that is cursed or damned.
- One that is greatly reviled, loathed, or shunned: “Essentialism—a belief in natural, immutable sex differences—is anathema to postmodernists, for whom sexuality itself, along with gender, is a ‘social construct’” (Wendy Kaminer).
[Late Latin anathema, doomed offering, accursed thing, from Greek, from anatithenai, anathe-, to dedicate : ana-, ana- + tithenai, to put.]

3) pros·e·ly·tize (prŏs'ə-lĭ-tīz')
v., -tized, -tiz·ing, -tiz·es.
v.intr.
- To induce someone to convert to one's own religious faith.
- To induce someone to join one's own political party or to espouse one's doctrine.
v.tr.
- To convert (a person) from one belief, doctrine, cause, or faith to another.
proselytization pros'e·ly·ti·za'tion (-tĭ-zā'shən) n.
proselytizer pros'e·ly·tiz'er n.

4) cur·mudg·eon (kər-mŭj'ən)
n.
- An ill-tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions.
[Origin unknown.]
curmudgeonly cur·mudg'eon·ly adj.
curmudgeonry cur·mudg'eon·ry n.

5) fri·sée (frĭ-zā')
n.
- See endive (sense 1).
[French, from feminine past participle of friser, to curl. See frizz1.]

6) en·dive (ĕn'dīv', ŏn'dēv')
n.
- An Indian plant (Cichorium endivia) cultivated for its crown of crisp succulent leaves used in salads. Also called frisée.
- Escarole.
- A variety of the common chicory Cichorium intybus cultivated to produce a narrow, pointed, blanched cluster of leaves used in salads. Also called Belgian endive, witloof.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin endivia, from Medieval Greek entubia, pl. diminutive of Greek entubon, perhaps from Egyptian tybi, January (because the plant grows in this month).]

7) in·veigh (ĭn-vā')
intr.v., -veighed, -veigh·ing, -veighs.
- To give vent to angry disapproval; protest vehemently.
[Latin invehī, to attack with words, inveigh against, passive of invehere, to carry in : in-, in; see in–2 + vehere, to carry.]
inveigher in·veigh'er n.

8) Lee Siegel - journalist/writer who was suspended by The New Republic for using a fake online persona in order to trash critics of hisblog and to praise himself.

9) anti-intellectualism - The attitude that "too much learning can be a dangerous thing." (Definition from Susan Jacoby, author of “The Age of American Unreason.”)

10) anti-rationalism - The idea that there is no such thing as evidence or fact, just opinion. (Definition from Susan Jacoby, author of “The Age of American Unreason.”)

11) Arthur Schopenhauer (February 22, 1788 – September 21, 1860) was a German philosopher best known for his work The World as Will and Representation. Schopenhauer responded to and expanded upon Immanuel Kant's philosophy concerning the way in which we experience the world.