6/29 Flashcards
Nebulous
adj.
vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form
Neologism
n.
a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
Obtuse
adj.
lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression
Latin
obtundere: beat against
Obviate
v.
to anticipate and make unnecessary
Latin
via: way
obviat-: prevented
Onerous
adj.
troubling; burdensome
onus, oner-: burden
Paean
n.
a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
Perennial
adj.
recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly
perennis: lasting the year through
Perfidy
n.
deceitfulness; untrustworthiness
adj. perfidious
Latin
per-: to ill effect
fides: faith
Perfunctory
adj.
cursory; done without care or interest (desultory, hasty)
Perspicacious
adj.
acutely perceptive; having keen discernment
n. perspicacity
Latin
perspicax: seeing clearly
Prattle
v.
to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner
Precipitate
adj.
acting with excessive haste or impulse
v.
to cause or happen before anticipated or required
Prescience
n.
foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring
adj. prescient
Prevaricate
v.
to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead
Latin
prae: before
varicari: straddle
Qualms
n.
misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy
Old English
cwealm: pain
Recant
v.
to retract, especially a previously held belief
Latin
re-
cantare: sing, chant
recantare: revoke
Reticent
adj.
quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings
Solicitous
adj.
concerned and attentive; eager
Sordid
adj.
characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul
Latin
sordere: be dirty
Squander
v.
to waste by spending or using irresponsibly
Stupefy
v.
to stun, baffle, or amaze
stupere: be struck senseless
Torque
n.
a force that causes rotation
Tortuous
adj.
winding, twisting; excessively complicated
torquere: to twist
Truculent
adj.
fierce and cruel; eager to fight
trux, truc-: fierce
Veracity
n.
truthfulness, honesty
verax: speaking truly
Virulent
adj.
extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
virus: poison
Voracious
adj.
having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous
vorare: devour
Abscond
v.
to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
Latin
ab-: away, from
condere: stow
Abberrant
adj.
deviating from the norm
n. abberation
Latin
ab-: away, from
errare: to stray
Alacrity
n.
eager and enthusiastic willingness
Latin
alacer: brisk
Anomaly
n.
deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality
adj. anomalous
Approbation
n.
an expression of approval or praise
Arduous
adj.
strenuous, taxing; requiring significant effort
Latin
arduus: steep, difficult
Assuage
v.
to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
Latin
ad: to
suavis: sweet
Audacious
adj.
daring and fearless; recklessly bold
n. audacity
Latin
audere: dare
Austere
adj.
without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic
n. austerity
Axiomatic
adj.
taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth
n. axiom
Canonical
adj.
following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards
n. canon
Capricious
adj.
inclined to change one’s mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable
Censure
v.
to criticize severely; to officially rebuke
Chicanery
n.
trickery or subterfuge
Connoisseur
n.
an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert
Convoluted
adj.
complex or complicated
Disabuse
v.
to undeceive; to set right
Discordant
adj.
conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound
Disparate
adj.
fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
Effrontery
n.
extreme boldness; presumptuousness
Eloquent
adj.
well-spoken, expressive, articulate
n. eloquence
Enervate
v.
to weaken; to reduce in vitality
Ennui
n.
dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
Equivocate
v.
to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent
adj. equivocal
Erudite
adj.
very learned; scholarly
n. erudition
Exculpate
v.
exonerate; to clear of blame
Exigent
adj.
urgent, pressing; requiring immediate action or attention
Extemporaneous
adj.
improvised; done without preparation
Filibuster
n.
intentional obstruction, esp. using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action
Fulminate
v.
to loudly attack or denounce
Ingenuous
adj.
artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication
Inured
adj.
accustomed to accepting something undesirable
Irascible
adj.
easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
Laud
v.
to praise highly
adj. laudatory
Lucid
adj.
clear; easily understood
Magnanimity
n.
the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, esp. in forgiving
adj. magnanimous
Martial
adj.
associated with war and the armed forces
Mundane
adj.
of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary
Nascent
adj.
coming into being; in early developmental stages
Abate
v.
to lessen in intensity or degree
Latin
ad: to, at
battere: to beat
Accolade
n.
an expression of praise
Latin ad: to, at collum: neck Provencal acolada: embrace around the neck (when bestowing knighthood)
Adulation
n.
excessive praise; intense adoration
Latin
adulari: fawn on
Ameliorate
v.
to make better or more tolerable
French
meilleur: better
Ascetic
n.
one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion
Greek
askein: to exercise
Avarice
n.
greed, esp. for wealth
adj. avaricious
Latin
avarius: greedy
Axiom
n.
a universally recognized principle
adj. axiomatic
Greek
axioma: what is thought fitting
Burgeon
v.
to grow rapidly or flourish
Latin
burra: wool
Bucolic
adj.
rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
Greek
bous: ox
boukolos: herdsman
Cacophony
n.
harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
adj. cacophonous
Greek
kakos: bad
phone: sound
Canon
n.
an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
adj. canonical
Castigation
n.
severe criticism or punishment
v. castigate
Latin
castus: pure, chaste
Caustic
adj.
burning or stinging; causing corrosion
Greek
kaiein: to burn
Chary
adj.
wary; cautious; sparing
Cogent
adj.
appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
Latin
co-: together
agere: drive
Complaisance
n.
the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
adj. complaisant
Contrite
adj.
argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
Latin
co-: together
terere: rub
Culpable
adj.
deserving blame
n. culpability
Latin
culpa: fault, blame
Dearth
n.
smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
Demur
v.
to question or oppose
Latin
de-: away, completely
morari: delay
Didactic
adj.
intended to teach or instruct
Greek
didaskein: teach
Discretion
n.
cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
adj. discreet
Latin
discretio: separation
Disinterested
adj.
free of bias or self-interest; impartial
Dogmatic
adj.
expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles
n. dogma
Greek
dogma: that which one thinks is true
Ebullience
n.
the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
adj. ebullient
Latin
ex-: out, out of
bullire: to bubble
Eclectic
adj.
composed of elements drawn from various sources
Greek
ek: out
legein: choose
Emollient
adj. n.
soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smooths the skin
Latin
ex-: out
mollire: soften
Empirical
adj.
based on observation or experiment
Enigmatic
adj.
mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
n. enigma
Greek
ainigma: riddle
Ephemeral
adj.
brief; fleeting
Latin/Greek
epi: on
hemerai: day
Esoteric
adj.
intended for or understood by a small, specific group
Greek
es: into
Exonerate
v.
to remove blame
Latin
ex-: from
oner-: a burden
Facetious
adj.
playful; humorous
Latin
facetus: witty
Fallacy
n.
an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
adj. fallacious
Latin
fallere: deceive
