Basic words Flashcards
Onerous
Troublesome and oppressive; burdensome
Obviate
To prevent or make unnecessary
Obdurate
Hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion
Naive
Lacking sophistication or experience
Mollify
To calm; make less severe
Malinger
To evade responsibility; pretending to be ill. Exaggerate or feign illness to escape duty or work
Lavish
(v.) to give unsparingly
(adj.) extremely generous or extravagant
Laconic
Using few words
Irascible
Easily made angry
Intransigent
Uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled
Insipid
Lacking interest or flavor
Innocuous
Harmless
Inimical
hostile; unfriendly
Inchoate
not fully formed; disorganized
Impetuous
Quick to act without thinking
Iconoclast
One who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions
Guile
Deceit or trickery
Gregarious
Outgoing, sociable
Garrulous (antonym: laconic)
Tending to talk a lot
Foment
To arouse or incite
Florid
Excessively decorated or embellished
Fervid
Intensely emotional, feverish
Fanatical
acting excessively enthusiastic, filled with extreme, unquestioned devotion
Exculpate
to clear from blame; prove innocent
Eulogy
Speech in praise of someone
Estimable
admirable
Esoteric
Known or understood by only a few
Erudite
Learned, scholarly, bookish
Equivocate
To use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
Equivocal
Open to more than one interpretation; misleading
Ephemeral
Lasting a short time
Enigma
Puzzle; mystery
Engender
To produce, cause, or bring about
Enervate
to reduce in strength
Eloquent
persuasive and moving (especially in speech)
Eclectic
Selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
Dogmatic
Dictatorial in one’s own opinions
Dissemble
to present a false appearance; to disguise one’s real intentions or character
Disparate (antonym: homogenous)
Fundamentally different; entirely unlike
Discern
to perceive; to recognize
Disabuse
to set right; to free from error
Dirge
a funeral hymn or mournful speech
Dilettante
Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
Dilatory
intended to delay
Diffident
Lacking self-confidence
Desultory
jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
Desiccate
to dry out thoroughly
Deride
to speak of or treat with contempt; to mock
Deference
respect, courtesy
Credulous
too trusting; gullible
Cogent
Convincing and well-reasoned
Chicanery
Deception by means of craft or guile
Chauvinist
Someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs
Caustic
Sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way
Castigate
To punish or criticize harshly
Cacophany
Harsh, jarring noise
Bombastic
Pompous in speech and manner
Austere
Rigorous, severe, stern in appearance
Audacious
Fearless and daring
Attenuate
To reduce in force or degree, to weaken
Assuage
to make something unpleasant, less severe
Ardor
Intense and passionate feeling
Antipathy
extreme dislike
Ameliorate
to make better; to improve
Amalgamate
to combine; mix together
Aggrandize
to increase in power, influence, and reputation
Adulterate
to make impure
Occlude
to stop up; prevent the passage of
Opprobrium
public disgrace
Ostentation
excessive showiness
Paragon
model of excellence or perfection
Pedant
someone who shows off learning