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
Puerile
“told the teenagers that such puerile behavior would not be tolerated during the ceremony”
Juvenile
Assuage
“Life contains sorrows that cannot be assuaged, and it is important to be honest in acknowledging this.”
To ease
Avarice
(“Adherence to the Baldwin model is usually more a sin of thoughtlessness and convenience than of conscious avarice, though it is always an appropriation of moral power, a stealing of thunder.”)
Extremely greedy
Inane
(“All around us swirls the battering of gargantuan films, Styrofoam epics with megatons of special effects, gleefully inane adolescent films, horror films that really are horrible.”)
lacking significance, meaning, or point; silly
Virile
(“Images of these men on horseback or in classical profile began appearing on posters and handkerchiefs and even crockery, the pinup boys of the revolutionary age–virile and virtuous and handsome.”)
having traditionally masculine traits especially to a marked degree
Wont
(“She paced about the room, as she is wont to do whenever she is agitated”
accustomed; apt
Harangue
“He delivered a long harangue about the evils of popular culture.”
noisy, attacking speech
Nullify
“The law has been nullified by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
to counter; make unimportant
Plaintiff
“The judge ruled that the plaintiff’s lawsuit was groundless, and he dismissed it.”
petitioner (in court of law)
Accost
(“Though Antoinette was normally quite calm, when the waiter spilled soup on her for the fourth time in 15 minutes she stood up and accosted the man.”)
to confront verbally
Accretion
“Stalactites are formed by the accretion of minerals from the roofs of caves.”
slow growth in size or amount
Acerbic
“Jill became extremely acerbic and began to cruelly make fun of all her friends.”
biting, bitter in tone or taste
Acquiesce
(“Though Mr. Correlli wanted to stay outside and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner, he acquiesced to her demands.”)
to agree without protesting
Acrimony
(“Though they vowed that no girl would ever come between them, Biff and Trevor could not keep acrimony from overwhelming their friendship after they both fell in love with the lovely Teresa.”)
bitterness, discord
Acumen
“Because of his mathematical acumen, Larry was able to figure out in minutes problems that took other students hours.”
keen insight
Beleaguer
(“American officials have felt an affinity for officials in Taipei for decades, a natural sense of solidarity with a democratic government beleaguered by a communist regime.”)
To cause problems for; besiege
Belie
“Their actions belie their claim to be innocent.”
Give false impression
Belligerent
“Coots are belligerent, territorial, quick-tempered birds. Nothing irritates a coot like another coot …
Hostile
Strident
“The strident tone in his voice revealed his anger.”
Characterized by harsh, insistent, and discordant sound
Indict
“A grand jury is expected to indict him for murder.”
to charge with a crime by the finding or presentment of a jury (such as a grand jury) in due form of law
Perjure
“The court ruled that the minister in charge of welfare had perjured herself.”
the voluntary violation of an oath or vow either by swearing to what is untrue or by omission to do what has been promised under oath
Bicuspid
(“Smith announced the diagnosis Saturday in an Instagram post and said the open heart surgery will fix a bicuspid aortic valve.”)
A human premolar tooth
Lampoon
“He said such ridiculous things that he was often the target of lampoons in the press.”
A harsh satire usually directed against an individual
Repudiate
(“During the Algerian war of independence, the United States had also repudiated France’s claimed right to attack a town in neighboring Tunisia that succored Algerian guerrillas …”)
To refuse to accept
Portend
“The distant thunder portended a storm.”
To give an omen or anticipatory sign of
Pellucid
“the pellucid waters that lap upon that island’s beaches”
Reflecting light evenly from all surfaces
Bowdlerize
“bowdlerize a classic novel by removing offensive language”
To censor; expurgate
Brazen
“He exhibited a brazen disregard for other people’s feelings.”
Bold
Brusque
“She asked for a cup of coffee and received a brusque reply: ‘We don’t have any.’”
Abrupt in one’s mannerisms
Bungler
“The government bungled badly in planning the campaign.”
Amateur, incompetent
Vicarious
“Most people caged in the humdrum routines of modern life are eager for vicarious glimpses of pain, joy, and especially vitality.”
experienced or realized through imaginative or sympathetic participation in the experience of another
Dilatory
“the homeowner is claiming that local firefighters were dilatory in responding to the call”
tending or intended to cause delay
Gregarious
“Morgan was attracted to bright, self-possessed women who met him on his own ground, felt at home in society, and shared his gregarious instincts and sybaritic tastes.”
marked by or indicating a liking for companionship
Plaudit
“the proud parents bragged that their daughter had received many plaudits for her academic achievements”
Statement giving strong praise
