Advanced Vocab 1, 2, 3 Flashcards
exegesis
Critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text.
The Bible is fertile ground for exegesis - over the past five centuries there have been as many interpretations as there are pages in the Old Testament.
vicissitude
Change in one’s circumstances, usually for the worse.
Even great rulers have their vicissitudes - Massive kingdoms have diminished overnight, and once beloved kings have faced the scorn of angry masses.
kowtow
To bow or act in a subservient manner.
Paul kowtowed to his boss so often the boss herself became nauseated by his sycophancy.
pariah
Outcast
The once eminent scientist, upon being found guilty of faking his data, has become a pariah in the research community.
base
Lowest, without moral principles.
She was not so base as to begrudge the beggar the unwanted crumbs from her dinner plate.
supercilious
Haughty; Disdainful; Looking down on others.
Nelly felt the Quiz Bowl director acted superciliously towards the underclassmen; really, she fumed, must he act so preternaturally omniscient each time he intones some obscure fact, as though everybody knows that Mt. Aconcagua is the highest peak in South America.
insufferable
Intolerable; Difficult to endure.
Chester always tried to find some area in which he excelled above others; Unsurprisingly, his coworkers found him insufferable and chose to exclude him from daily luncheons.
sedulous
Done diligently and carefully.
An avid numismatist, Harold sedulously amassed a collection of coins from over 100 countries, taking him over fifteen years across five continents.
byzantine
Intricate and complex.
Getting a driver’s license is not simply a matter of taking a test; the regulations and procedures are so byzantine that many have found themselves at the mercy of the DMV.
beg
Assume something is true.
By assuming that Charlie was headed to college - which he was not - Maggie begged the question when she asked him to which school he was headed in the Fall.
overweening
Arrogant; Presumptuous
Mark was so convinced of his basketball skills that in his overweening pride he could not fathom that his name was not on the varsity list; he walked up to the basketball coach and told her she had forgotten to add his name.
expansive
Communicative; Prone to talking in sociable manner.
After a few sips of cognac, the octogenarian shed his irascible demeanor and became expansive, speaking fondly of the “good old days”.
untoward
Unfavorable; Inconvenient
Some professors find teaching untoward as having to prepare for lectures and conduct office hours prevents them from focusing on their research.
ponderous
Moving slowly; Weighed down
Laden with 20 kgs of college text books, the freshman moved ponderously across the campus.
equivocate
Speak vaguely, usually with intention to mislead.
After Sharon brought the car home an hour after her curfew, she equivocated when her parents pointedly asked her where she had been.
imbibe
To drink, or absorb as if drinking.
Plato imbibed Socrates’ teachings to such an extent that he was able to write volumes of work that he directly attributed, something word for word, to Socrates.
hector
Bully; Intimidate
The boss’ hectoring manner put off many employees, some of whom quit as soon as they found new jobs.
anathema
Detested person; Source of somebody’s hatred.
Hundreds of years ago, Galileo was anathema to the church; today the church is anathema to some on the left side of the political spectrum.
alacrity
Eager willingness to do something.
The first three weeks at his new job, Mark worked with such alacrity that upper management knew it would be giving him a promotion.
precipitate
Hasty or rash; To cause to happen.
Instead of conducting a thorough investigation, the governor acted precipitately, accusing his staff of aiding and abetting the criminals; The government’s mishandling of the hurricane’s aftermath precipitated a widespread outbreak of looting and other criminal activity.
churlish
Lacking manners or refinement.
The manager was unnecessarily churlish to his subordinates, rarely deigning to say hello, but always quick with a sartorial jab if someone happened to be wearing anything even slightly mismatching.
choleric
Prone to outbursts of temper, easily angered.
While a brilliant lecturer, Mr. Dawson came across as choleric and unapproachable - very rarely did students come to his office hours.
artless
Without cunning or deceit; Natural and simple.
Despite the president’s seemingly artless speeches, he was a skilled and ruthless negotiator.
apostate
Person who has given up a religious faith or cause.
An apostate of the Republican Party, Sheldon has yet to become affiliated with any party and dubs himself an independent.
nadir
The lowest point.
For many pop music fans, the rap - and alternative-rock dominated 90s were the nadir of musical expression.
saturnine
Morose or gloomy.
Deprived of sunlight, humans become saturnine; that’s why in very northerly territories people are encouraged to sit under an extremely powerful lamp, lest they become morose.
apogee
Highest point.
The apogee of the Viennese style of music, Mozart’s music continues to mesmerize audiences well into the 21st century.
truculent
Having a fierce, savage nature.
Standing in line for six hours, she became progressively truculent, yelling at DMV employees and elbowing other people waiting in line.
attenuate
Weaken; Taper off
Her animosity towards Bob attenuated over the years, and she even went so far as to invite him to her party.
factious
Produced or characterized by internal dissension.
The controversial bill proved factious, as dissension even within parties resulted.
turpitude
Depravity; Moral corruption; A depraved act.
During his reign, Caligula indulged in unspeakable sexual practices, so it is not surprising that he will forever be remembered for his turpitude.
fractious
Irritable, likely to cause disruption.
We rarely invite my fractious Uncle over for dinner; he always complains about the food, and usually launches into a tirade on some touchy subject.
defray
Help pay the cost of, either part or in full.
In order for Sean to attend the prestigious college, his generous uncle helped defray the excessive tuition with a monthly donation.
lascivious
Lecherous; Sexually perverted
Lolita is a challenging novel for many, not necessarily because of the elevated prose style but because of the depravity of the main character, HH, who, as an old, lascivious man, lusts after a girl.
prosaic
Dull and lacking imagination.
Unlike the talented artists in his workshop, Paul had no such bent for the visual medium, so when it was time for him to make a stained glass painting, he ended up with a prosaic mosaic.
contentious
Likely to argue.
Since old grandpa Harry became very contentious during the summer when only reruns were on T.V., the grandkids learned to hide from him at every opportunity.
diatribe
Strong verbal attack against a person or institution.
Steve’s Mom launched into a diatribe during the PTA meeting, contending that the school was little more than a daycare in which students stare at the wall and teachers stare at the chalkboard.
cow
To intimidate.
Do not be cowed by a 3000 word vocabulary list: turn that list into a deck of flashcards.
conciliate
To make peace with.
His opponents believed his gesture to be conciliatory, yet as soon as they put down their weapons, he unsheathed a hidden sword.
chary
Cautious, suspiciously reluctant to do something.
Having received three speeding tickets in the last two months, Jack was chary of driving at all above the speed limit, even on a straight stretch of highway that looked empty for miles ahead.
penurious
Lacking money; Poor; Miserly.
Truly penurious, Mary had nothing more than a jar full of pennies.
perfunctory
Done routinely with little interest or care.
The short film examines modern perfunctory cleaning rituals such as washing dishes, doing laundry and tooth-brushing.
jingoist
Person who thinks their country is always right, is in favor of aggressive acts against other countries.
Person who thinks their country is always right and who is in favor of aggressive acts against other countries.
feckless
Lazy and irresponsible.
Two years after graduation, Charlie still lived with his parents and had no job, becoming more feckless with each passing day.
zeitgeist
Spirit of the times.
Each decade has its own zeitgeist: The 90s was a prosperous time in which the promise of the American Dream never seemed more palpable.
catholic
Of broad scope; Universal
Jonah’s friends said that Jonah’s taste in music was eclectic; Jonah was quick to point out that not only was his taste eclectic but it was also catholic: he enjoyed music from countries as far-flung as Mali and Mongolia.
indigent
Poor; Having very little
In the so-called Third World, many are indigent and only a privileged few have the resources to enjoy material luxuries; The indigents, huddled under the overpass, tried to start a small bonfire in the hope of staying warm.
malfeasance
Misconduct or wrongdoing, especially by a public official.
Not even the mayor’s trademark pearly-toothed grin could save him from charges of malfeasance; while in power, he’d been running an illegal gambling rink in the room behind his office.
arrant
Complete and wholly, usually modifying a noun with negative connotation.
An arrant fool, Lawrence surprised nobody when he lost all his money in a pyramid scheme that was every bit as transparent as it was corrupt.
expunge
Eliminate completely
When I turned 18, all of the shoplifting and jaywalking charges were expunged from my record.
sartorial
Related to fashion or clothes.
Monte was astute at navigating the world of finance; sartorially, however, he was found wanting - he typically would attempt to complement his beige tie with a gray suit and white pants.
arriviste
Person who has recently reached a position of power; Social climber.
The city center was aflutter with arrivistes who tried to outdo one another with their ostentatious sports cars and chic evening dress.
tendentious
Likely to lean towards a controversial view.
Because political mudslinging has become a staple of the 24-hour media cycle, most of us, despite protestations to the contrary, are tendentious on many of today’s pressing issues.
propitiate
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.
maudlin
Overly emotional and sad.
Just as those who were alive during the 70s are mortified that they once cavorted about in bellbottoms, many who lived during the 80s are aghast at the maudlin pop songs they used to enjoy - really, just what exactly is a total eclipse of the heart?
jejune
Dull; Lacking flavor; Immature; Childish
Although many top chefs have secured culinary foam’s popularity in haute cuisine, Waters criticizes it for being jejune and unfilling.
sybarite
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 $1k an hour spa in Manhattan, getting a facial treatment.
sangfroid
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.
quisling
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.
peremptory
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.
