Advanced II Flashcards
bilious
bilious
adjective: irritable; always angry
Rex was bilious all morning, and his face would only take on a look of contentedness when he’d had his morning cup of coffee.
histrionic
histrionic
adjective: to be overly theatrical
Though she received a B- on the test, she had such a histrionic outburst that one would have thought that she’d been handed a death sentence.
disabuse
disabuse
verb: to persuade somebody that his/her belief is not valid
As a child, I was quickly disabused of the notion that Santa Claus was a rotund benefactor of infinite largess—one night I saw my mother diligently wrapping presents and storing them under our Christmas tree.
benighted
benighted
adjective: fallen into a state of ignorance
Far from being a period of utter benightedness, The Medieval Ages produced some great works of theological speculation.
sangfroid
sangfroid
noun: calmness or poise in difficult situations
The hostage negotiator exhibited a sangfroid that oftentimes was more menacing than the sword at his throat, or the gun at his head.
sybarite
sybarite
noun: a person who indulges in luxury
Despite the fact that he’d maxed out fifteen credit cards, Max was still a sybarite at heart: when the police found him, he was at a $1,000 an hour spa in Manhattan, getting a facial treatment.
gerrymander
gerrymander
verb: to manipulate voting districts in order to favor a particular political party
Years ago, savvy politicians had gerrymandered the city center to ensure their re-election.
cupidity
cupidity
noun: greed for money
Some people believe that amassing as much wealth as possible is the meaning to life—yet they often realize that cupidity brings anything but happiness.
jejune
jejune
adjective: dull; lacking flavor
Although many top chefs have secured culinary foam’s popularity in haute cuisine, Waters criticizes it for being jejune and unfilling.
adjective: immature; childish
Her boss further cemented his reputation for being jejune after throwing a fit when the water cooler wasn’t refilled.
maudlin
maudlin
adjective: overly emotional and sad
Just as those who were alive during the 70’s are mortified that they once cavorted about in bellbottoms, many who lived during the 80’s are now aghast at the maudlin pop songs they used to enjoy—really, just what exactly is a total eclipse of the heart?
expurgate
expurgate
verb: to remove objectionable material
The censor expurgated every reference to sex and drugs, converting the rapper’s raunchy flow into a series of bleeps.
pyrrhic
pyrrhic
adjective: describing a victory that comes at such a great cost that the victory is not worthwhile
George W. Bush’s win in the 2000 election was in many ways a pyrrhic victory: the circumstances of his win alienated half of the U.S. population.
limpid
limpid
adjective: having clarity in terms of expression
Her limpid prose made even the most recondite subjects accessible to a
sententious
sententious
adjective: to be moralizing, usually in a pompous sense
The old man, casting his nose up in the air at the group of adolescents, intoned sententiously, “Youth is wasted on the young.”
schadenfreude
schadenfreude
noun: joy from watching the suffering of others
From his warm apartment window, Stanley reveled in schadenfreude as he laughed at the figures below, huddled together in the arctic chill.
martinet
martinet
noun: a strict disciplinarian
The job seemed perfect to Rebecca, until she found out that her boss was a total martinet; after each project the boss would come by to scrutinize—and inevitably criticize—every little detail of the work Rebecca had done.
vituperate
vituperate
verb: to criticize harshly; to berate
Jason had dealt with disciplinarians before, but nothing prepared him for the first week of boot camp, as drill sergeants vituperated him for petty oversights such as forgetting to double knot the laces on his boots.
quisling
quisling
noun: a traitor
History looks unfavorably upon quislings; indeed they are accorded about the same fondness as Nero—who watched his city burn down while playing the violin.
mettlesome
mettlesome
adjective: filled with courage or valor
For its raid on the Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Seal Team Six has become, for many Americans, the embodiment of mettle.
peremptory
peremptory
adjective: bossy and domineering
My sister used to peremptorily tell me to do the dishes, a chore I would either do perfunctorily or avoid doing altogether.
parvenu
parvenu
noun: a person who has suddenly become wealthy, but not socially accepted as part of a higher class
The theater was full of parvenus who each thought that they were surrounded by true aristocrats.
jaundiced
jaundiced
adjective: to be biased against due to envy or prejudice
Shelly was jaundiced towards Olivia; though the two had once been best friends, Olivia had become class president, prom queen, and, to make matters worse, the girlfriend of the one boy Shelly liked.
impecunious
impecunious
adjective: lacking money; poor
In extremely trying times, even the moderately wealthy, after a few turns of ill-fortune, can become impecunious.
mulct
mulct
verb: to defraud or swindle
The so-called magical diet cure simply ended up mulcting Maria out of hundreds of dollars, but did nothing for her weight.
quixotic
quixotic
adjective: wildly idealistic; impractical
For every thousand startups with quixotic plans to be the next big name in e-commerce, only a handful ever become profitable.
propitiate
propitiate
verb: to placate or appease
The two sons, plying their angry father with cheesy neckties for Christmas, were hardly able to propitiate him – the father already had a drawer full of ones he had never worn before or ever planned to.
curmudgeon
curmudgeon
noun: a grouchy, surly person
Since Uncle Mike was the family curmudgeon, each Thanksgiving he was plied with copious amounts of wine, in the hope that he would become less grouchy.
venial
venial
adjective: easily excused or forgiven; pardonable
His traffic violations ran the gamut from the venial to the egregious—on one occasion he simply did not come to a complete stop; another time he tried to escape across state lines at speeds in excess of 140 mph.
fell
fell
adjective: terribly evil
For fans of the Harry Potter series, the fell Lord Voldemort, who terrorized poor Harry for seven lengthy installments, has finally been vanquished by the forces of good—unless, that is, JK Rowling decides to come out of retirement.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
phantasmagorical
phantasmagorical
adjective: illusive; unreal
Those suffering from malaria fall into a feverish sleep, their world a whirligig of phantasmagoria; if they recover, they are unsure of what actually took place and what was simply a product of their febrile imaginations.
palimpsest
palimpsest
noun: something that has been changed numerous times but on which traces of former iterations can still be seen
The downtown was a palimpsest of the city’s checkered past: a new Starbucks had opened up next to an abandoned, shuttered building, and a freshly asphalted road was inches away from a pothole large enough to swallow a small dog.
propitiate
propitiate
verb: to placate or appease
The two sons, plying their angry father with cheesy neckties for Christmas, were hardly able to propitiate him – the father already had a drawer full of ones he had never worn before or ever planned to.
blinkered
blinkered
adjective: to have a limited outlook or understanding
In gambling, the blinkered addict is easily influenced by past successes and/or past failures, forgetting that the outcome of any one game is independent of the games that preceded it.
arch
arch
adjective: to be deliberately teasing
The baroness was arch, making playful asides to the townspeople; yet because they couldn’t pick up on her dry humor, they thought her supercilious.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
arriviste
arriviste
noun: a person who has recently reached a position of power; a social climber
The city center was aflutter with arrivistes who tried to outdo one another with their ostentatious sports cars and chic evening dress.
excoriate
excoriate
verb: to criticize very harshly
Entrusted with the prototype to his company’s latest smartphone, Larry, during a late night karaoke bout, let the prototype slip into the hands of a rival company—the next day Larry was excoriated, and then fired.
execrate
execrate
verb: to curse and hiss at
Though the new sitcom did decently in the ratings, Nelson railed against the show, saying that it was nothing more than an execrable pastiche of tired clichés and canned laughter.
invective
invective
noun: abusive or denunciatory language
The Internet has unleashed the invectives in many of us; many people post stinging criticism on the comments section underneath newspaper articles or YouTube videos.
remonstrate
remonstrate
verb: to make objections while pleading
The mothers of the kidnapped victims remonstrated to the rogue government to release their children, claiming that the detention violated human rights.
apotheosis
apotheosis
noun: exaltation to divine status; the highest point of development
As difficult as it is to imagine, the apotheosis of Mark Zuckerberg’s career, many believe, is yet to come.
hedge
hedge
verb: to limit or qualify a statement; to avoid making a direct statement
When asked why he had decided to buy millions of shares at the very moment the tech company’s stock soared, the CEO hedged, mentioning something vague about gut instinct.
Pollyannaish
Pollyannaish
adjective: extremely optimistic
Even in the midst of a lousy sales quarter, Debbie remained Pollyannaish, never losing her shrill voice and wide smile, even when prospective customers hung up on her.
factious
artificial, not natural
imbroglio
confusing, potentially embarrassing situation
juggernaut
impossible to stop
malapropism
confusion of one word for another
mulch
to defraud or swindle
mellifuous
smooth and sweet sounding
sartorial
related to fashion or clothes
tendentious
likely to lean towards a controversial view
protean
a versatile
picayune
petty
