English Vocabulary Flashcards
Remuneration
“She was given generous remunerations for her work.”
Payment for work done
Enfranchise
“Antis feared that giving women the right to vote would enfranchise Black citizens.”
To give voting rights
Nuance
(“In every silky statement from General Musharraf about the need for a short—in other words: limited—war, and in every nuance of the Pakistani official posture, I was sure I detected the local version of Schadenfreude.”)
Something subtle; a fine shade of meaning
Engender
“The issue has engendered a considerable amount of debate.”
Cause
Abet
“Did he abet the commission of a crime?”
To aid, help, encourage
Abase vs. abate?
Abase is to humiliate or degrade, while to abate is to reduce or lessen
Abject
“… the time would come that no human being should be humiliated or be made abject.”
Wretched, pitiful
Abjure
“…a strict religious sect that abjures the luxuries, comforts, and conveniences of the modern world.”
Reject, renounce
Abridge
To cut down, shorten
Abrogate
(“We may not always like what we hear but we are always the poorer if we close down dialogue; if we abrogate free speech, and the open exchange of ideas.”)
To abolish, usually by authority
Acrimonious
(“Each man came out of their acrimonious 200-meter showdown on July 23 with an injured hamstring and a decidedly negative vibe.”)
Angry, bitter
Alimentary
“The esophagus is considered part of the alimentary canal because it is one of the passageways for food.”
Nourishment, sustenance
Anachronism
(“The spy thriller is a genre that arguably should have died fifteen years ago, and its continued popularity seems an anachronism at first glance.”)
From another time
Ascetic
(“Plain patients, despite their apparently ascetic lifestyles, have average household incomes roughly similar to those of Americans in general.”)
Abstinent, non-indulgent
Aplomb
(“Stefan Soltesz conducts the excellent chorus and orchestra with aplomb, and television director Brian Large does his usual exemplary job.”)
Assurance, self-confidence
Expedient
“Marley found it expedient to maintain social relationships with gunmen and politicans from both political parties.”
Suitable for achieving a particular end in a given circumstance
Impunity
Exemption or freedom from punishment, harm, or loss
Indomitable
Incapable of being subdued, unconquerable
Unscrupulous
“An unscrupulous businessman manipulated them into selling their land for practically nothing.”
Unprincipled
Laud
Praise, extol
Sedulous
“An impressively sedulous suitor, he was constantly sending her flowers and other tokens of his affection.”
Involving or accomplished with careful perseverance
Spurious
(“Of all the potentially spurious phrases regularly found lurking on book jackets, none should be approached with greater wariness than ‘This is his first novel.’”)
Of illegitimate birth or outwardly similar or corresponding to something without having its genuine qualities
Reticent
“…his friends and associates are conspicuously reticent to discuss him in public.”
Inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech or restrained in expression
Redoubtable
(“There is a new biography of the redoubtable Winston Churchill.”)
(“his next opponent, the reigning champion, would be by far the most redoubtable adversary the young boxer had ever faced”)
Causing fear or alarm or worthy of respect