Group 3 Flashcards
acumen
the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain.
“business acumen”
adulterate
to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
amalgamate
combine or unite to form one organization or structure.
“he amalgamated his company with another”
archaic
outdated; primitive
aver
to state as a fact; to declare
bombastic
pompous
diatribe
a forceful and bitter verbal attack against someone or something.
dissemble
conceal one’s true motives, feelings, or beliefs.
“an honest, sincere person with no need to dissemble”
eccentric
strange behavior
departing from norms or conventions
evanescent
soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing.
“a shimmering evanescent bubble”
fervent
greatly emotional or zealous
fortuitous
happening by accident or chance rather than design.
“the similarity between the paintings may not be simply fortuitous”
germane
relevant to a subject under consideration.
“that is not germane to our theme”
grandiloquence
pompous speech or expression
hackneyed
(of a phrase or idea) lacking significance through having been overused; unoriginal and trite.
“hackneyed old sayings”
halcyon
denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful.
“the halcyon days of the mid-1980s, when profits were soaring”
hedonism
the pursuit of pleasure; sensual self-indulgence.
iconoclast
a person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions.
idolatrous
treating someone or something as an idol.
“America’s idolatrous worship of the auto”
impassive
not feeling or showing emotion.
“impassive passersby ignore the performers”
imperturbable
unable to be upset or excited; calm.
“an imperturbable tranquility”
impunity
exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action.
“the impunity enjoyed by military officers implicated in civilian killings”
infelicitous
unfortunate; inappropriate.
“his illustration is singularly infelicitous”
insipid
lacking vigor or interest.
“many artists continued to churn out insipid, shallow works”
loquacious
tending to talk a great deal; talkative.
“never loquacious, Sarah was now totally lost for words”
malevolent
having or showing a wish to do evil to others.
“the glint of dark, malevolent eyes”
mendacity
untruthfulness; lying.
“people publicly castigated for past mendacity”
meticulous
characterized by care
misanthrope
a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society.
“Scrooge wasn’t the mean-spirited misanthrope most of us believe him to be”
obdurate
stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action.
“I argued this point with him, but he was obdurate”
obsequious
obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.
“they were served by obsequious waiters”
occlude
hide or obscure from prominence or view.
“voices are completely occluded from participating in the debate”
opprobrium
harsh criticism or censure.
“his films and the critical opprobrium they have generated”
pedagogy
the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept.
“the relationship between applied linguistics and language pedagogy”
pedantic
an insulting term used to describe someone who is annoying by:
Correcting small errors
Caring too much about minor details
Emphasizing their own expertise, especially in a narrow or boring subject matter
penury
extreme poverty; destitution.
“he died in a state of virtual penury”
pervasive
(especially of an unwelcome influence or physical effect) spreading widely throughout an area or a group of people.
“ageism is pervasive and entrenched in our society”
pine
to yearn intensely; to languish
pirate
to illegally use/reproduce
pith
central/essential part
placate
make (someone) less angry or hostile.
“they attempted to placate the students with promises”
platitude
a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful.
“he masks his disdain for her with platitudes about how she should believe in herself more”
plummet
fall or drop straight down at high speed.
“a climber was killed when he plummeted 300 feet down an icy gully”
polemical
expressing or constituting a strongly critical attack on or controversial opinion about someone or something.
“a polemical essay”
prodigal
spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant.
“prodigal habits die hard”
profuse
(especially of something offered or discharged) exuberantly plentiful; abundant.
“I offered my profuse apologies”
proliferate
increase rapidly in numbers; multiply.
“the science fiction magazines that proliferated in the 1920s”
querulous
complaining in a petulant or whining manner.
“she became querulous and demanding”
rancorous
characterized by bitterness or resentment.
“sixteen miserable months of rancorous disputes”
recalcitrant
having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline.
“a class of recalcitrant fifteen-year-olds”
repudiate
refuse to accept or be associated with.
“she has repudiated policies associated with previous party leaders”
reverent
feeling or showing deep and solemn respect.
“a reverent silence”
salubrious
health-giving; healthy.
“salubrious weather”
solvent
able to meet financial obligations
having assets in excess of liabilities; able to pay one’s debts.
“interest rate rises have very severe effects on normally solvent companies”
specious
superficially plausible, but actually wrong.
“a specious argument”
superfluous
unnecessary, especially through being more than enough.
“the purchaser should avoid asking for superfluous information”
surfeit
cause (someone) to desire no more of something as a result of having consumed or done it to excess.
“I am surfeited with shopping”
tenacity
the quality or fact of being able to grip something firmly; grip.
“the sheer tenacity of the limpet”
tenuous
flimsy, weak
tirade
a long, angry speech of criticism or accusation.
“a tirade of abuse”
transient
passing quickly; brief
zealous
showing great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective.
“he was a zealous supporter of constitutional and parliamentary reform”