General Vocabulary 7 Flashcards
Cognoscenti (n)
An expert able to appreciate a field; especially in the fine arts.
Protean (adj)
Taking on different forms, versatile.
Eyes of that baffling protean actor which is never twice the same.
Exculpate (v)
Pronounce not guilty of criminal charges.
The suspect was exculpated of the murder charges.
Imperious (adj)
Having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy.
Entreat (v)
Ask for or request earnestly.
The prophet bid all people to become good persons.
Alabaster (adj)
A finely granular variety of gypsum, often white and translucent, used for ornamental objects or work, such as lamp bases, figurines, etc.
Plaintive (adj)
Expressing sorrow.
Livid (adj)
Furiously angry.
Willful stupidity makes him absolutely livid.
Kleptomania (n)
An irresistible impulse to steal in the absence of any economic motive.
Noviciate (n)
The period during which you are a novice (especially in a religious order).
Credulous (adj)
Disposed to believe on little evidence.
The gimmick would convince none but the most credulous.
Babble (n)
Gibberish resembling the sounds of a baby.
Cogent (adj)
Powerfully persuasive.
A cogent argument, a telling presentation.
Gored (n)
The shedding of blood resulting in murder.
Dollops (n)
A small measure (usually of food).
Archetype (n)
Something that serves as a model or a basis for making copies.
Regiment (n)
Army unit smaller than a division.
Malfeasance (n)
Wrongful conduct by a public official.
Amenable (adj)
Disposed or willing to conform.
Someone amenable to the instruction of others.
Platitude (n)
A trite or obvious remark.
Doggerel (n)
A comic verse of irregular measure.
Refulgent (adj)
Radiating or as if radiating light.
The refulgent beaming sun.
Pacifist (n)
Someone opposed to violence as a means of settling disputes
Salutary (adj)
Tending to promote physical well-being, beneficial to health
Pedant (n)
A person who pays more attention to formal rules and book learning than they merit.
Gauche (adj)
Lacking social polish.
Too gauche to leave the room when the conversation became intimate.
Ardor (n)
Intense feeling of love.
Mores (n)
The conventions that embody the fundamental values of a group.
Tunic (n)
Any of a variety of loose fitting cloaks extending to the hips or knees.
Elixir (n)
A substance believed to cure all ills, a sweet flavored liquid (usually containing a small amount of alcohol) used in compounding medicines to be taken by mouth in order to mask an unpleasant taste.
Denude (v)
Lay bare, “denude a forest”.
Enjoin (v)
Give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority.
Bosun (n)
A petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen.
Perspicacity (n)
The capacity to assess situations or circumstances shrewdly and to draw sound conclusions.
Congeal (v)
Become gelatinous.
The liquid congealed after we added the enzyme.
Poignant (adj)
Arousing affect.
The homecoming of the released hostages was a poignant scene.
Dilatory (adj)
Wasting time.
Atrophy (n)
Any weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use).
Froward (adj)
Habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition.
Unimpeachable (adj)
Completely acceptable, not open to exception or reproach.
Opprobrium (n)
A state of extreme dishonor.
Bourgeois (adj)
(according to Marxist thought) Being of the property-owning class and exploitative of the working class.
Inversion (n)
Turning upside down, setting on end, the reversal of the normal order of words.
Decorous (adj)
Characterized by propriety and dignity and good taste in manners and conduct.
Effulgent (adj)
Radiating or as if radiating light, “the beaming sun”.
Dour (adj)
Showing a brooding ill humor, “a dark scowl”.
Effrontery (n)
Audacious (even arrogant) behavior that you have no right to.
Peccadilloes (n)
A petty misdeed.
Depredate (v)
Plunder, loot and ravage.
Canister (n)
Metal container for storing dry foods such as tea or flour.
Toady (adj)
A person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage.
Inveterate (adj)
Habitual.
An inveterate smoker.
Ponderous (adj)
Having great mass and weight and unwieldiness.
A ponderous stone.
Locution (n)
A word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations.
Gazebo (n)
A small roofed building affording shade and rest.
Consequential (adj)
Having important issues or results.
The year’s only really consequential legislation.
Preternatural (adj)
Existing outside of or not in accordance with nature.
Calumny (n)
A false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation of someone’s words or actions.
Rigmarole (n)
A long and complicated and confusing procedure.
All that academic rigmarole was a waste of time.
Ferment (n)
A process in which an agent causes an organic substance to break down into simpler substances.
Tractable (adj)
Responsive to suggestions and influences.
A tractable student.
Pantheon (n)
A temple to all the gods, all the gods of a religion.
Swinish (adj)
Resembling swine, coarsely gluttonous or greedy.
Cleave (v)
Separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument.
Innervate (v)
Stimulate to action.
Innervate a muscle or a nerve.
Grimace (n)
A contorted facial expression.
She made a grimace at the prospect of leaving home.
Antipathy (n)
The object of a feeling of intense aversion, something to be avoided.
Bawdier (adj)
Humorously vulgar.
Diatribe (n)
Thunderous verbal attack.
Artless (adj)
Simple and natural, without cunning or deceit.
Trenchant (adj)
Clearly or sharply defined to the mind.
Confetti (n)
Small pieces or streamers of colored paper that are thrown around on festive occasions (as at a wedding)
Nebulous (adj)
Lacking definition or definite content.
Nebulous reasons.
Vet (n)
A doctor who practices veterinary medicine OR
To examine.
Flagellate (adj)
Having or resembling a lash or whip (as does a flagellum).
Aquamarine (n)
A shade of blue tinged with green.
Stygian (adj)
Hellish, dark and dismal as of the rivers Acheron and Styx in Hades.
Perfidy (n)
An act of deliberate betrayal, betrayal of a trust.
Ensemble (n)
A coordinated outfit (set of clothing).
Antipodal (adj)
Relating to the antipodes or situated at opposite sides of the earth.
Adulate (v)
Flatter in an obsequious manner.
Panoply (n)
A complete and impressive array.
Aseptic (adj)
Free of or using methods to keep free of pathological microorganisms.
Grandiloquent (adj)
Puffed up with vanity.
A grandiloquent and boastful manner.
Fatuous (adj)
Extremely silly or stupid.
Disconcerting (adj)
Causing an emotional disturbance.
Rectitude (n)
Righteousness as a consequence of being honorable and honest.
Didactic (adj)
Instructive (especially excessively).
Foppish (adj)
Affecting extreme elegance in dress and manner.
Calloused (adj)
Having calluses, having skin made tough and thick through wear.
Inopportune (adj)
Not opportune.
Arrived at a most inopportune hour.
Pathology (n)
The branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases.
Ambrosia (n)
Food of the gods.
Aureole (n)
An indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint.
Tourniquet (n)
Bandage that stops the flow of blood from an artery by applying pressure.
Incendiary (adj)
Capable of catching fire spontaneously or causing fires or burning readily.
Torrid (adj)
Extremely hot and dry.
The torrid heat of the noonday sun.
Deign (v)
Do something that one considers to be below one’s dignity
Desultory (adj)
Marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose
Pugilism (n)
Fighting with the fists
