Beyond the Hit Parade 2 Flashcards
abjure
(verb) to renounce or reject solemnly; to recant; to avoid
adumbrate
(verb) to foreshadow vaguely or intimate; to suggest or outline sketchily; to obscure or overshadow
anathema
(noun) a solemn or ecclesiastical (religious) curse; accursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing
anodyne
(adj./noun) soothing; something that assuages or allays pain or comforts
apogee
(noun) farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith
apostate
(noun) one who abandons long-held religious or political convictions
apotheosis
(noun) exalted example; a model of excellence or perfection
asperity
(noun) severity, rigor; roughness, harshness; acrimony, irritability
asseverate
(verb) to aver, allege, or assert
assiduous
(adj.) diligent, hard-working, sedulous
augury
(noun) omen, portent
bellicose
(adj.) belligerent, pugnacious, warlike
calumniate
(verb) to slander, to make a false accusation; calumny means slander, aspersion
captious
(adj.) disposed to point out trivial faults; calculated to confuse or entrap in argument
cavil
(verb) to find fault without good reason
celerity
(noun) speed, alacrity; think accelerate
chimera
(noun) an illusion; originally, an imaginary fire-breathing she-monster
contumacious
(adj.) insubordinate, rebellious; contumely means insult, scorn, aspersion
debacle
(noun) rout, fiasco, complete failure
denouement
(noun) an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot
descry
(verb) to discriminate or discern
desuetude
(noun) disuse
desultory
(adj.) random; aimless; marked by a lack of plan or purpose
diaphanous
(adj.) transparent, gauzy