Hit Parade 2 Flashcards
Abate
- to lessen in intensity or degrees
- allay
Accolade
An expression of praise
Adulation
Intense adoration
Ameliorate
To make better or more tolerable
Avarice
Greed (wealth)
Axiom
A universally recognized principle
Burgeon
To grow rapidly or flourish
Cacophony
- harsh, jarring, discordant sound
- dissonance
Castigation
Severe criticism or punishment
Caustic
- burning or stinging
- causing corrosion
Chary
Wary; cautious; sparing (scary)
Cogent
Appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
Complaisance
The willingness to comply with the wishes of others
Contrite
- regretful
- penitent
- seeking forgiveness
Culpable
Deserving blame (inculpatory)
Dearth
- smallness of quantity or number
- scarcity
Discretion
- cautious reserve in speech
- ability to make responsible decisions
Disinterested
- free of bias or self-interest
- impartial
Dogmatic
Expressing a rigid opinion on unproved or improvable principles
Ebullience
The quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
Eclectic
Composed of elements drawn from various sources
Emollient
- soothing, mollifying
- making less harsh
- an agent that softens or smoothes the skin
Empirical
Based on observation or experiment
Enigmatic
- mysterious, obscure, cryptic
- difficult to understand
Ephemeral
Brief, fleeting
Esoteric
Intended for or understood by a small, specific group
Eulogy
Speech honoring the dead
Attenuate
To weaken or reduce in force/intensity
Fallacy
An invalid or incorrect notion
Furtive
- marked by stealth
- covert
- surreptitious
Gregarious
- sociable
- enjoying the company of other people
Heretical
Violating accepted dogma or convention
Impecunious
Lacking funds
Incipient
- Beginning to come into being
- becoming apparent
Inveigle
To obtain by deception or flattery
Morose
- sad
- sullen
- melancholy
Odious
Evoking intense aversion
Penurious
- penny-pinching
- ungenerous
Peruse
To examine with great care
Pious
Extremely reverent or devout
Precursor
One that precedes and indicates or announces another
Preen
- to dress up
- to groom oneself with elaborate care
Prodigious
Abundant in size, force, or extent
Prolific
- producing large volumes or amounts
- productive
Putrefy
To decay and give off a foul odor
Quaff
To drink deeply
Quiescence
Motionless
Redoubtable
Awe-inspiring
Sanction
- a penalty intended to enforce compliance
- to give permission or authority
Satire
A literary work that criticizes a human vice through humor or derision
Squalid
- sordid
- wretched and dirty as from neglect
Stoic
Indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain
Ubiquitous
- Existing everywhere at the same time
- widespread
Urbane
- sophisticated
- refined
Vilify
To defame
Caprice
- a sudden, unpredictable change
- a tendency to change one’s mind without adequate motive
Idiosyncrasy
a characteristic, habit, mannerism, etc. that is peculiar to an individual.
Calumny
Slander, defamation
