Hit Parade Group 2 Flashcards
Abate
v. to lessen in intensity or degree
Accolade
n. an expression of praise
Adulation
n. excessive praise; intense adoration
Aesthetic
adj. dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
Ameliorate
v. to make better or more tolerable
Ascetic
n. one who practices rigid self-denial, especially as an act of religious devotion
Avarice
n. greed, esp. for wealth
adj. form avaricious
Axiom
n. a universally recognized principle
Burgeon
v. to grow rapidly or flourish
Bucolic
rustic and pastoral
Cacophony
n. harsh, jarring, discordant sound
Canon
n. an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
Castigation
n. severe criticism or punishment
Catalyst
n. a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change
Caustic
adj. burning or stinging; causing corrosion
Chary
adj. wary; cautious; sparing
Cogent
adj. convincing
Complaisance
n. the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
Contentious
adj. argumentative; causing controversy or disagreement
Contrite
adj. regretful; seeking forgiveness
Culpable
adj. deserving blame
Dearth
n. scarcity; a lack; smallness of quantity or number
Demur
v. to question or oppose
Didactic
adj. intended to teach or instruct
Discretion
n. cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
Disinterested
adj. impartial
Dogmatic
adj. expressing a rigid opinion on unproved principles
Ebullience
n. the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
Eclectic
adj. composed of elements drawn from various sources
Elegy
n. a mournful poem
Emollient
adj. soothing; making less harsh
n. an agent that softens or smooths the skin
Empirical
adj. based on observation or experimentation
Enigmatic
adj. mysterious; difficult to understand
Ephemeral
adj. brief; fleeting
Esoteric
adj. intended for or understood by a small, specific group
Eulogy
n. a speech honoring the dead
Exonerate
v. to remove blame
Facetious
adj. playful; humorous
Fallacy
n. an invalid or incorrect notion
Furtive
adj. stealthy; covert; surreptitious
Gregarious
adj. sociable and outgoing
Harangue
v. to deliver a pompous speech or tirade
n. a long, pompous speech
Heretical
adj. violating accepted dogma or convention
Hyperbole
n. an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech
Impecunious
adj. lacking funds
Incipient
adj. beginning to come into being or become apparent
Inert
adj. unmoving; lethargic
Innocuous
adj. harmless
Intransigent
adj. refusing to compromise
Inveigle
v. to obtain by deception or flattery
Morose
adj. sad; sullen; melancholy
Odious
adj. evoking intense aversion or dislike
Opaque
adj. impenetrable by light; not reflecting light
Oscillation
n. the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady rhythm
Penurious
adj. penny-pinching; ungenerous
Pernicious
adj. extremely harmful; potentially causing death
Peruse
v. to examine with great care
Pious
adj. extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion
(n. form piety)
Precursor
n. one that precedes and indicates or announces another
Preen
v. to dress up; to groom oneself with elaborate care
Prodigious
adj. abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
Prolific
adj. productive
Putrefy
v. to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor
Quaff
v. to drink deeply
Quiescence
n. stillness; quality of being at rest
Redoubtable
adj. awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
Sanction
n. authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance
v. to give permission or authority to
Satire
n. a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor and derision
Squalid
adj. sordid; wretched and dirty
Stoic
adj. indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast
Supplant
v. to take the place of; to supersede
Torpid
adj. lethargic; dormant
Ubiquitous
adj. existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread
Urbane
adj. sophisticated; refined
Vilify
v. to defame or characterize harshly
Viscous
adj. thick; sticky
