Group 2 Flashcards
abate
(of something perceived as hostile, threatening, or negative) become less intense or widespread.
“the storm suddenly abated”
accolade
an award or privilege granted as a special honor or as an acknowledgment of merit.
“the ski resort achieved the ultimate accolade of playing host to the Winter Olympics”
adulation
obsequious flattery; excessive admiration or praise.
“he found it difficult to cope with the adulation of the fans”
ameliorate
make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better.
“the reform did much to ameliorate living standards”
ascetic
characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.
“an ascetic life of prayer, fasting, and manual labor”
avarice
extreme greed for wealth or material gain.
“he was rich beyond the dreams of avarice”
burgeon
begin to grow or increase rapidly; flourish.
“the city’s suburbs have burgeoned, sprawling out from the center”
bucolic
relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life.
“the church is lovely for its bucolic setting”
cacophony
a harsh discordant mixture of sounds.
“a cacophony of deafening alarm bells”
canon
a general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged.
“the appointment violated the canons of fair play and equal opportunity”
castigation
severe criticism, a harsh scolding, or the act of punishing someone:
“The speaker segued inexplicably from a calm informational tone into a full-throated castigation of anyone and everyone associated with the administration”.
catalyst
a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change.
“chlorine acts as a catalyst promoting the breakdown of ozone”
a person or thing that precipitates an event.
“the governor’s speech acted as a catalyst for debate”
caustic
able to burn or corrode organic tissue by chemical action.
“a caustic cleaner”
chary
cautiously or suspiciously reluctant to do something.
“most people are chary of allowing themselves to be photographed”
cogent
(of an argument or case) clear, logical, and convincing.
“they put forward cogent arguments for British membership”
contentious
causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial.
“a contentious issue”
contrite
feeling or expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt.
“a broken and a contrite heart”
culpable
deserving blame or censure, especially for something that is wrong, harmful, or evil
dearth
a scarcity or lack of something.
“there is a dearth of evidence”
demur
to question or oppose
discretion
the quality of behaving or speaking in such a way as to avoid causing offense or revealing private information.
“she knew she could rely on his discretion”
disinterested
free of bias or self-interest
dogmatic
expressing opinions as if they were facts, or relating to a set of principles or beliefs that are not open to question
ebullience
the quality of being cheerful and full of energy; exuberance.
“the ebullience of happy children”
eclectic
elegy
a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.
emollient
having the quality of softening or soothing the skin.
“an emollient cream”
empirical
based on observation or experiment
enigmatic
difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious.
“he took the money with an enigmatic smile”
ephemeral
lasting for a very short time.
“fashions are ephemeral”
esoteric
intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.
“esoteric philosophical debates”
fallacious
based on a mistaken belief.
“fallacious arguments”
furtive
attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble; secretive.
“they spent a furtive day together”
gregarious
(of a person) fond of company; sociable.
“he was a popular and gregarious man”
harangue
a lengthy and aggressive speech.
“they were subjected to a ten-minute harangue by two border guards”
heretical
holding an opinion at odds with what is generally accepted.
“I feel a bit heretical saying this, but I think the film has too much action”
impecunious
having little or no money.
“a titled but impecunious family”
incipient
in an initial stage; beginning to happen or develop.
“he could feel incipient anger building up”
inert
unmoving; lethargic
innocuous
harmless; causing no damage
intransigent
unwilling or refusing to change one’s views or to agree about something.
“her father had tried persuasion, but she was intransigent”
inveigle
persuade (someone) to do something by means of deception or flattery.
“we cannot inveigle him into putting pen to paper”
morose
sullen and ill-tempered.
“she was morose and silent when she got home”
odious
extremely unpleasant; repulsive.
“a pretty odious character”
penurious
extremely poor; poverty-stricken.
“a penurious old tramp”
pernicious
having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.
“the pernicious effects of air pollution”
peruse
read (something), typically in a thorough or careful way.
“he has spent countless hours in libraries perusing art history books and catalogues”
precursor
one that precedes and indicates or announces another
preen
(of a person) devote effort to making oneself look attractive and then admire one’s appearance.
“adolescents preening in their bedroom mirrors”
prodigious
abundant in size, force, extent; extraordinary
prolific
producing large volumes or amounts; productive
putrefy
(of a body or other organic matter) decay or rot and produce a fetid smell.
“the body was beginning to putrefy”
quaff
drink (something, especially an alcoholic drink) heartily.
“he quaffed pint after pint of good Berkshire ale”
quiescence
inactivity or dormancy.
“this method has been shown to induce sleep-like quiescence in adult animals”
redoubtable
(of a person) formidable, especially as an opponent.
“he was a redoubtable debater”
squalid
sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect
stoic
indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast
supplant
to take place of; to supersede
torpid
lethargic; sluggish
ubiquitous
existing everywhere at the same time
urbane
sophisticated; refined
vilify
to defame; to characterize harshly
viscous
thick; sticky
