Found Words Flashcards
To improve vocabulary.
vapid
dull or uninspiring (from the latin word ‘vapidus’)
The lecturer spoke with such vapidity that many of the students were nodding off.
endemic
belonging or native to a particular people or country; characteristic of or prevalent in a particular field, area, or environment
The fish is not an endemic species of the lake, and it is rapidly devouring the native trout population.
lampooned
ridiculed with satire
The politician was lampooned in cartoons.
austere
of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect
simple or plain, not fancy
The authority of the parents was too austere: such parents cannot easily give love to their children.
bourgeois (adj.)
relating to or typical of the middle class
Indignation about the powers that be and the bourgeois fools who did their bidding—that was all you needed … You were an intellectual. —Tom Wolfe, Harper’s, June 2000
pedagogy
another word for education; the profession and science of teaching
Some of the presentations, a few too many for comfort, lapsed into the familiar contortions of modern pedagogy.
dour
harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance
She had a dour expression on her face.
hoary
showing characteristics of age, especially having grey or white hair
a hoary tale of revenge
betokening
being a signal for a symptom
The humor in his writing is never cruel, and betokens a warm and compassionate heart.
stint
to subsist on a meager existence
She stinted herself of luxuries.
rhetoric
study of the technique for using language effectively
The media almost never discuss what the sweeping dismantling of public services inherent in the rhetoric of the antigovernment movement would mean in practice. —E. J. Dionne, Jr., Commonweal, 20 Nov. 2009
din
a noun that means a loud or harsh sound, especially a welter of discordant sounds
There’s always a great din from the cafeteria during lunch.
plumb (v.)
to examine (something) in a careful and complete way in order to understand it; to experience or reach (something)
The book plumbs the complexities of human relationships.
ruddy
inclined to a healthy reddish color & often associated with outdoor life
a ruddy complexion
quotidian
daily or ordinary
There’s nothing quite like a real . . . train conductor to add color to a quotidian commute.
augurs
one held to foretell events by omens
ancient Roman augurs who predicted the future by reading the flight of birds
abstemious
sparing in consumption of (especially) food or drink
Being abstemious diners, they avoid restaurants with all-you-can-eat buffets.
Ornithologist
a person who studies birds
agrarian
pertaining to land or its cultivation
adventitious
accidental, happening by chance, not natural
prodigious
obsolete: being an omen; resembling or befitting of a prodigy; exciting amazement or wonder; extraordinary in bulk, quantity, or degree
stage magicians performing prodigious feats for rapt audiences
melancholy
an abnormal state attributed to an excess of black bile and characterized by irascibility or depression; depression of spirits
He became quiet and melancholy as the hours passed.
stolidity
unemotional; impassive
the butler responded to the duchess’s demands with stolid indifference
etiolated
to cause to appear pale of sickly; to bleach and alter the natural development of (a green plant) by excluding sunlight
the long, stressful days and sleepless nights gradually etiolated him
circumscribed
to constrict the range or activity of definitely and clearly; to draw a line around
he circumscribed his enthusiasm so as not to make the losing side feel worse
aberrant
(adj.)
deviating from the usual or natural type or way
astute
having or showing shrewdness and perspicacity (keen, of acute mental vision or discernment); crafty
a police detective known to be an astute judge of character
inveterate
firmly established by long persistence; habitual
he has an inveterate tendency to tell some tall tales
cowed
to destroy the resolve or courage of; also, to bring to a state or action by intimidation
I refused to be cowed by their threats
intractable
not easily governed, managed, or directed; not easily manipulated or wrought (worked into shape by artistry or effort); not easily relieved or cured
cats are by nature fairly intractable animals
erudite
having or showing great knowledge or learning.
the most erudite people in medical research attended the conference
predilection
a natural liking for something : a tendency to do or to be attracted to something
It’s true that black audiences have always had a predilection for talking back at performances. But more than that is going on in this theatre: the intensity of engagement is palpable.
repatriate
to return (someone) to his or her own country
Countries are required to repatriate prisoners of war when conflict has ended.
turgid
being in a state of distension : swollen, tumid
turgid leeches having had their fill of blood
extradite
to send (a person who has been accused of a crime) to another state or country for trial
He will be extradited from the U.S. to Canada to face criminal charges there.
interdict
a prohibitory decree
His object was to obtain an interdict against the progress of the works, but he was not successful.
expurgate
to change (a written work) by removing parts that might offend people
They felt it was necessary to expurgate his letters before publishing them.
penury
a cramping and oppressive lack of resources (as money); especially : severe poverty
lived in a time when single women like herself faced a lifetime of genteel penury
indigence
a level of poverty in which real hardship and deprivation are suffered and comforts of life are wholly lacking
there are various state and federal programs to help relieve indigence
opulence
wealth, affluence
in some parts of the city nearly unimaginable opulence can be found side by side with nearly unthinkable poverty
eminence
a condition of being well-known and successful; a position of prominence or superiority
the eminence of the Nobel Prize in the field of awards and prizes
