Group A Flashcards
What does ‘Abeyance’ mean?
A state of temporary inactivity or suspension.
What does ‘Abrogate’ mean?
To repeal or do away with a law, right, or formal agreement.
What does ‘Abstemious’ mean?
Not allowing oneself much in the way of food or drink; moderate.
What does ‘Adumbrate’ mean?
To outline or sketch something in a vague way.
What is an ‘Ait’?
A small island, especially in a river.
What does ‘Alacrity’ mean?
Brisk and cheerful readiness.
What does ‘Alloy’ refer to?
A mixture of metals.
What does ‘Ambivalent’ mean?
Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
What does ‘Ambrosial’ mean?
Delicious or fragrant; fit for the gods.
What does ‘Anathema’ mean?
Something or someone that one vehemently dislikes.
What does ‘Apocryphal’ mean?
Of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true.
What does ‘Apogee’ mean?
The highest point in the development of something.
What does ‘Apostate’ mean?
A person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle.
What does ‘Apotheosis’ mean?
The highest point in the development of something; a culmination or climax.
What does ‘Apposite’ mean?
Relevant or appropriate.
What does ‘Apprise’ mean?
To inform or tell someone.
What does ‘Approbation’ mean?
Approval or praise.
What does ‘Apropos’ mean?
With reference to; concerning.
What does ‘Arcane’ mean?
Understood by few; mysterious or secret.
What does ‘Arch’ mean?
Deliberately or affectedly playful and teasing.
What does ‘Arrant’ mean?
Complete, utter; often used to emphasize something negative.
What does ‘Artful’ mean?
Clever or skillful, typically in a cunning way.
What does ‘Artless’ mean?
Without guile or deception; innocent.
What does ‘Ascetic’ mean?
Characterized by severe self-discipline and abstention from indulgence.
What does ‘Asperity’ mean?
Harshness of tone or manner.
What does ‘Aspersion’ mean?
An attack on the reputation or integrity of someone or something.
What does ‘Assiduous’ mean?
Showing great care and perseverance.
What does ‘Assignation’ mean?
An appointment to meet someone in secret.
What does ‘Astringent’ mean?
Causing the contraction of body tissues, typically used in reference to substances.
What does ‘Attenuate’ mean?
To reduce the force, effect, or value of something.
What does ‘Augury’ mean?
A sign of what will happen in the future; an omen.
What does ‘August’ mean?
Respected and impressive.
What does ‘Auspicious’ mean?
Conducive to success; favorable.
What does ‘Autochthonous’ mean?
Indigenous rather than descended from migrants or colonists.
What does ‘Autodidact’ mean?
A self-taught person.
What does ‘Aver’ mean?
To state or assert to be the case.
What does ‘Axiom’ mean?
A statement or proposition that is regarded as being self-evidently true.
What does ‘Axiomatic’ mean?
Self-evident or unquestionable.
What does ‘Baleful’ mean?
Threatening harm; menacing.
What does ‘Banausic’ mean?
Relating to or concerned with earning a living; mundane.
What does ‘Beatific’ mean?
Blissfully happy.
What does ‘Beatify’ mean?
To declare someone to be blessed.
What does ‘Beatitude’ mean?
Supreme blessedness.
What does ‘Bedizen’ mean?
To dress up or adorn gaudily.
What does ‘Belie’ mean?
To contradict or show something to be false.
What does ‘Bellicose’ mean?
Demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight.
What does ‘Benighted’ mean?
In a state of moral or intellectual darkness; ignorant.
What does ‘Bilious’ mean?
Affected by or associated with nausea or vomiting.
What does ‘Bilk’ mean?
To cheat or defraud.
What does ‘Blandishment’ mean?
Flattering speech or actions designed to persuade.
What does ‘Bombast’ mean?
High-sounding language with little meaning.
What does ‘Boor’ mean?
An unrefined, ill-mannered person.
What does ‘Brook’ mean?
To tolerate or allow.
What does ‘Bucolic’ mean?
Relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life.
What does ‘Bulwark’ mean?
A defensive wall or protection.
What does ‘Burgeon’ mean?
To begin to grow or increase rapidly.
What does ‘Byzantine’ mean?
Excessively complicated, typically involving a great deal of administrative detail.
What does ‘Cadge’ mean?
To obtain something by imposing on another’s generosity.
What does ‘Cajole’ mean?
To persuade someone to do something by sustained coaxing or flattery.
What does ‘Calumny’ mean?
The making of false and defamatory statements about someone.
What does ‘Caparison’ mean?
To adorn with rich clothing or equipment.
What does ‘Capricious’ mean?
Given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior.
What does ‘Castigate’ mean?
To reprimand someone severely.
What does ‘Catharsis’ mean?
The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.
What does ‘Celerity’ mean?
Swiftness of movement.
What does ‘Censorious’ mean?
Expressing or showing disapproving criticism.
What does ‘Chary’ mean?
Cautiously or suspiciously reluctant to do something.
What does ‘Chauvinist’ mean?
A person displaying excessive or prejudiced support for their own cause, group, or sex.
What does ‘Chicanery’ mean?
The use of trickery to achieve a political, financial, or legal purpose.
What does ‘Chimera’ mean?
A thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve.
What does ‘Choleric’ mean?
Bad-tempered or irritable.
What does ‘Churlish’ mean?
Rude in a mean-spirited and surly way.
What does ‘Cogent’ mean?
Clear, logical, and convincing.
What does ‘Complacent’ mean?
Showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements.
What does ‘Complaisant’ mean?
Willing to please others; obliging.
What does ‘Complicit’ mean?
Involved with others in an illegal activity or wrongdoing.
What does ‘Consequential’ mean?
Following as a result or effect.
What does ‘Consonant’ mean?
In agreement or harmony.
What does ‘Contemn’ mean?
To treat with disdain or contempt.
What does ‘Contrite’ mean?
Feeling or expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt.
What does ‘Contumacious’ mean?
Stubbornly or willfully disobedient to authority.
What does ‘Corrigible’ mean?
Capable of being corrected or reformed.
What does ‘Countenance’ mean?
A person’s face or facial expression.
What does ‘Cozen’ mean?
To trick or deceive.
What does ‘Craven’ mean?
Contemptibly lacking in courage; cowardly.
What does ‘Cynicism’ mean?
An inclination to believe that people are motivated purely by self-interest.
What does ‘Cynosure’ mean?
A person or thing that is the center of attention or admiration.
What does ‘Dais’ mean?
A raised platform for speakers or honored guests.
What does ‘Daunt’ mean?
To make someone feel intimidated or apprehensive.
What does ‘Debacle’ mean?
A sudden and ignominious failure.
What does ‘Declamatory’ mean?
Expressing feelings or opinions in a loud and forceful way.
What does ‘Defenestrate’ mean?
To throw someone or something out of a window.
What does ‘Deliquesce’ mean?
To become liquid, typically by absorbing moisture from the air.
What does ‘Demur’ mean?
To raise doubts or objections.
What does ‘Denigrate’ mean?
To criticize unfairly; disparage.
What does ‘Depredate’ mean?
To plunder or lay waste to.
What does ‘Depredations’ mean?
Acts of attacking or plundering.
What does ‘Deracinate’ mean?
To tear something up by the roots.
What does ‘Desuetude’ mean?
A state of disuse.
What does ‘Desultory’ mean?
Lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm.
What does ‘Detraction’ mean?
The action of taking away from the worth or value of something.
What does ‘Detumescence’ mean?
The process of subsiding or diminishing.
What does ‘Diaphanous’ mean?
Light, delicate, and translucent.
What does ‘Diaspora’ mean?
The dispersion of any people from their original homeland.
What does ‘Diatribe’ mean?
A forceful and bitter verbal attack.
What does ‘Diffident’ mean?
Modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence.
What does ‘Dilatory’ mean?
Slow to act.
What does ‘Dilettante’ mean?
A person who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge.
What does ‘Disabuse’ mean?
To free someone from a misconception.
What does ‘Discomfit’ mean?
To make someone feel uneasy or embarrassed.
What does ‘Disingenuous’ mean?
Not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does.
What does ‘Disinterested’ mean?
Impartial; unbiased.
What does ‘Dissolution’ mean?
The closing down or dismissal of an assembly, partnership, or official body.
What does ‘Distrait’ mean?
Inattentive or preoccupied.
What does ‘Divagate’ mean?
To wander or stray from a course.
What does ‘Doctrinaire’ mean?
Seeking to impose a doctrine in all circumstances without regard to practical considerations.
What does ‘Ebullience’ mean?
The quality of being cheerful and full of energy.
What does ‘Éclat’ mean?
Brilliant display or effect.
What does ‘Effrontery’ mean?
Insolent or impertinent behavior.
What does ‘Effulgence’ mean?
A brilliant radiance; a shining forth.
What does ‘Embargo’ mean?
An official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country.
What does ‘Emollient’ mean?
Having the quality of softening or soothing the skin.
What does ‘Empyrean’ mean?
Relating to the sky or the heavens.
What does ‘Encomium’ mean?
A speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly.
What does ‘Enervate’ mean?
To cause someone to feel drained of energy or vitality.
What does ‘Enormity’ mean?
The great or extreme scale, seriousness, or extent of something perceived as bad or morally wrong.
What does ‘Entelechy’ mean?
The realization of potential.
What does ‘Enumerate’ mean?
To mention a number of things one by one.
What does ‘Equanimous’ mean?
Calm and composed, especially in difficult situations.
What does ‘Equivocal’ mean?
Open to more than one interpretation; ambiguous.
What does ‘Errant’ mean?
Erring or straying from the proper course or standards.
What does ‘Esoteric’ mean?
Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge.
What does ‘Essay’ mean?
To attempt or try.
What does ‘Etymology’ mean?
The study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.
What does ‘Exacerbate’ mean?
To make a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling worse.
What does ‘Excoriate’ mean?
To criticize severely and publicly.
What does ‘Exculpate’ mean?
To show or declare that someone is not guilty of wrongdoing.
What does ‘Exemplum’ mean?
An example or model, especially a moral one.
What does ‘Exhort’ mean?
To strongly encourage or urge someone to do something.
What does ‘Exigent’ mean?
Pressing; demanding.
What does ‘Exonerate’ mean?
To clear someone of blame or fault.
What does ‘Expatiate’ mean?
To speak or write at length or in detail.
What does ‘Expurgate’ mean?
To remove matter thought to be objectionable or unsuitable from a book or account.
What does ‘Extemporaneous’ mean?
Done without preparation; impromptu.
What does ‘Extirpate’ mean?
To root out and destroy completely.
What does ‘Facetious’ mean?
Treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor.
What does ‘Fallow’ mean?
Land left unplanted for a period to restore its fertility.
What does ‘Fatuous’ mean?
Silly and pointless.
What does ‘Fauna’ mean?
The animals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period.
What does ‘Feckless’ mean?
Lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible.
What does ‘Felicitous’ mean?
Well chosen or suited to the circumstances.
What does ‘Fell’ mean?
To cut down a tree; also means fierce or cruel.
