Advanced Vocabulary 2 (2013-08) Flashcards
prescient
adj. perceiving the significance of events before they occur
He’s made some bad ones, to be sure - he was notably burned by telecom companies during the dotcom bust - but over the course of a few decades of investing, Gilder has become known as a prescient technophile.
intramural
adj. carried on within the bounds of an institution or community
In my experience, most leakers, even of highly classified material, are motivated by surprisingly petty interests – things like spite, flattery, and a desire to win intramural debates by other means.
abrogate
v. To abolish, do away with, or annul, especially by authority.
He told police he was angered by Mr. Taseer’s efforts to abrogate the country’s strict blasphemy laws.
dubious
adj. Fraught with uncertainty or doubt; undecided.
adj. Arousing doubt; doubtful: a dubious distinction.
adj. Of questionable character: dubious profits.
Miracles are dubious at best, an inferior testimony to God’s power, but it remains unsaid whether or not they are at least possible.
insidious
adj. beguiling but harmful
adj. intended to entrap
adj. working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.
stultify
v. deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless
v. prove to be of unsound mind or demonstrate someone’s incompetence
v. cause to appear foolish
By doing the right thing – following in the footsteps of the Bush Administration – without setting forth good reasons, the President will stultify his ability to keep on doing it.
spurious
adj. false, not authentic, not genuine
adj. bastardly, illegitimate
Unless one’s preference is for the government to be involved in spurious schemes such as selling arms to Iran and then using the proceeds to fund a terrorist movement in Central America.
spasmodic
adj. affected by involuntary jerky muscular contractions; resembling a spasm
adj. occurring in spells and often abruptly
For years Kansas was the scene of what can only be described as spasmodic civil war.
repast
n. A meal; the act of taking food.
n. Food; victuals.
n. Refreshment through sleep; repose.
To feed; feast.
To take food; feast.
The Duke breakfasted at nine and the repast was a very simple one.
sartorial
adj. Of or pertaining to a tailor or his work.
adj. Of or pertaining to the sartorius muscle.
Fashion fiends are in sartorial heaven as New York Fashion Week and the Toronto Film Festival attract the biggest style stars.
prescient
adj. perceiving the significance of events before they occur
However, to many medieval philosophers it seemed too fanciful and anthropomorphic (and perhaps insuf- ficiently prescient) a conception of divine agency, one that was inconsistent with divine simplicity, omniscience, and wisdom.
untoward
adj. Not favorable; unpropitious.
adj. Troublesome; adverse: an untoward incident.
adj. Hard to guide or control; unruly.
adj. Improper; unseemly.
adj. Archaic Awkward.
When the accuser was interviewed by the child services organization and he denied any kind of untoward conduct by Michael Jackson, a critical document …
diffidence
n. Distrust; want of confidence in regard to anything; doubt of the ability or disposition of others.
n. More especially, distrust of one’s self; want of confidence in one’s own ability, worth, or fitness; retiring disposition; modest reserve; shyness.
n. Synonyms Modesty, Shyness, etc. (see bashfulness), fear, timidity, hesitation, apprehension.
So often one comes across a passage as perfectly cut and honed as that one, uttered with a certain diffidence and yet — as is frequent with perfectionists — the product of much silent labor, reflection, and, I might add, stoicism.
flummox
v. Informal To confuse; perplex.
Facebook and other social networking tools flummox me because there are so many things going on at once.
phlegmatic
adj. Not easily excited to action or passion; calm; sluggish.
