Vocabulary List: 'Cauliflower and Chaos, Fractals in Every Floret'

NYT Learning Network (United States of America)
16 words 1 learner

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions on each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real-time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. cultivar
    a variety of a plant developed from a natural species and maintained under cultivation
    This dwarf cultivar is noted for its large, non-splitting, delicious, purplish-red sweet cherries.Seattle Times (May 8, 2014)
  2. hypothesize
    believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
    The authors hypothesized that both the turbulent airflow generated by intense exercise and the density in dance classes contributed to virus spread.Seattle Times (May 27, 2020)
  3. logarithmic
    of or relating to or using logarithms
    The pH scale is logarithmic, so each whole number signals a value 10 times different from the number above or below.Washington Post (Apr 19, 2019)
  4. chartreuse
    a shade of green tinged with yellow
    Then, without waiting for me to answer the question, he wrote “ chartreuse” under “Favorite Color.”Made You Up
  5. quagmire
    a situation from which extrication is difficult
    From every angle, the situation was a mess, a quagmire.New York Times (Jun 10, 2020)
  6. alchemy
    a pseudoscientific forerunner of chemistry in medieval times
    That alchemy of fermentation transforms a humble ingredient, milk, into something nourishing, comforting and versatile.Washington Post (Apr 10, 2020)
  7. simulated
    reproduced or made to resemble; imitative in character
    During one test, they simulated a parachute failure so that the spacecraft landed under two instead of three.Washington Post (Jul 18, 2021)
  8. mutation
    an organism with characteristics from chromosomal alteration
    The environment selects those few mutations that enhance survival, resulting in a series of slow transformations of one lifeform into another, the origin of new species.*Cosmos
  9. replica
    copy that is not the original
    In the meantime, a replica will be created to help researchers begin studying the idol.Seattle Times (Aug 21, 2021)
  10. elongate
    lengthen
    The brushstrokes are vertical and elongated, suggesting the way sight blurs through watery eyes.Washington Post (Jul 15, 2021)
  11. transient
    lasting a very short time
    Summer thunderstorms in the Washington area are generally transient events, sweeping across city and suburb from the north or west, following an advance guard of darkening skies.Washington Post (Aug 10, 2021)
  12. muse
    the source of an artist's inspiration
    Yes, yes, I will be your muse, darling!What the Night Sings
  13. inflorescence
    the flowering part of a plant or arrangement of flowers on a stalk
    The plant is the world's largest unbranched inflorescence, or cluster of multiple flowers that looks like a single one.Reuters (Aug 17, 2017)
  14. meristem
    undifferentiated tissue from which new cells are formed, as at the tip of a stem or root
    Fruit size and other plant traits depend on what happens in the uppermost part of the stem, a growing tip called the meristem.Science Magazine (May 25, 2015)
  15. conical
    relating to or resembling a cone
    The round building with a cupola atop its conical roof was built in 1888 when coal gas was a major source of light and heat.Washington Times (Apr 23, 2021)
  16. euphoria
    a feeling of great elation
    When you win any game in the last minute, there is euphoria in the dressing room afterwards.BBC (May 16, 2021)
Created on August 27, 2021 (updated October 8, 2021)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.