C Flashcards
Cabal
Noun
A secret group seeking to overturn something:
The boys on the street formed a cabal to keep girls out of their tree house.
Synonym: circle; clique
Cacophony
Noun
Harsh; jarring noise:
The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable cacophony as they tried to tune their instrument.
Synonym: chaos; disharmony; noise
Calumny
Noun
False and malicious accusation; misrepresentation:
The unscrupulous politician used calumny to bring down his opponent in the senatorial race.
Synonym: defamation; libel; slander
Canard
Noun
A lie:
That tabloid’s feature story about a goat giving birth to a human child was clearly a canard.
Synonym: falsity; fib
Candid
Adj
Impartial and honest in speech:
The observation of a child can be charming since they’re candid and unpretentious.
Synonym: direct; frank; sincere
Capricious
Adj
Changing one’s mind quickly and often:
Queen Elizabeth I was quite capricious; her courtiers could never be sure which one would catch her fancy.
Synonym: arbitrary; erratic; whimsical
Cartography
Noun
Science of art of making maps
Castigate
Verb
To punish or criticize harshly :
Martina castigated her boyfriend for not remembering her birthday.
Synonym: admonish; chastise; upbraid; scold
Catalyst
Noun
Something that brings about a change in something else
Catholic
Adj
Universal; broad and comprehensive:
Hot tea with honey is a catholic remedy for a sore throat.
Synonym: extensive; general
Caustic
Adj
Biting in wit:
Dorothy gained her reputation for being caustic from her cutting, yet witty insult.
Synonym: acerbic; biting; mordant; trenchant
Chaos
Noun
Great disorder
Chauvinist
Noun
Someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs:
The attitude that men should earn more money than women is common among many male chauvinists.
Synonym: biased; partial
Chicanery
Noun
Deception by means of craft or guile :
Dishonest used-car salesmen often use chicanery to sell their beat-up old cars.
Synonym: artifice, deviousness
Circumspect
Adj
Cautious, aware of potential consequences:
She was circumspect in her language and behavior when introduced to her finance’s parents.
Cloying
Adj
Sickly sweet; excessive:
When Lisa and Jay first started dating, their cloying affection toward one another often made their friends ill.
Synonym: excessive; fulsome
Coalesce
Verb
To grow together to form a single whole:
The sun and planets eventually coalesced out of a vast cloud of gas and dust.
Synonym: amalgamate; blend; fuse
Coffer
Noun
Strongbox; large chest for money:
The bulletproof of glass of the coffer is what keeps the Crown Jewels secure.
Synonym: chest; treasury; war chest
Cogent
Adj
Convincing and well-reasoned:
Swayed by the cogent argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.
Synonym: convincing; persuasive; solid
Collusion
Noun
Collaboration, complicity, conspiracy:
It came to light that the police chief and the mafia had a collusion in running the numbers racket.
Synonym: machination; connivance; intrigue
Condone
Verb
To overlook, to pardon, to disregard:
Some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as condoning an air of lawlessness.
Synonym: exculpate; excuse; remit
Connoisseur
Noun
A person with expert knowledge or discriminating tastes:
Dr. Crane was a connoisseur of fine food and wine, drinking and eating only the best.
Synonym: expert; epicure
Contrite
Adj
Deeply sorrowful and repentant for a wrong:
After three residents were mugged in the lobby while the watchman was away from his post, he felt very contrite.
Synonym: apologetic; regretful; remorseful
Contumacious
Adj
Rebellious:
The contumacious teenager ran away from home when her parents told her she was grounded.
Synonym; factious; insubordinate; insurgent
Convoluted
Adj
Intricate and complicated:
Although many people bought the professors book, a few people could follow its convoluted ideas and theories.
Synonym: complex; perplexing
Corroborate
Verb
To support with evidence:
All the DA needed was fingerprints to corroborate the witness’s testimony.
Synonym: authenticate; confirm; validate
Cosset
Verb
To pamper, to treat with great care:
Marta just loves to cosset her first and only grandchild.
Synonym: cater to; fondle; love
Coterie
Noun
An intimate group of persons with a similar purpose:
Angel invited a coterie of fellow stamp enthusiasts to a stamp-trading party.
Synonym: clique; set; cabal
Craven
Adj
Lacking courage:
The craven lion cringed in the corner of his cage, terrified of the mouse.
Synonym: faint-hearted; spineless; timid
Credulous
Adj
Too trusting; gullible;
Though many 4-year-olds believe in the tooth fairy, only the most credulous nine year olds also believe in her.
Synonym: naive; susceptible;
Crescendo
Noun
Steadily increasing in volume or force:
The crescendo of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel prepared to jump his motorcycle over the school buses.
Synonym: acme; capstone; climax;
Cupidity
Noun
Greed; strong desire:
The thief stared at the shining jewels with cupidity in his gleaming eyes.
Synonym: avarice ; covetousness; rapacity
Curmudgeon
Noun
Cranky person, usually old:
Ernesto was a notorious curmudgeon who snapped at anyone who disturbed him.
Capitulate
Verb
Cease to resist an opponent or an unwelcome demand; surrender:
The patriots had to capitulate to the enemy forces.
Synonym: submit
Convalescing
Adj
Recover one’s health and strength over a period of time after an illness or operation:
He spent eight month convalescing after the stroke.
Synonym: recuperating; recovering
Concomitant
Adj
A natural accompanying associated:
She loved traveling, with all its concomitant worries.
Synonym: attendant, related
Chagrin
Noun
Distress or embarrassment at having failed or been humiliated:
Jeff, much to his chagrin, was not invited.
Synonym: vexation, displeasure
Cloistered
Adj
Secluded from the world; sheltered:
The monk live a cloistered life in the closed religion orders.
Synonym: sequestered, insulated
Conglomerate
Verb / noun
Gathered or clustered together:
Book publishers have been consolidating for decades, under the ownership of media conglomerates like New Corporate.
Synonym: heterogeneous, amassed
Cretaceous
Adj
1 - resembling or containing chalk.
2 - denoting the last period of the Mesozoic era, between the Jurassic and Tertiary periods.
