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English Vocalbulary > General Vocabulary 2 > Flashcards

General Vocabulary 2 Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Aestivation (n)

[es-tuh-veytion]

A

The arrangement of sepals and petals(botany) in a flower bud before it opens.

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2
Q

Nettle (v)

A

Cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations.

Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really nettles me.

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3
Q

Necrophilia (n)

A

An irresistible sexual attraction to dead bodies.

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4
Q

Rachet (n)

A

Mechanical device consisting of a toothed wheel or rack engaged with a pawl that permits it to move in only one direction.

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5
Q

Dszygotic (adj)

[dahy-zahy-got-ik]

A

Developed from two fertilized ova, as fraternal twins.

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6
Q

Laterite (n)

A

A red soil produced by rock decay, contains insoluble deposits of ferric and aluminum oxides.

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7
Q

Sullen (adj)

A

Showing a brooding ill humor or or dismal, and gloomy.

In the years that followed, I became inward and sullen as those memories took me under.

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8
Q

Vacuous (adj)

[vak-yoo-uh s]

A

Devoid of matter, devoid of significance or force.

He had a vacuous expression on his face.

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9
Q

Dissolute (adj)

A

Unrestrained by convention or morality.

Congreve draws a debauched aristocratic society.

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10
Q

Polyglot (adj)

A

Having a command of or composed in many languages.

A polyglot career woman.

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11
Q

Entrepot (n)

A

A port where merchandise can be imported and then exported without paying import duties.

Hong Kong has long been an entrepôt between east and west.

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12
Q

Intuit (v)

A

Know or grasp by intuition or feeling.

I intuited his real identity.

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13
Q 
Double entendre (n)
[ahn-tahn-druh]
A

A double meaning.

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14
Q

Petulant (adj)

A

Easily irritated or annoyed.

An incorrigibly fractious and petulant young man.

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15
Q

Scurrilous (adj)

[skur-uh-luh s]

A

Expressing offensive reproach.

A scurrilous attack on the mayor.

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16
Q

Enunciated (v)

A

Express or state clearly.

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17
Q

Orotund (adj)

A

Ostentatiously lofty instyle.

A man given to orotund talk.

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18
Q

Blighted (adj)

A

Spoil harm or destroy.

Her remorse could be a blight on everybody’s happiness.

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19
Q

Adonis (n)

A

Any handsome young man.

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20
Q

Tavern (n)

A

A building with a bar that is licensed to sell alcoholic drinks.

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21
Q

Congenial (adj)

A

Suitable to your needs.

A congenial atmosphere to work in.

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22
Q

Dreariest (adj)

A

Lacking in liveliness, charm or surprise.

A series of dreary dinner parties.

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23
Q

Tawdry (adj)

A

Made of inferior workmanship and materials, tastelessly showy.

With tawdry decorations and jewelry, quality has been exchanged for lots of flash and shine.

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24
Q

Incertitude (n)

A

The state of being unsure of something.

A growing incertitude about the honesty of the housekeeper they had just hired.

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25
Q

Postulate (n)

A

A proposition that is accepted as true in order to provide a basis for logical reasoning.

Scientists have postulated the existence of water on the planet.

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26
Q

Raptus (n)

A

A state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion.

Listening to sweet music in a perfect raptus.

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27
Q

Recidivism (n)

A

Habitual relapse into crime.

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28
Q

Intercession (n)

A

The act of intervening (as to mediate a dispute, etc.).

He understood that his father’s intercession for Neal had failed.

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29
Q

Incongruous (adj)

A

Lacking in harmony or compatibility or appropriateness.

The duffle coat she wore looked incongruous with the dress she wore underneath.

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30
Q

Postulant (n)

A

A candidate, especially for admission into a religious order.

Mary Martin was 46 when she played the young postulant Maria Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music.”

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31
Q

Novitiate (n)

A

Someone who has entered a religious order but has not taken final vows.

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32
Q

Catechism (n)

A

An elementary book summarizing the principles of a Christian religion.

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33
Q

Settee (n)

A

A small sofa.

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34
Q

Appellation (n)

A

An identifying name or title.

The city fully justifies its appellation ‘The pearl of the orient’.

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35
Q

Declamation (n)

A

Vehement oratory.

Shakespearean declamation of patriotism.

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36
Q

Polyglot (adj)

A

Able to speak or write several languages; multilingual.

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37
Q

Imperative (adj)

A

Requiring attention or action.

As nuclear weapons proliferate, preventing war becomes imperative.

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38
Q

Peroration (n)

A

The concluding section of an oration.

He summarized his main points in his peroration.

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39
Q

Imprimatur (n)

A

Formal and explicit approval.

A Democrat usually gets the union’s imprimatur.

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40
Q

Nugatory (adj)

A

Of no real value.

A nugatory law.

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41
Q

Approbate (v)

A

Accept (documents) as valid, approve or sanction officially.

I approbate the one, I reprobate the other.

42
Q

Artifice (n)

A

A deceptive maneuver OR false or insincere behavior.

The whole story was just an artifice to win our sympathy

43
Q

Indignant (adj)

A

Angered at something unjust or wrong.

An indignant denial.

44
Q

Opprobrium (n)

A

A state of extreme dishonor.

The name was a by-word of scorn and opprobrium throughout the city.

45
Q

Warranted (adj)

A

Stand behind and guarantee the quality, accuracy, or condition of.

The dealer warrants all the cars he sells.

46
Q

Miasma (n)

A

Unhealthy vapors rising from the ground or other sources.

To follow Trump closely is to live in a miasma of cynical incredulity.

47
Q

Pestilence (n)

A

A pernicious or destructive influence that is hard to get rid of.

After years of war and pestilence, few people remained in the city.

48
Q

Usurer (n)

A

Someone who lends money at excessive rates of interest.

49
Q

Sinew (n)

A

Possessing muscular strength, a cord or band of inelastic tissue connecting a muscle with its bony attachment.

The sinews in her neck.

50
Q

Descant (n)

A

An independent treble melody sung or played above a basic melody.

51
Q

Askance (adj)

A

Directed to one side(used especially of glances) with or as if with doubt or suspicion or envy.

As he bent his head she looked at me askance, and I thought she blushed.

52
Q

Yoke (n)

A

Stable gear that joins two animals at the neck so they can work together as a team.

53
Q

Parley (n)

A

A negotiation between enemies or discuss, as between enemies.

They disagreed over whether to parley with the enemy.

54
Q

Interloper (n)

A

Someone who intrudes on the privacy or property of another without permission.

The new chain superstore was an interloper among the various mom and pop grocery stores.

55
Q

Interlocutor (n)

A

A person who takes part in a conversation.

They might also be unwilling to work with the interlocutor picked by the government to lead the talks.

56
Q

Inchoate (adj)

A

Only partly in existence, imperfectly formed.

A still inchoate democracy.

57
Q

Hullabaloo (n)

A

Disturbance usually in protest.

Remember all the hullabaloo over the golf ball?

58
Q

Indefatigable (adj)

A

Showing sustained enthusiastic action with unflagging vitality.

An indefatigable defender of human rights.

59
Q

Grouse (v)

A

Complain.

What was he grousing about?

60
Q

Ontology (n)

A

The metaphysical study of the nature of being and existence.

61
Q

Engender (v)

A

To cause to happen.

The issue has engendered a considerable amount of debate.

62
Q

Outhouse (n)

A

A small outbuilding with a bench having holes through which a user can defecate.

63
Q

Heft (n)

A

The property of being large in mass.

It was a rather flimsy chair, without much heft to it.

64
Q

Satchel (n)

A

Luggage consisting of a small case with a flat bottom and (usually) a shoulder strap.

65
Q

Felicity (n)

A

Pleasing and appropriate manner or style (especially manner or style of expression).

His personality was so warm and full of felicity that we felt at ease the minute we met him.

66
Q

Gamboling (n)

A

Gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or amusement.

67
Q

Lapel (n)

A

Lap at the front of a coat, continuation of the coat collar

68
Q

Catgut (n)

A

A strong cord made from the intestines of sheep and used in surgery.

69
Q

Pinafores (n)

A

A sleeveless dress resembling an apron, worn over other clothing.

70
Q

Bouffant (adj)

[boo-fahnt]

A

A woman’s hair style in which the hair is teased to give an overall puffed-out appearance.

A blonde lady with bouffant hair.

71
Q

Swaddle (v)

A

To wrap tightly with clothes (especially infants).

She swaddled the baby tightly.

72
Q

Hessian (n)

[hesh-uh n]

A

A hireling or ruffian.

73
Q

Clucked (n)

A

The sound made by a hen (as in calling her chicks).

74
Q

Fundament (n)

A

Lowest support of a structure.

It was built on a fundament of solid rock.

75
Q

Glower (n)

[GLAver]

A

Have an angry or sullen look.

She glowered at him suspiciously.

76
Q

Dissension (n)

A

Disagreement among those expected to cooperate.

These issues caused bitter dissension in the party.

77
Q

Buccal (adj)

A

Of or involving the mouth or mouth region or the surface on which the mouth is located.

78
Q

Mountebank (n)

A

A flamboyant deceiver, one who attracts customers with tricks or jokes.

79
Q

Buckram (adj)

A

A stiff cloth made of cotton to cover books.

80
Q

Auguries (n)

A

An event that is experienced as indicating important things to come.

They heard the sound as an augury of death.

81
Q

Caparisoned (adj)

A

Clothed in finery (especially a horse in ornamental trappings).

His horse was caparisoned with colored ribbons.

82
Q

Bedizen (v)

A

Dress up garishly and tastelessly, decorate tastelessly.

An uniform bedizened with resplendent medals.

83
Q

Manic (adj)

A

Affected with or marked by frenzy or mania uncontrolled by reason.

A manic sense of humor.

84
Q

Eldritch (adj)

A

Suggesting the operation of supernatural influences.

An eldritch screech.

85
Q

Bovine (adj)

A

Of or relating to or belongingto the genusBos (cattle) OR dull and slow-moving.

Showed a bovine apathy.

86
Q

Accoutrements (n)

A

An additional item of dress or equipment.

The accoutrements of religious ritual.

87
Q

Swaddle (v)

A

Wrap in swaddling clothes.

Swaddled the infant.

88
Q

Fallow (adj)

A

Not in use; inactive.

My creative energies have laid fallow this year.

89
Q

Egret (n)

A

Any of various usually white herons having long plumes during breeding season.

90
Q

Pestle (n)

A

A club-shaped hand tool for grinding and mixing substances in a mortar.

91
Q

Mortar (n)

A

A muzzle-loading high-angle gun with a short barrel that fires shells at high elevations for a short range.

92
Q

Festooned (n)

A

Flower chains suspended in curves between points as a decoration.

The staff room was festooned with balloons and streamers.

93
Q

Recompense (n)

A

The act of compensating for service or loss or injury.

The company still needs to recompense the work that the contractor finished last month.

94
Q

Eructation (n)

A

A reflex that expels gas noisily from the stomach through the mouth.

An enormous eructation that startled everyone.

95
Q

Flatus (n)

[Fletus]

A

A reflex that expels intestinal gas through the anus.

96
Q

Mewling (v)

A

Cry weakly or softly.

She mewled with pain.

97
Q

Grating (adj)

A

Harsh, discordant.

A harsh grating voice came out of the speakers.

98
Q

Paring (v)

A

To remove the outer covering of any edible item.

Victor pared an apple in preparation to make a tart.

99
Q

Floret (n)

A

A small flower especially of a cluster .

Cut the florets of a cabbage into smaller pieces

100
Q

Julienne (n)

A

A garnish of vegetables cut into small strips.

English Vocalbulary (31 decks)

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