1-150 Flashcards
abhor
to hate a way of behaving or thinking, often because you think it is not moral
abjure
to say formally or publicly that you no longer agree with a belief or way of behaving
abortive
An abortive attempt or plan has to be stopped because it has failed
abstemious
not doing things that give you pleasure, especially not eating good food or drinking alcohol
accost
to go up to or stop and speak to someone in a threatening way
acrimonious
full of anger, arguments, and bad feeling
alacrity
speed and eagerness
altruistic
showing a wish to help or bring advantages to others, even if it results in disadvantage for yourself
ameliorate
to make a bad or unpleasant situation better
amicable
relating to behaviour between people that is pleasant and friendly, often despite a difficult situation
anathema
something that is strongly disliked or disapproved of
anomaly
a person or thing that is different from what is usual, or not in agreement with something else and therefore not satisfactory
appellation
refers to a name, title, or designation given to someone or something, often indicating its origin, nature, or purpose. It can also refer to a geographical indication used to identify the origin of a product, especially in the case of food or drink, where the quality or characteristics of the product may be associated with its geographical origin.
For example:
“Champagne” is an appellation used to denote sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France.
“Roquefort” is an appellation for a type of blue cheese made from sheep’s milk in specific regions of France.
ardent
showing strong feelings:
an ardent supporter of Manchester United
an ardent feminist
artifice
(the use of) a clever trick or something intended to deceive:
Amazingly for Hollywood, she seems almost entirely without artifice
artless
simple and not wanting to deceive:
“Why did you take the money?” she asked the child. “Because I wanted it,” came the artless reply.
audacity
courage or confidence of a kind that other people find shocking or rude
avarice
an extremely strong wish to get or keep money or possessions
banal
boring, ordinary, and not original
belligerent
wishing to fight or argue
blatant
very obvious and intentional, when this is a bad thing:
a blatant lie
The whole episode was a blatant attempt to gain publicity.
burgeon
to develop or grow quickly
cache
a hidden store of things, or the place where they are kept
cajole
to persuade someone to do something they might not want to do, by pleasant talk and promises, sometimes ones which are false
callous
unkind, cruel, and without sympathy or feeling for other people
cant
statements, especially on religious or moral subjects, that are not sincerely believed by the person making them
capricious
changing mood or behaviour suddenly and unexpectedly
caustic
A caustic chemical burns or destroys things, especially anything made of living cells
celerity
speed
choleric
very angry or easily annoyed
clique
a small group of people who spend their time together and do not welcome other people into that group
cogent
A cogent argument, reason, etc. is clearly expressed and persuades people to believe it
complacent
feeling so satisfied with your own abilities or situation that you feel you do not need to try any harder
complicity
involvement in a crime or some activity that is wrong
conflagration
a large and violent event, such as a war, involving a lot of people
conjecture
a guess about something based on how it seems and not on proof
consternation
a feeling of worry, shock, or confusion
contort
to (cause something to) twist or bend violently and unnaturally into a different shape or form
culpable
deserving to be blamed or considered responsible for something bad
cursory
quick and probably not detailed:
a cursory glance/look
a cursory examination
dearth
an amount or supply that is not large enough:
a dearth of new homes in the region
debris
broken or torn pieces of something larger:
Debris from the aircraft was scattered over a large area.
decadence
low moral standards and behaviour
decrepit
in very bad condition because of being old, or not having been cared for, or having been used a lot:
Most of the buildings were old and decrepit.
A decrepit old man sat on a park bench.
derogatory
showing strong disapproval and not showing respect:
He made some derogatory comment/remark about her appearance.
desultory
without a clear plan or purpose and showing little effort or interest: She made a desultory attempt at conversation.
detriment
harm or damage: without detriment to Are you sure that I can follow this diet without detriment to my health?
to the detriment of She was very involved with sports at college, to the detriment of (= harming) her studies.
diatribe
an angry speech or piece of writing that severely criticizes something or someone: launch into a diatribe against He launched into a long diatribe against the lack of action in Congress.
discern
to see, recognize, or understand something that is not clear: I could just discern a figure in the darkness.
disseminate
to spread or give out something, especially news, information, ideas, etc., to a lot of people:One of the organization’s aims is to disseminate information about the disease.
disparate
different in every way: The two cultures were so utterly disparate that she found it hard to adapt from one to the other.
duress
threats used to force a person to do something:under duress He claimed that he signed the confession under duress.
edifice
a large building, especially an impressive one:The town hall is the only edifice surviving from the 15th century.
efficacy
the ability of something to produce the intended result:The study is a serious attempt to understand the efficacy of cash incentives as a way of promoting learning.
egregious
extremely bad in a way that is very noticeable: egregious error It was an egregious error for a statesman to show such ignorance.
elicit
to get or produce something, especially information or a reaction:
elicit a response from Have you managed to elicit a response from them yet?
elicit information The questionnaire was intended to elicit information on eating habits.
elicit support They were able to elicit the support of the public.
eminent
famous, respected, or important
ennui
a feeling of being bored and mentally tired caused by having nothing interesting or exciting to do
epitome
the epitome of something, the typical or highest example of a stated quality, as shown by a particular person or thing:
Even now in her sixties, she is the epitome of French elegance.
eschew
to avoid something intentionally, or to give something up
euphemism
a word or phrase used to avoid saying an unpleasant or offensive word:
“Senior citizen” is a euphemism for “old person”.
evanescent
lasting for only a short time, then disappearing quickly and being forgotten
exacerbate
to make something that is already bad even worse
exonerate
to show or state that someone or something is not guilty of something:
exonerate someone from something The report exonerated the crew from all responsibility for the collision.
expunge
to rub off or remove information from a piece of writing: be expunged from His name has been expunged from the list of members.
extol
to praise something or someone very much:
His book extolling the benefits of vegetarianism sold thousands of copies.
extol the virtues of She is forever extolling the virtues of her children.
extortion
the act of getting something, especially money, by force or threats:
He was found guilty of obtaining the money by extortion.
fallacious
not correct:
His argument is based on fallacious reasoning.
fastidious
giving too much attention to small details and wanting everything to be correct and perfect:
fastidious about He is very fastidious about how a suitcase should be packed.
fatuous
stupid, not correct, or not carefully thought about:
a fatuous idea
flagrant
(of a bad action, situation, person, etc.) shocking because of being so obvious:
a flagrant misuse of funds/privilege
foist
to force someone to have or experience something unwanted or undesirable:
She charged that junk food is being foisted on children by TV commercials.
fortuitous
(of something that is to your advantage) not planned, happening by chance:
The timing of the meeting is certainly fortuitous.
fraught
full of unpleasant things such as problems or dangers:
fraught with difficulties The negotiations have been fraught with difficulties right from the start.
fulsome
expressing a lot of admiration or praise for someone, often too much, in a way that does not sound sincere:
garrulous
having the habit of talking a lot, especially about things that are not important
germane
Ideas or information that is germane to a particular subject or situation is connected with and important to it
gesticulate
to make movements with your hands or arms, to express something or to emphasize what you are saying
gregarious
(of people) liking to be with other people
guile
clever but sometimes dishonest behaviour that you use to deceive someone
guise
the appearance of someone or something, especially when intended to deceive
gullible
easily deceived or tricked, and too willing to believe everything that other people say
heinous
very bad and shocking
histrionics
very emotional and energetic behaviour that is not sincere and has no real meaning
hyperbole
a way of speaking or writing that makes someone or something sound bigger, better, more, etc. than they are
ignominious
(especially of events or behaviour) embarrassing because of being a complete failure
impeccable
perfect, with no problems or bad parts
importune
to make repeated, forceful requests for something, usually in a way that is annoying or causing slight problems
impunity
freedom from punishment or from the unpleasant results of something that has been done
indolent
showing no real interest or effort
inebriated
having drunk too much alcohol
inexorable
continuing without any possibility of being stopped
ingratiate
to make someone like you by praising or trying to please them:
ingratiate yourself with someone He’s always trying to ingratiate himself with his boss.
insatiable
(especially of a desire or need) too great to be satisfied:
insatiable appetite/desire/hunger Like so many politicians, he had an insatiable appetite/desire/hunger for power
internecine
Internecine war or fighting happens between members of the same group, religion, or country
intrepid
extremely brave and showing no fear of dangerous situations
inundate
to give someone so much work or so many things that they cannot deal with it all
inveigh
to strongly criticize something or someone
itinerant
travelling from one place to another, usually to work for a short period
jaunty
showing that you are happy and confident
juxtapose
to put things that are not similar next to each other
laconic
using very few words to express what you mean
lethargic
having little energy; feeling unwilling and unable to do anything
lithe
young, healthy, attractive, and able to move and bend smoothly:
He had the lithe, athletic body of a ballet dancer.
livid
extremely angry:
He was livid when he found out.
loathe
to hate someone or something:
From an early age the brothers have loathed each other.
lurid
(especially of a description) shocking because involving violence, sex, or immoral activity:You can read all the lurid details of the affair in today’s paper.
malevolent
causing or wanting to cause harm or evil:
The central character is a malevolent witch out for revenge.
malleable
A malleable substance is easily changed into a new shape:
Lead and tin are malleable metals.
maudlin
feeling sad and sorry for yourself, especially after you have drunk a lot of alcohol
miscreant
someone who behaves badly or does not obey rules:
We need to discourage miscreants.
moribund
(especially of an organization or business) not active or successful:
How can the department be revived from its present moribund state?
myriad
a very large number of something:
a myriad of choices
nascent
only recently formed or started, but likely to grow larger quickly:
a nascent political party
nefarious
(especially of activities) morally bad:
The company’s CEO seems to have been involved in some nefarious practices/activities.
obliterate
to remove all signs of something, either by destroying it or by covering it so that it cannot be seen:
The missile strike was devastating - the target was totally obliterated.
obloquy
very strong public criticism or blame:
His controversial essays have brought him much obloquy.
ominous
suggesting that something unpleasant is likely to happen:
There was an ominous silence when I asked whether my contract was going to be renewed.
ostentatious
too obviously showing your money, possessions, or power, in an attempt to make other people notice and admire you:
They criticized the ostentatious lifestyle of their leaders.
ostensible
appearing or claiming to be one thing when it is really something else:
Their ostensible goal was to clean up government corruption, but their real aim was to unseat the government.
ostracize
to avoid someone intentionally, or to prevent someone from taking part in the activities of a group:
His colleagues ostracized him after he criticized the company in public.
overt
done or shown publicly or in an obvious way and not secret:
overt criticism
paroxysm
a sudden and powerful expression of strong feeling, especially one that you cannot control:
In a sudden paroxysm of jealousy he threw her clothes out of the window.
parsimonious
not willing to spend money or use a lot of something:
She’s too parsimonious to heat the house properly.
paucity
the fact that there is too little of something:
There is a paucity of information on the ingredients of many cosmetics.
penchant
a liking for, an enjoyment of, or a habit of doing something, especially something that other people might not like:
a penchant for melodrama/skiing/exotic clothes
penury
the state of being extremely poor
perfidious
unable to be trusted, or showing no loyalty:
She described the new criminal bill as a perfidious attack on democracy.
perfunctory
done quickly, without taking care or interest: His smile was perfunctory
pernicious
having a very harmful effect or influence:
The cuts in government funding have had a pernicious effect on local health services.
peruse
to read through something, especially in order to find the part you are interested in:
He opened a newspaper and began to peruse the personal ads.
plethora
a very large amount of something, especially a larger amount than you need, want, or can deal with:
There’s a plethora of books about the royal family.
poignant
causing or having a very sharp feeling of sadness:
The photograph awakens poignant memories of happier days.
prescient
knowing or suggesting correctly what will happen in the future:
a prescient warning
proffer
to offer something by holding it out, or to offer advice or an opinion:
He shook the warmly proffered hand.
profligate
spending money or using something in a way that wastes it and is not wise: She is well-known for her profligate spending habits.
promulgate
to spread beliefs or ideas among a lot of people
rapacious
having or showing a strong wish to take things for yourself, usually using unfair methods or force:
a rapacious landlord/businessman
rebuke
to speak angrily to someone because you disapprove of what they have said or done:
I was rebuked by my manager for being late
remuneration
payment for work or services:
They demanded adequate remuneration for their work.
repertoire
all the music or plays, etc. that you can do or perform or that you know:
in someone’s repertoire The Royal Shakespeare Company also have many modern plays in their repertoire.
There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.
risible
so lacking in quality or usefulness that it deserves to be laughed at:
She’s been making risible attempts to learn the trumpet.
sanguine
(of someone or someone’s character) positive and hoping for good things:
They are less sanguine about the prospects for peace.
scurrilous
expressing unfair or false criticism that is likely to damage someone’s reputation:
a scurrilous remark/attack/article
succinct
said in a clear and short way; expressing what needs to be said without unnecessary words:
Keep your letter succinct and to the point.
sultry
(of weather) uncomfortably warm and with air that is slightly wet
tortuous
with many turns and changes of direction; not direct or simple:
He took a tortuous route through back streets.
trenchant
severe, expressing strong criticism or forceful opinions:
His most trenchant criticism is reserved for the party leader, whom he describes as “the most incompetent and ineffectual the party has known”.
ubiquitous
seeming to be everywhere:
Leather is very much in fashion this season, as is the ubiquitous denim.
unconscionable
morally unacceptable:
To make people feel shame or guilt for being ill is unconscionable.
