26 Flashcards
topsy-turvy
adjective & adverb
upside down: [as adverb] : the fairground ride turned riders topsy-turvy.
• in a state of confusion: [as adjective] : the topsy-turvy months of the invasion.
noun [in singular]
a state of utter confusion.
torpid
adjective
mentally or physically inactive; lethargic: we sat around in a torpid state.
• (of an animal) dormant, especially during hibernation.
torpor
noun
a state of physical or mental inactivity; lethargy: they veered between apathetic torpor and hysterical fanaticism.
torrential
adjective
(of rain) falling rapidly and in copious quantities: a torrential downpour.
• (of water) flowing rapidly and with force.
torrid
adjective
1 very hot and dry: the torrid heat of the afternoon.
• full of passionate or highly charged emotions arising from sexual love: a torrid love affair.
tortuous
adjective
full of twists and turns: the route is remote and tortuous.
• excessively lengthy and complex: a tortuous argument.
tractable
adjective
(of a person) easy to control or influence: tractable dogs that have had some obedience training.
• (of a situation or problem) easy to deal with: trying to make the mathematics tractable.
transfigure
verb [with object] (usually be transfigured)
transform into something more beautiful or elevated: the world is made luminous and is transfigured.
transgress
verb [with object]
infringe or go beyond the bounds of (a moral principle or other established standard of behavior): she had transgressed an unwritten social law | [no object] : they must control the impulses that lead them to transgress.
transient
adjective
lasting only for a short time; impermanent: a transient cold spell.
• staying or working in a place for only a short time: the transient nature of the labor force in catering.
noun
1 a person who is staying or working in a place for only a short time.
2 a momentary variation in current, voltage, or frequency.
transitory
adjective
not permanent: transitory periods of medieval greatness.
translucent
adjective
(of a substance) allowing light, but not detailed images, to pass through; semitransparent: fry until the onions become translucent.
travail
noun (also travails) painful or laborious effort: advice for those who wish to save great sorrow and travail. • labor pains: a woman in travail. verb [no object] engage in painful or laborious effort. • (of a woman) be in labor.
travesty
noun (plural travesties)
a false, absurd, or distorted representation of something: the absurdly lenient sentence is a travesty of justice.
verb (travesties, travestying, travestied) [with object]
represent in a false or distorted way: Michael has betrayed the family by travestying them in his plays.
trenchant
adjective
1 vigorous or incisive in expression or style: she heard angry voices, not loud, yet certainly trenchant.
trepidation
noun
1 a feeling of fear or agitation about something that may happen: the men set off in fear and trepidation.
trickle
verb [no object, with adverbial of direction]
(of a liquid) flow in a small stream: a solitary tear trickled down her cheek | (as adjective trickling) : a trickling brook.
• [with object and adverbial of direction] cause (a liquid) to flow in a small stream: he trickled the vodka onto the rocks.
• come or go slowly or gradually: the details began to trickle out.
noun
a small flow of liquid: a trickle of blood.
• a small group or number of people or things moving slowly: the traffic had dwindled to a trickle.
truant
noun
a student who stays away from school without leave or explanation.
adjective
(of a student) being a truant: truant children.
• wandering; straying: her truant husband.
verb [no object]
another way of saying play truant below.
truculent
adjective
eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant: his days of truculent defiance were over.
trudge
verb [no object, with adverbial of direction]
walk slowly and with heavy steps, typically because of exhaustion or harsh conditions: I trudged up the stairs | she trudged through blinding snow.
noun
a difficult or laborious walk: he began the long trudge back.
trumpet
verb (trumpets, trumpeting, trumpeted)
2 [with object] proclaim widely or loudly: the press trumpeted another defeat for the government.
tumult
noun [usually in singular]
a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people: a tumult of shouting and screaming broke out.
• confusion or disorder: the whole neighborhood was in a state of fear and tumult | his personal tumult ended when he began writing songs.
turbid
adjective
(of a liquid) cloudy, opaque, or thick with suspended matter: the turbid estuary.
• confused or obscure in meaning or effect: a turbid piece of cinéma vérité.
turbulent
adjective
characterized by conflict, disorder, or confusion; not controlled or calm: the country’s turbulent 20-year history | her turbulent emotions.
• (of air or water) moving unsteadily or violently: the turbulent sea.
• technical relating to or denoting flow of a fluid in which the velocity at any point fluctuates irregularly and there is continual mixing rather than a steady or laminar flow pattern.
turgid
adjective
swollen and distended or congested: a turgid and fast-moving river.
• (of language or style) tediously pompous or bombastic: some turgid verses on the death of Prince Albert.
turncoat
noun
a person who deserts one party or cause in order to join an opposing one.
turpitude
noun formal
depravity; wickedness: acts of moral turpitude.
trope
noun
a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression: he used the two-Americas trope to explain how a nation free and democratic at home could act wantonly abroad.
• a significant or recurrent theme; a motif: she uses the Eucharist as a pictorial trope.
verb [no object]
create a trope.
tyro
noun (plural tyros)
a beginner or novice.
uncanny
adjective (uncannier, uncanniest)
strange or mysterious, especially in an unsettling way: an uncanny feeling that she was being watched.
unctuous
adjective
1 (of a person) excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily: he seemed anxious to please but not in an unctuous way.
2 (chiefly of minerals) having a greasy or soapy feel.
upbeat
adjective informal
cheerful; optimistic.
undergird
verb [with object]
secure or fasten from the underside, especially by a rope or chain passed underneath.
• formal provide support or a firm basis for.
usher
noun
1 a person who shows people to their seats, especially in a theater or at a wedding.
• an official in a court whose duties include swearing in jurors and witnesses and keeping order.
• British a person employed to walk before a person of high rank on special occasions.
verb [with object and adverbial of direction]
1 show or guide (someone) somewhere: a waiter ushered me to a table.
2 (usher something in) cause or mark the start of something new: the railroads ushered in an era of cheap mass travel.
undue
adjective
unwarranted or inappropriate because excessive or disproportionate: this figure did not give rise to undue concern.
unexceptionable
adjective
not open to objection: the unexceptionable belief that society should be governed by law.
unflappable
adjective informal
having or showing calmness in a crisis.
ungainly
adjective
(of a person or movement) awkward; clumsy: an ungainly walk.
unimpeachable
adjective
not able to be doubted, questioned, or criticized; entirely trustworthy: an unimpeachable witness.
unkempt
adjective
(especially of a person) having an untidy or disheveled appearance: they were unwashed and unkempt.
unlettered
adjective
(of a person) poorly educated or illiterate.
unpretentious
adjective
not attempting to impress others with an appearance of greater importance, talent, or culture than is actually possessed.
• (of a place) pleasantly simple and functional; modest.
unflagging
adjective
tireless; persistent: his apparently unflagging enthusiasm impressed her.
unsung
adjective
not celebrated or praised: Harvey is one of the unsung heroes of the industrial revolution.
unruly
adjective (unrulier, unruliest)
disorderly and disruptive and not amenable to discipline or control: figurative : Kate tried to control her unruly emotions | complaints about unruly behavior.
untenable
adjective
(especially of a position or view) not able to be maintained or defended against attack or objection: this argument is clearly untenable.
untold
adjective
1 [attributive] too much or too many to be counted or measured: thieves caused untold damage.
2 (of a story or event) not narrated or recounted: no event, however boring, is left untold.
untoward
adjective
unexpected and inappropriate or inconvenient: both tried to behave as if nothing untoward had happened | untoward jokes and racial remarks.
unwitting
adjective
(of a person) not aware of the full facts: an unwitting accomplice.
• not done on purpose; unintentional: we are anxious to rectify the unwitting mistakes made in the past.
unwonted
adjective [attributive]
unaccustomed or unusual: there was an unwonted gaiety in her manner.
upbraid
verb [with object]
find fault with (someone); scold: he was upbraided for his slovenly appearance.
urbane
adjective
(of a person, especially a man) suave, courteous, and refined in manner.
univocal
adjective Philosophy & Linguistics
(of a word or term) having only one possible meaning; unambiguous: a univocal set of instructions.
vacuous
adjective
having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless: a vacuous smile | vacuous slogans.
vagary
noun (plural vagaries) (usually vagaries)
an unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone’s behavior: the vagaries of the weather.
valediction
noun
the action of saying farewell: he spread his palm in valediction.
• a statement or address made at or as a farewell: his official memorial valediction.
versed
adjective (versed in)
experienced or skilled in; knowledgeable about: a native Icelander well versed in her country’s medieval literature.
vanquish
verb [with object] literary
defeat thoroughly: Mexican forces vanquished the French army in a battle in Puebla.
vapid
adjective
offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging: tuneful but vapid musical comedies.
varigated
adjective
exhibiting different colors, especially as irregular patches or streaks: variegated yellow bricks.
• marked by variety: his variegated and amusing observations.
varnish
noun
resin dissolved in a liquid for applying on wood, metal, or other materials to form a hard, clear, shiny surface when dry.
• [in singular] literary an external or superficially attractive appearance of a specific quality: an outward varnish of civilization.
verb [with object]
apply varnish to: we stripped the floor and varnished it.
• disguise or gloss over (a fact): the White House is varnishing over the defeat of the president’s proposal.
valorize
verb [with object]
give or ascribe value or validity to (something): the culture valorizes the individual.
• raise or fix the price or value of (a commodity or currency) by artificial means, especially by government action.
vaunt
verb [with object] (usually as adjective vaunted)
boast about or praise (something), especially excessively: the much vaunted information superhighway.v
veer
verb [no object, with adverbial of direction]
change direction suddenly: an oil tanker that had veered off course.
• suddenly change an opinion, subject, type of behavior, etc.: the conversation eventually veered away from theatrical things.
• (of the wind) change direction clockwise around the points of the compass: the wind veered southwest. The opposite of back.
noun
a sudden change of direction.
vehement
adjective
showing strong feeling; forceful, passionate, or intense: her voice was low but vehement | vehement criticism.
venal
adjective
showing or motivated by susceptibility to bribery: their generosity had been at least partly venal | why should these venal politicians care how they are rated?
veneer
noun
a thin decorative covering of fine wood applied to a coarser wood or other material.
• a layer of wood used to make plywood.
• [in singular] an attractive appearance that covers or disguises someone or something’s true nature or feelings: her veneer of composure cracked a little.
verb [with object] (usually as adjective veneered)
cover (something) with a decorative layer of fine wood.
• cover or disguise (someone or something’s true nature) with an attractive appearance.
venial
adjective Christian Theology
denoting a sin that is not regarded as depriving the soul of divine grace. Often contrasted with mortal.
• (of a fault or offense) slight and pardonable.
