Blue Book Flashcards
Preemptive
serving or intended to pre-empt or forestall something, especially to prevent attack by disabling the enemy.
“a pre-emptive strike”
relating to the purchase of goods or shares by one person or party before the opportunity is offered to others.
“pre-emptive rights”
Titillate
transitive verb
1 : to excite pleasurably : arouse by stimulation
2 : tickle 2
intransitive verb
: to act as a stimulant to pleasurable excitement
Vaudeville
a type of entertainment popular chiefly in the US in the early 20th century, featuring a mixture of speciality acts such as burlesque comedy and song and dance.
“his comedic roots are in vaudeville”
a light or comic stage play with interspersed songs.
plural noun: vaudevilles
Efface
1 : to eliminate or make indistinct by or as if by wearing away a surface ; also : to cause to vanish
2 : to make (oneself) modestly or shyly inconspicuous
Insidious
1 a : awaiting a chance to entrap : treacherous
b : harmful but enticing : seductive
2 a : having a gradual and cumulative effect : subtle
b of a disease : developing so gradually as to be well established before becoming apparent
Aside
1 : an utterance meant to be inaudible to someone; especially : an actor’s speech heard by the audience but supposedly not by other characters
2 : a straying from the theme : digression
Undercut
5 : to strike (a ball) with a downward glancing blow so as to give a backspin or elevation to the shot
6 : to undermine or destroy the force, value, or effectiveness of
3 : to offer to sell at lower prices than or to work for lower wages than (a competitor)
Rehash
1 : to talk over or discuss again
2 : to present or use again in another form without substantial change or improvement
Calumny
Defamation
Libelous
: constituting or including a libel : defamatory <a></a>
</a>
Repeal
1 : to rescind or annul by authoritative act; especially : to revoke or abrogate by legislative enactment
2 : abandon, renounce
3 obsolete : to summon to return : recall
Temperance
1 : moderation in action, thought, or feeling : restraint
2 a : habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions
b : moderation in or abstinence from the use of alcoholic beverages
Consolidate
1 : to join together into one whole : unite
2 : to make firm or secure : strengthen
3 : to form into a compact mass
Suasion
the act of influencing or persuading
Motley
1 : variegated in color <a>
2 : composed of diverse often incongruous elements </a><a>
</a>
Pilfer
steal; especially : to steal stealthily in small amounts and often again and again
Perquisite
1 : a privilege, gain, or profit incidental to regular salary or wages; especially : one expected or promised
2 : gratuity, tip
3 : something held or claimed as an exclusive right or possession
Predilection
an established preference for something
Quixotic
1 : foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals; especially : marked by rash lofty romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action
2 : capricious, unpredictable
synonyms see imaginary
Agnostic
1 : a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable; broadly : one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god
2 : a person who is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something
Adj
2 : noncommittal, undogmatic
Unswerving
Steady, unfaltering
Unwitting
1 : not knowing : unaware
2 : not intended : inadvertent
Gubernatorial
: of or relating to a governor
Venal
1 : capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable consideration : purchasable; especially : open to corrupt influence and especially bribery : mercenary <a>
2 : originating in, characterized by, or associated with corrupt bribery </a><a> </a>
Partisan
1 : a firm adherent to a party, faction, cause, or person; especially : one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance
2 a : a member of a body of detached light troops making forays and harassing an enemy
b : a member of a guerrilla band operating within enemy lines
synonyms see follower
Embellish
1 : to make beautiful with ornamentation : decorate <a>
2 : to heighten the attractiveness of by adding decorative or fanciful details : enhance
</a>
Nebulous
Indistinct, vague
Corroborate
to support with evidence or authority : make more certain
Salutary
1 : producing a beneficial effect : remedial
2 : promoting health : curative
synonyms see healthful
Equivocal
1 a : subject to two or more interpretations and usually used to mislead or confuse
b : uncertain as an indication or sign
2 a : of uncertain nature or classification
b : of uncertain disposition toward a person or thing : undecided
c : of doubtful advantage, genuineness, or moral rectitude
synonyms see obscure
Truculent
adjective
1 : feeling or displaying ferocity : cruel, savage
2 : deadly, destructive
3 : scathingly harsh : vitriolic
4 : aggressively self-assertive : belligerent
Esoteric
1 a : designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone <a>
b : requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group ; broadly : difficult to understand
2 a : limited to a small circle
b : private, confidential
3 : of special, rare, or unusual interest </a>
Grandiose
Grand
Microcosm
1 : a little world; especially : the human race or human nature seen as an epitome of the world or the universe
2 : a community or other unity that is an epitome of a larger unity
Pedagogical
of, relating to, or befitting a teacher or education
Stilt
1 a : one of two poles each with a rest or strap for the foot used to elevate the wearer above the ground in walking
b : a pile or post serving as one of the supports of a structure above ground or water level
Spurn
1 : to tread sharply or heavily upon : trample
2 : to reject with disdain or contempt : scorn
synonyms see decline
Finagle
1 : to obtain by indirect or involved means
2 : to obtain by trickery
Winnow
1 : to separate chaff from grain by fanning
2 : to separate desirable and undesirable elements
Overhaul
1 a : to examine thoroughly
b (1) : repair (2) : to renovate, remake, revise, or renew thoroughly
2 : to haul or drag over
3 : overtake
Brook
To stand for; tolerate
Vagrant (adj)
1 : wandering about from place to place usually with no means of support
2 a : having a fleeting, wayward, or inconstant quality <a>
b : having no fixed course : random </a><a>
</a>
Overt
: open to view : manifest
Artifice
1 a : clever or artful skill : ingenuity
b : an ingenious device or expedient
2 a : an artful stratagem : trick
b : false or insincere behavior
Cabal
1 : the artifices and intrigues of a group of persons secretly united in a plot (as to overturn a government); also : a group engaged in such artifices and intrigues
2 : club, group <a>
</a>
Forbearance
1 : a refraining from the enforcement of something (as a debt, right, or obligation) that is due
2 : the act of forbearing : patience
3 : the quality of being forbearing : leniency
Forbear
1 : hold back, abstain
2 : to control oneself when provoked : be patient
Tawdry
: cheap and gaudy in appearance or quality; also : ignoble <a>
synonyms see gaudy
</a>
Gaudy
1 : ostentatiously or tastelessly ornamented
2 : marked by extravagance or sometimes tasteless showiness : outlandish ; also : exceptional <a>
</a>
Lexicon
1 : dictionary
2 a : the vocabulary of a language, an individual speaker or group of speakers, or a subject
b : the total stock of morphemes in a language
3 : repertoire, inventory
Taut
1 a : having no give or slack : tightly drawn <a>
b : high-strung, tense
2 a : kept in proper order or condition <a>
b (1) : not loose or flabby (2) : marked by economy of structure and detail <a> </a></a></a>
Vindictive
1 a : disposed to seek revenge : vengeful
b : intended for or involving revenge
2 : intended to cause anguish or hurt : spiteful
Miff
Noun
1 : a fit of ill humor
2 : a trivial quarrel
transitive verb
: to put into an ill humor : offend
Encroach
1 : to enter by gradual steps or by stealth into the possessions or rights of another
2 : to advance beyond the usual or proper limits
synonyms see trespass
Modicum
: a small portion : a limited quantity
Phlegmatic
1 : resembling, consisting of, or producing the humor phlegm(see phlegm )
2 : having or showing a slow and stolid temperament
synonyms see impassive
Hokum
1 : a device used (as by showmen) to evoke a desired audience response
2 : pretentious nonsense : bunkum
Ancillary
1 : subordinate, subsidiary
2 : auxiliary, supplementary
Corollary
1 : a proposition inferred immediately from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof
2 a : something that naturally follows : result
b : something that incidentally or naturally accompanies
Examples
one corollary of the rise of television was a massive makeover of radio’s programming
increased taxes—or expanding deficits—are the inevitable corollary to any new government spending program
Infirmity
1 a : the quality or state of being infirm
b : the condition of being feeble : frailty
2 : disease, malady
3 : a personal failing : foible, fault
Tangent
Digression
Tangential
1 : of, relating to, or of the nature of a tangent
2 : acting along or lying in a tangent
3 a : divergent, digressive
b : touching lightly : incidental, peripheral ; also : of little relevance
Recrimination
: a retaliatory accusation; also : the making of such accusations
Exacerbate
: to make more violent, bitter, or severe
Pliable
1 a : supple enough to bend freely or repeatedly without breaking
b : yielding readily to others : complaisant
2 : adjustable to varying conditions
synonyms see plastic
Flout
Jeer, scoff, scorn
Rebate
1 : to reduce the force or activity of : diminish
2 : to reduce the sharpness of : blunt
3 a : to make a rebate of
b : to give a rebate to
Deferment
: the act of delaying or postponing; specifically : official postponement of military service
