ETS Flashcards
Penitential
Expressing sorrow
“penitential tears”
Austerity
(1) Sternness
“he was noted for his austerity and authority”
2) Plainness
“the room was decorated to the point of austerity”
Prolixity
Tediously prolonged, unnecessary length, excessively wordy
“the speech was unnecessarily prolix”
Accede, acceding
Assent or agree to a demand or request
“they did not accede to the terrorists’ demands”
Frivolity
Lack of seriousness, lightheartedness
“a night of fun and frivolity”
Prosaic
Commonplace, lacking poetic beauty
“prosaic language cannot describe the experience”
Hackneyed
Overused, unoriginal and trite
“hackneyed old sayings”
Restive
Difficult to control or keep quite
“the horse became increasingly restive”
Prodigality
Being wasteful, foolish, prodigal
“prodigal outlays for her clothes”
Taciturnity
Reserved, uncommunicative
“a somewhat taciturn young man”
Pellucidity
Clear, comprehensive, easy to understand
“the pellucid waters that lap upon that island’s beaches”
Miserliness
Saving money or lacking, meagerness
“a reputation of miserliness but cutting expenses”
“the miserliness of the prizes involved”
Inconsequential
Unimportant, trivial
“an inconsequential topic”
Diffidence
Shyness, modestly resulting from a lack of self-confidence
“I say this with some diffidence”
Capricious
Given to sudden, unpredictable changes in behavior or mood
“a capricious and brutal administration”
