General Knowledge 5 Flashcards
yielding, dutiful, adaptable
malleable
sent: she was malleable to our suggestions and eagar to help
to free, emancipate, liberate
manumit
sent: when did great britian manumit african slaves?
despot, disciplinarian, tyrant
martient
sent: the colonel, a martient, is feared by his troops
fracas, brawl, skirmish
melee
sent: adults broke up a brief melee on the playground
smooth, sweet, honeyed
mellifluous
sent: his saxophone has a pleasent, mellifluous tone
deceit, dishonesty, untruthfulness
mendacity
sent: her constant mendacity has lost her a group of loyal friends
begger, almsman, pauper
mendicant
sent: a mendicant walked through the bubway, hat in hand
counselar, tutor, advisor
mentor
sent: i serve as a mentor for several entering freshman
money-oriented, acquisitive, grasping
mercenary
sent: a day trader may benefit from a mercenaty attitude
pond, lake, marsh
mere
sent: herons hunted small frogs in the area around the mere
vulgar, gaudy, specious
meretricious
sent: those meretricious trinkets are not worth a dollar
painstaking, careful, thorough
meticulous
sent: she does maticulous work as she repairs the old books
courage, fortitude, pluck
mettle
sent: the soldiers showed mettle as they patrolled the village
bearing, apperrance, demeanor
mien
sent: even under stress, her mien is always regal and calm
mistrusted, skeptical, scornful
misanthropic
sent: a misanthropic attitude will never win you friends
to moderate, alleviate, ease
mitigate
sent: early education may mitigate poverty in some cases
to adjust, modify, vary
modulate
sent: please modulate your voice as you enter the hospital
to pacify, calm, soothe
mollify
sent: after the team’s loss, no words could mollify the players
dying, declining, failing
moribund
sent: it is a moribund town with few remaining businesses
commonplace, ordinary, dull
mundane
sent: a vacation can break you out of your mundane existance
generous, charitable, benevolent
munificent
sent: her munificent deeds helped many in our community
alterable, changeable, variable
mutable
sent: the hummingbird’s colors are mutable as it flies
ruler, noble, aristocrat
nabob
sent: he is considered something of a nabob in his city of residence
lowmpoint, depths, bottom
nadir
sent: the loss of her job was the nadir of her misfortune
innocence, ingenuousness, artlessness
naivete
sent: a child’s naivete makes every experience seem wonderous
self-love, conceit, vanity
narcissism
sent: narcissism led her to challenge any critique of her work
blossoming, budding, emerging
nascent
sent: the nascent windmill industry has transformed the town
cloudy, hazy, imprecise
nebulous
sent: his nebulous explanation just confused matters
arch-enemy, rival, retribution
nemesis
sent: othello’s nemesis is clearly
his advisor, iago
to irritate, vix, annoy
nettle
sent: her constant nitpicking will just nettle her coworkers
detail, subtlety, fastidiousness
nicety
sent: using the proper fork is a nicety of table manners
grasping, parimonious, stingy
niggardly
sent: he was especially niggardly at handing out compliments
offensive, foul, rank
noisome
sent: what is that noisome odor coming from the kitchen?
unconcerned, indifferent, cool
nonchalant
sent: act nonchalant, and they will never suspect a thing
trifling, invaild, unimportant
nugatory
sent: leave those nugatory details out of the report
coin collector
numismatist
sent: the numismatist has coins found on a sucken ship
stubborn, obstinate, unyielding
obdurate
sent: an obdurate refusal to learn will not help you to succeed
fat, stout, corpulent
obese
sent: if he becomes more obese, it will affect his heart and liver
to complicate, confuse, obscure
obfuscate
sent: don’t obfuscate the truth with unimportant details
sycophantic, flattering, fawning
obsequious
sent: her obsequious behavior made her seem oily and passive
outdated, passe, archaic
obsolete
sent: that computer is obsolete; you can no longer buy parts for it
defiant, confrontational, aggressive
obstreperous
sent: the obstreperous girl spent time in the principal’s office
blatant, prominent, brash
obtrusive
sent: the solar panels blend in and are not too obtrusive
preclude, avert, hinder
obviate
sent: a good carpet can obicvate the need to refinish the floors
abhorrent, hateful, vile
odious
sent: that odious person deserves no one’s pity
composition, masterwork, lifework
oeuvre sent: her oeuvre contains poetry as well as prose
self-important bureaucratic, overbearing
officious
sent: with an officious manner, the women directed us to sit down
government by the few
oligarchy
sent: my town os a democracy but yours is more of an oligarchy
all-powerful, invincible, almighty
omnipotent
sent: zeus was omnipotent, bbut he still got into trouble
burdensome, opperssice, troublesome
onerous
sent: filling out tax forms can be an onerous task
dense, obscure, unclear
opaque
sent: the tiles are opaque to hide the shoer stall
disgrace, ignominy, dishonor
opprobrium
sent: he left town to escape any opprobrium for his misdeeds
seer, soothsayer, visionary
oracle
sent: an oracle warned him that he would face many enemies
speechifying, rhetoric, eloquence
oratory
sent: plainspoken harruy truman was not knwon for his oratory
to swing, vacillate, sway
oscillate
sent: the breeze caused the swings to oscillate gentlu
to kiss, bussm contact
osculate
senta: the two pool balls osculate as they come to rest
showy, flamboyant, pretentious
ostentatious
sent: that ostentatious display does not inspire me to buy his hats
chatter, gossip, chitchat
palaver
sent: after an hour of palaver club members got down to business
picket, fence, fortification
palisade
sent: we set up a palisade around the orchard to keep out the deer
trivial, trifling, unimportant
paltry
sent: leave the paltry task and join our more important discussion
flair, elan, style
panache
sent: he wears his unusual outfits with panache
tribute, encomium, compliment
panegyric
sent: she delivered a panegyric in memory of her father
model, example, archetype
paradigm
sent: is romeo the paradigm of the star-crossed lover?
dominant, supreme, principal
paramount
sent: raising wages is paramount in our plan for reform
outcast, exile, untouchable
pariah
sent: his odd appearrance made him a pariah in the village
stinginess, frugality, economy
parsimony
sent: parsimony led her to live in rags when she could afford better
pity, sympathy, sorrow
pathos
sent: the pathos in the music made the audience somber and still
dialect, regionalism, vernacular
patois
sent: he speaks an unusual patois that mixes french and english
scarceness, lack, rarity
paucity
sent: there is a paucity of fresh seafood in my inland city
offense, transgression, sin
peccadillo
sent: a minor peccadillo will not result in much punishment
monetary, financialm, economic
pecuniary
sent: his pecuniary difficulties led him to seek new employment
teaching, education, instruction
pedagogy
sent: my education professor teaches theories of pedagogy
dull, doctrinaire, obscure
pedanric
sent: the speaker’s pedantic tone nearly put me to sleep
atonement, repentance, regret
penitence
sent: as penitence for being late, she promised to pay for dinner
throughtful, boording, meditative
pensive
sent: in a pensive mood, he meditated on his life
indigent, destitute, stingy
penurious
sent: the penurious family scratched out a living on five arces
laborer, farm worker, drudge
peon
sent: rather than valuing my input, my boss treats me like a peon
to roam, stroll, amble
perambulate
sent: my parents like to perambulate along that paths in the park
