10 Flashcards
falsehood
noun
the state of being untrue: the truth or falsehood of the many legends that surround her.
• a lie.
• lying: the right to sue for malicious falsehood.
falter
verb [no object]
start to lose strength or momentum: (as adjective faltering) : his faltering career | her smile faltered and then faded.
• speak in a hesitant or unsteady voice: [with direct speech] : “I c-c-can’t,” he faltered.
• move unsteadily or in a way that shows lack of confidence: he faltered and finally stopped in midstride.
farce
noun
a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations.
• the genre of farce.
• an absurd event: the debate turned into a drunken farce.
fast
2 [predicative or as complement] (of a clock or watch) showing a time ahead of the correct time: I keep my watch fifteen minutes fast.
3 firmly fixed or attached: he made a rope fast to each corner.
• (of friends) close and loyal.
fastidious
adjective
very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail: he chooses his words with fastidious care.
• very concerned about matters of cleanliness: the child seemed fastidious about getting her fingers sticky or dirty.
fateful
adjective
having far-reaching and often disastrous consequences or implications: a fateful oversight.
fathom
noun
a unit of length equal to six feet (approximately 1.8 m), chiefly used in reference to the depth of water: sonar says that we’re in eighteen fathoms.
verb [with object]
1 [usually with negative] understand (a difficult problem or an enigmatic person) after much thought: [with clause] : he couldn’t fathom why she was being so anxious | he could scarcely fathom the idea that people actually lived in Las Vegas.
2 measure the depth of (water): an attempt to fathom the ocean.
fatuous
adjective
silly and pointless: a fatuous comment.
fault-finding/fault-finder
noun
1 continual criticism, typically concerning trivial things.
2 the investigation of the cause of malfunction in machinery, especially electronic equipment.
fawn
verb [no object]
(of a person) give a servile display of exaggerated flattery or affection, typically in order to gain favor or advantage: congressmen fawn over the President.
• (of an animal, especially a dog) show slavish devotion, especially by crawling and rubbing against someone.
faze
verb [with object] informal
disturb or disconcert (someone): she was not fazed by his show of anger.
feckless
adjective
lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible: a feckless mama’s boy | an unfortunate example of feckless filmmaking | the feckless exploitation of the world’s natural resources.
fecund
adjective
producing or capable of producing an abundance of offspring or new growth; fertile: a lush and fecund garden | figurative : her fecund imagination.
• technical (of a woman or women) capable of becoming pregnant and giving birth.
feign
verb [with object]
pretend to be affected by (a feeling, state, or injury): she feigned nervousness.
foreshadow
verb [with object]
be a warning or indication of (a future event): it foreshadowed my preoccupation with jazz.
feral
adjective
(especially of an animal) in a wild state, especially after escape from captivity or domestication: a feral cat.
• resembling a wild animal: a feral snarl.
fertilize
verb [with object]
cause (an egg, female animal, or plant) to develop a new individual by introducing male reproductive material.
• make (soil or land) more fertile or productive by adding suitable substances to it.
fervid
adjective
intensely enthusiastic or passionate, especially to an excessive degree: a letter of fervid thanks.
• literary burning, hot, or glowing.
forte
noun
1 [in singular] a thing at which someone excels: small talk was not his forte.
fester
verb [no object]
(of a wound or sore) become septic; suppurate: (as adjective festering) : a festering abscess | I developed a tropical sore that festered badly.
• (of food or garbage) become rotten and offensive to the senses: a gully full of garbage that festered in the shade.
• (of a negative feeling or a problem) become worse or more intense, especially through long-term neglect or indifference: anger which festers and grows in his heart.
• (of a person) undergo physical and mental deterioration in isolated inactivity: I might be festering in jail now.f
fetid
adjective
smelling extremely unpleasant: the fetid water of the marsh.
fetter
noun (usually fetters)
a chain or manacle used to restrain a prisoner, typically placed around the ankles: he lay bound with fetters of iron.
• a restraint or check on someone’s freedom to do something, typically one considered unfair or overly restrictive: the fetters of discipline and caution.
verb [with object]
restrain with chains or manacles, typically around the ankles: (as adjective fettered) : a ragged and fettered prisoner.
• restrict or restrain (someone) in an unfair or undesirable fashion: he was not fettered by tradition.
fickle
adjective
changing frequently, especially as regards one’s loyalties, interests, or affection: Web patrons are a notoriously fickle lot, bouncing from one site to another on a whim | the weather is forever fickle.
fictitious
adjective
not real or true, being imaginary or having been fabricated: she pleaded guilty to stealing thousands in taxpayer dollars by having a fictitious employee on her payroll.
• relating to or denoting the imaginary characters and events found in fiction: the people in this novel are fictitious; the background of public events is not.
fidelity
noun
faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support: he sought only the strictest fidelity to justice.
• sexual faithfulness to a spouse or partner.
• the degree of exactness with which something is copied or reproduced: the 1949 recording provides reasonable fidelity.f
fractious
adjective
(typically of children) irritable and quarrelsome: they fight and squabble like fractious children.
• (of a group or organization) difficult to control; unruly: the fractious coalition of Social Democrats.
filibuster
noun
1 an action such as a prolonged speech that obstructs progress in a legislative assembly while not technically contravening the required procedures: it was defeated by a Senate filibuster in June.
2 historical a person engaging in unauthorized warfare against a foreign country.
verb [no object] (often as noun filibustering)
act in an obstructive manner in a legislature, especially by speaking at inordinate length: several measures were killed by Republican filibustering.
• [with object] obstruct (a measure) by filibustering.
finesse
noun
1 intricate and refined delicacy: orchestral playing of great finesse.
• artful subtlety, typically that needed for tactful handling of a difficulty: clients want advice and action that calls for considerable finesse.
2 (in bridge and whist) an attempt to win a trick with a card that is not a certain winner.
verb [with object]
1 do (something) in a subtle and delicate manner: his third shot, which he attempted to finesse, failed by a fraction.
• chiefly North American slyly attempt to avoid blame or censure when dealing with (a situation or action): the administration’s attempts to finesse its mishaps.
2 (in bridge and whist) play (a card that is not a certain winner) in the hope of winning a trick with it: the declarer finesses ♦J.
finicky
adjective
fussy about one’s needs or requirements: a finicky eater.
• showing or requiring great attention to detail: a finicky, almost fetishistic collector.
