Day 1 Flashcards
Define:
abash
(uh BASH)
v. to make ashamed; to embarrass
Meredith felt abashed by her inability to remember her lines in the school chorus of “Old McDonald Had a Farm.”
Define:
abate
(uh BAYT)
v. to subside; to reduce
George spilled a pot of hot coffee on his leg. It hurt quite a bit. Then, gradually, the agony abated.
Define:
abdicate
(AB duh kayt)
v. to step down from a position of power or responsibility
When King Edward VIII of England decided he would rather be married to Wallis Warfield Simpson, an American divorcée, than be king of England, he turned in his crown and abdicated.
Define:
aberration
(ab uh RAY shun)
n. something not typical; a deviation from the standard
Soren’s bad behavior was an aberration. So was Harry’s good behavior. That is, Soren’s was usually good and Harry’s was usually bad.
Define:
abhor
(ab HOR)
v. to hate very, very much; to detest
Emanuel abhorred having anvils dropped on his head.
Define:
abject
(AB jekt)
adj. hopeless; extremely sad and servile; defeated
While most people would quickly recover from a banana-peel accident, Mia felt abject humiliation.
Define:
abnegate
(AB nuh gayt)
v. to deny oneself things; to reject; to renounce
Ascetics practice self-abnegation because they believe it will bring them closer to spiritual purity.
Define:
abortive
(uh BOR tiv)
adj. unsuccessful
Marie and Elizabeth made an abortive effort to bake a birthday cake; that is, their effort did not result in a birthday cake.
Define:
abridge
(uh BRIJ)
v. to shorten; to condense
The thoughtful editor abridged the massive book by removing the boring parts.
Define:
absolute
(AB suh loot)
adj. total; unlimited
Define:
absolve
(ab ZOLV)
v. to forgive or free from blame; to free from sin; to free from an obligation
The priest absolved the sinner who had come to church to con fess.
Define:
abstinent
(AB stuh nunt)
adj. abstaining; voluntarily not doing something, especially something pleasant that is bad for you or has a bad reputation
Beulah used to be a chain-smoker; now she’s abstinent (it was just too hard to get those chains lit).
Define:
abstract
(AB strakt)
adj. theoretical; impersonal
He liked oysters in the abstract, but when he actually tried one he became nauseated.
Define:
abstruse
(ab STROOS)
adj. hard to understand
The professor’s article, on the meaning of meaning, was abstruse. Michael couldn’t even pronounce the words in it.
Define:
abysmal
(uh BIZ mul)
adj. extremely hopeless or wretched; bottomless
The nation’s debt crisis was abysmal; there seemed to be no possible solution.
Define:
accolade
(AK uh layd)
n. an award; an honor
The first break-dancing troupe to perform in Carnegie Hall, the Teflon Toughs, received accolades from the critics as well as from the fans.
Define:
accost
(uh KAWST)
v. to approach and speak to someone aggressively
Amanda karate-chopped the stranger who accosted her in the street and was embarrassed to find he was an old, blind man.
Define:
acerbic
(uh SUR bik)
adj. sour; severe; like acid in temper, mood, or tone
Barry sat silently as our teacher read aloud her acerbic comments on his paper.
Define:
acquiesce
(ak wee ES)
v. to comply passively; to accept; to assent; to agree
The pirates asked Pete to walk the plank; he took one look at their swords and then acquiesced.
Define:
acrid
(AK rid)
adj. harshly pungent; bitter
The chili we had at the party had an acrid taste; it was harsh and unpleasant.
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to make ashamed; to embarrass
abash
(uh BASH)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to subside; to reduce
abate
(uh BAYT)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to step down from a position of power or responsibility
abdicate
(AB duh kayt)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
n. something not typical; a deviation from the standard
aberration
(ab uh RAY shun)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to hate very, very much; to detest
abhor
(ab HOR)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. hopeless; extremely sad and servile; defeated
abject
(AB jekt)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to deny oneself things; to reject; to renounce
abnegate
(AB nuh gayt)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. unsuccessful
abortive
(uh BOR tiv)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to shorten; to condense
abridge
(uh BRIJ)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. total; unlimited
absolute
(AB suh loot)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to forgive or free from blame; to free from sin; to free from an obligation
absolve
(ab ZOLV)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. abstaining; voluntarily not doing something, especially something pleasant that is bad for you or has a bad reputation
abstinent
(AB stuh nunt)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. theoretical; impersonal
abstract
(AB strakt)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. hard to understand
abstruse
(ab STROOS)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. extremely hopeless or wretched; bottomless
abysmal
(uh BIZ mul)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
n. an award; an honor
accolade
(AK uh layd)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to approach and speak to someone aggressively
accost
(uh KAWST)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. sour; severe; like acid in temper, mood, or tone
acerbic
(uh SUR bik)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to comply passively; to accept; to assent; to agree
acquiesce
(ak wee ES)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. harshly pungent; bitter
acrid
(AK rid)
Define:
banal
(buh NAL)
adj. unoriginal; ordinary
The dinner conversation was so banal that Amanda fell asleep in her dessert dish.
Define:
bane
(bayn)
n. poison; torment; cause of harm
Bane means poison (wolfbane is a kind of poisonous plant), but the word is usually used figuratively. To say that someone is the bane of your existence is to say that that person poisons your enjoyment of life.
Define:
bastion
(BAS chun)
n. stronghold; fortress; fortified place
Mrs. Garnett’s classroom is a bastion of banality; that is, it’s a place where originality seldom, if ever, makes its way inside.
Define:
beget
(bih GET)
v. to give birth to; to create; to lead to; to cause
Those who lie should be creative and have good memories, since one lie often begets another lie, which begets another.
Define:
belabor
(bi LAY bur)
v. to go over repeatedly or to an absurd extent
For more than an hour, the boring speaker belabored his point about the challenge of foreign competition.
Define:
beleaguer
(bih LEE gur)
v. to surround; to besiege; to harass
No one could leave the beleaguered city; the attacking army had closed off all the exits.
Define:
belie
(bih LYE)
v. to give a false impression of; to contradict
Melvin’s smile belied the grief he was feeling; despite his happy expression he was terribly sad inside.
Define:
belittle
(bih LIT ul)
v. to make to seem little; to put someone down
We worked hard to put out the fire, but the fire chief belittled our efforts by saying he wished he had brought some marshmallows.
Define:
belligerent
(buh LIJ ur unt)
adj. combative; quarrelsome; waging war
Al was so belligerent that the convention had the feel of a boxing match.
Define:
bemused
(bih MYOOZD)
adj. confused; bewildered
The two stood bemused in the middle of the parking lot at Disneyland, trying to remember where they had parked their car.
Define:
benefactor
(BEN uh fak tur)
n. one who provides help, especially in the form of a gift or donation
To give benefits is to be a benefactor. To receive benefits is to be a beneficiary. People very, very often confuse these two words. It would be to their benefit to keep them straight.
Define:
benevolent
(beh NEV uh lunt)
adj. generous; kind; doing good deeds
Giving money to the poor is a benevolent act. To be benevolent is to bestow benefits. The United Way, like any charity, is a benevolent organization.
Define:
benign
(bih NYNE)
adj. gentle; not harmful; kind; mild
Karla has a benign personality; she is not at all unpleasant to be with.
Define:
bequest
(bih KWEST)
n. something left to someone in a will
If your next-door neighbor leaves you all his millions in a will, the money is a bequest from him to you. It is not polite to request a bequest. Just keep smiling and hope for the best.
Define:
bereaved
(buh REEVD)
adj. deprived or left desolate, especially through death
The new widow was still bereaved when we saw her. Every time anyone mentioned her dead husband’s name, she burst into tears.
Define:
beset
(bih SET)
v. to harass; to surround
The bereaved widow was beset by grief.
Define:
blasphemy
(BLAS fuh mee)
n. irreverence; an insult to something held sacred; profanity
In the strictest sense, to commit blasphemy is to say nasty, insulting things about God. The word is used more broadly, though, to cover a wide range of nasty, insulting comments.
Define:
blatant
(BLAYT unt)
adj. unpleasantly or offensively noisy; glaring
David was blatantly critical of our efforts; that is, he was noisy and obnoxious in making his criticisms.
Define:
blight
(blyte)
n. a disease in plants; anything that injures or destroys
An early frost proved a blight to the citrus crops last year, so we had no orange juice for breakfast.
Define:
blithe
(blythe)
adj. carefree; cheerful
The blithe birds in the garden were making so much noise that Camilla began to think about the shotgun in the attic.
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. unoriginal; ordinary
banal
(buh NAL)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
n. poison; torment; cause of harm
bane
(bayn)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
n. stronghold; fortress; fortified place
bastion
(BAS chun)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to give birth to; to create; to lead to; to cause
beget
(bih GET)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to go over repeatedly or to an absurd extent
belabor
(bi LAY bur)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to surround; to besiege; to harass
beleaguer
(bih LEE gur)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to give a false impression of; to contradict
belie
(bih LYE)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to make to seem little; to put someone down
belittle
(bih LIT ul)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. combative; quarrelsome; waging war
belligerent
(buh LIJ ur unt)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. confused; bewildered
bemused
(bih MYOOZD)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
n. one who provides help, especially in the form of a gift or donation
benefactor
(BEN uh fak tur)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. generous; kind; doing good deeds
benevolent
(beh NEV uh lunt)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. gentle; not harmful; kind; mild
benign
(bih NYNE)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
n. something left to someone in a will
bequest
(bih KWEST)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. deprived or left desolate, especially through death
bereaved
(buh REEVD)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
v. to harass; to surround
beset
(bih SET)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
n. irreverence; an insult to something held sacred; profanity
blasphemy
(BLAS fuh mee)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. unpleasantly or offensively noisy; glaring
blatant
(BLAYT unt)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
n. a disease in plants; anything that injures or destroys
blight
(blyte)
Which of your vocabulary words means the following?
adj. carefree; cheerful
blithe
(blythe)