General Vocabulary 9 Flashcards
Zeitgeist (n)
The defining mood of an age or period.
The story captured the zeitgeist if the 1960s.
Carte Blanche
Complete freedom to do as one wishes.
The architect was given carte blanch to design as he wished.
Fiduciary (adj)
Relationship involving trust especially between a trustee and beneficiary.
The company has a fiduciary duty to shareholders.
Sturgeon roe
Fish eggs(Cavier).
Extant (adj)
Still in existence.
There might still be a number of extant civilizations in the Milky Way.
Sentient (adj)
Able to feel or perceive things.
She had been instructed about the sentient quality of all life forms.
Holler (v)
Give a loud shout or cry.
He hollers when he wants feeding.
Douche (n)
A shower of water.
A device to clean the vagina.
Commission (n)
An instruction, command or duty given to a person.
One of his first commissions was to redesign the Great Exhibition building.
Lament (n)
Complaint about a distress.
His mother’s night-long laments for his father.
Expediency (n)
The act of being convenient or necessary despite being morally incorrect.
An act of political expediency.
Feint (v)
A deceptive movement or action.
A brief feint at the opponent’s face.
Hostler (n)
A person who looks after the horses of people staying at an inn.
Gaunt (adj)
Weak lean and haggard looking.
A tall, gaunt woman in black.
Bilious (adj)
Affected by nausea.
The food I ate made me feel bilious.
Cognoscenti (n)
A person with superior knowledge or understanding in a particular field especially for arts fashion.
It’s worth taking a tip from the fashion cognoscenti.
Imprimatur (n)
[im prey ma ter]
Approval or sanction.
The plan has the presidents imprimatur.
Bedeviled (v)
Plagued by continuous trouble and unfortunate events.
Projects like these are bedeviled by the lack of cash.
Antecedent (n)
Anything that logically precedes it comes before another.
Some antecedents in the African novel might exists the African oral tradition.
Litigious (adj)
Prone to go the legal way to settle disputes.
Our increasingly litigious society.
Lothario (n)
A man who seduces women and then deceives them.
They are seduced by a handsome Lothario who gains control of their financial affairs.
Aplomb (n)
Self confidence or assurance.
Jane passed the test with great aplomb.
Rasher (n)
A thin slice of bacon.
Sedulous (adj)
Showing dedication and diligence.
He watch over himself with the most sedulous care.
Doleful (adj)
Causing grief or sorrow.
A doleful look.
Surly (adj)
Bad tempered.
The porter left with a surly expression.
Fusty (adj)
Stale damp or stuffy.
The fusty of odour of the room.
Burlesque (n)
A mimicking parody or caricature in poor taste.
A novel which is a burlesque of the literary life.
Moratorium (n)
Temporary freeze on an activity.
There was a moratorium on fishing in river waters.
Dromedary (n)
A single hump Arabian camel.
Remonstrate (v)
To make a forceful protest.
He turned angrily to remonstrate with Tom.
Xenophobia (n)
Intense dislike of people from other countries or civilizations.
Racism and xenophobia are steadily growing in Europe.
Bedlam (n)
A scene of confusion and lack of order.
There was bedlam in the court of law when the judgement was pronounced.
Ecumenical (adj)
Representing a number of different churches.
He was a member of ecumenical committees.
Vivisection (n)
Operations on live animals as experimentation.
The abolition of vivisection.
Compost (n)
Decayed organic material used as plant fertilizer.
Cover with a layer of fine compost.
Feckless (adj)
Lacking strength of character.
Her feckless younger brother.
Dissolute (adj)
Lacking in morals. Licentious.
Unfortunately, his heir was feckless and dissolute.
Derisively (adj)
In a manner expressing contempt or ridicule.
She snorted derisively at him.
Overlordship (n)
A ruler especially a vassal ruler.
Syncretism (n)
The amalgamation of different religions and cultures.
Interfaith dialogue can easily slip into syncretism.
Endogamous (adj)
Marrying within the community.
Ecumenical (adj)
Representing a number of different Christian churches.
He was a member of ecumenical committees.
Insouciant (adj)
Showing a casual lack of concern.
Her insouciant shrug when discussing matters of importance.
Isomorphic (adj)
Having similar appearance but different genetic makeup.
Polemicist (n)
Someone who indulges in controversial debates and arguments.
A brilliant polemicist with an independent critical mind.
Fetish (n)
An inanimate object worshiped because it’s believed to be processed by a living spirit.
A man with a fetish for surgical masks.
Skittle (n)
A game played with wooden pins.
Genus (n)
A principle taxonomic category that ranks above species and below family.
The largest genus of plants with fleshy fruits.
Dystopia (n)
An imaginary place where everything is bad.
Traipsed (v)
[treyps]
To walk or go aimlessly without finding one’s goal.
We traipsed all over town looking for a copy of the book.
Grist (n)
Ground grain OR Something employed to one’s profit or advantage.
Every delay was so much more grist for her mill.
Camber (n)
The rise of the curve of an airfoil.
Jaunty (adj)
Easy and sprightly in manner or bearing.
To walk with a jaunty step.
Contrails (n)
A visible condensation of water droplets or ice crystals from the atmosphere, occurring in the wake of an aircraft - exhaust trail
Contingent (adj)
Dependent on something not yet certain or liable to happen or not.
Our plans are contingent on the weather.
Gratuitous (adj)
[gruh-too-i-tuh s, -tyoo-]
Being without apparent reason, cause, or justification.
A gratuitous insult.
Fetish (n)
Any object, idea, etc., eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect, or devotion.
A man with a fetish for surgical masks.
Schooner (n)
[skoo-ner]
Any of various types of sailing vessel having a foremast and mainmast, with or without other masts.
Prow (n)
The pointed front part of a ship; the bow.
Rakish (adj)
Smart jaunty dashing.
A hat worn at a rakish angle.
Palindromic (adj)
A word, line, verse, number, sentence, etc., reading the same backward as forward
Vindication (n)
To clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or the like.
To vindicate someone’s honor.
Ballyhoo (n)
A clamorous and vigorous attempt to win customers or advance any cause.
After all the ballyhoo, the film was a flop.
Anthropomorphic (adj)
Ascribing human form or attributes to a being or thing not human, especially to a deity.
Girth (n)
[gurth]
The measure around anything; circumference.
Nip (v)
To take off by pinching, biting, or snipping (usually followed by off).
He nipped off a piece of steak and gave it to the dog.
Tuck (v)
To put into a small, close, or concealing place.
Tuck the money into your wallet.
Updraft (n)
The movement upward of air or other gas.
Aft (n)
The hind portion of an airplane.
Cleaved (v)
To remain faithful (usually followed by to)
To cleave to one’s principles in spite of persecution.
Roil (v)
To disturb or disquiet; irritate; vex.
To be roiled by a delay.
Stanchions (n)
An upright bar, beam, post, or support, as in a window, stall, ship, etc.
Yokes (n)
A device for joining together a pair of draft animals, especially oxen, usually consisting of a crosspiece.
Quaint (adj)
Strange, peculiar, or unusual in an interesting, pleasing, or amusing way.
A quaint sense of humor.
Way point (n)
A place or point between major points on a route.
Fairings (n)
A structure on the exterior of an aircraft or boat, for reducing drag.
Winglets (n)
A short, near-vertical projection on a wing tip that reduces drag and improves fuel efficiency.
Gentrified (adj)
Very or excessively refined or elegant.
A gentrified Irish American.
Gritty (adj)
Consisting of, containing, or resembling grit, sandy.
Cavernous (adj)
Being, resembling, or suggestive of a large cave.
A vast, cavernous room.
Symbiosis (n)
A relationship between two people in which each person is dependent upon and receives reinforcement, whether beneficial or detrimental, from the other.
Umbilicus (n)
The depression in the center of the surface of the abdomen indicating the point of attachment of the umbilical cord to the embryo; navel.
Transome (n)
A crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it.
Stubby (adj)
Short and thick or broad; thick-set or squat.
Stubby fingers.
Kitter (n)
Another word for cat.
Luridly (adj)
Gruesome; horrible; revolting
The lurid details of an accident.
Keels (n)
A structural member in the bottom of a hull to provide stability.
Wicker (n)
A slender, pliant twig.
A wicker’s chair.
Spar (n)
A principal lateral member of the framework of a wing of an airplane.
Threadbare (adj)
Having the nap worn off so as to lay bare the threads of the warp and woof OR meager, scanty, or poor.
A threadbare emotional life.
Lapels (n)
Either of the two parts of a garment folded back on the chest, especially a continuation of a coat collar.
Gangly (adj)
Awkwardly tall and spindly; lank and loosely built.
Patois (n)
[pat-wah]
A regional form of a language differing from the standard, literary form of the language.
The nurse talked to me in a patois that even Italians would have had difficulty in understanding.
Rite (n)
A formal or ceremonial act or procedure prescribed or customary in religious or other solemn use.
The Roman rite.
Hunker (v)
To hunch.
The driver hunkered over the steering wheel.
Circadian (adj)
Pertaining to rhythmic biological cycles recurring at approximately 24-hour intervals.
One of the most important things you can do for your sleep is to have a routine to keep your circadian rhythm normal
Cachet (adj)
[ka-shey]
A distinguishing mark or feature; stamp.
Courtesy is the cachet of good breeding.
Luddite (n)
A member of any of various bands of workers in England (1811–16) organized to destroy manufacturing machinery, under the belief that its use diminished employment.
Claptrap (adj)
Pretentious but insincere or empty language.
His speeches seem erudite but analysis reveals them to be mere claptrap.
