Hit Parade Group 1 Flashcards
Abscond
to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
Aberrant
deviating from the norm (noun form: aberration)
Alacrity
eager and enthusiastic willingness
Anomaly
deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality (adj. form: anomalous)
Approbation
an expression of approval or praise
Arduous
strenuous, taxing; requiring significant effort
Assuage
to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
Audacious
daring and fearless; recklessly bold (noun form: audacity)
Austere
without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic (noun form: austerity)
Axiomatic
taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth (noun form: axiom)
Canonical
following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards (noun form: canon)
Capricious
inclined to change one’s mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable
Censure
to criticize severely; to officially rebuke
Chicanery
trickery or subterfuge
Connoisseur
an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert
Convoluted
complex or complicated
Disabuse
to undeceive; to set right
Discordant
conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound
Disparate
fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
Effrontery
extreme boldness
Eloquent
well-spoken, expressive, articulate (noun form: eloquence)
Enervate
to weaken; to reduce in vitality
Ennui
dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
Equivocate
to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent (adj. form: equivocal)
Erudite
very learned; scholarly (noun form: erudition)
Exculpate
exonerate; to clear of blame
Exigent
urgent, pressing; requiring immediate action or attention
Extemporaneous
improvised; done without preparation
Filibuster
intentional obstruction, esp. using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action
Fulminate
to loudly attack or denounce
Ingenuous
artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication
Inured
accustomed to accepting something undesirable
Irascible
easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
Laud
to praise highly (adj. form: laudatory)
Lucid
clear; easily understood
Magnanimity
the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, esp. in forgiving (adj. form: magnanimous)
Martial
associated with war and the armed forces
Mundane
of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary
Nascent
coming into being; in early developmental stages
Nebulous
vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form
Neologism
a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
Noxious
harmful, injurious
Obtuse
lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression
Obviate
to anticipate and make unnecessary
Onerous
troubling; burdensome
Paean
a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
Parody
a humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, exp. in literature and art
Perennial
recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly
Perfidy
intentional breach of faith; treachery (adj. form: perfidious)
Perfunctory
cursory; done without care or interest
Perspicacious
acutely perceptive; having keen discernment (noun form: perspicacity)
Prattle
to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner
Precipitate
acting with excessive haste or impulse
Predilection
a disposition in favor of something; preference
Prescience
foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring (adj. form: prescient)
Prevaricate
to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead
Qualms
misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy
Recant
to retract, esp. a previously held belief
Refute
to disprove; to successfully argue against
Relegate
to forcible assign, esp. to lower place or position
Reticent
quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings
Solicitous
concerned and attentive; eager
Sordid
characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul
Sporadic
occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances
Squander
to waste by spending or using irresponsibly
Static
not moving, active, or in motion; at rest
Stupefy
to stun, baffle, or amaze
Stymie
to block; to thwart
Synthesis
the combination of parts to make a whole (verb form: synthesize)
Torque
a force that causes rotation
Tortuous
winding, twisting; excessively complicated
Truculent
fierce and cruel; eager to fight
Veracity
truthfulness, honesty
Virulent
extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
Voracious
having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous
Waver
to move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion