7/03 Flashcards
Acerbic
adj.
having a sour or bitter taste or character; sharp; biting
Latin
acerbus: sour-tasting; unripe
Aggrandize
v.
to increase in intensity, power, influence, or prestige
Latin
grandis: large
Amenable
adj.
agreeable; responsive to suggestion
Latin
ad-: to
minare: to drive (cattle) with shouts
Anachronism
n.
something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context
Greek
ana-: backwards
khronos: time
Astringent
adj.
having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe; something with a tightening effect on tissue
Latin
ad-: to
stringere: draw tight
Contiguous
adj.
sharing a border; touching; adjacent
Latin
contingere: be in contact, befall
Credulous
adj.
tending to believe too readily; gullible
n. credulity
Latin
credere: believe
Cynicism
n.
an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness
adj. cynical
Decorum
n.
polite or appropriate conduct or behavior
adj. decorous
Latin
decorus: seemly
Derision
n.
scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment
adj. derisive | v. deride
Latin
de-:down
ridere: to laugh
Desiccate
v.
to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull
Latin
de-: thoroughly
siccare: dry
Dilettante
n.
one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
Disparage
v.
to slight or belittle
Latin
par: equal
French
desparagier: marry someone of unequal rank
Divulge
v.
to disclose something secret
Latin
di-: widely
vulgare: publish
Fawn
v.
to flatter or praise excessively
Old English
faegen: glad
Flout
v.
to show contempt for, as in a rule or convention
Dutch
fluiten: whistle, play the flute, hiss
(flute = jeer)
Garrulous
adj.
pointlessly talkative; talking too much
Latin
garrire: to chatter, prattle
Glib
adj.
marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial
German
glibberig: slimy
Hubris
n.
overbearing presumption or pride; arrogance
Immutable
adj.
not capable of change
Impetuous
adj.
hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement
Latin
impetere: to attack
Inimical
adj.
damaging; harmful; injurious
Latin
inimicus: unfriendly, enemy
Intractable
adj.
not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate
Latin:
in-: not
tractabilis: to handle, manage
Intrepid
adj.
steadfast and courageous
Latin
in-: not
trepidus: alarmed
Laconic
adj.
using few words; terse
Latin
Lakon: Laconia, Sparta
Maverick
n.
an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party
History
Maverick: “a calf found without a owner’s brand”
Mercurial
characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood
Mollify
v.
to calm or soothe; to reduce in emotional intensity
Latin
mollis: soft
Neophyte
n.
a recent convert; a beginner; novice
Greek
neos: new
phuton: plant
Obfuscate
v.
to deliberately obscure; to make confusing
Latin
fuscus: dark
Ostentatious
adj.
characterized by or given to pretentious display; showy
Pervade
v.
to permeate throughout
adj. pervasive
Latin
per-: throughout
vadere: go
Phlegmatic
adj.
calm; sluggish; unemotional
Plethora
n.
an overabundance; a surplus
Greek
plethein: be full
Pragmatic
adj.
practical rather than idealistic
Greek
prattein: do
Presumptuous
adj.
overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties
Pristine
adj.
pure; uncorrupted; clean
Latin
pristinus: former
Probity
n.
adherence to highest principles; complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness
Latin
probus: good
Proclivity
n.
a natural predisposition or inclination
Latin
pro-: forward, down
clivus: slope
Profligate
adj.
excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant
n. profligacy
Latin
pro-: forward, down
fligere: strike down
Propensity
n.
a natural inclination or tendency; penchant
Latin
pro: forward, down
pendere: hang
Prosaic
adj.
dull; lacking in spirit or imagination
Latin
prosa: straightforward (discourse)
Pungent
adj.
characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste
Quixotic
adj.
foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals
english
Don Quixote: romantic, impractical hero
Quotidian
adj.
occurring or recurring daily; commonplace
Latin
cotidie: daily
quotus dies (LT): What + day
Rarefy
v.
to make or become thin, less dense; to refine
Latin
rarus: thin, rare
facere: make
Recondite
adj.
hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure
Latin
re-: back
condere: put together, secrete
Refulgent
adj.
radiant; shiny; brilliant
Latin
re-: back
fulgere: to shine
Renege
v.
to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise
Latin
re-: back
negare: deny
Sedulous
adj.
diligent; persistent; hard-working
Latin
sedulus: zealous
Soporific
adj.
causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep
Latin
sopor: sleep
Spendthrift
n.
one who spends money wastefully
Tacit
adj.
implied; not explicitly stated
Latin
tacere: be silent
Terse
adj.
brief and concise in wording
Latin
tergere: to rub, polish, wipe
Tout
v.
to publicly praise or promote
Trenchant
adj.
sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating
French
trenchant: cutting
Unfeigned
adj.
genuine; not false or hypocritical
Untenable
adj.
indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable
Vacillate
v.
to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another
Latin
vacillat-: swayed
Variegated
adj.
multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different color
Latin
varius: diverse
Vexation
n.
annoyance; irritation
v. vex
Vituperate
v.
to use harsh condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; to berate
Latin
vituperat-: censured, disparaged
Volatile
adj.
readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive
n. volatility
Latin
volare: to fly
Alloy
v.
to commingle; to debase by mixing with something inferior
ant. unalloyed (pure)
Appropriate
v.
to take for one’s own use; to confiscate
Arrest
v.
to suspend; to engage; holding one’s attention, as in arrested adolescence, an arresting portrait
August
adj.
majestic, venerable
Ben
n.
leaning, inclination, proclivity, tendency
Broach
v.
to bring up; to announce; to begin to talk about
Brook
v.
to tolerate; to endure; to counterance
Cardinal
adj.
major, as in cardinal sin
Chauvinist
n.
a blindly devoted patriot
Color
v.
to change as if by dyeing, i.e., to distort, gloss, or affect
Consequential
adj.
pompous, self-important
Damp
v.
to diminish the intensity or check the vibration of a sound
Die
n.
a tool used for shaping, as in a tool-and-die shop
Essay
v.
to test or try; to attempt; to experiment
Fell
v.
to cause to fall by striking
adj. inhumanly cruel
Flag
v.
to sag or droop; to become spiritless; to decline
Flip
adj.
sarcastic, impertinent, as in flippant; a flip remark
Ford
v.
to wade across the shallow part of a river or stream
Grouse
v.
to complain or grumble
Guy
n.
a rope, cord, or cable attached to something as a brace or guide; to steady or reinforce using a guy; Think guide
Intimate
v.
to immply, suggest, or insinuate
List
v.
to tilt or lean to one side
Lumber
v.
to move heavily and clumsily
Meet
adj.
fitting, proper
Milk
v.
to exploit; to squeeze every last ounce of
Mince
v.
to pronounce or speak affectedly; to euphemize, to speak too carefully; to take tiny steps; to tiptoe
Nice
adj.
exacting, fastidious, extremely precise
Occult
adj.
hidden, concealed, beyond comprehension
Pedestrian
adj.
commonplace, trite, unremarkable, quotidian
Pied
adj.
multicolored, usually in blotches
Pine
v.
to lose vigor (as through grief); to yearn
Plastic
adj.
moldable, pliable, not rigid
Pluck
n.
courage, spunk, fortitude
Prize
v.
to pry, to press or force with a lever; something taken by force, spoils
Rail
v.
to complain about bitterly
Rent
v.
torn; an opening or tear caused by such
Quail
v.
to lose courage; to turn frightened
