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blue book vocabulary > blue book #14 > Flashcards

blue book #14 Flashcards

1
Q

factitious

A

1.
not spontaneous or natural; artificial; contrived:
factitious laughter; factitious enthusiasm.

2.
made; manufactured:
a decoration of factitious flowers and leaves.

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2
Q

factotum

A

1.
a person, as a handyman or servant, employed to do all kinds of work around the house.

2.
any employee or official having many different responsibilities.

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3
Q

faculty

A

1.
an ability, natural or acquired, for a particular kind of action:
a faculty for making friends easily.

2.
one of the powers of the mind, as memory, reason, or speech:
Though very sick, he is in full possession of all his faculties.

3.
an inherent capability of the body:
the faculties of sight and hearing.

4.
exceptional ability or aptitude:
a president with a faculty for management.

5.
the members of a learned profession:
the medical faculty.

7.
a power or privilege conferred by the state, a superior, etc.:
The police were given the faculty to search the building.

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4
Q

fad

A

a temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., especially one followed enthusiastically by a group.

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5
Q

fain

A

1.
gladly; willingly:
He fain would accept.

2.
content; willing:
They were fain to go.

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6
Q

fallacious

A

1.
containing a fallacy; logically unsound:
fallacious arguments.

2.
deceptive; misleading:
fallacious testimony.

3.
disappointing; delusive:
a fallacious peace.

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7
Q

fallow

A

1.
(of land) plowed and left unseeded for a season or more; uncultivated.

2.
not in use; inactive:
My creative energies have lain fallow this year.

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8
Q

fanaticism

A

character, spirit, or conduct that is motivated or characterized by an extreme, uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics.

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9
Q

farcical

A

1.
foolish; ridiculous.

2.
ludicrous; absurd.

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10
Q

fastidious

A

1.
excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please:
a fastidious eater.

2.
requiring or characterized by excessive care or delicacy; painstaking.

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11
Q

fated

A

destined; inevitably predetermined.

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12
Q

fathom

A

1.
a unit of length equal to six feet or 1.8 meters: used chiefly in nautical measurements.

2.
to measure the depth of; gauge.

3.
to penetrate to the truth of; comprehend; understand:
to fathom someone’s motives.

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13
Q

fatuous

A

1.
foolish or inane, especially in an unconscious, complacent manner; silly.

2.
unreal; illusory.

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14
Q

fauna

A

1.
the animals of a given region or period considered as a whole.

2.
a treatise on the animals of a given region or period.

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15
Q

Faustian

A

1.
of, relating to, or characteristic of Faust:
a Faustian novel.

2.
sacrificing spiritual values for power, knowledge, or material gain:
a Faustian pact with the devil.

3.
characterized by spiritual dissatisfaction or torment.

4.
possessed with a hunger for knowledge or mastery.

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16
Q

faux pas

A

a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion.

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17
Q

fawn

A

1.
to seek notice or favor by servile demeanor; flatter:
The courtiers fawned over the king.

2.
(of a dog) to behave affectionately.

3.
a young deer, especially an unweaned one.

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18
Q

faze

A

to disturb or disconcert; daunt:

The worst insults cannot faze him.

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19
Q

feasible

A

1.
capable of being done, effected, or accomplished:
a feasible plan.

2.
probable; likely:
a feasible theory.

3.
suitable:
a road feasible for travel.

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20
Q

feckless

A

1.
ineffective; incompetent; futile:
feckless attempts to repair the plumbing.

2.
having no sense of responsibility; indifferent; lazy.

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21
Q

fecund

A

1.
producing or capable of producing offspring, fruit, vegetation, etc., in abundance; prolific; fruitful:
fecund parents; fecund farmland.

2.
very productive or creative intellectually:
the fecund years of the Italian Renaissance.

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22
Q

federation

A

1.
the formation of a political unity, with a central government, by a number of separate states, each of which retains control of its own internal affairs.

2.
a league or confederacy.

3.
a federated body formed by a number of nations, states, societies, unions, etc., each retaining control of its own internal affairs.

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23
Q

feeble

A

1.
physically weak, as from age or sickness; frail.

2.
weak intellectually or morally:
a feeble mind.

3.
lacking in volume, loudness, brightness, distinctness, etc.:
a feeble voice; feeble light.

4.
lacking in force, strength, or effectiveness:
feeble resistance; feeble arguments.

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24
Q

feign

A

1.
to represent fictitiously; put on an appearance of:
to feign sickness.

2.
to invent fictitiously or deceptively, as a story or an excuse.

3.
to imitate deceptively:
to feign another’s voice.

4.
to make believe; pretend:
She’s only feigning; she isn’t really ill.

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25
feint
1. a movement made in order to deceive an adversary; an attack aimed at one place or point merely as a distraction from the real place or point of attack: military feints; the feints of a skilled fencer. 2. a feigned or assumed appearance: His air of approval was a feint to conceal his real motives. 3. to make a feint; deceive with a feint. 5. to make a false show of; simulate.
26
feisty
1. full of animation, energy, or courage; spirited; spunky; plucky: The champion is faced with a feisty challenger. 2. ill-tempered; pugnacious. 3. troublesome; difficult: feisty legal problems.
27
felicitous
1. well-suited for the occasion, as an action, manner, or expression; apt; appropriate: The chairman’s felicitous anecdote set everyone at ease. 2. having a special ability for suitable manner or expression, as a person.
28
fell
1. to knock, strike, shoot, or cut down; cause to fall: to fell a moose; to fell a tree. 2. fierce; cruel; dreadful; savage. 3. destructive; deadly: fell poison; fell disease.
29
feral
1. existing in a natural state, as animals or plants; not domesticated or cultivated; wild. 2. having reverted to the wild state, as from domestication: a pack of feral dogs roaming the woods. 3. of or characteristic of wild animals; ferocious; brutal.
30
fervent
1. passionate; having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm, etc.; ardent: a fervent admirer; a fervent plea. 2. hot; burning; glowing.
31
fetid
having an offensive odor; stinking.
32
fetter
1. a chain or shackle on the ankles. 2. to confine or restrain; bind: Boredom fetters the imagination.
33
fiasco
a complete and ignominious failure.
34
fickle
1. likely to change, especially due to caprice, irresolution, or instability; casually changeable: fickle weather. 2. not constant or loyal in affections: a fickle lover.
35
fictive
1. fictitious; imaginary. 2. pertaining to the creation of fiction: fictive inventiveness.
36
fidelity
1. loyalty; strict observance of promises, duties, etc.: a servant’s fidelity, fidelity to one’s country. 2. conjugal (marital) faithfulness. 3. adherence to fact or detail. 4. accuracy; exactness: The speech was transcribed with great fidelity.
37
fifth column
a group of people who act traitorously and subversively out of a secret sympathy with an enemy of their country.
38
filch
``` to steal (especially something of small value); pilfer: to filch ashtrays from fancy restaurants. ```
39
filial
1. of, relating to, or befitting a son or daughter: filial obedience, filial affection. 2. noting or having the relation of a child to a parent.
40
filibuster
1. the use of irregular or obstructive tactics by a member of a legislative assembly to prevent the adoption of a measure generally favored or to force a decision against the will of the majority. 2. an exceptionally long speech, as one lasting for a day or days, or a series of such speeches to accomplish this purpose.
41
finagle
1. to trick, swindle, or cheat a person: He finagled the backers out of a fortune. 2. to get or achieve something by guile, trickery, or manipulation: to finagle an assignment to the Membership Committee. 3. to practice deception or fraud; scheme.
42
finicky
excessively particular or fastidious; difficult to please; fussy.
43
firmament
the vault of heaven; sky.
44
fiscal
1. of or relating to the public treasury or revenues: fiscal policies. 2. of or relating to financial matters in general.
45
fission
the act of breaking or splitting into parts.
46
fitful
coming in spells; intermittent; recurring irregularly.
47
flaccid
1. soft and limp; not firm; flabby: flaccid biceps. 2. lacking force; weak: flaccid prose.
48
flag
1. to lose vigor, energy, or interest: Public enthusiasm flagged when the team kept losing. 2. to hang loosely or limply; droop.
49
flagrant
1. shockingly noticeable or evident; obvious; glaring: a flagrant error. 2. notorious; scandalous: a flagrant crime; a flagrant offender.
50
flair
1. a natural talent, aptitude, or ability; bent; knack: a flair for rhyming. 2. smartness of style, manner, etc.: Their window display has absolutely no flair at all. 3. keen, intuitive perception or discernment: We want a casting director with a real flair for finding dramatic talent.
51
flamboyant
1. strikingly bold or brilliant; showy: flamboyant colors. 2. conspicuously dashing and colorful: the flamboyant idol of international society. 3. florid; ornate; elaborately styled: flamboyant speeches.
52
flaunt
1. to parade or display oneself conspicuously, defiantly, or boldly. 2. to wave conspicuously in the air. 3. to parade or display ostentatiously: to flaunt one’s wealth.
53
flax
1. a slender, erect, annual plant having narrow, lance-shaped leaves and blue flowers, cultivated for its fiber and seeds. 2. the fiber of this plant, manufactured into linen yarn for thread or woven fabrics.
54
fledgling
1. a young bird just fledged. 2. an inexperienced person. 3. young, new, or inexperienced: a fledgling diver.
55
flight
an act or instance of fleeing or running away; hasty departure.
56
flighty
1. given to flights of fancy; capricious; frivolous. 2. slightly delirious; light-headed; mildly crazy. 3. irresponsible: He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.
57
flippant
frivolously disrespectful, shallow, or lacking in seriousness; characterized by levity: The audience was shocked by his flippant remarks about patriotism.
58
flora
1. the plants of a particular region or period, listed by species and considered as a whole. 2. a work systematically describing such plants.
59
florid
1. reddish; ruddy; rosy: a florid complexion. 2. flowery; excessively ornate; showy: florid writing.
60
flotilla
1. a group of small naval vessels, especially a naval unit containing two or more squadrons. 2. a group moving together: The governor was followed by a whole flotilla of reporters.
61
flotsam
1. the part of the wreckage of a ship and its cargo found floating on the water. 2. material or refuse floating on water. 3. useless or unimportant items; odds and ends. 4. a vagrant, penniless population: the flotsam of the city slums in medieval Europe.
62
flounder
to struggle clumsily or helplessly: He floundered helplessly on the first day of his new job. He saw the child floundering about in the water.
63
flout
to treat with disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff at; mock: | to flout the rules of propriety.
64
fluctuate
1. to move up and down; change continually; shift back and forth; vary irregularly: The price of gold fluctuated wildly last month. 2. to move back and forth in waves.
65
fodder
1. coarse food for livestock, composed of entire plants, including leaves, stalks, and grain. 2. people considered as readily available and of little value: cannon fodder. 3. raw material: fodder for a comedian’s routine.
66
foible
1. a minor weakness or failing of character; slight flaw or defect: an all-too-human foible. 2. the weaker part of a sword blade, between the middle and the point (opposed to forte).
67
foil
1. to prevent the success of; defeat; frustrate; balk: Loyal troops foiled his attempt to overthrow the government. 2. a person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast: The straight man was an able foil to the comic.
68
foist
1. to force upon or impose fraudulently or unjustifiably: to foist inferior merchandise on a customer. 2. to bring, put, or introduce surreptitiously or fraudulently: to foist political views into a news story.
69
foliate
1. covered with or having leaves. 2. to sprout forth leaves.
70
folly
1. foolishness; lack of understanding or sense. 2. a foolish action, practice, idea, etc.; absurdity: the folly of performing without a rehearsal. 3. a costly and foolish undertaking; unwise investment or expenditure.
71
foment
to instigate or foster discord or rebellion; promote the growth or development of: to foment trouble; to foment discontent.
72
forage
1. to wander or go in search of provisions. 2. to search about; seek; rummage; hunt: He went foraging in the attic for old mementos. 3. to make a raid for supplies.
73
forbearance
1. patient endurance; self-control, especially when subject to annoyance or provocation. 2. the act of refraining or abstaining from.
74
ford
1. a place where a river or other body of water is shallow enough to be crossed by wading. 2. to cross a river or stream at a ford.
75
foreboding
1. a feeling of impending evil, disaster, etc.: It appears that her forebodings were justified. 2. a presentiment or portent. 3. indicative of or marked by foreboding: foreboding weather.
76
foreclose
to deprive of property, especially on failure to make payment on a mortgage when due, ownership of property then passing to the mortgagee.
77
forensic
1. pertaining to, connected with, or used in courts of law or public discussion and debate. 2. adapted or suited to argumentation; rhetorical.
78
foreshadow
to show or indicate beforehand; prefigure: Political upheavals foreshadowed war. Her early interest in airplanes foreshadowed her later career as a pilot.
79
forestall
1. to prevent, hinder, or delay by action in advance: to forestall a riot by deploying police. 2. to act beforehand with or get ahead of; anticipate. 3. to buy up goods in advance in order to increase the price when resold.
80
forethought
1. thoughtful provision beforehand; provident care; prudence. 2. a thinking of something beforehand; previous consideration; anticipation.
81
forgo
1. to abstain or refrain from; do without: I’ll forgo dessert tonight—I’m trying to lose weight. 2. to give up, renounce, or resign.
82
forlorn
1. desolate or dreary; unhappy or miserable, as in feeling, condition, or appearance. 2. lonely and sad; forsaken. 3. expressive of hopelessness; despairing: forlorn glances. 4. bereft; destitute: forlorn of comfort.
83
formulaic
1. made according to a formula; composed of formulas: a formulaic plot, formulaic instructions. 2. repeating a pattern; ordinary; unoriginal.
84
formulate
1. to express in precise form; state definitely or systematically: He finds it extremely difficult to formulate his new theory. 2. to devise or develop. 3. to reduce to or express in a formula.
85
forsake
1. to quit or leave entirely; abandon; desert: She has forsaken her country for an island in the South Pacific. 2. to give up or renounce a habit, way of life, etc.
86
forswear
1. to reject or renounce under oath: to forswear an injurious habit. 2. to deny vehemently or under oath. 3. to swear falsely; commit perjury.

blue book vocabulary (17 decks)

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