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Vocabulary From Books > 1984 > Flashcards

1984 Flashcards

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1
Q

Strenuous

A

adjective
requiring or using great effort or exertion.
“the government made strenuous efforts to upgrade the quality of the teaching profession”

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2
Q

Voluptuous

A

adjective
1. curvaceous and sexually attractive (typically used of a woman).

2. relating to or characterized by luxury or sensual pleasure.
“long curtains in voluptuous crimson velvet”

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3
Q

Urbane

A

adjective
courteous and refined in manner (typically used of a man).
“the supposedly urbane, restrained English gentleman”

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4
Q

Porpoise

A

noun
a small toothed whale with a low triangular dorsal fin and a blunt rounded snout.

verb
move through the water like a porpoise, alternately rising above it and submerging.
“the boat began to porpoise badly”

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5
Q

Corrugated

A

adjective
(of a material or surface) shaped into a series of parallel ridges and grooves so as to give added rigidity and strength.
“corrugated cardboard”

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6
Q

Sanguine

A

adjective
1. optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation.
“he is sanguine about prospects for the global economy”

2. (in medieval science and medicine) of or having the constitution associated with the predominance of blood among the bodily humours, supposedly marked by a ruddy complexion and an optimistic disposition.

ARCHAIC
3. (of the complexion) florid or ruddy.

LITERARY•HERALDRY
4. blood-red.

ARCHAIC
5. bloody or bloodthirsty.

noun
1. a blood-red colour.

2. a deep red-brown crayon or pencil containing iron oxide.

HERALDRY
3. a blood-red stain used in blazoning.

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7
Q

Knell

A

noun LITERARY
1. the sound of a bell, especially when rung solemnly for a death or funeral.

2. used in reference to an announcement, event, or sound that warns of the end of something.
“emails and text messages are sounding the knell for the written word”

verb
(of a bell) ring solemnly, especially for a death or funeral.
proclaim (something) by or as if by a knell.

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8
Q

Lassitude

A

noun
a state of physical or mental weariness; lack of energy.
“she was overcome by lassitude and retired to bed”

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9
Q

Slatternly

A

adjective DATED
dirty and untidy (typically used of a woman or her appearance).
“a slatternly housekeeper”

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10
Q

Agate

A

noun
1. an ornamental stone consisting of a hard variety of chalcedony (quartz), typically banded in appearance.

2. a coloured toy marble resembling a banded gemstone.

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11
Q

Anodyne

A

adjective
not likely to cause offence or disagreement and somewhat dull.
“anodyne music”

*noun**
a painkilling drug or medicine.
“she had even refused anodynes”

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12
Q

Splayed

A

adjective
1. (especially of limbs or fingers) spread out and apart.
“half of the crowd was watching through splayed fingers”

2. (of a window, door, or other aperture) constructed in such a way as to be wider at one side of the wall than the other.
“the walls are pierced by splayed window openings”

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13
Q

Balminess

A

noun
1. the quality of being pleasantly warm; mildness.

2. a soothing or calming effect.

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14
Q

Abolish

A

verb
formally put an end to (a system, practice, or institution).
“the tax was abolished in 1977”

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15
Q

Sinecure

A

noun
a position requiring little or no work but giving the holder status or financial benefit.
“political sinecures for the supporters of ministers”

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16
Q

Cadge

A

verb INFORMAL•BRITISH
ask for or obtain (something to which one is not strictly entitled).
“he cadged fivers off old school friends”

noun FALCONRY
a padded wooden frame on which hooded hawks are carried to the field.

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17
Q

Invariably

A

adverb
in every case or on every occasion; always.
“ranch meals are invariably big and hearty”

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18
Q

Aquiline

A

adjective
1. (of a person’s nose) hooked or curved like an eagle’s beak.
“with bold features and an aquiline nose he could be mistaken for a Roman bust”

2. like an eagle.

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19
Q

Promiscuous

A

adjective
1. having or characterized by many transient sexual relationships.
“promiscuous teenagers”

2. demonstrating or implying an unselective approach; indiscriminate or casual.
“the city fathers were promiscuous with their honours”

3. consisting of a wide range of different things.
“Americans are free to choose from a promiscuous array of values”

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20
Q

Consort

A

noun
1. a wife, husband, or companion, in particular the spouse of a reigning monarch.
“Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert”

2. a ship sailing in company with another.

3. a small group of musicians performing together, typically playing instrumental music of the Renaissance period.
“a consort of viols”

verb
1. habitually associate with (someone), typically with the disapproval of others.
“you chose to consort with the enemy”

ARCHAIC
2. agree or be in harmony with.
“it did not consort with his idea of scientific government”

21
Q

Prole

A

DEROGATORY•INFORMAL
noun
a member of the working class.*
“the proles live in no-go areas with no jobs”

adjective
working class.
“prole soldiers”

22
Q

Inextricably

A

adverb
in a way that is impossible to disentangle or separate.
“for many top executives, golf and business are inextricably linked”

23
Q

Reverie

A

noun
1. a state of being pleasantly lost in one’s thoughts; a daydream.
“a knock on the door broke her reverie”

MUSIC
2. an instrumental piece suggesting a dreamy or musing state.
“his own compositions can move from impressionist reveries to an orchestral chordal approach”

ARCHAIC
3. a fanciful or impractical idea or theory.
“he defended and explained all the reveries of astrology”

24
Q

Edify

A

verb FORMAL
instruct or improve (someone) morally or intellectually.
“Rachel had edified their childhood with frequent readings from Belloc”

25
Q

Paraphernalia

A

noun
1. miscellaneous articles, especially the equipment needed for a particular activity.
“drills, saws, and other paraphernalia necessary for home improvements”

2. trappings associated with a particular institution or activity that are regarded as superfluous.
“the rituals and paraphernalia of government”

26
Q

Ossify

A

verb
1. turn into bone or bony tissue.
“these tracheal cartilages may ossify”
Similar:

2. become rigid or fixed in attitude or position; cease developing.
“our political system has ossified”

27
Q

Avarice

A

noun
extreme greed for wealth or material gain.
“he was rich beyond the dreams of avarice”

28
Q

Inimical

A

adjective
1. tending to obstruct or harm.
“the policy was inimical to Britain’s real interests”

2. unfriendly; hostile.
“an inimical alien power”

29
Q

Empirical

A

adjective
based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic.
“they provided considerable empirical evidence to support their argument”

30
Q

Preponderance

A

noun
the quality or fact of being greater in number, quantity, or importance.
“the preponderance of women among older people”

31
Q

Persiflage

A

noun FORMAL
light and slightly contemptuous mockery or banter.
“an air of persiflage”

32
Q

Febrile

A

adjective
1. having or showing the symptoms of a fever.
“a febrile illness”

2. characterized by a great deal of nervous excitement or energy.
“the febrile atmosphere of the city”

33
Q

Wainscot

A

noun
1. an area of wooden panelling on the lower part of the walls of a room.

2. a drab yellowish to brown-coloured European moth.

verb
line (a room or wall) with wooden panelling.
“the interior was to be wainscotted to a height of 4 feet”

34
Q

Meagre

A

adjective
1. (of something provided or available) lacking in quantity or quality.
“they were forced to supplement their meagre earnings”

2. (of a person or animal) lean; thin.
“a tall, meagre man”

noun BRITISH
a large predatory marine fish of the drum family, found in the Mediterranean, eastern Atlantic, and south-western Indian Ocean. It is an important food fish in southern Africa.

35
Q

Belfry

A

noun
1. the part of a bell tower or steeple in which bells are housed.

2. a bell tower or steeple housing bells.

36
Q

Iniquity

A

noun
immoral or grossly unfair behaviour.
“a den of iniquity”

37
Q

Etiolated

A

adjective
1. (of a plant) pale and drawn out due to a lack of light.
“etiolated leaf segments”

2. having lost vigour or substance; feeble.
“a tone of etiolated nostalgia”

38
Q

Bough

A

noun
a main branch of a tree.
“apple boughs laden with blossom”

39
Q

Dapple

A

verb
mark with spots or rounded patches.
“the floor was dappled with pale moonlight”

noun
1. a patch or spot of colour or light.
“a dapple of sunlight that shifted as the breeze stirred the leaves”

2. an animal with a dappled coat.
“smooth and wire-haired puppies, occasional dapples and piebalds”

40
Q

Inapplicable

A

adjective
not relevant or appropriate.
“the details are likely to be inapplicable to other designs”

41
Q

Fatuous

A

adjective
silly and pointless.
“a fatuous comment”

42
Q

Abstruce

A

adjective
difficult to understand; obscure.
“an abstruse philosophical inquiry”

43
Q

Medley

A

noun
1. a varied mixture of people or things.
“an interesting medley of flavours”

2. a collection of songs or other musical items performed as a continuous piece.
“a medley of Beatles songs”

3. a swimming race in which contestants swim sections in different strokes, either individually or in relay teams.
“the 400 m individual medley”

adjective ARCHAIC
mixed; motley.
“a medley range of vague and variable impressions”

verb ARCHAIC
make a medley of; intermix.

44
Q

Premonitory

A

adjective FORMAL
​giving you the feeling that something is going to happen, especially something unpleasant.
“a premonitory dream”

45
Q

Torpid

A

adjective
1. mentally or physically inactive; lethargic.
“we sat around in a torpid state”

2. (of an animal) dormant, especially during hibernation.
“the animal need not lie around in a torpid state, vulnerable to attack”

noun
(at Oxford University) a series of races for eight-oared rowing boats held in Hilary term.
“in my first year I rowed in Torpids”

46
Q

Assail

A

verb
1. make a concerted or violent attack on.
“the Scots army assailed Edward’s army from the rear”

2. (of an unpleasant feeling or physical sensation) come upon (someone) suddenly and strongly.
“she was assailed by doubts and regrets”

3. criticize strongly.
“he assailed a group of editors for their alleged excesses”

47
Q

Doleful

A

adjective
1. expressing sorrow; mournful.
“a doleful look”

2. causing grief or misfortune.
“he could be struck off, with doleful consequences”

48
Q

Sententious

A

adjective
given to moralizing in a pompous or affected manner.
“he tried to encourage his men with sententious rhetoric”

49
Q

Indefatigable

A

adjective
(of a person or their efforts) persisting tirelessly.
“an indefatigable defender of human rights”

Vocabulary From Books (23 decks)

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