Chapter 19 Flashcards
peremptory
adj.
1.
a. Subject to no further debate or dispute; final and unassailable: a peremptory decree.
b. Not allowing contradiction or refusal; imperative: The officer issued peremptory commands.
2. Offensively self-assured; imperious or dictatorial: a swaggering, peremptory manner.
stevedore
n.
One who is employed in the loading or unloading of ships; dockworker.
virtuoso
n.
- A musician with masterly ability, technique, or personal style.
- A person with masterly skill or technique in the arts.
augment
v. To make (something already developed or well under way) greater, as in size, extent, or quantity: Continuing rains augmented the floodwaters.
droll
adj.
Amusingly odd or whimsically comical.
galleon
n.
A large three-masted sailing ship with a square rig and usually two or more decks, used from the 15th to the 17th century especially by Spain as a merchant ship or warship.
perfidy
n.
- Deliberate breach of faith; calculated violation of trust; treachery.
- The act or an instance of treachery.
quandary
n.
A state of uncertainty or perplexity.
gambol
v.
To leap about playfully; frolic.
modicum
n.
A small amount of something
perfunctory
adj.
- Done routinely and with little interest or care; superficial; cursory: perfunctory greeting.
- Acting with indifference; showing little interest or care.
stoic/ stoical
adj.
Seemingly indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive: stoic resignation
concatenate
v.
To connect or link in a series or chain.
garble
v.
- To mix up or distort to such an extent as to make misleading or incomprehensible; muddle: The report garbled all the historical facts.
- To scramble (a signal or message), as by erroneous encoding or faulty transmission.
momentous
adj.
Of utmost importance; of outstanding significance or consequence: a momentous occasion; a momentous decision.
peripatetic
adj.
Walking about or from place to place; travelling on foot; nomadic.
vitriolic
adj.
- Of, similar to, or derived from a vitriol; corrosive.
- Bitterly scathing; caustic; strongly attacking: vitriolic criticism.
garish
adj.
Overly bright or ornamented, especially in a vulgar or tasteless way; gaudy.
intrepid
adj.
Resolutely courageous; fearless.
peripheral
adj.
- Related to, located in, or constituting an outer boundary, edge or periphery.
- Of minor relevance or importance.
stolid
adj.
Having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; impassive: “the incredibly massive and stolid bureaucracy of the Soviet system”
vivacity
n.
The quality or condition of being vivacious; liveliness.
balk
v.
- To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump.
- To refuse obstinately or abruptly: She balked at the very idea of compromise.
inveterate
adj.
- Firmly and long established; deep-rooted: inveterate preferences.
- Persisting in an ingrained habit; habitual: an inveterate liar.
moratorium
n.
- Law
a. A lawful suspension of the payment of certain debts during a period of financial or civil distress.
b. The period during which such a suspension occurs. - A suspension of an ongoing or planned activity: a moratorium on timber cutting.
