General Knowledge 4 Flashcards
frozen, cold, icy
gelid
sent: the gelid drink was perfect fo such a hot day
to gesture, signal
gesticulate
sent: don’t just gesticulate wildl; use your words
to encircle, surround, enclose
gird
sent: silver belts grid the waist of those models
smooth, persuasive, offhand
glib
sent: his glib answer sounded good despite its lack of meaning
slope, incline, hill
gradient
sent: the road had a shallow gradient in front of their house
pompous, ostentatious, flamboyant
grandiose
sent: don’t make grandiose statements about your skills
pretentious, pompous, overbearing
grandiloquent
sent: the actor’s grandiloquent entrance showed her vanity
free, unnecessary, superfluous
gratuitous
sent: we found his advice gratuitous and inappropriate
deception, trickery, cunning
guile
sent: it will take all of her guile to escape this messy situation
naive, trusting, credulous
gullible
sent: she was gullible and believed his flattering words
overused, trite, clinched
hackneyed
sent: replace that hakneyed slogan with something fresher
peaceful, tranquil, quiet
halcyon
sent: the halcyon days of childhood linger in out minds
unlucky, unfortunate, wretched
hapless
sent: the hapless fellow seems to live under his own cloud
tirade, rant, lecture
harangue
sent: some parents harangue thier children for poor grades
omen, forerunner, portent
harbinger
sent: is a raven considered to be a harbinger of trouble?
arrogance, self-importance, haughtiness
hauteur
sent: her hauteur makes her look snobbish, not distinguished
odious, shicking, monstrous
heinous
sent: ot was heinous crime that people still dicuss years later
unorthodoxy, sacrilege, deviation
heresy
sent: his refusal to wear a suit is considered heresy at the firm
break, pause, interval
hiatus
sent: the class took a short hiatus before resuming the discussion
deference, worship, respect
homage
sent: that statue pays homage to the soldiers who fought in iraq
hut, slum, shack
hovel
sent: their home was little more than a hovel made of scrap wood
pride, arroggance, audacity
hubris
sent: excessive hubris does not endear you to others
hypocrisy, duplicity, insincerity
humbug
sent: her analysis reeked of humbug and double standards
dissident, rebel, radical
iconoclast
sent: he is an iconoclast who rejects the usual party line
tranquil, relaxing, carefree
idyllic
sent: they spent an idyllic weekend enjoying the quiet cabin
reprehensible, dastardly, shameful
ignoble
sent: she was ashamed of her ignoble feelings of envy
disgrace, humiliation, shame
ignominy
sent: the discredited CEO ended his career in ignominy
illegal, illegitimate, criminal
illicit
sent: their illicit activities are bound to land them in jail
entanglement, embarrassment, fix
imbroglio
sent: caught up in the imbroglio she hored a PR firm to guide her
irrelevant, unimportant, insignificant
immaterial
sent: whether he started the fight is immaterial to thus case
destitute, poor, penniless
impecunious
sent: despite a few land holdings, the family is impecunious
ruthless, relentless, merciless
implacable
sent: gunfire marked the implacable advance of the union army
to beg, beset, pester
importune
sent: the children importune their grandparents for sweets
to curse, hex
impercate
sent: the criminals imprecate the snitch for turning them in
to accuse, challenge, attack
impugn
sent: why did she impugn your motives at the board meeting
unformed, undeloped, incomplete
inchoate
sent: the structures of the new nation were still inchoate
unquestionable, indisputable, irrefutable
incontrovertible
sent: it is incontrovertible that last winter was unusually warm
to instill, indoctrinate, instruct
inculcate
sent: parents hope to inculcate their children with their values
poor, impoverished, needy
indigent
sent: indigent families are welcome at the food bank
unconquerable, invincible, strong
indomitable
sent: her indomitable optimism inspired her team members
inexpressible, indescribable, indefinable
ineffable
sent: the ineffable grandeur of hte canyon took our breath away
disgrace, notoriety, disrepute
infamy
sent: the mayor’s infamy ruined the name of his home town
unsophisticated, naive, candid
ingenuous
sent: her ingenuous character led her to trust the wrong people
detrimental, injurious, unfavorable
inimical
sent: salty foods may be inimical to one’s health
wickedness, evil, injustice
iniquity
sent: in the scarlet letter, the heroine is charged with iniquity
impenetrable, enigmatic, mysterious
inscrutable
sent: his face was incrutable, so no one knew what to expect
trite, dull, colorless
insipid
sent: beacause the songs were insipid, the crowd lost interest
bold, resolute, valiant
intrepid
sent: lewis and clark were interpid explorers of the west
offensive, unpleasant, undesirable
invidious
sent: that invidious comparison will just annoy both writers
short-tempered, irritabelm cranky
irascible
sent: she was irascible when attacked but kind to her defenders
world-weary, cynical, blase
jaded
sent: a youth with too much freedom and money soon grows jaded
immature, unsophisticated, sophomoric
jejune
sent: your jejune behavior proves that you are not ready
to throw away, discard, dump
jettison
sent: lets jettison all of the unused junk in the garage
force, deity
juggernaut
sent: her company was a juggernaut in the city’s economy
to lament, bemoan, wail
keen
sent: aunts and cousins keen behind the casket in the procession
knowledge, understanding, comprehension
ken
sent; adavanced calculus
is far beyond my ken
villian, crininial, scoundreal
knave
sent: that knave conned his clients out of their hard-earned cash
to conform, fawn, grovel
kowtow
sent: you need not kowtow to your boss’s every command
tearful, weepy, sentimental
lachrymose
sent: she grew lachrymose when we mentioned her late husband
minion, assistant, servant
lackey
sent: a lackey took our coats at the door of the mansion
straggler, idler, slacker
laggard
sent: we do not have time to wait any laggard
to beat, berate, scold
lambaste
sent: i had to lambaste him for his poorly written report
leisurely. lethargic, unhurried
languid
sent: she raised one languid arm to signal the waiter
to praise, glorify, acclaim
laud
sent: my speech will laud the senator for her support of state colleges
frivolity, wit, flippancy
levity
sent: a little levity can brighten a stressful day
supple, lissome, graceful
lithe
sent: nimbly, the dancer stretched her lithe limbs along the barre
talkative, garrulous, wordy
loquacious
sent: is he usually this loquacious or does he ever pause to think?
mournful, doleful, melancholy
lugubrious
sent: a heavy, lugubrious ,elody emerged from the pipe organ
shocking, explicit, vivid
lurid
sent: all of the lurid details of the crime were in the newspaper
to soak, steep, pulp
macerate
sent: let the fruit macerate in a sweet sugar syrup
expressive, poetic, emotional
lyrical
sent: she uses alyrical style to describe even ordinary scenes
gruesome, ghoulish, horrid
macabre
sent: the macabre mask will scare away trick-or-treaters
to plot, conspire, scheme
machinate
sent: the group will machinate to rid the town of its supervisor
whirlpool, vortex, turbulence
maelstrom
sent: trash whirled in the maelstrom after the flood
gawky, awkward, inept
maladroit
sent: teenager may be malafroit as they grow into their bodies
scounrel, criminial, evildor
malefactor
sent: we hope that the malefactor recieves ample punishment
spite, hatred, wickedness
malice
sent: she criticized them out of malice, not out of concern
to smear, slander, disparage
malign
sent: don’t malign the police chief for doing his job
