14 Flashcards
Abhorrence
noun: To regard with extreme repugnance. (anathema, aversion, repugnance).
Alleviate
verb: To lessen, lighten, relieve; to make more bearable (allay, assuage, palliate, mitigate, mollify, pacify).
Brevity
noun: Shortness of duration or in expression; conciseness.
Concurrence
noun: Agreement in opinion; a simultaneous occurrence. (concomitant)
Consternation
noun: A sate of paralyzing dismay or confusion; bewilderment.
Conterminous
adjective: Having a boundary in common.
De facto
adjective: “In fact”; this phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practice purposes.
Depreciate
verb: To lower in value or worth; to decrease in value.
Devoid
adjective: Completely lacking; empty.
Discomfit
verb: To make uneasy or perplexed; to cause to lose one’s composure.
Expedite
verb: To accelerate the progress of; to execute promptly; to dispatch or hasten.
Exuberant
adjective: Full of unrestrained enthusiasm or joy. (ebullient)
Impertinence
noun: Insolence; rudeness. (audacity)
Infamous
adjective: Characterized by a nefarious reputation or legacy brought about by something felonious, shocking, or brutal. (ignominious, nefarious)
Insipid
adjective: Lacking qualities that excite, stimulate, or interest; boring or uninspiring; unimaginative; dull. (prosaic, pedestrian)
Insouciant
adjective: Free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; unworried; nonchalant.
Intimate
verb: To communicate or make known indirectly; to hint at or suggest.
Malthusian
adjective: Of or relating to Thomas Robert Malthus, or to his theory that population tends to increase at a faster rate than its means of subsistence and, unless it is checked by moral restraint or by disease, famine, war, or other disaster, widespread poverty and social degradation inevitably result.
Obstinate
adjective: Not easily subdued or influenced; stubborn; adhering steadfast to an opinion or course of action. (dogmatic, indomitable, pertinacious, recalcitrant).
Palatable
adjective: Acceptable or agreeable to the mind or sensibilities; agreeable to the sense of taste; savory.
Penury
noun: Extreme want or poverty; destitution; extreme dearth; barrenness or insufficiency. (privation).
Perpetuity
noun: Endless or indefinitely long duration or existence; eternity; continuing without interruption.
Pithy
adjective: Precisely meaningful; forceful and brief; highly insightful and perceptive. (cogent, sagacious, trenchant)
Prima facie
noun: At first appearance; at first view, before investigation; plain or clear; self-evident; obvious.
Querulous
adjective: Habitually complaining. (irascible, petulant)
Reprobate
noun: A depraved or morally unprincipled person; a person rejected by society and beyond hope of salvation.
Sagacity
noun: Showing keen judgment and perception; the quality of being discerning and farsighted. (acumen)
Scofflaw
noun: A person who flouts or violates the law, especially one who fails to pay fines owed.
Sententious
adjective: Terse and energetic in expression; concise and full of meaning; pithy; given to pompous moralizing.
Sublimation
noun: An subconscious defense mechanism in which unacceptable instinctual drives and wishes are modified into more personally and socially acceptable channels.
Travesty
noun: An exaggerated or grotesque imitation, such as a parody of a literary work; a comedy characterized by broad satire and improbable situations.
Tumult
noun: A disorderly commotion or disturbance; a tempestuous uprising; a riot. (clamor, disorder, maelstrom).
Unequivocal
adjective: Having only one possible meaning or interpretation; unambiguous; absolute.
Unrequited
adjective: Not returned or reciprocated.
Vehemence
noun: Characterized by forcefulness of expression or intensity of emotion or conviction; adamant; impassioned. (devotion, demonstrative, eagerness, earnestness)
