Direct Hits Core Vocabulary 1 Flashcards
Ambivalent
having mixed or opposing feelings at the same time
ambi - both
Thor’s ambivalence about working with the Avengers comes from the fact that he is conflicted (uncertain, torn) about fighting his brother Loki.
Anomaly
deviation from the norm or what is expected
an - not/without
In the show The Big Bang Theory, Penny the waitress at the Cheesefactory is the anomaly in the group.
Affable, Amiable, Genial, Gregarious
\ˈjē-nē-əl\
agreeable; marked by a pleasing personality; warm and friendly
ami - friend
President Ronald Reagan was renowned for his affable grace and good humor.
Altruism
\ˈal-trü-ˌi-zəm\
unselfish concern for the welfare of others
Ghandi, MLK, and Mother Teresa are all people who exemplify altruism through their belief in the basic rights of all people regardless of race, creed, or social standing, and through their service and sacrifices for others.
Ambiguity
the quality or state of having more than one possible meaning; doubtful; equivocal (to use ambigous expressions, to mislead)
Ambiguous
unclear; uncertain; open to more than one interpretation; not definitive; dubious
The final scene in the movie Inception is deliberately ambigous.
Anachronism
\ə-ˈna-krə-ˌni-zəm\
the false assignment of an event, person, scene, or language to a time when the event, person, scene, or word did not exist
chrono - time
Many modern movies have many anachronisms such as a contemprary gas tank in the movie Gladiator.
Antithesis
the direct or exact opposite; extreme contrast; antipode
Antithetical
exactly opposite; antipodal (entirely opposed)
Aloof
detached; distant physically or emotionally; reserved ; standing near but apart
The aloof couple rarely speaks to each other even though they live together in their home.
Antecedent
\ˌan-tə-ˈsē-dənt\
a preceding event; a forerunner; a precursor
ante - before
Pocahontas serves as an antecedent for Avatar’s Neytiri.
Aesthetic
relating to the nature of beauty, art, and taste; having a sense of what is beautiful, attractive, or pleasing
It is not aesthetically pleasing if a character introduced at the very end solves a novel or play’s conflict.
Aquiesce
\ˌa-kwē-ˈes\
to comply; to agree; to give in
They demanded it, and he acquiesced.
Astute
perceptive, shrewd
Amity
friendship, harmony
Amicable
peaceable, harmonious
Abject
1. humble 2. hopeless 3. low state/condition
Antipode/ Antipodal
geograpy/botany term; exact opposite
Antediluvian
before Biblical flood, a hyperbolic word describing something extremely
ante - before
Antedate
to precede in time
ante - before
Anterior
before in time and place
ante - before
arrays for battle
Marshals
ambi
both
ami
friend
ante
before
Audacious
fearlessly, often recklessly daring; very bold
Japanese Yamamoto audaciously ordered the Japanese Air Fleet to launch a suprise attack on the American Air Fleet in Pearl Harbor.
Auspicious, Propitious
\ȯ-ˈspi-shəs\, \prə-ˈpi-shəs\
very favorable
The student’s career seemed auspicious due to his acceptance to a prestigious university. His acceptance must have been propitious because he was later able to gain a job through his university’s alumni network.
Austere
having no adornment or ornamentation; bare; not ornate
The Parthenon’s austere columns conveyed strength and simplicity because they lacked ornamentation.
Austerity
great self-denial, extreme economy, discipline; lack of adornment
Mondern Greeks vigorously oppose new austerity meaures that raise taxes and cut social welfare programs which provoked mass protests.
Autonomy
independence; self-governance
Autonomous
acting independently or having the freedom to do so; not controlled by others; self-governing
auto - self
Avocation
- a second calling, a hobby*
- voc, vok - call*
Bane
a source of harm and ruin
The poaching of whalesand dolphins across the world and climate change will be the bane their existence.
Belie
\bi-ˈlī\
to contradict; to prove false; used of appearances that are misrepresentative
The girl’s unusual behavior belies an incredible ability to quickly memorize new things.
Bolstered
reinforced
Boon
a timely benefit; blessing
The couple’s generous donation was a great boon to the charity’s campaign fundraiser.
Chronic
continuing for a long time
chrono - time
Chronicle/ Chronicler
a record of events in order of time/ a historian, an a chronicler of events
chrono - time
chrono
time
Chronology
the science of recording events by date
chrono - time
Clandestine, Surreptitious
\ˌsər-əp-ˈti-shəs\
secret; covert; not open; not aboveboard
Men in Black, S.H.I.E.L.D, and Dumbeldore’s Army are all clandestine groups that conduct surreptitious activities.
Conjecture
an inference based upon guesswork; a supposition (act of supposing)
There are several conjectures on the creation of the universe one notably called The Big Bang Theory.
Convocation
- a calling together, a gathering*
- voc, vok - call*
Covet
to strongly desire; to crave
Lord Voldemort covets the Elder Wand.
Covetous
\ˈkə-və-təs\
grasping, greedy, eager to obtain something; avaricious (greedy of gain)
Most villains are covetous of an object or control.
Dearth, Paucity
a scarcity or shortage of something
Critics and moviegoers alike have observed that there is an overall dearth of respect for animated features in the Academy Awards.
dem, demo
the people
Diffident, Self-Effacing
\ˈdi-fə-dənt\
hesitant due to a lack of self-confidence; unassertive; shy; retiring
The student was diffident about stating her opinions in the class.
Disaffected
disconnected
Anteroom
a waiting room outside a larger room
ante - room
disconnected
Disaffected
Elated
very happy
Enigmatic, Inscrutable
mysterious; puzzling; unfathomable; baffling
Harry Potter’s professor Snape is enigmatic and his loyalties remain inscrutable until the final chapters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Enrthalled
fascinated
Epidemic
a rapid spread of a contagious disease or other negative condition
dem, demo - the people
Equivocate
to use ambigous expressions, to mislead
voc, vok - call
Evocation
\ˌē-vō-ˈkā-shən\
an imaginative re-creation of something; a calling forth
voc, vok - call
The movie Titanic is a remarkable evocation of what it was liek to be a passenger on the great, but doomed ship.
Fortitude
strength of mind that allows one to endure pain or adversity with courage
forc, fort - strong
Rosa Parks illustrates the principle that fortitude is needed to achieve difficult goals.
Fathom
understand
Futile
completely useless; doomed to failure in vain
Gaffe
\ˈgaf\
a blunder; a faux pas (\fō-ˌpä*; a clumsy social or diplomatic error*
The politican’s gaffe was highly controversial in the visiting country.
Hobbled
hampered
Homage
tribute
Impasse
\ˈim-ˌpas\
a deadlock; stalemate; failure to reach an agreement
At the end of the Hunger Games, Peeta and Katnis faced an impasse with the gamemakers as they threatened to commmit suicide.
Implausible
unbelievable, incredible
Indifferent, Apathetic
marked by a lack of interest or concern; nonchalant
The teacher’s indifferent students ignore his monotone lecture on economics.
Indigenous, Endemic
native to an area
dem, demo - the people
Divorce has become so endemic in our society that a whole lore has risen up around it: that divorce is a temporary crisis.
Invoke
to call upon
Epic poems often begin with an Invocation of the Muse, or goddess of artisitc inspiration.
voc, vok - call
Irrevocable
incapable of being recalled or altered
voc, vok - call
Marshals
arrays for battle
Meticulous, Painstaking, Fastidious
extremely careful; very exacting
*Fastidious: takes meticulous to the next level of exacting and overparticular
A new car owners is usually fastidious about keeping their cars spotless.
Mitigate, Mollify, Assuage, Alleviate
\ˈmä-lə-ˌfī\, \ə-ˈswāj\
to relieve; to lessen; to ease
All attempts to mollify the extremists had failed.
Dystopia
an imaginery society characterized by oppression and human misery
Myopic
shortsighted, lacking foresight
Naïve, Gullible
unaffectedly simple; lacking worldly expertise; overly credulous; unsophisticated; immature; inexperienced; ingenuous (child-like simplicity)
Nostalgia
a wistful, sentimental longing for a place or time in the past
A wave of nostalgia swept over me when I saw my childhood home.
Obsolete, Archaic, Antiquated
no longer in use; outmoded in design or style
Archaic Kodak films have become antiqated in today’s fast-paced digital camera world.
Outlandish
bizarre, outrageous
Pandemic
an epidemic that is geographically widespread and affects a large proportion of the population
pan - all
The 1918 flu pandemic claimed millions of lives
Paradox
a seemingly contradictory statement that nonetheless expresses a truth
It is a paradox that computers need maintenance so often, since they are meant to save people time.
Plausible
believable; credible
Pragmatic
practical; sensible; not idealistic or romantic
Protestant King Henry IV made a pragmatic decision in inheriting a Catholic-dominated country and chose to resolve the issue through convertng to Catholicism.
Prattle
to speak in a foolish manner; to babble incessantly
Michael Scott in the tv show The Office, often prattles when conversing with his employees.
Presumptuous
taking liberties; brashly overstepping one’s place; impertinently (irrelevant, unrestrained) bold; displaying effrontery (rude, arrogant behavior)
During the MTV Video Music Awards, Kayne West presumptously took the microphone from Taylor Swift and declared Beyonce should’ve won instead of her.
Prodigious
huge, massive
Propaganda
zealous advancement of a group’s principles
Prototype
an original model; an initial design
The Bat mobile was designed as a prototype for a flying tank military vehicle.
Prudent
careful; cautious; sensible
Bella and Edward must be prudent in dealing with the dangers that they face, among them werewolves, vengeful vampires, and the ominous Volturi.
Provoke
- to call forth*
- voc, vok - call*
Recalcitrant
\ri-ˈkal-sə-trənt\
stubbornly resistant and defiant; obstinate; obdurate \ˈäb-də-rət\; refractory; disobedient
re - back/agian, calc - stone
Charlie Sheen recalcitrantly refuses to stop excessively drinking alcohol and abusing drugs.
Rescind
revoke
Revoke
- to call back, to rescind, to repeal*
- voc, vok - call*
Sarcastic, Sardonic, Snide
mocking, derisive, taunting, and stinging
Winston Churchill was known for his sarcastic and sardonic comments.
Searingly
scorchingly
Soporific
sleep-inducing
Subversive
tending to overthrow
Synchronic
happening at the same time
chrono - time
Synchronicity
phenomenon of events which coincide in time and appear meaningfully related but have no discoverable casual conection
chrono - time
Trite, Hackneyed, Banal, Platitudinous, Insipid
\ˈhak-nēd\, \bə-ˈnal\, -ˈtüd-nəs\, \in-ˈsi-pəd\
unoriginal; commonplace; overused; clichéd
Holden Caulfield sees straight through his headmaster’s platitude that “Life is a game” understanding the message to be trite, unoriginal, and lacking freshness. The classic story has been based upon to create numerous similar stories, making Holden’s personality and character hackneyed.
Ubiquitous, Prevalent
characterized by being everywhere; omnipresent; widespread; pervasive
The company’s advertisements are ubiquitous.
Unconventional, Unorthodox
not ordinary or typical; characterized by avoiding customary conventions and behaviors
Lady Gaga is known for her unconventional outifits and unorthodox stage performances.
Upbraid, Reproach, Castigate
to express disapproval; to scold; to rebuke; to censure
The corrupt cops upbraided the mischievous teenagers and castigated them by forcing them to perform pushups. The teenagers’ family were reproachful to hear about their treatment by the authorities.
voc, vok
call
Vocal
- related to the voice, speaking*
- voc, vok - call*
Vocation
- your calling. your profession, often used for a religious career*
- voc, vok - call*
Vociferous
- making an outcry, clamorous*
- voc, vok - call*
Wry, Droll
dry; humorous with a clever twist and a touch of irony
*Wry: appeals to intellect and produces a knowing smile
*Jocular: appeals to your funny bone and produces a belly laugh
