CUMULATIVE VOCAB WORDS Flashcards
Apprehensive
uneasy or fearful about something that might happen
Ardent
characterized by intense feeling; passionate; fervent; intensely devoted, eager, or enthusiastic; zealous; vehement; fierce
Arrogant
making claims or pretentions to superior importance or rights; overbearingly assuming; insolently proud
Audacious
extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless
Baffled
to confuse, bewilder, or perplex
Bantering
good-humored, playful conversation
Belligerent
warlike; given to waging war
Bemused
bewildered or confused/lost in thought; preoccupied
Benevolent
characterized by or expressing goodwill or kindly feelings
Bewildered
completely puzzled or confused; perplexed
Apostrophy
when a person/speaker addresses someone who is not present or an inanimate object
allusion
to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly’ an indirect or passing reference
pedantic
Overly academic or scholarly; providing knowledge in a way that shows off or is tiresome, i.e. using big words and lots of jargon
Querulous
complaining, whining, petulant
Petulant
childishly sulky or bad-tempered
anectodal
based on personal accounts rather than facts or research
Polemical
strongly attacking or defending a particular opinion, person, idea, or set of beliefs
Pragmatic
practical, especially when making decisions; sensible, grounded
Didactic
something in intended to teach or instruct, especially moral or ethical principles
Acerbic
sharply or bitingly critical, sarcastic, or ironic in tone, mood, or temper.
Enigmatic
something is mysterious, difficult to understand, or hard to solve
Abashed
ashamed or embarrassed; disconcerted
Abhorring
to regard with extreme repugnance or aversion; detest utterly; loathe;abominate
Abstruse
Difficult to understand
Acerbic
harsh or severe, as of temper or expression- wit
Admonishing
cautioning, advising, or counseling against something; reproving or scolding, especially in a mild and good-willed manner; reminding
Ambiguous
open to or having several possible meanings or interpretations
Ambivalent
uncertainty or fluctuation, especially when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say to do two opposite or conflicting things
antagonistic
acting in opposition; opposing, especially mutually/hostile; unfriendly
Apathetic
having or showing little or no emotion/not interesting or concerned; indifferent or unresponsive
ad hominem
“to the man”
when you attack the person rather than the argument
Blithe
joyous, merry, or gay in disposition; glad; cheerful
Brusque
Abrupt in manner; blunt; rough
burlesque
an artistic composition (literary or dramatic), vulgarizes for laughter, treats material with mock dignity
Candid
frank; outspoken; open and sincere/free from reservation– real
Capricious
flighty; led by whims, erratic
caustic
making biting, corrosive comments
biting
nipping, hurtful, keen/cutting; sarcastic
censorious
severely critical; faultfinding
ceremonial
formal, ritual, related to ceremony
anaphora
repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences
choleric
extremely irritable or easily angered
clinical
scientific, based on actual observation’ analytic, unemotionally critical; objective and realistic
colloquial
characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; INFORMAL
Conciliatory
to overcome the distrust animosity of; appease, to make amends
condemnatory
to express strong disapproval
condescending
to speak down to/ spoken down to, showing or implying a usually patronizing descent from dignity or superiority
contemptuous
showing or expressing contempt or disdain; scornful
contentious
tending to argument or strife; quarrelsome/causing, involving, or characterized by argument or controversy
curt
rudely brief in speech or abrupt in manner/brief; concise; terse; laconic
Antithesis
the use of contrasting parallel structures representing absolute opposites
Cynical
scornful of the motives or virtues of others; bitterly or sneeringly distrustful, contemptuous, or pessimistic
Derisive
characterized by or expressing derision; contemptuous; mocking
Derogatory
tending to lessen the merit or reputation of a person or thing; disparaging; depreciatory
Detached
impartial or objective; disinterested; unbiased/ not involved or concerned; aloof
Diabolic
having the qualities of a devil; devilish; fiendish; outrageously wicked
Diffident
lacking confidence in one’s own ability, worth, or fitness; timid; shy
Disdainful
expressing extreme content
Dogmatic
asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant matter; opinionated
Domineering
overbearing; tyrannical
Chiasmas
words or phrases repeated in reverse order– either in the exact same order or modified form (Ex: “And those tend inward to me, and I tend outward to them”)
Dubious
Wavering or hesitating in opinion; inclined to doubt
Earnest
serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous
Ebullient
overflowing with fervor, enthusiasm, or excitement; high-spirited
Ecstatic
subject to or in a state of ecstasy; rapturous
Effusive
unduly demonstrative; lacking reserve
Egotistical
given to talking bout oneself; vain; boastful; opinionated; indifferent to the well-being of others; selfish
Elated
very happy or proud; jubilant; in high spirits
Elegiac
expressing sorrow or lamentation
Elevated
exalted or noble; lofty
Metonymy
replacing an actual word or idea with a related word or concept
eloquent
having or exercising the power of fluent, forceful, and appropriate speech
empathetic
comprehension to the state of others
enraged
to make extremely angry; put into a rage; infuriate
erudite
characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly
eulogistic
to praise highly in speech or writing, especially in a formal eulogy
euphoric
a feeling of happiness, confidence, or well-being sometimes exaggerated in a pathological state of mania
evasive
deliberately vague or ambiguous/tending or seeking to evade; characterized by evasion
exhoratory
advising, urging, or cautioning earnestly; urgently admonishing
exuberant
effusively and almost uninhibitedly enthusiastic; lavishly abundant
euphemism
word or phrase to replace an unpleasant word or phrase
facetious
not meant to be taken seriously or literally/amusing; humorous
fanciful
characterized by or showing fancy; capricious or whimsical in appearance
farcical
ludicrous; absurd; mocking; humorous and highly improbable
fatalistic
the acceptance of al things and events as inevitable; submission to fate
fervent
having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm, etc
flippant
frivolously disrespectful, shallow, or lacking in seriousness; characterized by levity
foreboding
a strong inner feeling or notion of a future misfortune, evil, etc.; presentiment
forthright
going straight to the point; frank; direct; outspoken
connotation
the intellectual or emotional interpretation of a term
denotation
the textbook definition of a term
