Hit Parade 1 & 2 Flashcards
1
Q
Abscond
A
to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
“the suspect absconded to Canada”
2
Q
Aberrant/aberration
A
deviating from the norm
“a year of aberrant weather”
3
Q
Alacrity
A
eager and enthusiastic willingness
“She accepted the invitation with an alacrity that surprised me.”
4
Q
Anomaly/anomalous
A
deviation from the normal order, abnormality
“We couldn’t explain the anomalies in the test results”
5
Q
Approbation
A
praise or approval
“the company has even received the approbation of its former critics”
6
Q
Arduous
A
strenuous, taxing, requiring significant effort
“he went through a long and arduous training program”
7
Q
Assuage
A
to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
“he couldn’t assuage his guilt over the divorce”
8
Q
Audacious/audacity
A
daring and fearless; recklessly bold
“they have audacious plans for the new school”
9
Q
Austere/austerity
A
without adornment; bare; severely simple, ascetic
“They choose austere furnishings for the office.”
10
Q
Axiomatic/axiom
A
taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth
“It is axiomatic that good athletes have a strong mental attitude”
11
Q
Canonical/canon
A
following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards
“the canonical books of the Bible”
12
Q
Capricious
A
inclined to change one’s mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable
“employees who are at the mercy of a capricious manager”
13
Q
Censure
A
to criticize severely; to officially rebuke
“the country faces international censure for its alleged involvement in the assassination”
14
Q
Chicanary
A
trickery or subterfuge
“He wasn’t above using chicanery to win votes.”
15
Q
Connoisseur
A
an informed and astute judge in matters of taste, expert
“a wine connoisseur”
16
Q
Convoluted
A
complex or complicated
“a convoluted explanation that left the listeners even more confused”
17
Q
Disabuse
A
to undeceive, to set right
“let me disabuse you of that false belief”
18
Q
Discordant (2)
A
(1) conflicting
“she has the difficult task of bringing together a number of discordant elements
(2) dissonant or harsh in sound
“discordant tones coming from the poorly tuned instrument”
19
Q
Disparate
A
fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
“disparate notions among adults and adolescents about when middle age begins”
20
Q
Effrontery
A
extreme boldness; presumptuousness; reckless shame
“the little squirt had the effrontery to deny eating any cookies, even with the crumbs still on his lips”
21
Q
Eloquent/eloquence
A
well-spoken, expressive, articulate
“he is a very eloquent speaker”
22
Q
Enervate
A
to weaken, to reduce in vitality
“a lifetime of working in dreary jobs had enervated his very soul”
23
Q
Ennui
A
dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
“the kind of ennui that comes from having too much time on one’s hands”
24
Q
Equivocate/equivocal
A
to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent
“The applicant seemed to be equivocating when we asked him about his last job.”
25
Erudite/Erudition
very learned; scholarly
| "he most erudite people in medical research attended the conference"
26
Exculpate
exonerate; to clear of blame
| "The court exculpated him after a thorough investigation"
27
Exigent
urgent, pressing; requiring immediate action or attention
| "started his workday with a flood of exigent matters that required his quick decision"
28
Extemporaneous
improvised; done without preparation
| "caught by surprise, I had to make an extemporaneous speech at the awards banquet"
29
Filibuster
intentional obstruction; using prolonged speech to delay legislative action
"they engaged in a filibuster that lasted over a week"
30
Fulminate
to loudly attack or denounce
| "she was fulminating about the dangers of smoking."
31
Ingenuous
artless, frank and candid, lacking sophistication
| "ingenuous in their brutality"
32
Inured
accustomed to accepting something undesirable
| "Does violence on television inure children to violence in real life?"
33
Irascible
easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
| "an irascible old football coach"
34
Laud/laudatory
to praise highly
| "an actor who in his lifetime received all the laud and honor that the theater world could bestow"
35
Lucid
clear; clearly understood
| "the lucid argument"
36
Magnanimity/magnanimous
the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, esp. forgiving
"She was too magnanimous to resent all the things others had said to her."
37
Martial
associated with war and the armed forces
| "martial law"
38
Mundane
of the world, typical of or concerned with the ordinary
| "mundane chores, like washing dishes"
39
Nascent
coming into being, in early developmental stages
| "one of the leading figures in the nascent civil-rights movement"
40
Nebulous
vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form
| "These philosophical concepts can be nebulous."
41
Neologism
a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
"the psychotic patient kept uttering his own neologisms that no one else understood"
42
Noxious
harmful, injurious
| "the noxious fumes filled the house"
43
Obtuse
lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression
"the obtuse student scored low on the test"
44
Obviate
to anticipate and make unnecessary
| "The new medical treatment obviates the need for surgery"
45
Onerous
troubling; burdensome
| "The government imposed onerous taxes on imports."
46
Paean
a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
| "his retirement party featured many paeans for his long years of service to the company"
47
Parody
a humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, esp. in literature and art
"the Disney musical parody made me laugh"
48
Perennial
recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly; happening all year long
"the perennial flowers bloom all year long"
49
Perfidy/perfidious
intentional breach of faith, treachery
| "he decided to forgive his wife's perfidy, choosing to ascribe it to a moment of uncharacteristic weakness"
50
Perfunctory
cursory; done without care or interests
| "the violinist delivered a perfunctory performance that displayed none of the passion and warmth he was once known for"
51
Perspicacious/perspicacity
acutely perceptive; having keen discernment; notice things that are not obvious
"he is a perspicacious detective"
52
Prattle
to babble meaninglessly, talking in an empty and idle manner
| "They prattled on into the night, discussing school, music, and friends."
53
Precipitate (adj.)
acting with excessive haste or impulse
| "he precipitated a response to quickly"
54
Precipitate (verb)
to cause or happen before anticipated or required
| "his death precipitated a family crisis"
55
Predilection
a disposition in favor of something; preference
| "a young lad with a predilection for telling tall tales"
56
Prescience/prescient
foreknowledge of events, knowing of events prior to their happening
"he predicted their response with amazing prescience."
57
Prevaricate
to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead
| "during the hearings the witness was willing to prevaricate in order to protect his friend."
58
Qualms
misgivings; reservations; causes of hesitancy
| "do you have any qualms about his action"
59
Recant
to retract, esp. a previously held belief
| "he decided to recant his belief about ghosts"
60
Refute
to disprove; to successfully argue against
| "he refuted her arguments"
61
Relegate
to forcibly assign, esp. to a lower place or position
| "The bill has been relegated to committee for discussion."
62
Reticent
quite; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts or feelings
"the panel decided to investigate the fraud charges against the company, which has always been reticent about its internal operations"
63
Solicitous
concerned or attentive; eager
| "I appreciated the doctor's solicitous inquiry about his health"
64
Sordid
characterized by filth, grime, foul, squalor
| "he managed to rise above the sordid streets upon which he grew up"
65
Sporadic
occurring only occasionally or in scattered instances
| "there had been sporadic attacks from the enemy"
66
Squander
to waste by spending or using irresponsible
| "he squandered away his lotto winnings"
67
Static
not moving, active or in motion; at rest
| "the static block just sat there on the track"
68
Stupefy
to stun, baffle or amaze
| "they were stupefied by his tricks"
69
Stymie
to block; to thwart
| "Progress on the project has been stymied by lack of money"
70
Synthesis/synthesize
the combination of parts to make a whole
| "a philosophy that is a kind of synthesis of several schools of Western and Eastern thought"
71
Torque
a force that cause rotation
| "they applied torque to the handle"
72
Tortuous
winding, twisting; excessively complicated
"a tortuous conspiracy"
"a tortuous road"
73
Truculent
fierce and cruel; eager to fight
| "die-hard fans who became truculent and violent after their team's loss"
74
Veracity
truthfulness, honesty
| "we questioned the veracity of his statements"
75
Voracious
having an insatiable appetite for activity or pursuit; ravenous
"he had a voracious appetite for sex"
76
Waver
to move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion
"people who are still wavering between the two candidates"
"the kite wavered in the wind"
77
Abate
to lessen in intensity or degree
| "We waited for the wind to abate."
78
Accolade
an expression of praise
| "There is no higher accolade at this school than an honorary degree."
79
Adulation
excessive praise; intense adoration
| "the rugby player enjoyed the adulation of his fans."
80
Aesthetic
dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
"that beautiful curtain is there only for aesthetic appeal"
81
Ameliorate
to make better or more tolerable
| "trying to ameliorate the suffering of people who have lost their jobs"
82
Ascetic
one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion
"an ascetic diet of rice and beans"
83
Avarice/avaricious
greed, esp. for wealth
| "The corporate world is plagued by avarice and a thirst for power."
84
axiom/axiomatic
universally recognized principle
| "one of the key axioms of the theory of evolution"
85
Burgeon
growing rapidly or flourishing
| "the flowers are burgeoning along the road"
86
Bucolic
rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
"a bucolic region where farms are still common"
87
Cacophony/cacophonous
harsh, jarring, discordant sound, dissonance
| "the cacophonous chaos on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange"
88
Canon/canonical
an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
"the canonical teachings of the pastor"
89
Castigation/castigate
severe criticism or punishment
| "The author castigated the prime minister as an ineffective leader"
90
Catalyst
a person, thing, or chemical that facilitates change
| "the chemical catalyst helps form precipitate"
91
Caustic (2)
(1) Burning, stinging; causing corrosion
"The chemical was so caustic that it ate through the pipes."
(2) very harsh or critical, sarcastic
"She wrote a caustic report about the decisions that led to the crisis"
92
Chary
wary, cautious, sparing
| "chary investors who weren't burned by the dot-com bust"
93
Cogent
appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
| "the results of the DNA fingerprinting were the most cogent evidence for acquittal"
94
Complaisance/complaisant
the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
| "the complaisance of his girlfriend is such that she meekly goes along with everything he says"
95
Contentious
argumentative, quarrelsome, causing controversy or disagreement
"The dispute involves one of the region's most contentious leaders."
96
Contrite/contrition
regretful; penitent, seeking forgiveness
| "being contrite is not enough to spare you an arrest if you're caught shoplifting"
97
Culpable/culpability
deserving blame
| "They held her culpable for the accident."
98
Dearth
smallness of quantity or number; scarcity, a lack
| "there was a dearth of usable firewood at the campsite so we didn't get to have a fire"
99
Demur
to question or oppose
| "She suggested that he would win easily, but he demurred, saying he expected the election to be close."
100
Didactic
intended to teach or instruct
"Slaves related human as well as animal trickster tales; they told Bible stories, explanatory tales, moralistic and didactic tales..."
101
Discretion/discrete
cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
"he used a lot of disecration in that speech in order not to offend anyone"
102
Disinterested
free of bias or self-interests, impartial
| "he is disinterested in algebra because he hates math"
103
Dogmatic/dogma
expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles
"the dogma causes them to make a lot of uniformed decisions"
104
Ebullience/ebullient
the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
"the ebullient performers did a very vivid show"
105
Eclectic
composed of elements drawn from various sources
| "he has eclectic knowledge spanning over many subjects"
106
Elegy/elegiac
a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead
| "'O Captain! My Captain!' is Walt Whitman's elegy on the death of President Lincoln"
107
Emollient
soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; agent that softens or smoothes the skin
"soothe us in our agonies with emollient words"
"an emollient hand lotion"
108
Empirical
based on observation or experiment
| "empirical evidence is very hard to deny since it is confirmed through observation and scientific experiments"
109
Enigmatic/enigma
mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
| "the discovery of the abandoned ship in mid ocean remains one of the most enigmatic episodes in seafaring history"
110
Ephemeral
brief, fleeting
| "the autumnal blaze of colors is always to be treasured, all the more so because it is so ephemeral"
111
Esoteric
intended for or understood by a small, specific group
| "the esoteric philosophical arguments can be understood only by philosophy majors"
112
Eulogy/eulogize
"He delivered a moving eulogy at his father's funeral."
| a speech honoring the dead
113
Exonerate
"the results of the DNA fingerprinting finally exonerated the man, but only after he had wasted 10 years of his life in prison"
to remove blame
114
Facetious
"the essay is a facetious commentary on the absurdity of war as a solution for international disputes"
playful, humorous, meant to be funny but isn't
115
Fallacy/fallacious
"it's fallacious to say that something must exist because science hasn't proven its nonexistence"
invalid or incorrect notion, mistaken belief
116
Furtive
"He cast a furtive glance in our direction without anyone noticing."
marked by stealth, covert, surreptitious
117
Gregarious
"She is outgoing and gregarious."
| sociable, outgoing, enjoying the company of others
118
Harangue
"He delivered a long harangue about the evils of popular culture"
to deliver a pompous speech or tirade, a long, pompous speech
119
Heretical/heresy
"the belief that women should be allowed to have careers was once considered heretical"
violating accepted dogma or convention
120
Hyperbole/hyperbolic
"enough food to feed a whole army” is a common example of hyperbole"
an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech
121
Impecunious
"they were so impecunious that they couldn't afford to give one another even token Christmas gifts"
lacking funds, without money
122
Pompous
"She found it difficult to talk about her achievements without sounding pompous."
excessively elevated or ornate: having or exhibiting self-importance
123
Incipient
"I have an incipient dislike and distrust of that guy, and I only met him this morning."
beginning to come into being or to become apparent
124
Inert
"an inert and lifeless body"
| unmoving, lethargic, sluggish
125
Innocuous
"He told a few innocuous jokes that didn't offend anyone"
| harmless, causing no damage
126
Intransigent/intransigence
"He has remained intransigent in his opposition to the proposal so no compromise was made."
refusing to compromise
127
Inveigle
"We inveigled the information from him but kissing up to him"
to obtain by deception or flattery
128
Morose
"He became morose and withdrawn and would not talk to anyone."
sad, sullen, melancholy
129
Odious
"an odious and unforgivable insult"
| evoking intense aversion or dislike
130
Opaque
"the opaque windows do not let in any light"
| impenetrable by light, not reflecting light
131
Oscillation/oscillate
"There has been oscillation between optimism and pessimism among voters."
the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm
132
Penurious
"the penurious school system had to lay off several teachers because it had no money"
penny-pinching, excessively thrifty, ungenerous
133
Aversion
"They regarded the unjust war with much aversion"
| a strong feeling of not liking something
134
Pernicious
"the pernicious effects of jealousy cause great harm to the individual"
extremely harmful in a way that is not easily seen or noticed
135
Peruse/perusal
"perused the manuscript, checking for grammatical errors"
| to examine with great care
136
Pious/piety
"They lived a quiet, pious life as monks"
| extremely reverent or devout, showing strong religious devotion
137
Precursor
"18th-century lyric poets like Robert Burns were precursors of the Romantics that came later"
one that precedes and indicates or announces another
138
Preen
"they preened themselves for the ball"
| to dress up, to primp, to groom oneself with elaborate care
139
Prodigious
"a prodigious supply of canned food kept in the basement for emergencies"
abundant in size, force, or extent, extraordinary
140
Prolific
"a famously prolific author who could produce several works of fiction and nonfiction a year"
producing large volumes or amounts, productive
141
Putrefy/putrid
"we traced the bad smell to a dead skunk putrefying under the house"
to rot, to decay and give off a foul odor
142
Quaff
"We stopped at a bar and quaffed a few beers."
| to drinking deeply
143
Quiescence/quiescent
"the resort community's social scene is lively during the summer but undergoes a deep quiescence during the long winter"
stillness, motionlessness, quality of being at rest
144
Redoubtable
"There is a new biography of the redoubtable Winston Churchill who has been honored as a great man"
awe-inspiring, worthy of honor
145
Sanction
(1) "The country acted without the sanction of the other nations."
authoritative permission or approval, to give permission or authority
(2) "Their policy has legal sanction that punishes violators"
a penalty intended to enforce compliance
146
Satire/satirical
"His movies are known for their use of satire that makes fun of the blunders of others"
a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision
147
Squalid/squalor
"the family lived in squalid conditions that were really gross and dirty"
sordid, wretched and dirty as from neglect
148
Stoic/stoicism
"he always acts so stoic - showing no pain or emotion"
| indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain, steadfast
149
Supplant
"old traditions that were fading away and being supplanted by modern ways"
to take the place of, to supersede
150
Torpid/torpor
"a torpid sloth that refused to budge off its tree branch"
| lethargic, sluggish, dormant
151
Ubiquitous
"by that time cell phones had become ubiquitous, and people had long ceased to be impressed by the sight of one because they were everywhere"
existing everywhere at the same time, constantly encountered, widespread
152
Urbane/urbanity
"the dialogue is witty and urbane, sounding very smart and sophisticated"
sophisticated, refined, elegant
153
Vilify
"He was vilified in the press for his comments so his reputation was destroyed"
to defame, to characterize harshly
154
Viscous/viscosity
"viscous syrup that takes forever to pour from a narrow-neck bottle because it is so thick and sticky"
thick, sticky
