Adj. Section 4 Flashcards
momentary
lasting but a moment; very brief: a momentary glimpse
that might occur at any moment; ever impending: We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.
momentous
(of a decision, event, or change) of great or far-reaching importance or consequence, especially in its bearing on the future
a momentous occasion, event, decision; the momentous news of the president’s death
monumental
exceptionally great, as in quantity, quality, extent, or degree
a monumental work; it’s more than a mistake, it’s a case of monumental stupidity; the monumental complexity of the issue; repairing the damage will be a monumental task;
moralistic
narrowly and conventionally moral
A moralistic speech will not convince kids not to try drugs.
moribund
in a dying state; near death
a moribund economy, industry, company; a moribund patient, tree
Economies become moribund but a powerful, humane idea never dies.
morose
sullen and ill-tempered, gloomy
a morose expression; I’ve been so morose today, thinking of everything I failed at.
mundane
of or pertaining to this world or earth as contrasted with heaven; worldly, earthly: mundane affairs
common; ordinary; banal; unimaginative: Mundane matters such as paying bills and shopping for food do not interest her.
Mowing the lawn is a mundane chore.
munificent
extremely liberal in giving; very generous
A former student has donated a munificent sum of money to the college.
nebulous
hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused
nebulous memory; nebulous line between confidence and overconfidence; She has a few nebulous ideas about what she might like to do in the future, but nothing definite.
nefarious
(typically of an action or activity) wicked or criminal
nefarious activities such as drug trafficking and fraud; The director of the company seems to have been involved in some nefarious practices, activities.
nonchalant
feeling or appearing casually calm and relaxed; not displaying anxiety, interest, or enthusiasm
Most of them were pretty nonchalant and haven’t spoken to me about it much.
‘It will be fine,’ she replied, with a nonchalant shrug.
nondescript
lacking distinctive or interesting features or characteristics
a nondescript person, building, town; It’s literally gorgeous, but also nondescript.
nonporous
not porous(full of pores); not permeable by water, air rocks are nonporous
notorious
widely and unfavorably known
a notorious criminal; The country is notorious for its appalling prison conditions; The bar has become notorious as a meeting-place for drug dealers; The city is notorious for its bumper-to-bumper traffic.
oblique
the definition of oblique is slanted or tilted direction. It also refers to something that is misleading or not straight to the point; slanting
an oblique reference, approach, comment; She made several oblique references to the current financial situation.
An example of oblique is an argument that has no clear point or thesis to it.
oblivious
unmindful; unconscious; unaware: She was oblivious of his admiration. He was quite oblivious of/to the danger.
forgetful; without remembrance or memory: oblivious of my former failure
obnoxious
extremely unpleasant; someone or something that is very annoying or offensive; objectionable due to being a showoff
an obnoxious habit; When she’s in a bad mood, she is obnoxious to everyone; Some colleagues say that he’s loud and obnoxious; An example of obnoxious is an upstairs neighbor listening to extremely loud music at two o’clock in the morning
obsequious
servilely compliant or deferential; complaisant
be obsequious to the great; She is almost embarrassingly obsequious to anyone in authority.
obsolete
no longer produced or used; out of date
an obsolete vessel, word; Gas lamps became obsolete when electric lighting was invented.
obstreperous
noisy and difficult to control; boisterous
obstreperous customers, patients, neighbors; a room full of obstreperous children; an obstreperous crowd protesting the government’s immigration policy
obtrusive
noticeable or prominent in an unwelcome or intrusive way
Hats will be less obtrusive this season. The propaganda was occasionally obtrusive. The sofa would be less obtrusive in a paler color. They tried to ensure that their presence was not too obtrusive.
obtuse
not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull; not sharp, acute, or pointed; blunt in form
He is too obtuse to take a hint; Obtuse scissors designed so that young users will not cut themselves.
ominous
giving the impression that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen; threatening; inauspicious
ominous dark clouds
There was an ominous silence when I asked if my contract was going to be renewed.
The engine had been making an ominous sound all the way from London.
onerous
(of a task, duty, or responsibility) involving an amount of effort and difficulty that is oppressively burdensome
an onerous responsibility, job; the onerous duties of motherhood
opaque
not transparent or translucent; hard to understand; not clear or lucid; obscure
the opaque water of the muddy water; Somehow the listeners seem to connect with the songwriter, despite his deeply personal, often opaque lyrics.
opulent
ostentatiously rich and luxurious or lavish
hoping to marry an opulent widow; living in opulent comfort; an opulent upper crust that like to show off its possessions; an opulent mansion filled with priceless art and antiques
orthodox
conforming to what is generally or traditionally accepted as right or true; established and approved
orthodox treatment, methods, views, opinions; orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims; we would prefer a more orthodox approach to the problem
ostensible
stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily so; pretended
the ostensible reason for the army’s presence was to keep the peace; the ostensible reason for the meeting turned out to be a trick to get him to the surprise party
ostentatious
characterized by vulgar or pretentious display; designed to impress or attract notice
an ostentatious gesture; they criticized the ostentatious lifestyle of their leaders; although extremely wealthy, he was never ostentatious
outlandish
freakishly or grotesquely strange or odd, as appearance, dress, objects, ideas, or practices; bizarre; having a foreign appearance
outlandish clothes; outlandish questions
overbearing
domineering; dictatorial; haughtily or rudely arrogant
overbearing heat; He had a pompous, overbearing father. To them, a strong executive and overbearing government are only useful during crises that involve jobs.
overt
done or shown openly; plainly or readily apparent, not secret or hidden
overt racism, hostility, criticism; they have given overt support to the new law; he shows no overt signs of his unhappiness
overwrought
in a state of nervous excitement or anxiety
she was so tired and overwrought that she burst into tears; he was in an overwrought state/condition for weeks after the accident
painstaking
requiring a lot of care, effort or hard work
it took months of painstaking research to write the book; he was described by his colleagues as a painstaking journalist
An example of something painstaking is a project requiring students to count every frame in a three hour long movie, a painstaking project.
partisan
a strong supporter of a party, cause, or person: most newspapers are politically partisan
partial to a specific party, person: partisan politics
Sharper partisan differences have a downside.
passionate
showing or caused by strong feelings or a strong belief
He has a degree in landscape architecture and is passionate about plants.
patronizing
displaying an offensively condescending manner
I was only trying to explain; I didn’t want to sound patronizing.
There’s a patronizing and condescending tone to it which is off putting.
pedestrian
going or performed on foot; walking; lacking in vitality, imagination, distinction; commonplace; prosaic or dull
Her latest play is more pedestrian and less ambitious than her earlier work.
The food rarely rises above a pedestrian level.
peevish
easily irritated, especially by unimportant things
he could be peevish and irritable at times; a peevish, bad-tempered person
pejorative
expressing contempt or disapproval; having a negative or belittling effect
Make sure students realize that ‘fat’ is an unflattering or pejorative word.
It comes as quite a shock to still hear a judge describing a child as ‘illegitimate’, with all the pejorative overtones of that word.
An example of pejorative is a cruel statement about a student’s schoolwork that causes him to produce even lower quality schoolwork.
pell-mell
indiscriminate; disorderly; confused
At the sound of the alarm bell, the customers ran pell-mell for the doors.
pellucid
allowing the maximum passage of light, as glass; translucent; clear or limpid
The light was so pellucid, so dazzling that she reached for her sunglasses.
His eyes were a pellucid blue.
penurious
extremely poor; extremely stingy; parsimonious; miserly
The notebooks described the places, the people, the events of his penurious life.
The penurious school system had to lay off several teachers.
perfunctory
performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial
a perfunctory nod, smile; they only made a perfunctory effort
peripheral
of, relating to, or situated on the edge; concerned with relatively minor, irrelevant, or superficial aspects of the subject in question
The talks made progress on peripheral issues, but failed to resolve the main dispute between the two sides; We made some discoveries about the immune system that were peripheral to our search for a vaccine.
perpetual
never ending or changing; everlasting
a perpetual calendar, lease; the perpetual noise of traffic
We lived for years in a perpetual state of fear.
Mountain peaks covered with perpetual snows and ice.
How can I work with these perpetual interruptions?
perspicacious
having keen mental perception and understanding; perceptive; discerning
His perspicacious grandfather had bought the land as an investment, guessing that there might be gold underground.
