Chapter 4 Flashcards
credulous
adj.
- Disposed to believe too readily; gullible.
- Arising from or characterized by credulity.
lachrymose
adj.
- Weeping or inclined to weep; tearful.
- Causing or tending to cause tears.
obfuscate
v.
- To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive or understand
- To render indistinct or dim; darken: The fog obfuscated the shore.
plethora
n.
An abundance or excess of something
repudiate
v.
To shun, eschew
- To reject the validity or authority of
- To reject emphatically as unfounded, untrue, or unjust: repudiated the accusation.
- To refuse to recognize or pay: repudiate a debt.
4.
a. To disown (e.g. a child).
b. To refuse to have any dealings with.
tedium
n.
The quality or condition of being tedious; tediousness or boredom.
abstemious
adj.
- Eating and drinking in moderation.
- Characterized by abstinence or moderation: an abstemious way of life.
blithe
adj.
- Carefree and lighthearted.
- Lacking or showing a lack of due concern; casual: spoke with blithe ignorance of the true situation.
crepuscular
adj.
- Of or like twilight; dim
2a. Active primarily at dawn or dusk or both. Used of animals.
b. Occurring at dawn or dusk or both: crepuscular foraging; a crepuscular stroll through the park.
pliable
adj.
- Easily bent or shaped
- Capable of being changed or adjusted to meet particular or varied needs: a pliable policy.
- Easily influenced, persuaded, or controlled
rescind
v.
To make void; repeal or annul.
temper
v.
- To moderate
- To bring to a desired consistency, texture, hardness, or other physical condition by blending, mixing, or kneading: temper clay; paints that had been tempered with oil.
- To harden or strengthen (metal or glass) by application of heat or by heating and cooling.
- To strengthen through experience or hardship; toughen: soldiers who had been tempered by combat.
- Music: To adjust (the pitch of an instrument) to a temperament.
abstruse
adj.
Difficult to understand; obscure
blunderbuss
n.
- A short musket of wide bore and flaring muzzle, formerly used to scatter shot at close range.
- A person regarded as clumsy and stupid.
envenom
v.
- To make poisonous or noxious.
- To embitter.
hedonism
n.
Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses.
laconic
adj.
Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.
plumage
n.
- The covering of feathers on a bird.
- Feathers used ornamentally.
- Elaborate dress; finery.
accolade
n. 1. a. An expression of approval; praise. b. A special acknowledgment; an award. 2. A ceremonial embrace, as of greeting or salutation. 3. Ceremonial bestowal of knighthood.
ephemeral
adj.
- Lasting for a markedly brief time
- Having a short lifespan or a short annual period of aboveground growth. Used especially of plants.
acquiesce
v.
To consent or comply passively or without protest
bombast
n.
- Grandiloquent, pompous speech or writing.
- Grandiose or overpowering expression, as in music or painting.
epicure
n.
- A person with refined taste, especially in food and wine.
- A person devoted to sensuous pleasure and luxurious living.
lampoon
n.
A written attack ridiculing a person, group, or institution.
tenuous
adj.
1.
a. Weak or insubstantial; flimsy: a tenuous argument
b. Precarious or insecure: tenuous survival.
2. Long and thin; slender: tenuous strands.
3. Having a thin consistency: Pluto’s tenuous envelope of gas.
