#60 obdurate ~ ostentatious Flashcards
obdurate
/ˈɒbdʊrɪt, -dyʊ-/
adj. stubborn and insensitive
Obdurate contains one of the same roots as durable and endurance; each word conveys a different sense of hardness.
- The committee’s obdurate refusal to listen to our plan was heartbreaking to us since we had spent ten years coming up with it.
- The child begged and begged to have the bubble-gum machine installed in his bedroom, but his parents were obdurate in their insistence that it should go in the kitchen.
obfuscate
/ˈɒbfəˌskeɪt, ɒbˈfʌskeɪt/
v. to darken; to confuse; to make confusing
- The spokesman’s attempt to explain what the president had meant merely obfuscated the issue further. People had hoped the spokesman would elucidate the issue.
- Too much grin had obfuscated the old man’s senses.
- The professor’s inept lecture gradually obfuscated a subject that had been crystal clear to us before.
To obfuscate sth. is to engage in obfuscation.
- Lester called himself a used-car salesman, but his real job was obfuscation: he sold cars by confusing his customers.
oblique
/əˈblik, oʊˈblik/
adj. indirect; at an angle
In geometry, lines are said to be oblique if they are nether parallel nor perpendicular to one another. The word has a related meaning outside of mathematics. An oblique statement is one that does not directly address the topic at hand, that approaches it as if from an angle.
An allusion could be said to be an oblique reference.
An oblique argument is one that does not directly confront its true subject.
To insult someone obliquely is to do so indirectly.
- Essence sprinkled her student council speech with oblique references to the principal’s new toupee; the principal is so dense that he never figured out what was going on, but the rest of us were rolling on the floor.
oblivion
/əˈblɪviən/
n. total forgetfulness; the state of being forgotten
- A few of the young actors would find fame, but most were headed for oblivion.
- After tossing and turning with anxiety for most of the night, Marisol finally found the oblivion of sleep.
oblivious
/əˈblɪviəs/
adj. forgetful; unaware
- Old age had made the retired professor oblivious of all his old theories.
- The workmen stomped in and out of the room, but the happy child, playing on the floor, was oblivious of all distraction.
It is also acceptable to say “oblivious to” rather than “oblivious of”.
obscure
/əbˈskyʊər/
adj. unknown; hard to understand; dark
- The comedy nightclub was filled with obscure comedians who stole one another’s jokes and seldom got any laughs.
- The artist was so obscure that even his parents had trouble remembering his name.
- The noted scholar’s dissertation was terribly obscure; it had to be translated from English into English before anyone could make head or tail of it.
- Some contemporary poets apparently believe that the only way to be great is to be obscure.
- The details of the forest grew obscure as night fell.
obscurity
/əbˈskyʊərɪti/
n. the state of being obscure in any of its senses
obsequious
/əbˈsikwiəs/
adj. fawning; subservient; sucking up to
- Ann’s assistant was so obsequious that she could never tell what he really thought about anything.
- My obsequious friend seemed to live only to make me happy and never wanted to do anything if I said I didn’t want to do it.
obtuse
/əbˈtus, -ˈtyus/
adj. insensitive; blockheaded
- Karen was so obtuse that she didn’t realize for several days that Caleb had asked her to marry him.
- The obtuse student couldn’t seem to grasp the difference between addition and subtraction.
officious
/əˈfɪʃəs/
adj. annoyingly eager to help or advise
- The officious officer could never resist sticking his nose into other people’s business.
- The officious salesperson refused to leave us alone, so we finally left without buying anything.
onerous
/ˈɒnərəs, ˈoʊnər-/
adj. burdensome; oppressive
- We were given the onerous task of cleaning up the fairgrounds after the carnival.
- The job had long hours, but the work wasn’t onerous; Bill spent most of his time sitting with his feet on the desk.
opaque
/oʊˈpeɪk/
adj. impossible to see through; impossible to understand
- The windows in the movie star’s house were made not of glass but of some opaque material intended to keep his fans from spying on him.
- We tried to figure out what Horace was thinking, but his expression was opaque: It revealed nothing.
- Jerry’s mind, assuming he had one, was opaque.
- The statement was opaque; no one could make anything of it.
The noun form of opaque is opacity (/oʊˈpæsɪti/).
opulent
/ˈɒpyələnt/
adj. luxurious
- Everything in the opulent palace was made of gold - except the toilet-paper holder, which was made of platinum.
- The investment banker had grown so accustomed to an opulent lifestyle that he had trouble adjusting to the federal penitentiary.
Opulence is often ostentatious.
orthodox
/ˈɔrθəˌdɒks/
adj. conventional; adhering to established principles or doctrines, esp. in religion; by the book
- The doctor’s treatment for Lou’s cold was entirely orthodox: plenty of liquids, aspirin, and rest.
- Austin’s views were orthodox; there was nothing shocking about any of them.
orthodoxy
/ˈɔrθəˌdɒksi/
n. the body of what is orthodox
- The teacher’s lectures were characterized by strict adherence to orthodoxy.
