Deck 2 Flashcards
rapture
noun.
ecstatic joy
After Tammy’s cancer was cured, she instantly felt rapture and pure happiness.
ailment
noun.
disease
He died of a heart ailment.
obscure
adjective.
not clear
Some questions on the test were obscure, so she took an educated guess.
incendiary
adjective.
designed to cause fires
The military has been working on incendiary bombs.
apathetic
adjective.
having little to no emotion
After Rebecca went through many losses, she became apathetic around her loved ones.
vain
adjective.
extremely proud of one’s appearance
He was so vain that he couldn’t help
but look in the mirror every time he came across one.
guile
adjective.
extremely cunning to reach a goal
The guile teenager deceived her acquaintances for many months in order to gain their trust.
frivolous
adjective.
lacking seriousness or sense
The frivolous behavior in class led to many kids staying after class.
lurid
adjective.
horrible
An article about a recent murder left out the lurid details and kept it very broad.
refurbish
verb.
to renovate
They decided to refurbish the house after the hurricane.
discourse
noun.
communication through words or thoughts
Since the discourse was obvious and straight forward, there was no confusion between the two people.
vacillate
verb.
to be indecisive
His opinion vacillates so often that we don’t where he stands on the issue.
rectify
verb.
to correct
He asked them to rectify his account by sending a check.
arid
adjective.
extremely dry
The arid climate was not productive for growing crops.
verbose
adjective.
wordy
The verbose essay was shortened into a more precise one.
tacit
adjective.
implied
The ending of the story was tacit through many clues the writer gave.
alleviate
verb.
to lessen
She alleviated the sorrow and pain she went through as a little girl through therapy.
disseminate
verb.
to scatter or spread widely
The the news of Alison’s return was disseminated through a television broadcast.
elucidate
verb.
to make clear and explain
The student did not understand the moral of the story, so the teacher elucidated it.
muddle
verb.
to mix up (in a confused manor)
His exhaustion muddled his thoughts and he couldn’t make a decision.
slander
noun.
a false and rude statement jeopardizing a reputation
Falsely accusing someone of a theft is slander and you can be prosecuted for it.
libel
noun.
published false statement that is damaging to a person’s reputation
In a few cases, she has been sued for libel by the people she has written about.
quibble
noun.
small criticism or objection
The only quibble I had with this novel was that it was written in second p.o.v.
satiate
verb.
to supply with anything to excess
We satiated our thirst and hunger with a big feast.
zenith
noun.
the highest point
The zenith of the Fault in Our Stars could be argued as either the trip of Amsterdam or Augustus’ diagnosis of terminal cancer.
infallible
adjective.
certain
The test results that showed that Hazel’s cancer was terminal were infallible.
prevalent
adjective.
widespread
The bugs were so prevalent in the house, we had to call the exterminator.
listless
adjective.
showing no interest in, spiritless
After Wayne was given a boring topic, he became listless and uninterested.
patent
noun.
the right from the government as protection
She got a patent on several ideas before she created her inventions so no one else could take credit.
archipelago
noun.
large group of islands
As they sailed around Hawaii, they visited many of the islands within the archipelago.
jest
noun.
a joke or witty remark
The comedian made many jests to amuse his audience.
decibel
noun.
a unit measuring sound waves
The scientists measured the decibel levels of the music and found that hearing loss can occur if the levels are too high.
congregation
noun.
a group of worshippers
The congregation of the Catholic church met in Mt. Kisco for a fund raiser.
tactile
adjective.
connected with sense of touch
Once Suzie lost her sight, her tactile senses became more sensitive.
conviction
noun.
firm belief
Even though Sally read many persuasive essays on a controversial topic, her convictions stayed the same.
caricature
noun.
a picture that shows exaggeration
The family wanted a cartoon portrait of themselves so they went to the city and had a street artist draw their caricature.
insipid
adjective.
boring
Jane’s insipid personality made it difficult to have a stimulating conversation.
voracious
adjective.
craving large amounts of food
Since Rebecca was 7 months pregnant, she had a voracious appetite all the time.
adroit
adjective.
skillful
Serena Williams is an extremely adroit tennis player.
bridle
verb.
to hold back or restrain
Aria bridled her anger and walked away from the rude clerk.
unfetter
verb.
to liberate
There are many Roman stories of people trying to unfetter slaves from their masters.
ubiquitous
adjective.
existing or being everywhere
On summer nights, mosquitos are ubiquitous.
articulate
adjective.
using speech fluently
The articulate speaker convinced the entire panel to follow his advice.
adequate
adjective.
fully sufficient
The amount of food they had was adequate for the month.
inexhaustible
adjective.
never runs out
Some people say fossil fuels are inexhaustible and others say we will surely run out one day.
chastise
verb.
to discipline
The family wanted to chastise the new puppy and train it so there would be no further incidents.
lissom
adjective.
flexible
The lissom gymnast could bend her body in many ways that others could not.
obstreperous
adjective.
unruly
Ezra became obstreperous when Aria told him to stay away from his girlfriend, Alison.
denigrate
verb.
to criticize in a derogatory manner
We’ve all heard people denigrate women’s basketball because it’s slower and different from the men’s game.
demur
verb.
to object
The school elected him as class president, but he demurred.
fathom
noun.
a unit of length (6 feet); used when measuring the depth of bodies of water
The ocean’s depth at this moment is 60 fathoms.
obeisance
noun.
gesture like a bow
When they met the queen, they greeted her with obeisance.
deference
noun.
respectful regard
In deference to the late grandfather’s wishes for his funeral, they followed his plans exactly.
munificent
adjective.
very generous
The munificent man donated a million dollars to a local hospital hoping to help anyone who needed it.
stoop
verb.
to bend down
He knew that he could never stoop so low as to cheat on a test, even if he hadn’t studied.
vigorous
adjective.
energetic
She shook the blanket vigorously to get all the dirt off.
prolong
verb.
to continue longer
They prolonged their honeymoon for several days.
contrivance
noun.
a device
An IPad is one of the more well known contrivances of the 21st century.
