General Knowledge 6 Flashcards
betrayal, treachery, disloyalty
perfidy
sent: his earlier perfidy means that no one trusts him now
mechanical, unthinking, indifferent
perfunctory
sent: i only gave the instructions a quick, perfunctory look
wandering, roving, itinerant
peripatetic
sent: her career has been periatetic, taking her to six different cities
banter, chat, repartee
presiflage
sent: their silly persiflage was meant to amuse the listener
astute, insightful, shrewd
perspicacious
sent: one perspicacious remark led me to reconsider my plans
irritable, peevish, bad-tempered
petulant
sent: that petulant child deserves a short time-out
formation, configuration, arrangement
phalanx
sent: a phalanx of armed horsemen appeared on the hillside
apparition, specter, ghost
phantasm
sent: wispy fog can make you think you have seen a phantasm
hyocrite, goody-goody
pharisee
sent: his know-it-all superiority made us call him a pharisee
benevolent, altruistic, charitable
philanthropic
sent: philanthropic works are expected of the very rich
stamp collector
philatelist
sent: does the philatelist have any stamps that are available?
boor, borbarian, lout
philistine
sent: does my dislike of opera make me some kind of philistine?
placid, undmonstrative, apathetic
phlegmatic
sent: as others become passionate he becomes more phlegmatic
trivial, paltry, worthless
picayune
sent: that was a picayune waste of everyone’s time
spotted, mottled, multicolored
piebald
sent: the child rode a russet and white piebal pony
devotion, faithfulness, reverence
piety
sent: we expect nuns to display more piety that the average person
to steal, embezzle, filch
pilfer
sent: if you pilfer writing supplies from work, is that a crime?
to shackle, immobilize, bind
pinion
sent: both wrestlers oinion their opponents easily
to calm, pacify, appease
placate
sent: his quiet explanation seemed to placate the children
cliche, banality, truism
platitude
sent: responding with a platitude will not make her feel better
acclaim, recognition, approval
plaudit
sent: she earned every plaudit that she recieved for her work
excess, overabundance, surplus
plethora
sent: the shop houses a plethora of worthless castoffs
argument, controversy, refutation
polemic
sent: his polemic against the two-party system made us mad
artful, shrewd, diplomatic
politic
sent: your outburst was not politic and merely upset people
ominous, significant, pompous
portentous
sent: a portentous dark cloud seemed to hover over the hero
entry, walkway, porch
portico
sent: they stood under the portico to greet their guests
hypothesize, assert, assume
postulate
sent: what did early scientists postulate about lunar eclipses?
practical, sensible, down-to-earth
pragmatic
sent: she gave her som pragmatic advice as he set off for college
to chatter, jabber, babble
prate
sent: don’t prate about your day when i am trying to work
partiality, tendency, preferenec
predilection
sent: in bakeried, my predilection is for anything chocolate
headlong, rash, impulsive
precipitant
sent: throughtful prepararion is better than precipitant action
advanced, gifted, premature
precocious
sent: her precocious daughter could red by the age of three
to lie, evade, hedge
prevariacte
sent: do not prevaricate; tell the panel what really happened
prevalent, predominant, influential
preponderant
sent: wineries are preponderant in the land between the lakes
clairvoyant, psychic, perceptive
prescient
sent: she seemed prescient when she correctly predicted the winner
right, privilege, sanction
prerogative
sent: it is their prerogative to ask for a legal opinion
integrity, honestly, morality
probity
sent: they believe that hos probuty is beyond reproach
penchant, tendency, liking
proclivity
sent: a proclivity for sweers may lead to tooth decay
profligate, wasteful, dissolute
prodigal
sent: her prodigal habits made her father put her on an allowance
extraordinary, phenomenal, immense
prodigious
sent: the table held a prodigious number of desserts
dissolute, decadent, extravagant
profligate
sent: profligate spending will bankrupt them in no time
to predict, forecast, protend
prognosticate
sent: what do tou prognosticate about next week’s weather?
to multiply, breed, reproduce
proliferate
sent: wildflowers proliferate the moment it gets warm
verbose, wordy, long-winded
prolix
sent: his prolux spsech confused and exhausted his audience
to broadcast, publicize, disseminate
promulgate
sent: candidates promulgate their messages through social media
closeness, proximity, relationship
propinquity
sent: the propinquity of the shop to the highway made it desirable
favorable, auspicious, promising
propitious
sent: it is a propitious time to buy that particular stock
straightforward, matter-of-fact, pedestrian
prosaic
sent: prosaic worries prevent us from seeing the beauty around us
to forbid, ban, prohibit
proscribe
sent: do the rules proscribe bringing more than one guest?
temporary, interim, short-term
provisional
sent: it is a provisional appointment until we see how you perform
skill, competence, expertise
prowess
sent: the gymnast’s prowess on the uneven bars amazed us
lascivious, salacious, lecherous
prurient
sent: keep that prurient literature out of hte hands of children
juvenile, childish, immature
puerile
sent: his puerile conduct would have seemed silly in a child of five
combative, belligerent, argumentative
pugnacious
sent: being agreeable may beat being pugnacious in this situation
to crush, macerate, mash
pulverize
sent: that machine is used in winemaking to pulverize graps
to steal, pilfer, rob
purloin
sent: she would purloin a quarter or two from his change jar
cowardly, timid, spineless
pusillanimous
sent: the pusillanimous officer ran away at the first sign of battle
supposed, alleged, preseumed
putative
sent: who was the putative winner of last night’s election?
to drink, imbibe, guzzle
quaff
sent: quaff that beer, and let’s be on our way
predicament, quandary, dilemma
quagmire
sent: deciding on a graduate school felt like a quamire to him
to defeat, suppress, nullify
quash
sent: don’t their ideas; they have a right to express them
wharf, dock, jetty
quay
sent: several people were fishing from the end of the quay
petulant, complaining, whiny
querulous
sent: her querulous objections followedme down the hallways
exemplary, prototypical, classic
quintessential
sent: he is the quintessential leading man-articulate and attractive
idealistic, romantic, impulsive
quixotic
sent: my quixotic vision of a world at peace
everyday, commonplacem usual
quotidian
sent: they continued to follow their quotidian rountine
zealous, fanatical, fervent
rabid
sent: they are both rabid believers in the need for alternative energy
carefree, breezy, ridicule
raffish
sent: she tossed on her colorful scarf with a raffih air
teasing, banter, ridicule
raillery
sent: his raillery was meant in fun but felt hurtful
boisterous, unruly, disorderly
rambunctious
sent: the rambunctious girls oushed rudely through the crowd
unrestrained widespread, extensive
rampant
sent: rodents were rampant in the basement of the old museum
esoteric, obscure, highbrow
rarefied
sent: college life can seem rarefied to young blue-collor workers
affinity, bond, relationship
rapport
sent: we built up a rapport after working together for weeks
starving, famished, voracious
ravenous
sent: we were ravenous and stopped at the next diner we saw
to reason, calculate, deduce
ratiocinate
sent: i can’t ratiocinate of you keep adding more information
unmanageable, unruly, defiant
recalcitrant
sent: recalcitrant middle- schoolers can be difficult to teach
disavow, retract, renounce
recant
sent: galileo wouls not recant his statements about the sun
interchange, return, counter
reciprocate
sent: we would like to reciprocate your hospitality sometimes
