All Flashcards
Impetuous
Quick to act without thinking
Insipid
Lacking interest or flavour
Pungent
Sharp and irritating to the senses
Prevaricate
To lie or deviate from the truth
Stolid
Unemotional; lacking sensitivity
Antipathy
Extreme dislike
Foment
To arouse or incite
Capricious
Changing one’s mind quickly and often
Dissemble
To present a false appearance; to disguise one’s real intentions or character
Sublime
Lofty or grand
Plethora
Excess
Dilate
To make larger; to expand
Propitiate
To conciliate; to appease
Candid
Impartial and honest in speech
Iconoclast
One who opposes established beliefs, customs and institutions
Rarefy
To make thinner or sparser
Discern
To perceive; to recognize
Efficacy
Effectiveness
Imperturbable
Not capable of being disturbed
Obdurate
Hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion
Malinger
To evade responsibility by pretending to be ill
Plastic
Able to be moulded, altered, or bent
Florid
Excessively decorated or embellished
Meticulous
Extremely careful about details
Dilatory
Intended to delay
Anachronism
Something out of place in time
Anomaly
Deviation from what is normal
Arbitrate
To judge a dispute between 2 opposing parties
Onerous
Troublesome and oppressive; burdensome
Rhetoric
Effective writing or speaking
Implacable
Unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
Inimical
Hostile, unfriendly
Naive
Lacking sophistication or experience
Proliferate
To increase in number quickly
Permeate
To penetrate
Abate
To reduce in amount, degree, or severity
Emulate
To copy; to try to equal or excel
Philanthropy
Charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness
Engender
To produce, cause, or bring about
Aesthetic
Concerning the appreciation of beauty
Dissonance
A harsh and disagreeable combination, often of sounds
Chicanery
Deception by means of craft or guile
Assuage
To make something unpleasant less severe
Dogma
A firmly held opinion, often a religious belief
Transitory
Temporary, lasting a brief time
Pragmatic
Practical as opposed to idealistic
Bombastic
Pompous in speech and manner
Perfidious
Willing to betray one’s trust
Frugality
A tendency to be thrifty or cheap
Exigent
Urgent; requiring immediate action
Vex
To annoy
Propriety
Correct behaviour; obedience to rules and customs
Antagonize
To annoy or provoke to anger
Mollify
To calm or make less severe
Eclectic
Selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
Exonerate
To clear from blame
Tacit
Done without using words
Lavish
To give unsparingly; extremely generous or extravagant
Elegy
A sorrowful poem or speech
Paradox
A contradiction or dilemma
Venerate
To respect deeply
Veracity
Filled with truth and accuracy
Quiescent
Motionless
Vacillate
To sway physically; to be indecisive
Euphemism
Use of an inoffensive word it phrase in place if a more distasteful one
Exculpatory
To clear from blame; prove innocent
Inundate
To overwhelm; to cover with water
Inchoate
Not fully formed;disorganized
Advocate
To speak in favour of
Audacious
Fearless and daring
Placate
To soothe or pacify
Paragon
Model of excellence or perfection
Ingenious
Showing innocence or childlike simplicity
Obstinate
Stubborn, unyielding
Perfunctory
Done in a routine way; indifferent
Obsequious
Overly submissive and eager to please
Torpor
Extreme mental and physical sluggishness
Specious
Deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible but fallacious
Metaphor
A figure of speech comparing 2 different things; a symbol
Explicit
Clearly stayed or shown; forthright in expression
Articulate
Able to speak clearly and expressively
Lucid
Clear and easily understood
Pristine
Fresh and clean; I corrupted
Dogmatic
A dictatorial in one’s opinions
Volatile
Easily aroused or changeable; lively or explosive
Ameliorate
To make better; to improve
Repudiate
To reject the validity of
Garrulous
Tending to talk a lot
Enigma
A puzzle; a mystery
Intransigent
Uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled
Eloquent
Persuasive and moving, especially in speech
Loquacious
Talkative
Dupe
To deceive; a person who is easily deceived
Impervious
Impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected
Mitigate
To soften; to lessen
Obviate
To prevent; to make unnecessary
Luminous
Bright, brilliant, glowing
Abstain
To choose not to do something
Zeal
Passion, excitement
Banal
Predictable, cliched, boring
Gullible
Easily deceived
Tirade
Long, harsh speech or verbal attack
Estimable
Admirable
Esoteric
Known or understood by only a few
Ambiguous
Doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted several ways
Laconic
Using few words
Eulogy
Speech in praise of someone
Innocuous
Harmless
Taciturn
Silent, not talkative
Dirge
A funeral hymn or mournful speech
Gregarious
Outgoing, sociable
Verbose
Wordy
Ostentation
Excessive showiness
Austere
Severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
Dilettante
Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
Precipitate
To throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation
Apathy
Lack of interest or emotion
Enervate
To reduce in strength
Impetuous
Quick to act without thinking
Adulterate
To make impure
Fanatical
Acting excessively enthusiastic; filled with extreme, unquestioned devotion
Ephermal
Lasting a short time
Archaic
Ancient, old fashioned
Equivocate
To use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
Waver
To fluctuate between choices
Fawn
To grovel
Abyss
An extremely deep hole
Guile
Deceit or trickery
Cacophony
Harsh, jarring noise
Prodigal
Lavish, wasteful
Satiate
To satisfy fully or overindulge
Castigate
To punish or criticize harshly
Malleable
Capable of being shaped
Erudite
Learned, scholarly, bookish
Stigma
A mark of shame or discredit
Aggrandize
To increase in power, influence and reputation
Whimsical
Acting in a fanciful or capricious manner; unpredictable
Catalyst
Something that brings about a change in something else
Disparate
Fundamentally different; entirely unlike
Ardor
Intense and passionate feeling
Attenuate
To reduce in force or degree; to weaken
Irascible
Easily made angry
Misanthrope
A person who dislikes others
Analogous
Similar or alike in some way; equivalent to
Disabuse
To set right; to free from error
Lament
To express sorrow; to grieve
Laud
To praise; to glorify
Erratic
Wandering and unpredictable
Monotony
Lack of variation
Abscond
To leave secretly
Prudence
Wisdom, caution or restraint
Fervid
Intensely emotional; feverish
Lethargic
Acting in an indifferent or slow, sluggish manner
Misanthrope
A person who dislikes others
Amalgamate
To combine; to mix together
Soporific
Causing sleep or lethargy
Pedant
Someone who shows off learning
Homogenous
Of a similar kind
Bolster
To support; prop up
Opprobrium
Public disgrace
Alleviate
To make more bearable
Enumerate
To count, list, or itemize
Occlude
To stop up; to prevent the passage of
Apathy
Lack of interest or emotion
Exacerbate
To make worse
Reticent
Silent, reserved