Group 13 Flashcards
precarious
adj. uncertain, unstable; dependent on chance //__ living as a writer]
volatile
adj. unpredictable; tense; evaporative
impasse
n. deadlock, a situation in which no progress is possible esp bc of disagreement [the current political __]
countenance
n. face, appearance; v. tolerate// it would ___ the acceptance of policies and practices contrary to the natural moral law
placate
v. pacify, mollify, appease [they attempted to __the students]
tout
v. peddle; solicit; recommend, attempt to sell something, typically by pestering people boldly
flummox
v. perplex, bewilder, confound [___by the question]
ensconced
v. plonk, nestle, settle smne in comfortable/secret place
rapacious
adj. aggressively greedy or predatory [___ lending]
cavalier
adj. arrogant, haughty, snobbish, off hand, showing lack of proper concern
ornery
adj. bad-tempered, stubborn, vile
rudimentary
adj. basic, fundamental
truculent
adj. belligerent, eager to argue, fight, aggressively defiant
irascible
adj. cantankerous, feisty, irritable, easily made angry
scurvy
adj. contemptible, mean //__ trick
craven
adj. cowardly, contemptibly lacking in courage
vacuous
adj. empty, mindless, unintelligent [a ___ smile]
wanton
adj. extravagant; malicious; reckless [__vandalism]
sardonic
adj. grimly mocking or cynical
churlish
adj. grumpy, surly, rude in a mean-spirited [it seems __ to complain]
sordid
adj. ignoble, vile. filthy. squalid
impervious
adj. immune, unable to be affected by
promiscuous
adj. indiscriminately sexually active
lecherous
adj. lewd, having or showing excessive or offensive sexual desire
anomic
adj. loner, hermit. n. absence of social norms/values as in the case of uprooted people// Americans in other words, aren’t suffering from _ie.
malevolent
adj. malicious, wicked[ ______ eyes]
specious
adj. misleading, seeming right but lacking merit
atavistic
adj. primitive, relating to reversion to something ancient or ancestral [___fears and instincts]
amorous
adj. romantic , erotic
dastardly
adj. rotten, cowardly, mean, sneaking
impertinent
adj. rude; irrelevant
lascivious
adj. salacious, lewd, inclined to lust, arousing
obtuse
adj. slow, dense, dumb, insensitive
meretricious
adj. tawdry, flashy, seeming to have value, but not
unwitting
adj. unintentional, inadvertent, not fully aware of facts
apocryphal
adj. unsubstantiated, questionable, of doubtful authorship or authenticity
ribald
adj. vulgar, coursely irreverent, scurrilous
nefarious
adj. wicked or criminal
rancor
n. bitterness, enmity, hatefulness, acrimony
mendacity
n. deceit, untruthfulness
sadism
n. deliberate cruelty, the tendency to derive pleasure, esp sexual gratification, from inflicting sufferingon others
snit
n. fit of irritation, a sulk [he withdrew in a __]
enmity
n. hatred, animosity, a condition or feeling of hostility. [___ towards bad people]
voyeur
n. peeping tom
schadenfreude
n. pleasure derived by somone from another person’s misfortune
subterfuge
n. ploy, ruse, sham, cheating
verisimilitude
n. realism, believability, lifelikeness [the _ of her performance is gripping]
derision
n. ridicule, mockery// the inept performance elicited __ from the audience
stature
n. standing, distinction, level of importance gained by ability [an architect of international ___]
hector
n. v. bully
