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English Vocalbulary > General Vocabulary 12 > Flashcards

General Vocabulary 12 Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Frisson (n)

A

A sudden feeling of excitement or fear.

A frisson of excitement.

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2
Q

Balustrade (n)

[Bala strade]

A

A railing made of Balusters especially on a balcony.

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3
Q

Conurbation (n)

A

A extended urban area of a city and its satellite towns

The major conurbations of London and Birmingham.

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4
Q

Pastiche (n)

A

A work of art that imitates pieces of other artistic styles. .

The operetta is a pastiche of 18th century style.

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5
Q

Travertine (n)

A

A light colored calcareous rock used in construction.

They are built of travertine covered with stucco

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6
Q

Hauteur (n)

[a ter]

A

Proud haughtiness.

She walked into the room with formidable hauteur.

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7
Q

Leer (v)

A

Look or gaze in a lascivious or unpleasant way.

Bystanders were leering at the nude painting.

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8
Q

Homily (n)

A

A tedious moralizing discourse.

She delivered her homily on the need for patience.

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9
Q

Ingrate (n)

A

An ungrateful person.

To behave like an ingrate.

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10
Q

Puckered (adj)

A

Contract into wrinkles or folds.

The child’s face puckered, ready to cry.

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11
Q

Astringent (adj)

A

Sharp or severe in manner or style.

Her astringent words had their effect.

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12
Q

Indolent (adj)

A

Lazy.

They were indolent and addicted to a life of pleasure.

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13
Q

Pretentious (adj)

A

Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance than deserved.

Pretentious art films.

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14
Q

Parasol (n)

A

A light umbrella to protect against the sun.

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15
Q

Scour (v)

[scavour]

A

Clean or brighten the surface of (something) by rubbing it hard.

She scoured the dirty pan.

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16
Q

Squelch (v)

A

Forcefully silence or suppress.

Property developers tried squelching public opinion.

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17
Q

Steeples (n)

A

Church tower or spire.

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18
Q

Roiling (v)

A

Make muddy or turbid by disturbing the sediment.

Winds roil these waters.

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19
Q

Scrum (n)

A

An ordered formation of players, used to restart play in rugby.

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20
Q

Splayed (v)

A

Thrust out or spread out.

She splayed her hands out in exasperation.

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21
Q

Akimbo (adv)

A

With hands on hips and elbows spread out.

She stood with arms akimbo frowning at the boy.

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22
Q

Nondescript (adj)

A

Lacking interesting features.

She lives in a nondescript apartment block.

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23
Q

Patina (n)

A

Thin green film on bronze formed by oxidation.

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24
Q

Detritus (n)

A

Waste matter.

The streets were fouled by detritus.

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25
Q

Spectral (adj)

A

Resembling a ghost.

A spectral, menacing face.

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26
Q

Atavistic (n)

A

An evolutionary throwback to the past.

Atavistic fears and instincts were aroused once again.

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27
Q

Phantasmagoria (n)

A

A sequence of real or imaginary images.

What followed was a phantasmagoria of mystery and horror.

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28
Q

Scrabbling (v)

A

To scratch or grope around with fingers.

She scrabbled at the grassy slope, desperate for purchase.

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29
Q

Codger (n)

A

Old man.

Codgers harping over good times.

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30
Q

Cordite (n)

A

A smoke less explosive used in ammunition.

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31
Q

Derisively (adj)

A

In a manner expressing contempt.

They derisively referred to clients as muppets.

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32
Q

Ethnography (n)

A

The study of people and cultures.

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33
Q

Preemption (n)

A

The purchase of goods or shares by one person or party before the opportunity is offered to others.

The commission had the right of pre-emption.

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34
Q

Anomie (n)

A

Lack of ethical standards in a group.

The theory that high-rise architecture leads to anomie in the residents is misplaced.

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35
Q

Apocalyptic (adj)

A

Catastrophic destruction.

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36
Q

Sniffle (v)

A

To sniff frequently.

She rubbed her nose sniffling loudly.

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37
Q

Foment (v)

A

To instigate or promote the growth of.

To foment trouble.

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38
Q

Arrogate (v)

A

To take or claim without justification.

They arrogate to themselves the ability to divine the nation’s true interests.

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39
Q

Bilious (adj)

A

Associated with nausea or vomiting.

A bilious vernal attack.

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40
Q

Vitriolic (adj)

A

Filled with bitter criticism and malice.

Her vitriolic speech made the politicians cringe.

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41
Q

Encrustation (n)

A

A hard surface coating.

The surface was coated by an encrustation of salt.

42
Q

Interdict (n)

A

A prohibition by law.

Society will never interdict sex.

43
Q

Coruscating (adj)

A

Flashing sparkling brilliance.

The light was coruscating through the walls.

44
Q

Ossiferous (adj)

A

Containing bone matter especially fossil bones

These ossiferous remains are richest in the province of Buenos Aires.

45
Q

Neophyte (n)

A

A novice or a person new to a task.

Four-day cooking classes are offered to neophytes and experts.

46
Q

Contiguous (adj)

A

Sharing a common boundary or part of a sequence.

47
Q

Superannnuated (adj)

A

Outdated through age.

48
Q

Interlude (n)

A

An interval.

Enjoying a lunchtime interlude.

49
Q

Catelation (n)

A

Joy in other people’s misfortune.

I noticed catelation in John’s attitude at Joe’s funeral.

50
Q

Behooves (v)

A

Be appropriate or necessary.

It behooves on us to reflect on this matter.

51
Q

Homophones (n)

A

Two or more words having the same pronunciation but different meaning.

52
Q

Ferret (v)

A

To drive out.

To ferret rabbits from their burrows.

53
Q

Fervent (adj)

A

Showing great warmth or intensity of feeling.

She showed a fervent desire to care for the child.

54
Q

Ferment (adj)

A

Cause agitation or excitement.

Reading fermented his imagination.

55
Q

Filibuster (v)

A

To impede legislation by irregular or obstructive tactics, especially by making long speeches.

56
Q

Funicular (adj)

A

Operating by cable with ascending and descending cars counterbalanced(Of railways).

57
Q

Filial (adj)

A

Noting the relationship of a child to a parent.

Her filial affections would not come in way of her judgement.

58
Q

Forage (adj)

A

The act of hunting for food.

A nightly forage for food.

59
Q

Entrees (n)

[ahn-trey]

A

A dish served as the main course of a meal.

60
Q

Pennant (n)

A

A tapering flag especially on a ship.

61
Q

Arbiter (n)

A

A person who settles a dispute.

The Secretary of State is the final arbiter.

62
Q

Arbitrator (n)

A

A person or body officially appointed to settle a dispute.

63
Q

Intestate (adj)

A

Not having made a will before one dies.

He died intestate.

64
Q

Bivouac (n)

A

A temporary tent.

65
Q

Belay (v)

A

Fix a running rope around a rock or pin to secure it.

Secure a climber with a belayed rope.

66
Q

Indenture (n)

A

A contract binding one party into the service of another.

An indentured laborer.

67
Q

Petard (n)

A

A small bomb used to blow up fortifications.

68
Q

Hoist (v)

A

To lift up.

69
Q

Purveyor (n)

A

A provider or supplier.

He was a purveyor for counterfeit goods.

70
Q

Epistolary (adj)

A

Related to the writing of letters.

They carried on an epistolary relationship for very long.

71
Q

Omertà (n)

A

Code of silence in mafia gangs refusing to give cops evidence.

Loyal to the oath of omertà.

72
Q

Saporous (adj)

A

A quality in a substance which produces taste or flavor

73
Q

Cassandra (n)

A

A Greek god who was a Trojan prophetess.

74
Q

Cringe (v)

A

Bend one’s head and body in fear or in a servile manner.

They cringed at the thought of hard labor.

75
Q

Provocateur (n)

A

A person who commits or who acts to entice another person to commit an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act.

76
Q

Bugbear (n)

A

An imaginary frightening creature.

High inflation has been a bugbear for the economy.

77
Q

Collocate (v)

A

Be habitually juxtaposed(of a word) with another with a frequency greater than chance.

‘maiden’ collocates with ‘voyage’.

78
Q

Vocable (n)

A

A sound that is not considered a word like “la” used in music or “huh” for an exclamation.

They sing tunes with abstract vocables and nonsensical lyrics.

79
Q

Fraternity (n)

A

Any group or class of persons having common purposes, interests, etc.

The medical fraternity.

80
Q

Mildew (n)

A

White fungus growing on organic materials.

81
Q

Mold (n)

A

Red black fungus growing on organic material.

82
Q

Performative (adj)

A

Performing an act by the very fact of being uttered, as with the expression “I promise”

83
Q 
Faux pas (n)
[Fo pa]
A

An embarrassing or tactless act or remark.

84
Q

Ectomorph (n)

A

A person with a lean and delicate build of body.

85
Q

Orthogonal (adj)

A

Not pertinent to the matter under construction.

An issue orthogonal to the debate.

86
Q

Pretentious (adj)

A

Attempting to impress by affecting a greater sense of importance then necessary.

The pretentious jargon of wine tasters.

87
Q

Indenture (n)

A

A legal agreement with edges indented for easy identification.

88
Q

Trope (n)

A

A figurative or metaphorical use of a word or phrase.

He used the two-Americas trope to show how a nation of free people would use unrestrained force.

89
Q

Legatee (n)

A

Anybody who inherits a legacy.

His sister Alice was his principal legatee.

90
Q

Reify (v)

[Ree-efi]

A

Make (something abstract) more concrete or real.

These instincts are, in man, reified as verbal constructs

91
Q

Pederasty (n)

A

Sexual activity involving a man and a boy

92
Q

Atavistic (adj)

A

Relating to or characterized by reversion to something ancient or ancestral.

Atavistic fears and instincts.

93
Q

Verity (n)

A

A true principle or belief, especially one of fundamental importance.

Eternal verities.

94
Q

Panjandrum (n)

A

A person who has or claims to have a great deal of authority or influence.

The greatest scientific panjandrum of the 19th century.

95
Q

Rodomontade (adj)

A

Boastful or inflated talk or behavior.

He soon finds out there’s nothing to be gained by rodomontade.

96
Q

Unedifying (adj)

A

Distasteful; unpleasant.

The unedifying sight of the two leaders screeching conflicting proposals

97
Q

Defenestration (n)

A

The action of throwing someone out of a window.

Death by defenestration has a venerable history.

98
Q

Coltan (n)

A

A dull metallic mineral.

99
Q

Pro rata (adj)

A

Proportional.

As the pound has fallen costs have risen on a pro rata basis.

100
Q

Succubus (n)

A

A female demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping men.

English Vocalbulary (31 decks)

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