Hit Parade 3 Flashcards
Acumen
(noun)
Keen, accurate judgment or insight
(E) a counselor’s acumen would be appreciated for those who are lost in life
Adulterate
(verb)
To reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
(E)
They just get the quick baking mixes and add something, it’s like their adulterated version
Amalgamate
(verb)
To combine several elements into a whole
(noun form: amalgamation)
(E) her dress was going to be an amalgamation of ideas
Archaic
(adj.)
Outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive time
(E) the infrastructure here’s archaic, we don’t even have bus lines going through residential blocks
Aver
(verb)
To state as fact; to declare or assert
(E) you have to be good at averring your identity to be a con artist
Bolster
(verb)
To provide support or reinforcement
(E) yoga helped bolster her pursuit to acquiring greater concentration
Bombastic
(adj.)
Pompous; grandiloquent
(E)
Too pompous and bombastic, he didn’t even want to talk to anyone who wasn’t from the same financial background
Diatribe
(noun)
A harsh denunciation
(E)
You could just be polite and keep your mouth shut instead of sending me some harsh diatribe. What a way to ruin my day
Dissemble
(verb)
To disguise or conceal; to mislead
(E) to dissemble his sudden confession, he reverted back to the question of his friend. Weren’t you asking me to confess in front of you, he says.
Eccentric
(adj.)
Departing from norms or conventions
(E)
A bit eccentric, all he did was play chess all day.p
Endemic
(adj.)
Characteristic of or often found in particular locality, region or people
(E)
Endemic trees were the only ones not affected by the typhoon
Evanescent
(adj.)
Tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing
(E)
That evanescent view of the sunrise - there were just too many clouds scattered about
Exacerbate
(verb)
To make worse or more severe
(E)
Her smoking habits exacerbated her already deteriorating health
Fervent
(adj.)
Greatly emotional or zealous (noun form: fervor)
(E)
You could see he was praying fervently, tears were falling down his eyes
Fortuitous
(adj.)
Happening by accident or chance
(E)
It was fortuitous that i got to join the biennale; it’s not something I could pursue or apply for
Germane
(adj.)
Relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter
(E)
A bit annoying when they can’t stick to the topic at hand. They lack the sensitivity to bring up germane topics
Grandiloquence
(noun)
Pompous speech or expression
(adj. form) grandiloquent
(E)
You can’t be grandiloquent if you’re trying to gain the respect of those around you
Hackneyed
(adj.)
Rendered trite and commonplace by frequent usage
(E)
She found the idea of having an SDE a bit hackneyed. It’s a ubiquitous useless and impractical thing to spend on in her opinion
Hedonism
(adj.)
Devotion to pleasurable pursuits, esp. to the pleasure of the senses
(E)
A hedonist is someone who pursues pleasure
Hegemony
(noun)
The consistent dominance of one state or group over others
(E)
Seems like China has been trying to trump the hegemony of the US
Iconoclast
(noun)
One who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions
(E)
Frank Gehry’s works had been sort of an iconoclast. His works spread the idea of how sensational and sculptural architecture may somehow revive sleepy towns
Idolatrous
(adj.)
Goven to intense or excessive devotion to something
(E)
Don’t agree with this religious idolatry of sculptures and relics
Impassive
(adj.)
Revealing no emotion
(E)
That reticent, stoic, impassive guy couldn’t convince her of his love for her since he would always fail to project and express it
Imperturbable
(adj.)
Marked by extreme calm, impassivity and steadiness
(E)
He always had that imperturbable expression on his face, as if nothing would ever be wrong. But nothing would every be happy and right either
Implacable
(adj.)
Not capable of being appeased or significantly changed
(E)
Those in LDRs sort of prove that their love for each other to be implacable; that implacable sort of love
Impunity
(noun)
Immunity from punishment or penalty
(E)
Whatever penalty they gave him, he seemed unperturbed. His impunity to it all ignited further anger towards him.
Inchoate
(adj.)
In an initial stage; not fully formed
(E)
During the inchoate stage of their relationship, he already wanted to present his girlfriend to all his relatives
Infelicitous
(adj.)
Unfortunate, inappropriate
(E)
That infelicitous chain of events occurred due to their recklessness
Insipid
(adj.)
Lacking in qualities that interest, stimulate or challenge
(E)
Somewhat get bored of people with insipid characteristics - they don’t really bring anything to the table
Loquacious
(adj.)
Extremely talkative
(noun form: loquacity)
(E)
Be tends to be loquacious when he’s nervous. If he begins to chatter relentlessly then you know he’s nervous
Luminous
(adj.)
Characterized by brightness and the emission of light
(E)
His smile was luminous
Malevolent
(adj.)
Having or showig vicious ill will, spite or hatred
(E)
Be wary of that malevolent sister of yours, all she wants to do is bring you down
Malleable
(adj.)
Capable of being shaped or formed; tractable and pliable
(E)
Work on the malleability of your ideas as you continue to work through the obscure initial sketches and forms
Mendacity
(noun)
The condition of being untruthful or dishonest
(adj. form: mendacious)
(E) she tends to make up stories in her mind, putting up a false front. She’s a bit mendacious
Meticulous
(adj.)
Characterized by extreme care and precision; attentive to detail
(E)
You’d want a meticulous architect if you’re the type to be anal about the smallest of details
Misanthrope
(noun)
One who hates all other humans
(adj. form: misanthropic)
(E)
Introverts and their need for me time; don’t bother them when they’re mistanthropic
Mitigate
(verb)
To make or become less severe or intense; to moderate
(E)
To mitigate the fact that his friend’s date ditched her, he rushed to the venue to meet her in his place
Obdurate
(adj.)
Unyielding, hardhearted, intractable
(E)
Hard to get obdurate people to compromise
Obsequious
(adj.)
Exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
(E)
You tend to be obseqiuous towards the people you like. It’s an incipient habit, furtively coming to your being
Occlude
(verb)
To obstruct or block
(E) they wanted to occlude and thwart the idea
Opprobium
(noun)
Disgrace; contempt or scorn
(E)
Such an opprobium! Such a disgrace!
Pedagogy
(noun)
The profession or principles of teaching or instruction
(E)
In accordance with the pedagogical view of her teachers, she tended to focus on modernist and planimetric design processes
Pedantic
(adj.)
Overly concerned with the trivial details of learning or education; show-offish about one’s knowledge
(E)
Can sort of see that Harvard may be filled with pedantic show-offs
Penury
(noun)
Poverty; destitution
(E)
The impecunious ones, those in penury
Pervasive
(adj.)
Having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout
(E)
You want your ideas to spread throughout and permeate through the consciousness of others, to become influential and pervasive ideas
Pine
(verb)
To yearn intensely; to languish; to lose vigor
(E)
He was pining for her
Pirate
(verb)
To illegally use or reproduce
Pith
(noun)
The essential or central part
(E)
You want the living spaces to be at the pith of the discussion
Pithy
(adj.)
Brief and precise
(E)
He spoke with such pithy and exacting words, a true charismatic man has words that have weight to them
Placate
(verb)
To appease; to calm by making concessions
(E)
To placate the anger of her father
Platitude
(noun)
A superficial remark, esp. one offered as meaningful
(E)
He wanted all forms of flattery to actually be meaningful, more platitude than flattery even
Plummet
(verb)
To plunge or drop straight down
(E) his heart plummeted as his friend mentioned that he liked her too
Polemical
(adj.)
Controversial or argumentative
(E)
It was polemical a situation to have two in-laws in one family
Prodigal
(adj.)
Recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse and lavish
(E)
Third generation kids, those who benefit from the riches of their hardworking grandparents tend to lead prodigal and lavish lifestyles
Profuse
(adj.)
Given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant
(E)
That profuse and lavish child wasted all the hard earned money on superficial items
Proliferate
(verb)
To grow or increase swiftly and abundantly
(E) he wanted his practice and his learning of architecture to proliferate
Queries
(noun)
Questions; inquiries; doubts in the mind; reservations
Querulous
(adj.)
Prone to complaining or grumbling; peevish
(E) cinderella’s half-sisters were querulous
Rancorous
(adj.)
Characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment (noun: rancor)
(E) it’s dangerous and heavy one one’s heart to begrudge and hold such rancor
Recalcitrant
(adj.)
Obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage
(E)
Informal settlers can be considered reclacitrant
Repudiate
(verb)
To refuse to have anything to do with; to disown
(E)
Some chinese parents would even repudiate and disown children who decide to marry those of another ethnicity
Rescind
(verb)
To invalidate; to repeal or retract
(E)
They hoped the officers would rescind the tickets handed to them for violating traffic rules
Reverent
(adj.)
Marked by, feeling or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect
(E)
He was reverently doing his duties as a father
Rhetoric
(noun)
The art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion
(E)
Those with a good hand on rhetoric tend to do better in their profession
Salubrious
(adj.)
Promoting health of well-being
(E)
Gyms try to create a salubrious environment
Solvent
(adj.)
Able to meet financial obligations; able to dissolve another substance
(E)
We were taught to go for solvent men, capable of providing beyond what is expected financially for a family
Specious
(adj.)
Seeming true, but afually being fallacious; misleadingly attractive; plausible but false
(E)
All her specious anecdotes that enthralled and enticed her audience were proven fallacious
Spurious
(adj.)
Lacking authenticity or vaildity; false; counterfeit
(E)
They were suspicious of his papers; the mark of approval seemed to be spurious
Subpoena
(noun)
A court order requiring appearance or testimony
(E)
They couldn’t get their suspect to court without a subpoena
Succinct
(adj.)
Brief and concise
(E)
He was a quiet man with succinct and sparing words
Superfluous
(adj.)
Succeeding what is sufficient or necessary
(E) practical-minded, she didn’t want a superfluous wedding
Surfeit
(verb)
An overabundant supply; excess; to feed or supply to excess
(noun form: a surfeit of supplies)
Tenacity
(noun)
The quality of adherence or persistence to something valued; persistent determination
(adj. form: tenacious)
(E) she was only tenacious towards the things she took interest in, academics and all else were far from her mind
Tenuous
(adj.)
Having little substance or strength; flimsy or weak
(E)
Her tenuous talk of wanting to go to grad school
Tirade
(noun)
A long and extremely critical speech; a harsh denunciation
(E)
She received a tirade of criticism and belittling comments
Transient
(adj.)
Fleeting, passing quickly, brief
Zealous
(adj.)
Fervent; ardent; impassioned, decored to a cause
(noun form: a zealot is a zealous person)
