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Gruber's 2300 > 1702 > Flashcards

1702 Flashcards

1
Q

philander

\fə-ˈlan-dər\

A

D. to have casual or illicit sex with a woman or with many women; especially : to be sexually unfaithful to one’s wife

E. he can’t seem to stop philandering, even now that he’s on his fifth marriage

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2
Q

philanthropist

A

D. one who gives money to help others

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3
Q

philistine

\ˈfi-lə-ˌstēn\

A

D. a person who is guided by materialism and is usually disdainful of intellectual or artistic values

E. She dismissed critics of her work as philistines.

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4
Q

phlegmatic

A

D. sluggish; calm

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5
Q

phobia

A

D. an irrational fear (of sth)

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6
Q

physiognomy

\ˌfi-zē-ˈä(g)-nə-mē\

A

D. one’s facial expressions; the shape and features of a person’s face

E. a fierce physiognomy. / the physiognomy of a nation.

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7
Q

pied

\ˈpīd\

A

D. spotted

E. a pied horse

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8
Q

piety

A

D. the state of having or showing a deep respect for somebody/something, especially for God and religion; the state of being pious; devotion to family

E. her piety is quiet but profound

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9
Q

pillage

\ˈpi-lij\

A

D. to loot or plunder (especially in war)

E. The town was pillaged and burned.

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10
Q

pinion

\ˈpin-yən\

A

D. to hold or tie somebody, especially by their arms, so that they cannot move

E. Joan of Arc was pinioned to a stake and burned as a heretic.

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11
Q

pious

A

D. devout

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12
Q

piquant

\ˈpē-kənt\

A

D. agreeably stimulating to the palate, especially : spicy; provocative

E. He served the fish with a piquant sauce. / a piquant bit of gossip

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13
Q

pique

\ˈpēk\

A

D. to offend or provoke

E. After a moment of pique, the senator responded calmly to his accusers. / He slammed the door in a fit of pique.

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14
Q

pithy

A

D. meaningful and concise

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15
Q

pittance

\ˈpi-tən(t)s\

A

D. a meager amount

E. the internship offers only a pittance for a salary, but it is a great opportunity to gain experience

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16
Q

placate

A

D. to pacify

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17
Q

placid

A

D. calm, quiet

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18
Q

plaintive

\ˈplān-tiv\

A

D. mournful

E. We could hear the plaintive cry of a wounded animal in the woods.

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19
Q

plait

\ˈplāt\

A

D. to pleat or braid

E. My mum taught me how to plait my own hair.

20
Q

platitude

A

D. a dull and commonplace remark

E. His speech was filled with familiar platitudes about the value of hard work and dedication.

21
Q

platonic

\plə-ˈtä-nik\

A

D. being a relationship marked by the absence of romance or sex

E. They had a platonic friendship, not a romantic one.

22
Q

plaudit

\ˈplä-dət\

A

D. applause; enthusiastic approval

E. the proud parents bragged that their daughter had received many plaudits for her academic achievements

23
Q

plausible

A

D. reasonable and likely to be true

24
Q

plebeian

\pli-ˈbē-ən\

A

D. a common (or of the lower social classes) man

E. plebeian tastes

25
Q

plebiscite

\ˈple-bə-ˌsīt\

A

D. vote by the people of a country or a region on an issue that is very important

E. to hold a plebiscite on the country’s future system of government

26
Q

plenary

\ˈplē-nə-rē\

A

D. full; complete (com”ple”te, “ple”nary)

E. A plenary meeting of the 500 members was held last summer.

27
Q

plenipotentiary

\ˌple-nə-pə-ˈten(t)-sh(ə-)rē\

A

D. a person who has full powers to take action, make decisions, etc. on behalf of their government, especially in a foreign country (plenus-full, potent-power)

E. He was promoted from minister plenipotentiary to full ambassador.

28
Q

plethora

\ˈplä-thə-rə\

A

D. excess

e. A plethora of books have been written on the subject. / a biology textbook that is helpfully illustrated with a plethora of excellent illustrations

29
Q

plutocracy

\plü-ˈtä-krə-sē\

A

D. government by the wealthy (ploutos-wealth)

E. If only the wealthy can afford to run for public office, are we more a plutocracy than a democracy?

30
Q

poach

A

D. to trespass; to steal

31
Q

pogrom

\ˈpō-grəm\

A

D. an organized massacre of helpless people because of their race or religion (originally the killing of Jews in Russia)

32
Q

poignant

\ˈpȯi-nyənt\

A

D. painfully affecting the feelings

E. The photograph was a poignant reminder of her childhood.

33
Q

politic

\ˈpä-lə-ˌtik\

A

D. prudent; crafty

E. the actor is politic in discussing the aborted film project, being content to say that there were “creative differences”

34
Q

poltroon

\päl-ˈtrün\

A

D. a spiritless coward

E. those poltroons in the state legislature who have caved in to bigotry on this important issue of basic civil rights

35
Q

polygamy

\pə-‘li-gə-mē\

A

D. having more than one husband or wife

E. a polygamous marriage/society

36
Q

polyglot

\ˈpä-lē-ˌglät\

A

D. knowing, using or written in more than one language

E. a polyglot nation

37
Q

pommel

\ˈpä-məl\

A

D. the knob on the hilt of a sword or saber

E. the elderly woman pommeled the would-be thief with her handbag until he begged for mercy

38
Q

pompous

\ˈpäm-pəs\

A

D. excessively elevated or ornate; having or exhibiting self-importance

E. She found it difficult to talk about her achievements without sounding pompous.

39
Q

ponder

A

D. to consider carefully

40
Q

portend

\pȯr-ˈtend\

A

D. to foreshadow

E. The distant thunder portended a storm.

41
Q

portent

A

D. an omen

42
Q

portly

A

D. stout, rather fat

E. a portly gentleman who clearly didn’t get enough exercise

43
Q

posit

A

D. to place in position; to set forth as fact

E. Most religions posit the existence of life after death.

44
Q

posterity

\pä-ˈster-ə-tē\

A

D. all future generation

E. Posterity will remember her as a woman of courage and integrity.

45
Q

posthumous

\ˈpäs-chə-məs\

A

D. born after the death of the father; published after the death of the author; following or occurring after death

E. posthumous fame

46
Q

postprandial

\pōs(t)-ˈpran-dē-əl\

A

D. after dinner; occurring after a meal

E. postprandial oratory / a postprandial brandy.

Gruber's 2300 (40 decks)

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